OWC RADiO

If you have ever fantasized about being a mega-rock star, this is the interview for you. :) Doug Blush has been a director, producer, and documentary filmmaker for over 16 years, and the release of his latest project, Rock Camp, the Movie, is being sponsored in part by Other World Computing. In this interview, our host, Cirina Catania, talks with Doug about his journey with "Rock Camp the Movie" and what it took to tell a great story with years of footage taken at 69 Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camps. The movie features numerous world-famous musicians who gave their time to campers including Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley(KISS), Tony Franklin, Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), Jeff Beck (Yardbirds), Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Roger Daltrey (The Who), Alice Cooper, Slash, and Nancy Wilson (Heart). A few particularly amusing scenes involve the colorful Fantasy Camp founder, David Fishof. But it is the campers who grab our attention as we see them transformed by a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a rock star!

For more information about our amazing sponsor, Other World Computing, go to MacSales.com or OWCDigital.com, where you’ll find hardware and software solutions and tutorial videos that will get you up and running in no time.

For more about our host, filmmaker, tech maven and co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival, Cirina Catania, visit cirinacatania.com.

If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe and tell all your friends about us! We love our listeners. And, if you have ideas for segments, write to [email protected]. Cirina is always up for new ideas!

In This Episode

00:00 - Cirina introduces Doug Blush, a director, producer, and documentary filmmaker for over 16 years. His latest project is the documentary film, Rock Camp: The Movie. 02:22 - Doug tells the story of his company, MadPix Films, and the kind of films he’s been involved with.11:01 - Doug shares how he got started in the film industry, especially in documentaries.15:29 - Doug shares the premise of the documentary film, Rock Camp: The Movie, and how it got started.20:31 - Doug talks about how and why he got involved with the film, Rock Camp: The Movie. 24:03 - Cirina asks Doug about his roles and credits in film, and how he shares responsibilities with his co-editors.26:35 - Doug talks about the different cameras that were used for the film and how they used all the footage into one movie.33:00 - Doug shares his journey about getting the film to the people, especially given the COVID pandemic. Cirina and Doug also encourage listeners to watch Rock Camp: The Movie in local theaters by buying tickets at RockCamptheMovie.com.38:44 - Doug proudly divulges that he is an OWC fanboy. He talks about the types of equipment he’s purchased from OWC.44:38 - Cirina and Doug encourage listeners to check out Doug's company website, MadPixFilms.com, to know more about his films and services.

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What if you could fulfill your wish and go back in time when you were a teenager in your bedroom listening to the radio? What if you could jam with your heroes who sang the songs that live forever in your head?

Transcript

You may have been to summer camp, but I'll bet you've never been to rock and roll fantasy camp. Music producer David Fishof has been bringing rock star hopefuls to his fantasy camps to be tutored by some of the world's most famous musicians for over 20 years. And now, there's a movie about it. I spoke with Director Producer Doug Blush about this very cool documentary that features superstars like Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Nancy Wilson, Joe Perry, Jeff Beck, Slash, and well, you get the drift. It has changed many lives, and we think you will have a great time listening to how it got made and how you can watch it all while supporting a theater near you.

Welcome to OWC Radio.

Thank you so much. It's great to talk to you.

You're not gonna say anything different, right?

Host Cirina Catania pulls open the curtains and has a very candid conversation with Thomas Nicholas about his work as an actor and musician. Thomas stars alongside Academy Award nominee, Mickey Rourke in "Adverse," opening in theaters on Friday, February 12th. This neo-noir drama is about a ride-share driver who discovers that his sister is in debt to a dangerous crime syndicate. It was filmed in the moody, dark, night-time streets of Los Angeles and explores the love that we have for family and how far we will go to protect them.

Written, directed and produced by Brian A. Metcalf and Produced by Thomas Nicholas and Kelly Arjen, the movie also stars Academy Award nominee, Sean Astin,, Golden Globe nominee, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Golden Globe nominee, Penelope Ann Miller.

Timestamp

00:12 - Cirina introduces Thomas Nicholas, an actor, musician, and a member of the cast of the Neo-noir crime thriller film, Adverse. Adverse is directed by Brian Metcalf. It’s great cast includes Mickey Rourke, Penelope Ann Miller, Sean Astin, Kelly Arjun, and Lou Diamond Phillips.06:07 - Thomas reminisces about growing up and how he was introduced to the world of acting.10:22 - Thomas talks about his new film, Adverse, which will be out in theaters on February 12th.13:00 - Thomas points out the difference between the Meisner and Stanislavski acting methods.16:26 - Thomas talks about his fellow actors in the movie and his amazing experiences with them.23:44 - Cirina asks Thomas how he met Brian Metcalf and how they became producing partners.28:47 - Thomas shares the premiere date of the film, Adverse, and how the listeners can watch it in theaters.30:24 - Cirina asks Thomas about the equipment he purchased from OWC and how he uses it.37:43 - Thomas shares how he manages to compartmentalize both his personal life and life as an actor41:01 - Thomas talks about his life as a musician and his music.43:15 - Cirina and Thomas encourage listeners to check out the Adverse trailer at AdverseTheFilm.com and to watch it in theaters.

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Transcript

The very talented, Thomas Nicholas, is here with us today to talk about his life as an Actor and Musician. On Friday, February 12th, just a few days from now, the neo-noir Crime Thriller from Lionsgate “Adverse”, is being released in theaters. Yes, in theaters. You can go to Fandango and find out where you can see it, grab some popcorn, settle in, and take a wild ride through the night streets of Los Angeles. This film is directed by Brian Metcalf with a great cast that includes Thomas Nicholas, Mickey Rourke, Penelope Ann Miller, Sean Astin, Kelly Arjun, and Lou Diamond Phillips. Let's listen to the trailer.

(Plays “Adverse” Official Trailer)

I had a great conversation with Thomas. It was one of those peak-behind-the-curtain moments that I love and you will enjoy it, too. So welcome back, let's listen in with Thomas Ian Nicholas.

I'm very excited. My new film, Adverse is being released in theaters if you can believe it, on February 12th. Socially distanced, of course, we're all staying safe. But obviously, a lot of states have different regulations and rates of safety versus Los Angeles, which we’re not doing very well here. I'm very excited about this film, it's something different for me as an actor, and I also produced the movie. I'm taking a turn into a more dramatic role as an actor than people are probably more familiar with me.

That's awesome. So that brings up a lot of things we need to talk about. First of all, theaters, how did you manage that? That's tough right now. Everybody's talking about all the theaters being closed. So how wide is the release? Is it regional or national?

Our plan prior to even dealing with what we are right now was always to do a platform release starting in 50 theaters, and if it stays and doesn't nominally then it would just move on to VOD if it does better than it can expand.

Meet Richard Devine, an electronic musician and sound designer whose work transcends our earthly imaginations. He has created musical compositions, mnemonics, field recording, sound effects, loop libraries, created content, instrument patch designs, specialized sound design for TV, Film, games, web media, and virtual reality. Your ears will be in electric heaven. Our host, Cirina Catania, says she could listen to Richard all day. We think you will feel the same! Enjoy!

In This Episode

0:15 - Cirina introduces Richard Devine, an independent electronic artist, composer, and sound designer. Richard specializes in musical composition, mnemonics, field recording, sound effects, loop libraries, content creation, instrument patch design, and specialized sound design for TV, film, web media, and virtual reality.6:14 - Richard talks about his first introduction to the world of Ambisonics while working with Google.10:34 - Richard shares his story on how he became involved with sounds and music.17:48 - Richard shares how his taste in music has evolved, his DJ career, and how he started his first studio.24:26 - Richard describes the current setup of his studio that helps him to think creatively and work comfortably.31:35 - Richard reviews the equipment that he is using in his current studio.37:35 - Richard shares how accidents and spontaneous moments have helped him explore new ideas to compose music more creatively.42:23 - Richard talks about his album, Systik, and what was involved in making the album.47:07 - Richard encourages the listeners to check out his album, Systik, and his other merchandise at RichardDevine.bandcamp.com.56:14 - Cirina asks Richard  what he thinks about AI or machine learning in music production and will he be more involved in it in creating his music in the future?1:03:20 - Cirina encourages listeners to check out Richard's Bandcamp and his other social media channels (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud) to learn more about his music.

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Transcription

Sounds like you are a sound designer. Oh my gosh, this is gonna be fun! This is Cirina Catania with OWC RADiO. I just love my job on days like today when I can talk to literal geniuses, like Richard Devine. He is an electronic artist, a sound designer. He specializes in musical composition, mnemonics, field recording, sound effects, loop libraries, content creation, instrument patch design, specialized sound design for TV, film, web media, and virtual reality. Literally, I promise you, he does do all of that. This is audio-only, and I'm a little bit sad because if you could see his studio, it looks like the set of a high-budget sci-fi movie. Welcome, Richard! We are going to be talking about your life, your work, your sold-out, next release vinyl. It's not even out yet, and it's already sold out. Hi, Richard! Welcome to OWC RADiO.

Thank you for having me guys.

There's so much to talk about. Why don't you start by telling people in your words, what you're currently doing and why you're doing it?

I guess I'm a person that wears many hats. You kind of covered a little bit of that in the introduction.

Everybody, did you hear that? He said, “a little bit of that.” That's what I'm talking about. I need five hours to interview this man.

There's so much stuff that I do. Whether that's working as an independent electronic artist, composer, and sound designer. Then also the sound design job entails quite a bit that goes into many different fields, some of which you'd mentioned just in the intro. But yes, I've been working as a professional sound designer for about 25 years now as freelance content creation, person developing content, not only for multiple different environments. I've done stuff from video games to virtual reality to old cars, to an electric car. I did my first electric car with Jaguar, their I-PACE electric vehicle. I was responsible for designing all of the sounds of that car mix,

Steve Douglass is a role model for educators worldwide, as he develops new ways of teaching filmmaking/storytelling using mobile filmmaking as a medium for motivation and inspiration. Cirina Catania, OWC Host, spends a lively hour with him and you will certainly be entertained. How does he teach? What does he teach? And what are the results? For one, a coveted first prize at the recent All American High School Film Festival. Steve's efforts are enthusiastically supported by several sponsors, including the folks at Other World Computing (OWC) led by Larry O'Connor, and the team at Apple. Join us. This will be fun!

In This Episode

00:07 - Cirina introduces Steve Douglass, a teacher of media at the Lake Forest High School in Chicago. In this episode, Cirina and Steve put an emphasis on mobile filmmaking and why it's making a huge buzz with Gen Zs. 06:59 - Cirina and Steve reminisce about outdated, manual techniques and processes in the media. Also, how easy kids today have it thanks to technology. 11:29 - Steve shares his class curriculum and what he likes his students to focus on when it comes to creating remarkable and meaningful films.16:31 - Steve introduces Chicago Summer Stories, what it's about, and how it started. 26:52 - Steve summarizes a community project he worked on with his students and about how local businesses in their area were affected by COVID-19.30:44 - Steve explains how he organizes his students' tasks from pre-production to post-production.37:00 - Steve muses about how social media plays a massive role in Gen Zs' lives and how they can utilize it to create art and meaningful stories.39:10 - Cirina asks Steve about the changes and challenges of online homeschooling because of the pandemic.46:34 - Cirina wishes more people were like Steve, and share their knowledge with younger generations, so the art stays alive and continuously expanding.51:50 - Steve shares where people can find Chicago Summer Stories and St. Louis Summer Stories to learn more about filmmaking.

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Transcript

Today we're talking with Steve Douglass, who teaches on the North Shore of Chicago, at Lake Forest High School. He teaches media, and at the moment, he's putting an emphasis on mobile filmmaking, which might be surprising to you for a media teacher at a major high school. He has a background in production at ESPN for many years. And he left ESPN and moved to St. Louis, where he began taking a lot of courses and getting qualified to teach at both high school and the college level. Steve, thank you for being here with us. You were at ESPN for many years, and I've heard that many, many times. I'm really curious about what you did there and what your specialty was.

Well, thank you so much, first of all, for having me. We were on a panel together in Final Cut Pro. 

Yeah, it was fun. 

Amazing experience, but also like being on that panel with such distinguished folks. And then, like, clearly everyone knew you. And I was like, "This is amazing. I can't wait to have this conversation." Because everyone respected what you do, so you were there. And thank you so much for sharing this space because this is an exciting time for education. It really is a dynamic time. And I think it's great. Honestly, I think there's a lot of wins and a lot of good stuff, which we'll get to. But yeah, it all kind of starts back at ESPN. That was my dream job. I was very fortunate to get there when I was 22, just out of undergrad. I went to Bristol, Connecticut, where everything is still shot to this day, where they cut Sports Center, Baseball Tonight, all the different highlight shows, and I was one of about 150 people that applied. And they said, "Yeah, come on in, we'll do it," after a two-hour interview, it was insane. No benefits, and the highest cost of living state in the country, in Connecticut at the time. And it was sink or swim for six months. And so I learned from the best how to be able to cu...

Cirina Catania interviews Steve Bannerman about post-production on the acclaimed movie, Foster Boy.

The show must go on even if it doesn't. Cirina Catania reminisces about Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart and the film, "It's a Wonderful Life," and talks with the cast of Christmas Carol.

'Tis the season to advertise "For Your Consideration," in anticipation of the Oscars. Studios have mega budgets and smaller independent features often can't compete.

We discovered a hidden movie gem, Foster Boy, within the 2020 movie releases from a well-respected distributor, Gravitas Ventures, and executive producer, Shaquille O'Neal. It is a gut-wrenching drama that highlights the story of a young prisoner, the victim of abuse in a corrupt foster care system, and the people who try to find justice for him. Word of mouth on this film is picking up quickly and it is getting awesome reviews.

This fascinating interview with host, Cirina Catania, highlights the journey of writer, Jay Paul Deratany, and Steve Bannerman, CEO of Real by FAKE in LA, the company supervising post-production on the film. And, yes, the company uses OWC equipment.

The film stars, Matthew Modine as lawyer Michael Trainer, Shane Paul McGhie in a dramatic tour-de-force as "Foster Boy" Jamal Randolph, Lex Scott Davis as Keisha, Julie Benz in the role of Pamela and Louis Gossett, Jr., as a memorable Judge. Full cast and credits are available on IMDB.

In This Episode

00:04 - Cirina introduces writer, Jay Paul Deratany, and post-production executive, Steve Bannerman, from the movie Foster Boy.08:39 - Jay talks about Youssef Delara, the director of the film Foster Boy.16:37 - Jay explains the portrayal of the positive and negative side of the foster care system in the country.23:06 - Steve points out the three main looks of the movie in terms of color grading.34:06 - Watch Foster Boy, a pulse-pounding cinematic legal drama that tackles reform and corruption in foster care on iTunes On-Demand, BET +, and other sources.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

Welcome back to OWC Radio. Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing writer, Jay Paul Deratany, and post-production executive, Steven Bannerman, about a movie I recently screened called Foster Boy. It is exec produced by Shaquille O'Neal and stars Matthew Modine, Louis Gossett, Jr., and a talented young actor, Shane Paul McGhie. 

I wanted to bring this film to your attention for several reasons. One, it's hard-hitting and wonderful. Two, OWC's equipment was front and center during post. And three, for those of you who may not be aware, there is a battle going on in Hollywood, but it's most likely not what crosses your mind when I mentioned it. We call it awards season. This is the time of year when all the creators large and small battle for a few spots on that coveted, "I won an Oscar stage." Millions of dollars are at stake, and millions are spent trying to get to that prized first place. Major studios and VOD/SVOD services have the money to compete on a huge scale. But some smaller gems, like Foster Boy, are faced with depending on modest budgets and word of mouth. 

Thankfully, in this digital age, we can help spread information. I chased after the creators because I firmly believe that this film deals with issues in the foster care system that need to be brought to life. And it is also beautifully written, produced, acted, and post-produced. We will be speaking with Jay and Steve shortly for part one of our two-part interview. In the meantime, listen in, here's the film's trailer, standby. This is going to be interesting.

[Trailer of Foster Boy] 

Jay, I wanted to ask you, I heard that in the 2000s, you were involved in a court case that was very similar to what you were writing about in Foster Boy. Can you tell us what inspired this script and how you first became involved with it?

JPD: Yeah, I've been a lawyer practicing in foster care abuse and other areas, primarily foster care abuse for about 20 years, but my other passion has always been writing and acting. I was involved in improv to different things. And I had written a play called Haram! Iran!, which did pretty well and got a GLAAD nomination. Then,

In this documentary-style interview, David Kalmusky talks with OWC RADiO host, Cirina Catania about his life from his early days as a young boy living and performing with a musical father, to his life today working with the world's greatest musicians, all while living in quarantine during the age of Covid.

David is a multi-platinum, multiple Billboard #1 charting Nashville based producer, songwriter, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, engineer & mixer, who grew up with a famous musician father. His past and current works include hundreds of artists such as Shawn Mendes, Keith Urban, Megan Trainor, Justin Bieber, Journey, Joe Bonamassa, Tenille Townes, Carrie Underwood, The Sisterhood, Vince Gill, John Oates (From Hall & Oates) Motley Crue, and many, many others, who have asked David to work with them.

He has also been asked to engineer for some of the top producers making music today, including Jacquire King (Mutemath, James Bay, Kings Of Leon), Glenn Rosenstein (Madonna, U2, Talking Heads, Ziggy Marley), Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin) Rob Fraboni (The Band, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones), Bob Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith)  Greg Wells (Katy Perry, Adele, One Republic). 

David co-designed and built Addiction Sound Studios in Nashville, with partner Jonathan Cain (The Baby’s, Bad English, Journey) and Engineer Chris Huston (The Who, Led Zeppelin) where Kalmusky and Cain host their world-class tracking room and individual private production rooms.

Transcript

Welcome back to OWC Radio. If you've ever thought about getting into the world of music producing or performing, or if you're just curious about how things work behind the scenes, today's conversation with David Kalmusky will be fun and rewarding. David is a superstar, multi-Platinum, multi-Billboard, number one charting music producer, songwriter, guitarist, engineer, and mixer. He lives in Nashville and runs Addiction Sound Studios with his partner, Jonathan Cain. Jonathan is the piano player for Journey and the writer of such notable songs as Don't Stop Believing, Faithfully, and Open Arms. 

You know, in my career, I've had the good fortune to meet and sometimes work with some of the world's greatest actors, musicians, and tech creators. And I found that most of the truly gifted stars are incredibly modest. You could say that David Kalmusky falls into that category on both counts. He's gifted and understated about his life and his successes and his craft. I recently met him through the team at OWC and wanted to share our conversation with you. 

David is sought out by acts such as Shawn Mendes, Keith Urban, Meghan Trainor, Justin Bieber, Journey, Joe Bonamassa, Tenille Townes, Carrie Underwood, John Legend, The Sisterhood, Vince Gill, John Oates of Hall & Oates, Mötley Crüe, and many others. Despite that, however, he's also very proud of his ability to recognize and work with new talent. He loves that and will showcase some of those projects as well. 

We talked about David's life growing up with music all around, thanks to his father, Kenny Kalmusky. We also talked about how to work successfully in the time of COVID. That was a topic for us and he has some incredible new work to share with us. You will not be able to typecast as work, however, as David Kalmusky is nothing if not extremely diverse. Put your feet up, relax, and enjoy. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe to our podcast, give us a review, and share. Our thanks to Other World Computing for sponsoring our show. We are pleased that you are here. One more thing regarding the music that we play for you in this interview, all of the copyrights remain with the original holders and we make no claims for copyright. Enjoy.

I mean a cool community and that's nestled in the center of Nashville called Berry Hill. I think there are more studios in three or four city blocks here than any other neighborhood in the world.

Peter Broderick, Distribution Strategist

Peter Broderick, one of the world's leading experts on documentary distribution, continues his discussion with OWC Host, Cirina Catania. In this episode, he focuses on FESTIVALS. He explains how, when, where and why you might want to submit to festivals (or not), and gives us a primer on the new hybrid systems, including virtual screenings.

Peter Broderick consults with independent filmmakers and companies needing to hone their strategies. He helps design and implement customized strategies to maximize revenues, audience, and impact. Read his articles and subscribe to his Distribution Bulletin at www.peterbroderick.com.

Visit Supercharge Your Distribution for more information on his highly-rated workshops with his partner Keith Ochwat.

In This Episode

00:09 - Cirina introduces Peter Broderick, formerly with Paradigm Consulting. Peter is one of the world's leading distribution strategists, specializing in the documentary genre.03:38 - Peter talks about the film festivals that went virtual. One of them is CPH:DOX, which hosted a successful virtual film festival.08:18 - Peter explains how CPH:DOX was able to do screening for 150 films virtually with the company Shift72.14:27 - What are some of the advantages of a virtual film festival? How can filmmakers benefit from them?19:48 - Did rules and regulations change with the transition from in-person to virtual film festivals? What is a secret screening?25:15 - Peter explains why filmmakers may consider not qualifying for Academy Awards in order to help their career.30:28 - Cirina and Peter talk about the budget and expenses of submitting films to film festivals.32:52 - How to submit a film to Peter? What are the requirements?34:30 - Peter advises the ideal length of a film to submit to film festivals.37:25 - Visit Peter Broderick's website, peterbroderick.com, to sign-up for their cutting-edge, virtual crash course - Supercharge Your Distribution.

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Transcript

As I promised you, This is part two with Peter Broderick, who is our distribution strategist. He's the former president of Paradigm Consulting and a longtime expert on distribution strategies customized to help independent documentary filmmakers maximize their revenues, audience impact and help their career get way off the ground and into the stratosphere. And he's got a long track record with that. Peter, welcome back. Thank you for putting up with us one more time.

It's great to be back, Cirina. 

I really enjoyed our last talk. And there was so much information there that as I promised our listeners, I get you back. Festivals have changed, and they are evolving now. So tell us how you feel about using the festival circuit in general for promoting your films?

Well, let's go back to before there were virtual festivals permitted when we had physical film festivals. For documentary filmmakers, festivals are not essential. They can be helpful, for sure. But a number of films I've worked on that have never gone to a single film festival have been wildly successful. And I think sometimes filmmakers think that festivals are way more powerful than they actually are. With fiction, filmmakers' festivals are more important unless you're making zombie movies. I think festivals are really significant. But what's happened is that starting in 1933, it was the founding of the Venice Film Festival. From then until the spring of 2020, which is almost headed toward ninety years, festivals didn't change. The idea was you'd have a few days or maybe a week in one location, and a lot of movies would get shown. And then a year later, you'd be back in the same location around the same time, and new movies would be shown. And at various points. People approached me at the Rotterdam Film Festival in the late 90s. So they were really interested in the idea of reinventing festivals. And I said, "Well,

Peter Broderick, formerly with Paradigm, is one of the world's leading distribution strategists, specializing in the documentary genre. He talks in unprecedented detail with OWC RADiO host, Cirina Catania, and answers many of our questions about how to monetize our amazing films!

Peter and his partner, Keith Ochwat, design and implement customized strategies to maximize revenues, define audiences, increase impact, and put films on the path to profitability.

If you want to know more about distribution for your projects, this interview has many of the answers.

Welcome to the New World of Distribution!

Read Peter's articles and describe to his distribution bulletin at www.peterbroderick.com. You can also get more information and register for the classes that he conducts with Keith, at https://www.superchargeyourdistribution.com

In This Episode

00:08 - Cirina introduces Peter Broderick, formerly with Paradigm, who is one of the world's leading distribution strategists, specializing in the documentary genre.05:52 - Peter talks about Christopher Nolan's film, Following. A movie they distributed in the year 1999.11:17 - Peter recommends filmmakers' basic approach in giving rights of a produced film to distribution companies.16:42 - What are some of the strategies to scout for distribution companies as a filmmaker?21:19 - How to work with Peter to help filmmakers design and implement a customized distribution for their film?26:42 - Peter describes what they call the second stage in distributing your film, Theatrical Distribution.32:15 - Peter explains why his job is to balance optimism and realism for aspiring filmmakers.35:18 - Peter discusses the advantages of having a personal audience and the indirect selling of films to get a higher revenue margin.39:37 - Peter talks about the impact of networking as a filmmaker.42:30 - Visit Peter Broderick's website, peterbroderick.com, to sign-up for his cutting-edge, virtual crash course - Supercharge Your Distribution.

Jump to Links and Resources

Transcript

Peter Broderick is one of the world's foremost experts on distribution strategy. He's the former president of Paradigm Consulting. And he spends every day all day, helping creators maximize their revenues, decide on their distribution strategies, and helps them make a living doing the things they love to do. Peter, thank you for joining us.

Well, thanks for having me, Cirina. It's exciting to be part of your show.

Tell us the kinds of projects that you work on.

I do concentrate on documentaries, and I can explain that because I only agreed to consult with filmmakers when I'm confident that I can make a meaningful difference for them. And with documentaries, it's always possible. And with fiction, sometimes it's possible, and sometimes it's not. 

Well, that's actually very encouraging. A lot of people think it's just the opposite. Let's talk about who was in control in the past and who's in control now.

I can begin by explaining the difference between the Old World and the New World, and then we can get to the new New World. Does that make sense?

Let's do it. 

Okay. So, I was running a finishing fund called Next Wave Films from 1997 to 2003, and we were helping filmmakers, mostly filmmakers who are making their first film. And these were mostly fiction features. To find the resources to finish their movie, then we would help them find distribution, and ultimately, our idea was to help them launch their careers. Our poster child from that time was Christopher Nolan; we did his first film Following, which he shot on a budget of $12,000. And we were able to give him finishing funds so he can complete the film. And then we took it to the Toronto Film Festival, then he went to Rotterdam and won the Rotterdam Film Festival. And he was off to the races. The film had theatrical distribution in the US and around the world, and it gave him the chance to make mementos of his next film,