The Working Director

Join our panel of working television directors to learn about their process. This week we have a guest host and three kick ass TV directors!

To join us live and get your questions answered be a part of our filmmaker group (it's free!) by clicking JOIN NOW at BlackmagicCollective.com or be a part of our private FaceBook group at AllFilmmakersWelcome.com.​GUESTS:

LIONEL COLEMAN cut his teeth at CBS news, learning the language of documentary storytelling before becoming a DGA commercial director and working with brands like Nike, Hyundai and Adidas. He is an alumni of the CBS Diversity Director program and is currently directing episodic network television with recent episodes on NCIS Hawai’i, NCIS (Mothership and New Orleans), All Rise and God Friended Me. In addition to his mainstream work, Lionel directs documentary and narrative films to explore his fascination with the human condition, in particular the challenges we face with race, bias, and prejudice. His 2022 film These Final Hours explores just such a topic, and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award as well as winning several film festivals.

MILENA GOVICH is a director, actor, and musician who has helmed many episodes of TV, including FBI: Most Wanted, The Equalizer, Leverage: Redemption, Chicago Fire, among others.She also served as Co-EP/Producing Director on Dick Wolf's CBS series FBI, and is attached to direct two pilots in development. Milena was one of eight filmmakers selected for AFI's prestigiousDirecting Workshop For Women, as well as the exclusive Sony Pictures TV Diverse Directors Program, the Universal Directors Initiative, and received the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant. Hershort film and TV series proof-of-concept Unspeakable, starring Laura Vandervoort and Jeff Kober, starring Laura Vandervoort and Jeff Kober, had its World Premiere at SXSW and won Best Episodic at Seattle Int’l Film Festival .

DAVID STASSEN most recently co-created, executive produced and directed RUNNING POINT starring Kate Hudson for Netflix alongside Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz. He also co-wrote,executive produced and directed Mel Brooks’ HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART II for Hulu. Dave and Ike were also recently writers and Executive Producers on the animated Netflix comedy CHICAGO PARTY AUNT. Dave previously worked on THE MINDY PROJECT as a writer, director & EP.

GUEST HOST: LAUREN WHITE is an award-winning actor and producer from Baltimore, hon. Far more exciting than that sentence seems, Lauren is a force on and off screen: she graduated at 16, is acting like her Masters Degree in Physiology, Biomechanics and Kinesiology is going to good use, and possesses comedic timing sharper than a bespoke suit.Notable performances on NBC, Netflix, FOX, HBO, TBS, BET, Lifetime, 2 seasons on Amazon (which put her in the running for an Emmy nomination) and 4 seasons of the improv series, Little Bits.With a deep love for animals, she actively volunteers with multiple animal rescues, is a huge fan of black bean nachos and can bend single knuckles on her fingers.

Are you looking to have more control over your distribution?

Do you want to learn ways to get your film out there through non-traditional options?

Indie distribution companies, indie streamers, and filmmaker-controlled platforms give you back your power. They have more transparency when it comes to rev share too. Through our discussion with Nancy Criss, whose distribution channels are numerous (Tubi, Walmart, Up Faith & Family, Plex, Amazon, Netflix, and her own), we'll learn about more options for indie filmmakers to take control back.

(Episode 64)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Looking for a full service production company or pre-list stage with talk show set, green & white cyc, XR wall, and more?!? Check out Heart On Fire Studios and if you book directly and tell us you found us on The Working Director Podcast you'll receive 10% off your first booking!

Looking for a filmmaker community? Join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered. allfilmmakerswelcome.com

LEARN HOW TO DO YOUR OWN PR FOR YOUR FILMIn this special class edition of The Working Director, in association with Blackmagic Collective and sponsored by Blackmagic Design, Amanda Samoyloff, Founder and Principal of Samoyloff PR (SPR), a Los Angeles-based, full-service public relations and branding agency that champions the personal and professional reputations of diverse clients, will help filmmakers understand when and how to get their films out to the masses through PR.

(Episode 63)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

FILM FINANCING OPTIONS IN TODAY'S MARKET

PGA producer Jim Holt will dive into equity investors, bank loans, pre-sales, and everything in between in this mini version of our finance intensive.

(Episode 64)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

MORE ON JAMES:

James has 15+ years’ experience as a Production and Finance executive.Recently Executive Produced Showdown at the Odessa, starring Terrance Howard and release by Shout Releasing in 2023, and Executive Produced Dangerous, starring Mel Gibson and Scott Eastwood, released by Lionsgate Pictures in 2022.Produced and structured the financing with Vertebra Films. The pictures included Arthur Newman starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt. The comedy was shot in North Carolina and directed by award winning commercial director, Dante Ariola. Two Eli Roth thrillers, Aftershock, shot in Santiago, Chile, and Clown, shot in Ottawa, Canada. Clown was di-rected by Jon Watts, who recently completed Spiderman “Homecoming”, “Far from Home” and “No Way Home”. The pictures were released by The Weinstein Company and sold internationally by Filmnation.Executive V.P. of production and finance at Winchester Capital Management. Produced and managed the financing for The Men Who Stare at Goats, directed by Grant Heslov. It starred George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges. The picture premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.Executive V.P. of production and finance at Samuels Media. Produced and coordinated the financing structure for Michael Clayton. It was directed by Tony Gilroy and starred George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkerson. The Warner Brothers release earned six Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Tilda Swinton won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Produced In the Valley of Elah directed by Academy Award winner Paul Haggis starring Tommy Lee Jones. Mr. Jones was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in the Warner Independent release. The pictures premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.

How can you have the best communication with your AD? We dive deep into the AD - Director - Crew relationship in this episode of The Working Director with film & TV director American Young.

(Episode 61)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

ABOUT AMERICA YOUNG

America Young was awarded the 2020 Humanitarian award by UCSD for her work promoting women in the film industry.

America Young is currently working in Film, TV, Animation and Video Games, as a Director, stunt coordinator and stunt woman.  To date, she has directed for Network TV, two features, a season of an animated show, a video game and four digital series.

She has stunt coordinated on projects for Warner Bros, Netflix, Lifetime and Cannal Plus.  And worked on 65 video games.

Having stunt coordinated for years, America transitioned to directing seven years ago. While having a solid foundation in action, she is also known for her ability to bring out the best performances in actors, both drama and comedy, while translating subtle and rich story points visually on screen.  The projects she has helmed have a wide range from a drag queen comedy to sci-fi action to fantasy action to coming of age drama to exploring domestic violence in a superhero universe.

Her first feature, “The Concessionaires Must Die!!” executive produced by Stan Lee, (www.cmdthemovie.com) is now available on Itunes, Amazon and other VOD platforms. Her most recent digital series, “Whatta Lark”, that pairs a quiet, introverted woman with the fiercest and loveliest of Drag Queens can be watched on Amazon. “Protectress”, a Xena-inspired fantasy, winner of several awards including Best Action, Best Director and Best Fantasy on the festival circuit, is being developed into a feature.  She has several features she is attached to in deveoplment.  She also directed the cinematics for Resident Evil: Shadows of Rose which was name #8 video game of the year by Time Magazine.

America was pivotal in the rebranding of Barbie with the Barbie Vlog in 2015 and directed the critically acclaimed season of the Barbie motion capture animated series for Mattel which was featured on VICE, Vogue, Glamour and Newsweek among other publications.  It has been viewed on youtube over 150 million times and went from 500k subscribers to nearly 11.6 million in the time she has been working on the Brand.

Her second feature, “Back to Lyla” which is Alice in Wonderland meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind inspired, was acquired by 1091 and released June 2022.  Upon completion of the Warner Bros directing program, she successfully entered the TV world, directing an episode of Blindspot (aired May, 2020) and Legacies (aired 1/23/20) with glowing feedback from both teams.  She has now directed 17 episodes of TV since for Netflix, Amazon, Blumhouse, Warner Bros, CBS, BET+ and at the end of 2021 she directed the pilot of Surfside Girls for Apple TV which got a full season order and released in 2022.

She is a proud founder of The Chimaera Project, a nonprofit that gives opportunities to women in the film & media arts (www.chimaeraproject.org).

When America’s not kicking the crap out of Super-Heroes that support the Superhuman Registration Act, jumping off buildings, teaching actors how to fight or setting herself on fire, she enjoys telling stories, sipping herbal tea and sharpening her pair of Sai.

https://americayoung.com/

In this episode from our NAB Show lives we talk to director Oscar Rene Loyoza about his transition from indie filmmaker and TV editor to TV director. What are the biggest differences from indie film to TV director? Let's find out!

Thank you to our live sponsors: NAB Show, Blackmagic Design, Sigma, Hollyland, and Aputure. Our lives were part of the League of Filmmakers booth at NAB Show in Las Vegas 2024.

(Episode 60)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

In our first of our NAB Show live episodes we talk to Dave Hoffman from Blackmagic Design about their latest announcements that should get indie filmmakers excited!

Thank you to our live sponsors: NAB Show, Blackmagic Design, Sigma, Hollyland, and Aputure. Our lives were part of the League of Filmmakers booth at NAB Show in Las Vegas 2024.

(Episode 59)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

If you want to be directing regularly, you have to treat your directing career like it's your production company. Hint: It is.If you are tired of sitting around waiting for someone to hire you, join us for this live Q&A and learn how Alex Mehra has directed/produced over 1000 videos from various industries, and has worked with some of the biggest brands in the country like AT&T, NBC, Atlas Entertainment, CNN, and much more. From video editing, producing, filming, talent development - his journey and expertise has taken businesses, brands and talent to new heights. A little over a year ago he moved his agency into a 3000 square-foot studio, and built over 12 different unique TV and Movie sets, from different time periods. It’s his mission to continue making explosive “video crack” that wows audiences, and turns viewers into customers.

https://sunnycreative.com/

https://www.tiktok.com/@sunnycre8tive

(Episode 58)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

How do you get the most out of your production studio rental?

How do you make the most of your studio rental? How many times have you rented a stage only to be nickle-and-dimed by the owner? How many times have you arrived and realized the studio wasn't exactly what you thought you wanted or needed? Whether it's green screen, white cyc, build sets, you are spending those hard earned dollars for the day(s) there. You may not realize there is a better way. 

Long time studio owner, speaker, and filmmaker Bob Bekian is going to share  insider secrets to help you have a better production day and get the most bang for your buck. He's going to share some of the crazy things he's seen on sets...and how to avoid ruining your production and wasting precious time and money.

(Episode 57)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

More on Bob:

Originally from Venice California, Bob Bekian was one of the original Dogtown skateboarders in the 1970’s and  has kept that “go for it “ attitude throughout his  life business career.

Bob started his career selling industrial contracts for Billion dollar companies and learned how big corporations operate.

 Bob learned the lessons of business first hand and then was recruited into the media industry taking over a $5 Million annual revenue SONY distribution company and building it to $35 million in 3 years. 

His innovative approach landed contracts with clients such as the NBA and Disney.

From there he built his own companies including Pro HD Rentals , Spotburner and Loyal Studios. Evolving into producing and directing, Bob has completed over 1000 projects in 15 years ranging from pharma commercials to Snoop Dogg music videos.

Bob continues to run his media companies and has evolved into developing a self-development platform (bobbekian.com) which focuses on Mind/Body and Spirit motivational content.

Bob is very proud of his family including his wife of 35 years Sonia and his two grown sons Shane a business litigation attorney  and Bryce who owns a digital advertising agency. Bob is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys  skiing, golf and pickleball.

Six common reasons film festivals reject your film with Dr. Rebekah Louisa Smith, Founder of The Film Festival Doctor.

One of the hardest things to deal with as a filmmaker is film festival rejection. You worked so hard to make that piece of art, why don't they love it?!?!? We're going to go into six common reasons your film was not selected. We are also going to talk sustaining your mental health during your film festival season.

(Episode 56)

Hosted by Director/Producer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Page.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you want to be notified when the next accelerator goes live or when we open our doors to our green screen virtual production studio dedicated to indie filmmakers (and indie film budgets) and other fun events fill out the form on our website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWorkingDirector.Pro.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can also go there to join our private FB group for directors so you can attend these live conversations and get your questions answered; as well as, to learn about The Working Director course that helps emerging filmmakers become working directors faster.

More on Dr. Scott:

Dr. Rebekah Louisa Smith is an award-winning film festival strategist and founder of The Film Festival Doctor. Rebekah and the hard-working team behind her company are committed to nurturing filmmakers in order to help them secure film festival screenings, win awards and earn positive recognition within the film industry. Currently, her company has won more than 2,000 awards for its clients and has supported nearly 850 creatives across the world, enlightening and inspiring their journey towards achieving their goals and following their filmmaking dreams. They have secured hundreds of festival screenings including the Tribeca, Palm Springs, Sundance, & BFI London Film Festivals, to name a few. In her latest e-book, Film Festivals & Looking After Your Mental Health, she offers essential tips and techniques on how to adapt the right type of mindset and take care of yourself as you navigate the world of film festivals.

Instagram handle: https://instagram.com/rebekahfilmdr
Official Site: https://www.thefilmfestivaldoctor.com/