Marcus Friedlander is a colourist working across commercial production in Sydney. In this episode he breaks down the grade on Nike "Run Your Run" — shot in one day in Southeast Asia, multiple cameras, and a director who walked into the grade and asked him to push the look further.

We get into what density actually means, how to unify footage from different cameras in a single working colour space, and what happens when a client asks you to make something more poppy and you've already hit the legal limit of the farm.

We also talk about the colourist being involved earlier, why the DP needs to be in the grade, and the new piece of client feedback nobody quite knows how to decode yet — "we don't want it to feel AI."

Plus — our very first listener question. Yun from Sydney asks how to work with a colourist for the first time.

In Gear Chat: Cooke AP3 Anamorphics. 1.5x squeeze, user-interchangeable mounts, tiny, and about to be everywhere.

00:00 Opener

00:26 Intro — e-bikes, cyclists, North Sydney Bears

02:48 The Breakdown with Marcus Friedlander, Colourist

03:43 Nike "Run Your Run" — why this project

06:09 Look development — seeing it with fresh eyes

07:31 Technical challenges — one day, multiple cameras, harsh light

14:21 Working colour space — unifying different cameras

15:33 The gatewave — making digital feel like film

20:20 "We don't want it to feel AI"

21:33 Make it pop" — decoding client language

24:58 Director's cut workflow — backing up before client notes

27:32 What colourists wish production understood

28:40 The DP needs to be in the grade

33:05 Marcus's question for Ethan

37:50 First ever listener question — Yun from Sydney

42:37 Gear Chat — Cooke AP3 Anamorphics

47:44 Wrap-up

Steph Pringle is co-founder of Chicken and Chips Casting. In this episode she breaks down the NRL "This is How We League" campaign — a hybrid process mixing trained actors with community and street casting, built around one of the most articulate diversity briefs she's seen in her career.We get into what casting directors are actually doing on a project, why the callback process is disappearing and what directors lose when it does, and how emerging directors should be thinking about building those relationships.In Life of a Freelancer: how Ethan and Liam crew up — and their first real disagreement about crew loyalty.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Cold open — first fight teased00:23 Intro — episode 702:29 Meet Steph Pringle, Chicken and Chips Casting05:20 The NRL "This is How We League" — why this project08:46 The bilingual brief — specific without box-ticking09:45 Street casting vs agent-driven process11:32 Finding Dang — the gut feeling moment12:21 Car acting and eyeline technique20:43 The callback process — what directors are losing26:35 What casting directors wish production understood28:05 How emerging directors should approach casting directors29:55 Loyalty — building a reel then moving on34:13 Life of a Freelancer — crewing up37:30 The first fight38:25 Wrap-up

FIND US🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aYJx1Y3tfx8nXvSMnzOfp?si=9d077fcf64074702

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDirectorandTheD.O.P

📷 Instagram: @directorandthedop

Follow Steph @anditsstephaniepringle + Chicken and Chips Casting @chickenandchips_

#commercialfilm #filmmaking #advertising #casting #director #cinematographer #DOP #podcast #thedirectorandthedop #behindthescenes

Russ Tucker is ECD at Omnicom. Ten years ago he wrangled an uncommissioned Intel short film, a real robot from Swinburne University, and the Sydney Opera House — with no agreed budget and a TEDx premiere date closing in fast.

In this episode Russ breaks down Being a Robot Usher. We cover live-coding a robot on set, engineering interviews so the Opera House staff unknowingly described the robot as their colleague, and why the best shot of the whole shoot was the one nobody planned.

We also get into treatments — what ECDs are actually looking for, where confidence tips into cockiness, and who really wins the argument over which director gets selected.

In What We're Watching: Expedia "Nothing" (dir. Lope Serrano, DOP Tim Lorentzen, production CANADA), Nike "Run Forever" (dir. Rodrigo Inada), and two Netflix documentaries redefining found footage storytelling — Perfect Neighbor and The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Cold open

00:23 Intro — episode 6, 50k views across social

04:51 Meet Russ Tucker, ECD at Omnicom

05:46 Being a Robot Usher — how it started

07:41 Hustling the Sydney Opera House

10:30 Jordan the robot-deer — live coding on set

14:14 The glass door moment

15:46 Engineering the interviews — they had no idea

19:59 Treatments — confidence vs cockiness

22:43 How much does the DOP actually matter in a treatment?

23:55 Who wins the director selection argument?

24:45 What ECDs are actually thinking at the monitor

27:20 Where do you find references nobody else is using?

29:38 What We're Watching — Expedia "Nothing"

33:22 Nike "Run Forever"

35:00 Perfect Neighbor + The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson

39:30 A confession — the camera we forgot to roll

n Episode 5, Ethan and Liam break down ESPN Have a Sick Day — an Australian Super Bowl promo for Now We Collide agency with Mint Films, produced by Henry Richardson.

They get into why Ethan wrote a treatment for a job that didn't ask for one, how they found lead actor Jack William Newell through a casting tape that made the decision instantly, shooting a loose unscripted performance style with a rigid sun-driven schedule in an open street, and what it felt like when Liam lost it laughing trying to hold the Ronin steady on Jack's very first take.

Then the story nobody knew was coming — a shoot postponed the day before because of the Bondi Beach shootings. How that call was made, who made it, and what it cost everyone to show up a few days later and find the energy to make something joyful.

In Gear Chat — Iron Glass, a Ukrainian company doing some of the most interesting vintage lens rehousing work in the world while their country is at war. Why vintage lenses are having a moment, and what the new Air Series mirrorless mount rehousings mean for smaller camera packages.

0:25 Intro — MacGyver mic stand, 25K social views, guest updates

3:37 The Breakdown — ESPN Have a Sick Day

5:53 Writing a treatment when nobody asked

11:40 Finding Jack — the casting tape that ended the process

13:56 Liam loses it on the Ronin — first shot of the day

16:00 The trumpet girls scene

18:38 Shooting in a city — 3, 4, 5 suns

32:51 Outro
The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work.

New episodes weekly.

🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP)

#commercialfilmmaking #director #cinematography #advertising #filmmaking #australianfilm

In Episode 4, Ethan breaks down Adidas Bound by Legacy — a film for the Sydney Roosters made in collaboration with Helium and Hype Republic, directed by Ethan and shot by Donny Buppapirak ACS.They get into why Ethan chose to light an entire pub from the street rather than inside, how First AD Murray Robertson’s “you get one light” call shaped the entire look of the film, working with rugby league legends who have a 10-minute window, and the Petzval lens choice that gave the film its nostalgic character.Then in Life of a Freelancer — Director’s Cuts. Why Edit 2 is the director’s version. Why Edit 3 onwards belongs to the village of clients. And why directors keep ringing their composer mates asking for free favours long after everyone else has been paid.Plus — Meta and Google both shut us down in the same week. We’re back.---0:00 Cold open — I shut down a pub0:28 Intro — new mics, wardrobe, and getting banned by Meta and Google04:15 The Breakdown — Adidas Bound by Legacy, Sydney Roosters07:14 How Ethan got the job without pitching08:34] Lighting the pub from the street — the one light decision09:55 Working with rugby league legends in tight windows18:21 Petzval lens choice and Peaky Blinders colour references22:56 Jesse Watt — the composer who made the difference24:50 Life of a Freelancer — Director’s Cuts25:10 Edit 2 is the director’s cut28:46 Who pays for the grade and sound mix after the fact32:24 Outro---The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work.New episodes weekly.🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP)#commercialfilmmaking #director #cinematography #advertising #filmmaking #australianfilm

In Episode 3, Ethan and Liam break down Changi Taste of Asia — a 12-day, four-country travel campaign directed by Luna for Infinity Squared, with Liam as DOP and no camera assistant.

They get into how Luna planned every location digitally before ever setting foot there, why you have to plan spontaneity, how Liam stripped the Sony Burano down to football size to shoot handheld across Southeast Asia, and why Liam nearly didn't take the job at all.

Plus the broader conversation on crafted influencer content — what happens when you bring a proper ad crew into that world, and why the result is better than the sum of its parts.

Then in What We Watch — Ethan on Ardbeg You Can't Untaste It and the power of a simple, beautiful setup. Liam on Project Hail Mary and why IMAX is genuinely worth leaving the house for.

0:00 Introduction0:30 Espresso, coffees on set, and show intro2:27 The Breakdown — Changi Taste of Asia6:41 Luna's digital recce approach10:09 Sony Burano — stripping back to handheld13:05 No camera assistant — how it actually worked18:56 I nearly didn't take this job21:14 The crafted influencer format23:40 What We Watch — Ardbeg + Project Hail Mary / IMAX27:35 Outro

In Episode 2, Ethan and Liam break down their Destination NSW Central West content capture project with Mint Films — a 9-day, multi-location shoot across regional NSW on natural light only, with a lean crew and no lighting team.

They get into how Ethan selects a DOP for a long-form road job on emotional intelligence as much as skill, how Liam chose his First AC Molly Sutherland ("Little Miss Never Miss"), the terrarium approach to directing non-actor talent, why recces are non-negotiable on tourism work, and the key takeaway — always aim higher than the brief.

Then in Gear Chat — Liam breaks down the Sony virtual production tracking system using SLAM technology. Camera-agnostic, no external markers, and why he thinks handheld is back.

Plus — why we changed the name from The Director and the DP.

In our first episode, Ethan and Liam break down Grant Burge Leave Your Mark — a TVC, social, and OOH campaign featuring Dylan Alcott, where Ethan served as both Creative Director and Director.

They get into the Panavision H Series lens choice and why it defined the look, working with non-actor talent who calls their own takes, the decision to bring Dylan's dad on set, and Liam's handheld-on-dolly solution when time ran out.

Then in Life of a Freelancer — the DOP/Director coffee date. Who reaches out, what makes it work, and the age-old question of who actually pays.

0:00 Introduction

3:35 The Breakdown — Grant Burge Leave Your Mark ft. Dylan Alcott

7:17 Lens choice — Panavision H Series & Alexa Mini LF

14:14 Working with non-actor talent

18:18 The handheld-on-dolly decision

19:43 What we'd do differently

22:45 Life of a Freelancer — The Director/DOP coffee date

27:55 Tips for the coffee date

The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work.

New episodes weekly.

🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP)