The Practical Filmmaker

It can be hard to set work-life boundaries when you know someone else could easily replace you.

This week Zack Arnold, award-winning editor (Cobra Kai, Empire, Glee) talks of the article he wrote Dear Hollywood: We Don’t Want to “Go Back to Normal.” Normal Wasn’t Working, and shares how he learned to set boundaries to create a healthy work-life balance in the industry.

Listen to Zack tell Tanya how reduced set hours saves production money, when to say no, and how his company, Optimize Yourself teaches how to overcome burnout.

Show notes:

Optimize Yourself

Optimize Yourself Podcast

Setting Boundaries in the Industry – Kory Pollard

Dear Hollywood: It’s Time For An Intervention About The Hours We Work

Parkinson’s Law

Zack's Guides 

Key points:

1:17- How he got started as an editor

7:04- Experience during COVID

9:33- About Optimize Yourself

12:33- How to monetize his passion

16:46- How have people responded to your article Dear Hollywood: We Don’t Want to “Go Back to Normal.” Normal Wasn’t Working

20:47- Changes to help reduce hours

22:56- Clock-in/clock-out old way of thinking

25:16- Parkinson’s Law

27:57- How to overcome someone taking advantage of your time

29:40- When to say no

31:49- Indicator of being taken advantage of

35:35- The word Lucky

41:10- How much creative control he has as an editor

45:05- Having to use bad takes

48:37- The questions you ask determine the quality of your life

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There to Here: Film & Media Podcast is an educational podcast where pros talk nuts and bolts, and how they got started.

Tanya Musgrave talks with industry experts and influencers as they share their journey in getting from there to here.

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COVID has halted nearly all productions but there are a few that have been able to shoot.

Matt Hadley, gaffer, recently completed work on one of the fifteen SAG-AFTRA approved projects. He talks with Tanya about working on set in Texas during COVID and how the procedures in place have changed the way he works on set.

 Listen to Matt share his stories of working on set during COVID.

 Show Notes:

COVID protocols

Cinematographers Guild Issues Safe Return To Work Protocols

Normal Wasn’t Working

S*!%&yRigs

Line Producer- Jason Roberts

 
Key points:

1:22 How he got started

4:08 Working on Features in New York

4:40 Difference between narrative & commercial lighting

10:23 Working with directors

12:26 Odd ways of lighting on set

13:53 Lighting style

15:26 How he got on Red Stone’s crew

16:18 Working on set during COVID

23:50 COVID protocols that didn’t work

26:18 Surprising effects of regulations

29:20 Changes on the horizon

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How do you get your project onto Netflix?

With a background in VFX and a Harvard Master’s in Finance & Strategy, Netflix producer Jorge Garcia Castro shares ways filmmakers can get their projects sold.

Listen to the latest episode of There to Here: Film & Media with Tanya Musgrave.

Key Points:

1:14 From Harvard To Hollywood

4:30 Companies he’s founded

6:52 Starting at Netflix

8:18 Working as a minority in Hollywood

15:42 International Markets

21:05 Buyout options

23:16 Selling an indy film

24:43 How much do you give up

25:08 What to look out for in a sale

26:40 New Media 

28:12 How to get content onto Netflix

36:42 Getting picked up by VOD

28:30 Marking your film

39:38 Virtual Production

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Aiming to be a consistent and dependable writer will serve you just as well if not better than aiming to write for big studios.

Ryan Dixon, writer, producer and the founder of Tartan Valley Ventures, a Los Angeles-based creative development consulting firm, compares and contrasts writing for studio projects/big names and the independent feature.

He has written projects for Disney, Amazon, Universal, and for stars including Dwayne Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Josh Gad.

He also gives some fantastic tangible first-steps for aspiring writers just starting out.

Key Points:

1:54 - How he got started
5:38 - Writing for studios
7:30 - Writing creatively vs. writing what the market will sell
7:52 - The writers that get the jobs
9:06 - What to expect when writing for a studio
11:47 - The sweet spot between writing for studio films and exercising creativity (development consulting)
14:07 - How the Writers Guild works with independent writers
14:54 - Getting a writing job (TV vs Features, Agents, etc)
17:06 - Craft writing vs. Inspiration writing
22:00 - Creativity vs. business
26:07 - Covid/Streaming changes on the horizon and what to write for it
30:21 - The role of social media in being a writer and getting hired
31:41 - Listener Questions

• Opinions on Packaging Deals
• Best way to get your script on a major producing platform
• Finding the correct agent/manager
• Timeline to expect when breaking in as a writer

40:05 - Best compliment: "It's a movie" - and the elements that need to be in there

43:19 - What are different companies looking for in a script?

45:15 - The questions I wish I would've known to ask

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Working as a background actor is a great learning experience as it can help you meet the crew members, observe other roles, and get on set experience, while earning a little extra money. 

Jennifer Bender, Executive Vice President of Central Casting, talks with Tanya about her role at Central Casting and how it can help springboard your career into the industry.

Listen to Jennifer share tips on how you can become a background extra and use it to launch your career in film.

Key points:
2:03 - How Jen got started
4: 57 - Being a woman in Hollywood
10:01 - Central Casting returning to work
14:16 - Changes in the industry
16:46 - Set etiquette for background actors
17:38 -  How does working as a background actor impact your ability to work in other departments
19:34 -  Career longevity of a background extra
20:05 - What SAG covers
21:39 - Working with different studios
22:23 - Always looking for people
22:49 - How often do background extras get a speaking role
23:40 - Is being an extra worth the money
24:25 - What should you bring to the casting
25:10 - What color & car type should you have
26:05 - Advice for breaking in the industry

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What if your passion isn’t producing or directing? After film school, Cory worked in different departments on set, looking past the “typical” industry jobs that a lot of recent post-grads go for.

Cory Maracle shares how he found his passion in the art department.  He is now the prop master for Hallmark's talk show Home & Family. 

Listen to Cory’s there to here story with Tanya Musgrave.

Key points:

:58- Shares how he got started

4:15- What's his role on Home & Family

11:43- How COVID impacted the show

14:00- New guidelines for getting back to production

16:23- Favorite place to find props

20:13- The process for making props

24:40- Changing set decor

27:00- Best way to position yourself

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If you work in production, should you have an agent or manager?

Matt Birch, Senior VP/Co-Head of Physical Production, APA Agency, shares the difference between agents and managers.

Listen to Matt and Tanya talk about the value agencies bring, as well as answer listener questions concerning the future of film production

Watch the episode

Show links:
The other 50% podcast
Entertainment Careers

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Imagine having never gone to film school and getting a job proofreading scripts in a second language.

Raul Martin Romero takes us into the nuts and bolts of his job, writing for television, and how he worked his way into a writer’s room.

Listen to Raul Martin Romero share with Tanya how he got from There to Here.

Watch the full interview

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$100M films or $50K films, Ralph does them both.

Over the last 30+ years, Ralph Winter has produced Star Trek, the X-Men franchise, and Fantastic Four while also delving into micro-budget faith-based films such as Captive and Thr3e.

He chats with Tanya Musgrave about his experience on big-budget films about the elements that have to be present for the success of small-budget films, and why big doesn’t always mean success.

Watch the full episode

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