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The Documentary That Almost Broke Him | Mike Bernot
Filmmaker Mike Bernot shot a 24-hour documentary solo — on 30 minutes of sleep, with no lav mics, and the whole thing fit on a 2TB drive.
In this episode of The Brandon Goodyear Show, Brandon sits down with Columbus-based filmmaker Mike Bernot to break down the making of Iron Will: Ride of a Lifetime — a documentary following three cyclists (Devin, Dan, and Sam) as they attempt to ride 326 miles from Cleveland to Cincinnati in a single day.
This is a conversation about the real, unglamorous craft of solo documentary filmmaking. Mike opens up about staying awake for 24 straight hours, why he secretly wishes he'd had internal NDs, the unhinged moment a small-town sign read "Don't Let Your Tires Wear You Out" two hours after a flat tire on the ride, and the audio confession he's been waiting to get off his chest.
But the heart of the episode is bigger than gear. Mike unpacks Devin's philosophy that became the soul of the doc — intentionally doing hard things to prove to yourself that you can, before hard things happen to you out of your control — and Brandon connects it to the neuroscience of why your own stories shape you more than anyone else's ever could.
If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to make a feature documentary as a sole producer, this one's for you.
00:00 - "How Did You Not Fall Apart?"
00:17 - Shooting a 24-Hour Doc on 30 Minutes of Sleep
03:53 - Building a Story Before You Know What Happens
10:37 - The "Always Be Rolling" Rule
13:53 - The Sign That Couldn't Have Been Scripted
16:17 - The Hidden Pain of Long-Form Editing
19:00 - Killing Your Babies (and Trusting the Feedback)
21:46 - The Whole Documentary Fits on a 2TB Drive
25:24 - The Myth of the 14-Hour Shoot Day
26:34 - How He Captured the Night Without Drones
32:25 - What Humans Are Actually Capable Of
38:14 - The Real Message Beneath the Cycling
41:09 - Devin's Philosophy: Doing Hard Things on Purpose
42:09 - Why Your Own Stories Inspire You Most
46:33 - The Technical Confession He's Been Sitting On
49:33 - "It's All Nat Sound"
52:46 - What He'd Add to the Next Doc
57:48 - Why "More Footage" Is a Trap
59:10 - Drive to Survive vs Vérité Documentary
1:05:00 - Why Narrative Edits Faster Than Documentary
1:10:21 - Where to Watch Iron Willbrandon goodyear show, brandon goodyear, mike bernot, iron will documentary, iron will ride of a lifetime, documentary filmmaking, solo filmmaker, documentary podcast, cycling documentary, cleveland to cincinnati, sony fx3, fx3 documentary, indie filmmaker, columbus ohio filmmaker, columbus ohio podcast, filmmaking podcast, documentary editing, video production, endurance cycling, ultra cycling, devin gonzales, behind the scenes filmmaking, video podcast, filmmaker interview, sole producer, davinci resolve, documentary craft, vérité documentary, drive to survive, podcast interview, ohio documentary, midwest filmmakers, documentary process
What's the hardest thing you've ever pushed yourself to finish? Drop it in the comments.
🎙️ Follow Mike Bernot & watch Iron Will: Ride of a Lifetime on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omm_Y1KuAuA
🔗 Follow The Brandon Goodyear Show for more conversations about what makes people unique.
View all episodes
By Brandon GoodyearFilmmaker Mike Bernot shot a 24-hour documentary solo — on 30 minutes of sleep, with no lav mics, and the whole thing fit on a 2TB drive.
In this episode of The Brandon Goodyear Show, Brandon sits down with Columbus-based filmmaker Mike Bernot to break down the making of Iron Will: Ride of a Lifetime — a documentary following three cyclists (Devin, Dan, and Sam) as they attempt to ride 326 miles from Cleveland to Cincinnati in a single day.
This is a conversation about the real, unglamorous craft of solo documentary filmmaking. Mike opens up about staying awake for 24 straight hours, why he secretly wishes he'd had internal NDs, the unhinged moment a small-town sign read "Don't Let Your Tires Wear You Out" two hours after a flat tire on the ride, and the audio confession he's been waiting to get off his chest.
But the heart of the episode is bigger than gear. Mike unpacks Devin's philosophy that became the soul of the doc — intentionally doing hard things to prove to yourself that you can, before hard things happen to you out of your control — and Brandon connects it to the neuroscience of why your own stories shape you more than anyone else's ever could.
If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to make a feature documentary as a sole producer, this one's for you.
00:00 - "How Did You Not Fall Apart?"
00:17 - Shooting a 24-Hour Doc on 30 Minutes of Sleep
03:53 - Building a Story Before You Know What Happens
10:37 - The "Always Be Rolling" Rule
13:53 - The Sign That Couldn't Have Been Scripted
16:17 - The Hidden Pain of Long-Form Editing
19:00 - Killing Your Babies (and Trusting the Feedback)
21:46 - The Whole Documentary Fits on a 2TB Drive
25:24 - The Myth of the 14-Hour Shoot Day
26:34 - How He Captured the Night Without Drones
32:25 - What Humans Are Actually Capable Of
38:14 - The Real Message Beneath the Cycling
41:09 - Devin's Philosophy: Doing Hard Things on Purpose
42:09 - Why Your Own Stories Inspire You Most
46:33 - The Technical Confession He's Been Sitting On
49:33 - "It's All Nat Sound"
52:46 - What He'd Add to the Next Doc
57:48 - Why "More Footage" Is a Trap
59:10 - Drive to Survive vs Vérité Documentary
1:05:00 - Why Narrative Edits Faster Than Documentary
1:10:21 - Where to Watch Iron Willbrandon goodyear show, brandon goodyear, mike bernot, iron will documentary, iron will ride of a lifetime, documentary filmmaking, solo filmmaker, documentary podcast, cycling documentary, cleveland to cincinnati, sony fx3, fx3 documentary, indie filmmaker, columbus ohio filmmaker, columbus ohio podcast, filmmaking podcast, documentary editing, video production, endurance cycling, ultra cycling, devin gonzales, behind the scenes filmmaking, video podcast, filmmaker interview, sole producer, davinci resolve, documentary craft, vérité documentary, drive to survive, podcast interview, ohio documentary, midwest filmmakers, documentary process
What's the hardest thing you've ever pushed yourself to finish? Drop it in the comments.
🎙️ Follow Mike Bernot & watch Iron Will: Ride of a Lifetime on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omm_Y1KuAuA
🔗 Follow The Brandon Goodyear Show for more conversations about what makes people unique.