Produce or Die Podcast

It’s fair to say most filmmakers have a dream project - a series, a doco, or a film they would love to make.

The problem is most people don’t believe it's possible, and therefore don’t take the required steps to get there.

It then becomes a self-fufilling prophecy and they give up - never unleashing their best stories to the world.

This episode is about how you can get your dream project funded.

Because if I can do it, you can too.  

In this episode we dive into sponsorship and how you can use it in your own creative video projects.

As usual we'll dive into my journey and the lessons I learned from getting our content sponsored.

I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts.

There's a romantic idea that we can figure everything out on our own. We can be the hero of our journey and come out on top, after years of struggle.

'Why would I pay someone to help me when I can learn everything by myself on YouTube?'

That's what this episode explores - do you go it alone, or do you find a mentor?

For me, it's been a journey full of challenge, risk, and reward - and I wouldn't have it any other way. This episode shares the lessons I learned in starting my first business with my two mates.

If you're anything like me then you're a dreamer. You watch other people's shows, films or videos and think 'I can do better than that'.

But there's a big difference between thinking and doing.

The thing about being a 'doer' is that it's risky and it takes courage.

When we become a 'doer' instead of a thinker, then we have no excuses to fall back on.

But if we wanna make something that resonates, that inspires, that makes people laugh, that provokes, that entertains, then we have to take a risk and get outside our comfort zone.

Here's the story of how I went through this process with our first show 'Blade NZ'.

Once you realise you can add value with your skillset and make money as a filmmaker, your whole world opens up.

While this is great, it can also be paralysing. 

This is because you have to balance doing what you love (creating content) with finding an area of video in the marketplace that will pay you well - without having to sell your soul to 'the man'.

In this episode, I discuss my journey and how I started getting paid.

How do you transition into being a 'filmmaker' - when you have no skills, no experience, but a whole lot of passion?

In this episode, I talk about the challenges, the weird and wonderful experiences, and the lessons I learned while beginning my career as a filmmaker.

"Sometimes when we're terrified of embracing our true calling, we'll pursue a shadow career instead. The shadow career is a metaphor for our real career. Its shape is similar, but a shadow career entails no real risk.

In the shadow life, we pursue false objects and act upon inverted ambitions. 

The longer we cling to this life, the farther we drift from our true purpose,  and the harder it becomes for us to rally the courage to get back."

- Steven Pressfield

This episode discusses my shadow career, how I stepped out from it and how you can do the same.

Finding our 'why' is important for us as filmmakers, as it helps us create a model of the world, it makes everything become easier and it gives us purpose and direction.

Our 'why' also dictates the type of content that we make and the stories that we tell.  It helps us discover our voice and gives us a roadmap to tell stories that are important to us.

In this episode, I discuss how I found my 'why' and the lessons I learned in the process.

I made this podcast for the dedicated content creator, the person who lives and breathes content creation, filmmaking, and storytelling. 

It’s for the person who is inspired to wake up every morning and improve, and the person who doesn't believe that creatives have to be poor.

And most importantly it's for the person who will produce content until they die. Just like myself. 

Each episode will dive into a different part of my filmmaking journey and discuss the lessons that I learned and how these can help you. 

Wherever you are in your career, I'm going to give you as much value as I possibly can.