Sister Film School

Todays Episode we talk to Katy-May Hudson Founder and Festival Director of the Brooklyn Womens Film Festival.

The festival is running from Thursday the 21st of June through Sunday the 24th of June.

To find out more about the festival:

http://www.brooklynwomensfilmfestival.com/

Buy Tickets

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/brooklyn-womens-film-festival-17324653568

@brooklynwomensfilmfestival on FB/TWITTER/INSTAGRAM

Follow us:

Hannah @poppypascoe

Ben @Thesocietyofben

Our other Podcasts

Animal Junk: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/animal-junk/id1372432061?mt=2

Bitter Artists:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bitter-artists/id1372553745?mt=2

Today we talk to actor and writer and director Aaron McCann about his career and his newest film Top Knot Detective.

00:34 How did you get started?

3:10 Directors Cut https://vimeo.com/23990483

4:20 Approaching Zac Hilditch to colour grade his film.

5:29 getting funding for short film perished https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUithfhoBUU

&:24 Henry and Aaron shorts http://www.madkids.com/henry-and-aaron/

9:45 The Ballad of Danny Danielson https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLSxCWkvlujk_oVbZXJcQ3lqVSLJMatHYc&v=X-cM6M9GyB0

11:24 Henry and Aarons Perfectly adequate Christmas Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhnAPalT25U

13:03 Henry and Aaron's Seven steps to Superstardom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnFvHOYn7Wk

14:08 “we were kids and Bratty and you don’t know what you don’t know”

14:50 Henry and Aaron Its a snap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Am7oKBD3PU

16:22 getting an agent

17:57 Set yourself free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STHpMUYeznQ

18:11 Seven days later https://www.youtube.com/7DaysLaterTV

19:20 “The Idea is to grab attention.”

23:09 Pitching an idea to SBS

25:36 Top knot detective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJdKA_FdEDQ

26:28 How did you direct in a language you don’t speak?

27:43 “ we relied heavily on actors to rewrite their own lines and do improv”

29:30 “That’s my story. If you kind o f look at it from when I graduated to now, that’s what 15 years.”

29:41 Did you always know you wanted to work in film?

30:43 What was you first paid gig?

33:08 “I can’t actually do anything else”

33:48 “the first big paid feature film I worked on was drift”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGEwsKORMQ8

33:59 let's get skase https://vimeo.com/186226156

36:53 Talking about AD’ing

41:46 “ You shouldn’t be fearful to talk to the director or producers”

42:42 “you learn more from making mistakes”

43:16 Are there things you wish you'd done differently?

45:43 What’s Your position on short films vs Youtube?

48:48 Podcasting!

49:57 VR

51:23 What publicity where you doing for your early Youtube videos?

52:22 “the honest answer is I don’t know how, but when I’m talking to ad agencies I’m like let me tell you how to make a viral video.”

54:58 In top Knot Detective did the Australian references translate well to international audiences?

55:27 What's the best peice of advice you've ever been given?

56:54 Where can people find Aaron?

58:43 Talking about starting out and how things have changed over the years.

59:35 “Its good to have that hunger, but be realistic, 5 to 10 ish years after film school you’ll get something.”

2:01”don’t be afraid to contact people who’ve done it for a while”

2:02 Gruen Advert https://www.facebook.com/gruenhq/videos/10157172438207588/

Today's episode is with writer/ director/storyteller David Vincent Smith

1:50 How did you get started?

4:50 What did you do directly after film school?

5:20 “we just went out and we shot stuff all the time”

6:29 When doing small projects would you set goals for yourself?

7:20 Did you do any crew work?

10:10 “You make a half good short film and you get lured into thinking that’s what good film making is.”

10:42 “ I feel like I’m now a professional amateur”

12:44 So what was your next step after making short films?

16:50 “If Id just been sitting around waiting for a director job I’d probably just be working at the bar”

18:15 Do you think being a jack of all trades is an effective strategy or is it better to fucus on one skill/job?

20:13 At what point were you ready to say hey I’m ready to focus in on directing and screen writing?

28:18 You had a lot of success with your short film we were here, do you want to talk a little bit about that?

30:31 You have a clear sense of what your style is, how long did it take you to come to that?

34:17 You just spent a couple of months in Europe on Ben Young’s next film, what was that like?

38:15 “the biggest thing I learnt was film making is film making.”

39:17 So what are you doing now?

41:04 “The Goal is always to make a feature”

44:22 Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

47:14 Do you give yourself a writing target each day?

49:14 Where does your inspiration for stories come from?

53:46 What advice would you give to someone starting out.

55:02 “Finding a way to be active in the film industry is very important, otherwise you will very quickly find yourself out of the film industry.”

55:39 Whats the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

58:51 do you have any book recommendations for people listening?

People can find David: DVSFilm.com

Talking to the multi-talented Creative Director Psembi Kinstan about how he got his start out of High school through to being the youngest ever Creative Director at Y&R London. I mean seriously just check out his website Psembi.com

00:10 Tell us about yourself

2:05 “ I left High school when I was quite young, I literally had no idea what I wanted to study”

2:20 working on radio

3:00 getting a job on Children’s TV

I mean from here to about 10:00 is just Ben and Psembi reminiscing about working on children’s TV show “castaway”, feel free to skip to the next bit.

10:00 Working on the film “Bran Nu Dae”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnGRdaX594k

12:45 “by that point you could say you were a professional”

20:35 What are some of you favourite advertising books you’ve read.

26:00 Going to uni for 3 months

27:40 “Half way through that internship I asked them for a job”

29:00 “it took me a long time to make as much money in advertising as I did in film”

33:00 Can you explain what you do now?

35:25 “ copy writers our job is to make people get over their cynicism towards brands”

36:00 how did you end up in London?

39:50 “ The other thing I like about advertising is there is always a problem to solve.”

45:40 “In Australia People try a lot harder to do interesting things”

50:50 “You start off in music video and short films and then get in to Ads”

52:00 Back of the head actor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rTrjDCeOD4

52:20 How would Hannah get a gig working with you?

54:40 “Lots of people get into it doing some really mediocre things to begin with because thats where everyone starts.”

58:13 “ The Sexiest project I’ve ever worked on.”

59:20 Whats the best bit of advice that you’ve been given?

60:20 Imposter syndrom.

61:40 “your career is a marathon not a sprint”

We talk to Minneapolis based Accounts Director Amy Jo Preisler about how she got started in the advertising industry.

0:54 Where she came from

1:23 Whats the difference between advertising and marketing?

4:03 Discussing the Account Supervisor job

4:14 How did you get started?

6:25 "They took a chance on me and here I am"

7:47 "you learn best on the job"

8:01 "I thought I would be a designer"

8:23 I felt more creative thinking about the strategy"

9:17 What are some of the reasons you would pick a medium for advertising

10:17 Has the strategy changed with social media?

12:08 Advice for interview for jobs

13:51 "don't be afraid to show your personality"

14:10 What are your thoughts on "personal branding"

15:12 Progressing in the industry by taking jobs in other agencies.

16:54 Discussing Millennials

17:38 Whats it like working with clients?

18:47 "You have to work on trust"

19:39 "I do my research by talking to people"

21:00 "When you are starting out, you need to learn everything you can from your boss, your job... when you feel like you've learned it all thats when Its time to move on"

21:36Talking about moving on from Amy's first job to her second job

25:09 How do you find a new job?

26:31 How did you get a recruiter?

27:32 What should Hannah do with her life?

30:07 "See if you can find someone to be your rep"

31:18 "This is where I start to create a spiderweb"

32:25 Reinventing herself as a pilates teacher

35:04 "I realised I was trading one stress for another"

35:28 Where do you want to end up?

00:46- A different sort of episode today.

00:49 - FYI the German TV show was called Bronski and Bernstein. Its great.

01:17 - Ben's first degree and what he studied.

02:08 - "Ben have you considered teaching"

02:28 - Ben has no talent.

03:43 - Editing a doco for Public Access TV

06:11 - If you don't aspire to be anything why do you bother to do this?

07:45 - Working on Trapped

08:57 - "You're not saving lives"

09:07 - "The camera operator or DOP has to be the gentleman of the set"

10:59 - "It had a huge following in Sweden"

12:56 - Producing Bitter Art

13:54 - "Every job is an opportunity"

17:16 - I think you should move east

19:55 - Why aren't people who Ben went to school with still in the industry?

25:15 - These films exist in a vacuum

29:38 - I don't think there is any one way to do it.

30:33 - The third act of Bens life.

31:59 - "Maybe I should do a feature about confederate underwear"

35:41 - Don't stay in Perth

42:19 - There is a technical aspect, there is an aspect of networking and learning

43:40 - "Don't sit and think I can't do that"

Interview with Grant Sputore, director and one of the founders of the Penguin Empire.

How did you decide you wanted to work in film? 03:24

Grant discusses film school 04:33

Book reccomendations! 05:50

Directing Actors Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television

Story Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting

A discussion on film structures 07:04

"A films only job is to entertain you" 07:42

Grant discusses the early days of the Penguin Empire 10:18

Working for free? Yay or nay? 18:14

"Help the people who can help you in a way they need to be helped" 21:35

[email protected] 25:50

If you want to direct the best thing you could and should be doing is making stuff. 27:22

What is your actual skill? How are you going to add value? 34:21

A discussion about NASA 48:13

The point where Grant figures out the true purpose of this podcast. 49:23

Grants best advice 49:56

I learnt more through the churn of making that show than I did through years of work at film school. 58:16

You've gotta clock the hours 59:46

Interview with Owen Hughes-Odgers, location sound recordist and drone pilot.

"If it's remote, isolated, dusty or on fire" 2:10

When did Owen decide he wanted to work in film? 2:28

"I'm in two minds about my studying" 4:44

"Is it important to align yourself with mentors?" 7:00

Owen talks about his thesis on sound. 7:43

Owen discusses leaving university and entering the film industry 9;14

"It was the classic indie film producer call "We have an amazing DOP and a massive camera and we can't afford to pay anyone else"11:03

"I'm going to get more out of this through meeting people than fiscal gain" 12:50

"You have to be prepared for people getting defensive in their occupation" 16:26

"How did you learn to radio mic someone properly?" 20:39

Navigating invoicing when you're just out of school. 31:53

"I don't think people realise the importance of good direction" 44:04

Discussing the importance of shooter directors. 46:02

"Short films are the perfect calling card" 47:54

Getting onto the funding train with screen west and aligning yourself with professional mentors. 55:03

Is it important for a sound recordist to have their own equipment? 56:39

Having integrity. 1:01:46

"It's the people who want to work and are willing to commit to it who will continue to work and get more and more paid jobs." 01:09:15