September 18, 2025 • 58 mins
Stubbornness, talent, and occasionally rapping all 14 minutes of "Rapper's Delight" are just a few traits that helped Brinn Daniels in her cinematography career. On this episode Brinn and Nicole chat about:
- Internships at Comedy Central, The Daily Show, and Saturday Night Live.
- How saying "no" to seemingly perfect opportunities can lead to something even better.
- The challenges of being a woman in the film industry.
- Creating commercials for the lowest common denominator.
- Conspiracy theories and interdimensional beings.
- Advice for aspiring filmmakers.
- Standup comedy opportunities.
Join us to learn how creativity, persistence, and authenticity can forge unexpected paths to success. Subscribe now and join this exploration of what it means to live a happy life in an increasingly complicated world.
Host: Nicole Swisher
Guest: Brinn Daniels
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, brian.
Hey, what's something crunchyor zen that you've done lately?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm kind of doing a lot right now.
I'm trying to slowly get allthe toxins out of everything,
but it's impossible.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You mean like out of your house, out of your food?
Yeah, house food body.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I mean, it's every time we like.
Even today, I had this tea bag.
I really wanted some tea and Isaw something on Instagram that
said there's tons ofmicroplastics in the tea bag.
Yeah, but you know what?
I'm changing out my pots and mypans and I'm getting PFASs out,
and so I'm very slowly doingall of those things very slowly.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I feel like we have not talked about this, because I
did that in November and I havea Word document on my desktop
that says going clean.
And it's like different things.
I'm slowly working on.
So Black Friday, my goal is tobuy new pots and pans.
I want the caraway ones, so didI, and they're expensive.
(01:02):
But, last year there was areally good Black Friday sale.
I just was not ready to pullthe trigger.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
So this year, this year's my year brand, that's
good, I our place, I think itwas had a back to school sale
and so I got like a little miniset and that was I'm getting
there, you know nice welcome tomy crunchy zen era.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
This is a weekly podcast filled with a little fun
, a little humor and a whole lotof curiosity.
My guest this week is BrynDaniels.
I'm your host, nicole Swisher,as usual, except I forgot to
share that this time.
This is the first time I'veever forgot what's my name.
That feels like me in comedyshows again every time I host
(01:52):
going.
Wait, did I say?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
my name.
I used to do that.
All the time I do that atchurch, they have me like make
announcements at church andthey're like why don't you ever
say your name?
I'm like I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
It's the last thing you remember, yeah, so Brynn and
I met doing stand-up comedy.
She's a local stand-up comedian.
You do some outside ofNashville too.
I feel like.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, Kentucky, Florida, but the Southeast for
sure.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yeah, and she's an assistant professor of
cinematography at BelmontUniversity.
Yeah, I just started this week.
That's exciting, yeah it's verycool.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I'm loving the community there, nice.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, how?
I mean?
How is it different fromLipscomb?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Not very, because they're both.
Neither of them are hugeschools and they're both
Christian private colleges, butit's enough bigger that that's a
little bit different, yeah, butit's.
It seems like it's going to bea really good fit, really fun,
good.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Well, we're excited to have you here at the end of
your first week.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
So if you could relive anymemory, what would it be and why
?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Of course I want to say the cheesy ones, right,
because that's fine, we've hadlots of cheesy ones okay, well,
like you know, I'm on my secondmarriage, but it was a beautiful
, just kind of private backyardwedding with us and our kids,
and it was just like if youcould have a time capsule of a
day yeah no pressure.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Um, I would love to relive that and just do that
again do you feel like you don'tremember it very well, or you
just want to like have thosefeelings again?
Yeah, it.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
It was only four years ago, so I remember it
pretty well, but it was just sopeaceful and so lovely and just
like we didn't have.
You know, my kids are old, alittle bit older now, and we're
all just going in a milliondifferent directions, and that
was a time when we were just allreally present with each other.
Yeah, so I would love to getmore of that.
(03:46):
And as the summer has officiallyended and everyone's back in
school, it's like right now.
That's exactly what I'm cravingis more connection with my
family, because we're all kindof going everywhere.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I'm always amazed with my friends who have kids.
When the school year starts Imean even during the summer,
there's so many vacations butI'm like I don't understand how
you guys manage this.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
You're just an Uber driver for a lot of years,
especially when you have, likewe're outnumbered.
You know we have three.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So yeah, I've been, I've been anticipating this week
because, living in Bellevue,commuting to Brentwood, I hit
CPA, the private school traffic,and it like doubles my commute,
oh yeah, and so my co-workerskids go there and so I've been
like Chandler.
When are we starting back?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
and I'm like this is D-Day, it's totally true,
because it's so Nashville kindof like eases in.
So we have one kid in privateschool and, sorry, two kids in
private, one in public.
They start in totally differentplaces, they're in totally
different places, they're intotally different counties at
different times.
Um well, actually now they're atthe same exact time during the
day that I have to get everybody, but my, my oldest, just turned
(04:55):
16, so she is going to bedriving herself and her younger
brother to school, which isgreat, yeah, but also terrifying
as a parent.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
This is the kid last year that I was giving advice to
.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes, she went and visited colleges.
This summer gosh, yeah, I'malready crazy.
Yeah, it's crazy, but they doso.
Public school starts first,then private school and then
college, so literally mycalendar has three different
school calendars on it.
It's a mess, yeah, but it'sgood.
So you'll get another bit oftraffic here in a week, yeah,
(05:29):
ugh, don't say that.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Sorry, it's just it's rough.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah, I mean, nashville traffic is no joke.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
No, yeah, and it's so connected to the schools, I
mean and and tourists, but, likeyou just know, it's coming.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, because traffic here starts.
It doesn't start at 5 pm likeit does in some cities.
It starts when school is out.
It starts at 3 pm, so it is allconnected to the schools.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, okay, we could keep talking about traffic, but
that is not our topic today.
Okay, I'm going to ask you agrab bag question here.
Okay, let's find the question.
It is are you an introvert,extrovert or ambivert?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I guess probably it would be ambivert, but I feel
like an introvert because of thedefinition that says like if
you feel drained when you're outin crowds and I do, like it's
so weird Cause I teach right, soI'm teaching in a crowd and
then I do stand-up comedy in acrowd, so you would think I
would say extrovert so I guessI'm an ambivert, because I can
be, but then I get home and I'mlike, please, no one talk to me
(06:32):
for at least an hour.
Yeah, which I don't have.
That luxury.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
I actually think a lot of stand-up comedians might
be introverted.
Yeah, or am ambivert.
There's not as many extroverts.
What do you think you are?
I'm definitely an ambivert,there's not as many extroverts.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
What do you think you are?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
I'm definitely an ambivert, which I never remember
what that's called, so I'm gladto see I wrote that.
You wrote it down, so that'sgood.
Yeah, and I always struggle tobalance that, because if I'm
alone too long then I getexhausted that way.
But if I'm with people too much, then I'm exhausted that way.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Oh, I never get exhausted from being alone.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Really no, I don't.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
But also, I'm not alone very much, because I have
three kids, that's true, youknow, and I am alone, solidly
alone, truly truly no.
All alone all the time Soundslike a dream, but it doesn't.
I'm kidding.
Yeah, I love my family.
I really do.
I love my family.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I really do.
My roommate is also.
He's an introvert and we haveopposite schedules, like he
works Wednesday to Saturday, 12to 10.
And then I work like a normalMonday to Friday office job and
it is so absolutely perfect andlike we are very respectful of
each other and like I leave himalone on like Monday and Tuesday
(07:48):
when he has it off, and thenhe'll often just leave Sunday
and then I'm just like alone.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
So it's like a beautiful friendship yeah,
that's lovely, just shipspassing in the night in a
wonderful way, yes, yeah, andthen we catch up, and then we
move on.
So that's good.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
I like that, right.
Yeah, what kind of great.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, what would you say is something people would be
surprised to learn about you.
I'll go with my old party trick.
I am a five-foot-tall whitegirl and I used to love pulling
out the entire 14 minutes ofRapper's Delight, just like at a
party, for fun.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I know the whole thing.
How long is this?
Because we have some time.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I said a hit no, so I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
So I like surprising people with that kind of stuff,
and what would you say like whenyou were in middle school, what
did you think you would be whenyou grew up?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I think I thought I would be a singer.
Can you sing?
I can.
Yeah, I didn't know that aboutyou.
I don't do it much anymore, butI like, I loved it and I always
thought that I would dosomething with singing and I
don't at all, but I do feel likeyou enjoy performing.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I do it's kind of, I do it's adjacent.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah, and then I just heard about a comedian Shoot I
can't remember where she's basedout of Maybe Missouri or
Arkansas who does kind of like afaith based worship, singing
and comedy.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
OK, I was like I got to get in on that.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Like I don't know what it is.
I got to see it though.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah, yeah, youtube videos for sure, yeah, okay, can
you tell me about what you donow For work, for work, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, not the fun.
I mean we can talk about thattoo, I know, but you know a lot
about that.
So, yeah, I just started atBelmont, so I teach
cinematography.
I'm a professor there.
I was at Lipscomb up until thisyear, so I get.
I always like to joke that Iteach the fun stuff and nothing
practical, but it's veryhands-on, like I do teach how to
(09:49):
use cameras and how to uselighting and how to craft a
story from the more technicalside of things, and I'm also an
editor by trade.
So I taught a little bit ofthat at Lipscomb.
But just helping people tellstories in a more visual way,
how to get emotion to comethrough with the visual tools
(10:11):
that you use, not just the wordsthat people are saying.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, it's such a visual medium yeah, and did you
write before and like film anddo all the things like that?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
yeah, I, you know, like every young film student, I
was like, oh, I'm going to be adirector and I'm going to do
movies and, um, I didn't lovedirecting as much as editing and
shooting.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Really yes.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Maybe because I'm an introvert, but I I enjoyed being
on a team, Um, but notnecessarily being the leader or
the final.
I kind of like listening tosomeone's vision and and feeling
.
I feel like it's a challengefor me.
I'm gonna understand what thisdirector wants and I'm gonna do
it.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I don't know.
I love that, and so is thatwhat the director is.
They're just like team captainlike.
This is what we're doing yeah,they're kind.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
There's a good director, is a jack of all
trades and I mean, and a masterof maybe some, but really none.
They create a great team andthey just kind of like have the
vision and pull it all togetherwith a great producer, you know,
with a great team.
But the great ones, the greatdirectors, know a little bit how
to talk to theircinematographer and know a
(11:24):
little bit about sound and alittle bit about all the things
and I just really zoned in onthe two things that.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I like.
How is that different from aproducer?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Producers just have to deal more with the money
stuff.
They'll also be pulling theteam together and um, but
general and sometimes they'll,and, but general and sometimes
they'll.
You know, have a bit to do withthe, the overall creative
vision.
But for the most part and theproducers will often hire the
directors so that will take itin a certain creative direction,
(11:56):
but for the most part thedirector kind of has the final
say yeah, except in a studiosituation.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
So were you always kind of creative growing up.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yes, and it was very strange because I grew up in a
very sciencey family, sogenerations of pharmacists, and
then I was like I want to go toNew York and make movies or you
know, and so it was very weird.
But I started doing theaterfrom a young age and, god bless
my parents, they were sosupportive of this thing that
they didn't know anything about.
(12:27):
And yeah, so I actually myparent, my dad, tells this fun
story when I was very little,sitting in my grandfather's lap,
so I did acting that was kindof how I started and he he says,
before I could talk, that Iwould sit in my grandfather's
lap and he would give me anemotion and I would act it out.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
So, yes, from the very beginning, yeah, and you're
pretty expressive, I would sayon stage.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, as a stand-up comedian.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I like making faces you do.
I feel like you're caught a lotwhen people are taking pictures
.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
It's not attractive, but it's entertaining.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Yeah, yeah was there like a movie or film growing up
that really inspired you to headinto filmmaking.
So cliche.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I mean I loved the original Star Wars and I had
brothers so that was a very biglike culturally, that was very
big in our house, right.
So I loved Star Wars.
That's kind of what got me intoit all the special effects, the
camera work um.
And then when I got older, mymy favorite film was Eternal.
(13:32):
Eternal Sunshine of theSpotless Mind.
Have you ever seen it?
No, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Jim.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Carrey in a serious role, which is not a big deal
now, but at the time you know itwas different um, you want to
hear something weird, what Ihaven't seen all the Star Wars.
I hear that so much.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I feel like that's like something to be ashamed of,
but I'm just like I havememories of like blips of scenes
, yeah, so I'm sure I was likewalking through the room or
something because it was justalways around.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
yeah, yeah, the toys like everything.
But I mean I had two brothersright, so I had like there was
no getting away from Star Warsin my house.
Did you have a movie that youreally liked growing up?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Freaky Friday comes to mind.
Given that Freakier Friday iscoming out, definitely liked
that.
I was texting some friends lastnight.
I was like who's going to seethis?
Speaker 2 (14:24):
I heard it was fun and I heard it was geared more
towards our age demographic yes,yeah yeah, I could definitely
see that.
I love Alex.
My husband took our daughterbecause that's her favorite
movie.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
The old freaky really she loves that movie.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
I love it so she was not gonna wait until next
weekend and I couldn't go, butthey had a great time yeah, I
don't think I can go until forlike a few weeks yeah, you're
busy, it's fine, yeah good stuffyeah, but yeah solid, it's a
great I have been really likingLindsay Lohan's movies on
Netflix lately, yeah like whatother ones, the Christmas ones
that she's been doing.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Oh, are they new?
Um, yeah, I mean the lastcouple years I I didn't they're
so cheesy it's amazing.
I love a cheesy Christmas movie, though, yeah, I can't remember
what they're called, butthey'll, I mean they'll pop up,
they'll be around soon, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Give it a month, all the Christmas movies will be out
oh yeah, I think it's so funnyhow many of them shoot in the
summer, like here in Nashvilleokay, I didn't know that they're
in.
Nashville.
Yeah, I was just talking to acamera guy the other day who had
shot another one here inNashville over the summer.
I was like how are they?
They're just like blowing airconditioning and fake snow.
I'm like that sounds miserable,trying to pretend Like inside
(15:34):
or something.
No, like they'll do exteriors.
I don't know how they do it.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
That's interesting.
I was actually going to ask youabout the scene here in
Nashville.
For film, yeah, for film,there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
There's a lot of creative people, because there's
a lot of music video here andthen I didn't know this before I
moved here but there's a lot ofadvertising.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Oh, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
And so that comes with a lot of production people.
Atlanta is kind of bigger on TVand, I think, still film, but
there's a lot of documentarystyle stuff happening right now.
There's like a healthdocumentary show.
I know there's some true crimethat shoots in, you know
Nashville and then parts of likethe Midwest as well interesting
(16:14):
.
So we get a little bit ofeverything yeah, it's so
interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
it's not a world that I really know, but no, since
moving here, I know three actors, which is weird.
I've never known any.
Yeah, and I mean nobody likebig.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
It's just they're all trying to make it.
You know, yeah, and it reallyis a hub and you can sustain
yourself between Nashville andAtlanta.
So I know a lot of people thatdo that, who are actors.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Have you done any of that work here, or have you been
teaching?
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I've been teaching mostly but I love music videos.
So I did a lot of music videosand I worked in advertising,
actually for the first kind ofdecade that I was here.
So I was in the productionhouse of an advertising firm
editing and shooting anddirecting sometimes and writing
and it was this awesome likesmall firm.
So I got to do.
(17:02):
I mean I even sang jingles.
You know, sometimes you sangjingles.
Yeah, yes, I got to do.
I mean I even sang jingles.
You know, sometimes you sang,oh yeah, jingles, yeah yes, I
got to do everything.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
It was fun.
Yeah, did you write thecommercials or did somebody come
?
Sometimes okay did you findthat challenging to get creative
with that.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It's a different challenge because you only have
30 seconds and you kind of haveto tell a story and get an
emotional pull, and then thetype of, and then advertising
too, you have to kind of play toa really like a big common
denominator.
So I remember, like you know,fresh off my graduate degree,
and I'm writing thesecommercials, they just mark it
up and go no four syllable words, good point, good point, good
(17:45):
note.
They're like cast a wide netyou know, so, yeah, it was
different, but then I had funwith it.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Some of the clients would let us.
We mostly did attorneycommercials oh really, yeah, so
cheesy and silly.
But what was nice about that isthat we didn't take ourselves
very, you know, seriously.
So we would just cut up in thestudio all the time and have fun
.
But then we would have somepeople like there was one guy
out of Texas called himself theTexas Hammer.
We had another guy that calledhimself the Bull, and so like we
(18:14):
got a real bull With the TexasHammer.
We had him smash through a door, like that was fun.
You know, for a minute the guyout of Texas was gonna get MC
Hammer.
He was trying and MC I mean likeI'm a huge MC Hammer fan, so I
had so much fun writing theynever happened, but it was so
(18:34):
much fun writing commercials foran attorney that involved MC
Hammer anyways, I could go out,it was fun.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Some attorneys have a sense of humor that's right
you're, you're one of them.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I'm one of them.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Yeah, few, and far between.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, but you're a little bit more well-respected
than some of the ones.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Thanks, yeah, yeah.
What would you say was one ofyour favorite projects to work
on other than attorneycommercials, other than attorney
commercials While I was there.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
There I was allowed to use their equipment and
studios.
And then a fellow this was whenI was in the editing side of
things my fellow editor had aband and I got to make a music
video for his band and musicvideos are my favorite projects
and I don't know that one'sstill one of my favorites
because my kids were in it.
All my friends and I wereshooting it together and it was
(19:27):
my buddy's music and I stilllike he's a very talented
musician, so I loved it.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
How.
I mean, how do you make a musicvideo?
You know it's a big question,but I'm like, where would you
start?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
so many different ways.
You have to decide if you wantit to be narrative or not.
I actually teach a whole classon this, so you might not have
wanted to go down that road, butyeah, I mean you have to decide
do you want narratives or doyou want a story, or do you just
want it to be performance based?
And a lot of times that hasmore to do with budget.
You know how big of a story canyou tell and how much money do
(19:56):
you have to go, you know, allover town and hire actors and
shoot it?
But um, and you need, you needa good, solid crew.
Yeah cool what has been like oneof the biggest challenges in
your career every single timethere's a strike or you know big
(20:19):
layoffs or projects, I mean itjust in a creative field it just
happens all the time, yeah, andso freelancing can be really
tough, um, on the whole, youknow, for like a decade or
whatever.
But so I I made a consciousdecision after freelancing for
just a couple years that Iwanted to try to have things
more steady.
So I did work at an advertisingfirm where it was like more
(20:41):
nine to five, so I had kids tooby that point.
So so I needed that.
And then I always knew I got mymaster's degree right out of
college because I knew that Icould teach at the professor
level in my field with just that.
So as soon as, like, even thatadvertising firm had picked up
and I just couldn't travel withthem as much as they wanted me
(21:03):
to, it was really nice to thenbe able to move over into
teaching.
How much travel is involvedWith the advertising because it
was such a small firm.
We started like once or twice ayear and then by the time I
left it was getting to be fiveor six and I was a single mom
then.
So I was like I really can't.
(21:23):
I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, and what would you say are like some
personality traits that wouldmake someone successful in this
area.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
In filmmaking in general.
I'll say if you're, ifadvertising there were a lot of,
I mean, mad Men captured it, itwas a wild place.
And filmmaking if you're goingto freelance, you really do, you
have to be tough, and I thinkit does help if you are an
extrovert, because so much of itis about relationships yeah you
(21:55):
will get your job based on theperson that liked you from the
last set that you were on thatmakes sense yeah, yeah and so,
other than, obviously, thetraveling played into switching
to teaching what I mean, whatelse went into that decision?
Speaker 1 (22:11):
The hours?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yeah, as the kids.
Again, I've got kids, so like Ireally wanted to be able to
pick them up from school and andtake them to school and have
spring break with them and haveit not, and take them to school
and have spring break with themand have it not.
It's just always a fight, youknow when you're in a nine to
five and now that I have aschedule that you know it
doesn't match exactly, but itmatches up pretty well.
At Christmas time and over thesummer I can be more present
(22:36):
with them.
So I mean that that was thebiggest thing yeah, um, I had a
question in my head.
I was like ready to go and thenI just looked at you and I was
like I don't know, it's goneyou'll get it later.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
It'll come back, yeah , oh, I know what.
Did you find that teaching camenaturally to you, or was it a
pretty big switch that you hadto work at?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I had a little bit of both, because when I started I
didn't have, like they call it,pedagogy.
It's this very fancy wordpedagogy, right like learning
how to teach other people andwith my degree I didn't have any
of those classes, so I neverformally learned how to teach
(23:21):
and our department at Lipscomb,where I started, was so small
that there was nobody to really.
Everybody was too busy.
Nobody could be like, hey, I'llhelp you.
it was like you're in figure itout it was all trial by fire, so
that my classes that I plannedlooked very different the next
year yeah, and they did thefirst year, but it was not.
(23:44):
I like to think that I was goodat it, but I definitely wasn't
great at it at first and I justhad to like, through feedback
with the students and throughjust looking and going, they're
not engaged.
I can tell that they're notengaged.
I need to rethink this.
You know, lecture or activity?
Speaker 1 (24:02):
or whatever.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, it's really a skill set.
There's a reason teachersactually go to school for that
yeah, yeah, I feel like a lot ofpeople think they can just kind
of like slip in and it'll belike an easy change.
I don't think that's the case.
It's not it's not.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
it's not that you can't get there.
Some people can't, I mean, mostpeople can, but there are some
people who don't who they do itand they're like I really don't
like this and I'm notcommunicating.
They just can tell that they'renot connecting the concepts and
there are some of the best,like filmmakers and
practitioners, but it's a wholedifferent thing to communicate
it.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, for sure.
What do you find you enjoy bestabout teaching?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
The relationships with the students, about
teaching the relationships withthe students.
You know they're like 18 to 22in my case and they're like the
world is their oyster.
But it's all so terrifying andI remember that.
I remember being in their shoesand being terrified and I enjoy
like being able to guide andlike a lot of times I feel like
I'm just like an extra mom youknow, come to my office and
(25:05):
they're dealing with this lifething, or they're, you know.
Do you know asking me if I everhave, um, if I ever feel like I
don't belong and it's like, yes,that gets better, but you will
constantly deal with that inyour life like imposter syndrome
.
I don't want to say it nevergoes away, but you, you know, I
feel it.
Now I'm starting at a new placeand I'm like everybody here is
(25:26):
so accomplished, you know,looking at their CVs, I'm like
mine doesn't have any, you know.
So you still feel that way andI think I enjoy being able to
reassure them and also to say Ididn't think I could do what
you're doing either, but now Iteach people how to do it so you
can definitely do it.
How to do it, so you candefinitely do it.
You know, I like that part ofit.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Do you get to be involved in their projects?
A lot like filmmaking, anythinglike that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Sometimes, yeah, and if they want me to be more so
than I will.
But it is nice, I think, tolike let them go out and fail
sometimes, because they're goingto learn from that.
If I just tell them don't dothis and do that and don't do
this, you know going to learnfrom that.
If I just tell them don't dothis and do that and don't do
this, you know it doesn't stickas much as if they just I'm like
just go, just go do it, andthey'll fail at some things and
they'll accomplish some otherthings and they'll get better,
it's the best way.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Are they all out there doing music videos now?
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So yeah, so at our at Belmont now it's like, um,
there are a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
I mean Belmont's very music, heavy right.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Belmont and Lipscomb were very music heavy.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
I didn't know Lipscomb yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
But the program at Belmont is specifically like
motion pictures, and so I'malready like how can I sneak in
music videos?
I mean, I love movies too, forsure.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
But I know I'm always like you guys should really
have a music video class here.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Been there a week, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
I, I'm gonna make it happen yeah, would you say.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
there have there been any opportunities over the
years that you ended up turningdown that like it seemed like,
oh my gosh, I should do this,but then for sure, the biggest
one.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I like to say that I peaked in college.
All my coolest jobs were whileI was still a student.
I saw you had some pretty coolinternships and stuff.
Yeah, I mean, I really did so.
I interned at Saturday NightLive.
That was my coolest one and Igot asked to be an executive
assistant at SNL at SNL by oneof the top executives and I but
(27:33):
I I had worked there and I hadseen how that person treated
there yeah so I knew that itcould be a great opportunity,
but I also knew that I'd beworking 80 to a hundred hours a
week and that I could also thennot.
I saw this person had awonderful assistant who did
(27:54):
everything I mean as far as Icould see as perfectly as you
could have done it.
And at the end of that yearthat person wanted to get out
and move up and the executivewas so mad that they were
leaving that kind of blacklistedthem and that was the executive
that wanted me.
And also the tough thing was Ihad worked in a different
department and they told me theywere like look, we would have
(28:17):
hired you the next timesomething came up, but if you
say no to this executive, Iwon't be allowed to hire you.
Oh, that was really hard.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Yeah.
Do you regret that or do youfeel like you made the right
decision?
I?
Speaker 2 (28:31):
don't.
I don't regret it because Iwould have again 80 to 100 hours
a week and I wouldn't have beenpursuing my dreams at all and
it could have at the end of it,I could have been like that
their last assistant and notgotten anything out of it
anyways.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
I always feel like the one of the hallmarks of a
good leader is that when youtell them you have an
opportunity, that and it'ssomething that'll help you grow,
that they might be sad thatyou're leaving but they're happy
for you Agree, and I think it'svery telling if that's not the
(29:10):
case and should be reassuring.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Yeah, and that's so.
Kudos to the boss in mydepartment who was like I'm
going to be real with you, thatis going to be hard and we would
have hired you, but if you sayno, I won't be able to.
And I was like, all right, and,but that's when I decided to go
to graduate school.
So I think, like you know, whenGod closes the door, he opens a
(29:32):
window.
Um, and I didn't have gradschool on my radar at all, but I
also wasn't.
I'm a cinematographer.
Now, I would never, afterundergrad, have told you that I
could do that.
I was like I'm five foot tall,I can't lift things like the
dudes who like, when you thinkof a cinematographer, you think
of a tall guy who can lift allthe camera and equipment and
(29:55):
stuff.
And I, when I went to gradschool, I was like you know, I
still really want to do this,and now I'm just going to, I'm
just gonna, I'm just gonna pourmyself into it and it was only
because of those extra yearsthat I got the confidence to do
that part of it at all.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
That's really cool yeah, so you don't have to be
able to lift.
I've seen you carry some stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
I I did like I worked in the equipment center in grad
school because I felt sodeficient in that like camera
world and I made sure that Icould lift all the things and
that I knew how everything fittogether, because I it was also.
I mean, it was a time like inthe 2000s it wasn't common,
there weren't femalecinematographers.
I got laughed at when I toldsomebody at an internship in LA
(30:40):
that I wanted to be acinematographer really oh,
completely and completely.
And I didn't even, I wasn't evenupset, I was like, yeah, I get
it, this is not going to be easy.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
I mean, how did you find the confidence to continue
after someone laughs at yourdream?
I'm very stubborn.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Served you well.
I'm very stubborn.
You're a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
You get it.
I do, I'm like oh, you think Ican't do it?
Huh, now guess what?
Yeah, I'm gonna do 10 timesbetter actually that's right.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Yeah, yeah, laugh at me will you.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Are there more women now in the field for?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
sure, actually in um, I think the movie was made in
2017 and the Oscar nominationwas 2018.
I could be getting that yearslightly wrong, but the first
female was nominated forcinematography for the first
time ever for cinematography inin 2018.
And Eternal Sunshine of theSpotless Mind, the movie that I
(31:36):
mentioned, had a big impact onme.
One of the reasons was and thatwas 2002 or 2003.
I should know, but it's veryclose to there it was the first
movie I ever saw in a theaterthat was shot by a female.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
Yeah, and it was Ellen Kuras.
So you see, ellen, and you're,like that's for sure, a woman.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
And.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
I was so intrigued by that and it was after that that
I went to grad school, and itwas after that that I started
that I went to grad school andwas like maybe I, maybe I can
you know.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Isn't it so interesting how, even though you
maybe didn't know what shelooked like, but you're like
that's a woman, so she at leastlooks somewhat like me.
Right, it can really impactjust having the confidence.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
I think that we're more evolved than that, that we
don't have to see somebody thatlooks like us.
But I did, and my firstcinematography class that I
taught at Lipscomb um.
I had.
I had a girl in there who Ithey they asked me specifically
like what was it like being afemale, you know, when you were
(32:42):
trying to be a cinematographer?
And she cried.
She was like I just never.
And she does it for a livingnow and she's great at it.
She's great at it, she's in LAand San Francisco.
But yeah, it's nice.
It's nice to see somebody.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, yeah, it matters.
I mean, that's whyrepresentation in general
matters a lot, whether it'sbooks, movies, tv shows,
anything it really does.
I mean, it just makes adifference when you see people
who look like you.
Who?
Speaker 2 (33:11):
look like you or who think like you, and it's not
like it doesn't have to only bethat Right, but especially for a
profession.
I mean, I literally was justlike well, I can't do that.
I'm just you know, not say I'mjust a girl, but I'm you know,
like I don't see anybody elsedoing it.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Who's a girl, I obviously can't do that.
Maybe I could be a cameraassistant.
You know, that was really mythinking.
Yeah, I know.
So my mom went to law schoolwhen I was in high school and so
I never got the impression thata woman couldn't be a lawyer
because I was like, well, mymom's doing it, right, here we
go.
It was always on the table,yeah, um, but I know that she
wanted to go when, like aftercollege, and I asked her one
(33:52):
time why she didn't and it wasbecause women didn't do that
very much.
Yeah, there was more to it aswell like she wanted to be a mom
and at the time, yeah, evenmore.
It's harder to see that it's.
It's tough now to be a lawyer.
Yeah, as at the time even more.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
It's harder to see that it's tough now to be a
lawyer, as a mom, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
And I would say there were 50% female in law school.
It's when you get out of lawschool and choose the practice
area that it becomes verydifferent.
And in the practice area I wentto, it's unusual.
I was once one of the partners,once told me that a client said
(34:31):
to him that I would have itmade because I'm a female in
private equity and I was like,have it made Like this is
miserable being the only womanhere.
So it's just, it's.
It's interesting to think aboutthat and what he was implying,
that I would just they'd keeppromoting me because they needed
(34:52):
their token woman no so it.
It was very like shocking for meto go from.
I mean my mom's doing it,there's 50% women in law school
Like what are you talking about?
And then just going and beinglike, oh, I was naive.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
I'm not often with people who have been in that
situation, because I've been inthat situation for sure as well.
Did you like have any tacticsthat you would do to make the
men feel more comfortable withyou being around any?
Speaker 1 (35:22):
tactics that you would do to make the men feel
more comfortable with you beingaround.
Oh, interesting, I mean I waspretty quiet.
I would fade into the backgrounda lot.
Okay, I tried to benon-confrontational and like,
(35:47):
one biggest events for of theyear was a golf event one time,
and I was the only woman out ofover a hundred people, and so I
actually went and did golflessons to show up, um, but I
always felt I was trying to makemyself, as I don't know, fly on
the wall as possible.
I don't know, fly on the wallas possible, um to not be,
because I think in my profession, women are often viewed as
(36:09):
pushovers, um, or a word I willchoose not to use on this clean
podcast that we can all you know, female dog ish um, and so I
was always very aware of thatand obviously that one's worse
so I'm gonna yeah, I'm gonna bea pushover like.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
I had.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
I've had men take credit for my work and I just
sat there and took it same I.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
I didn't sit there and take it, I went the other
way but I, I don't love how Imanifested because I'm in those
situations and I would be.
You know, you're in anelectrical department and it is
just as masculine as that sounds.
And so there, you know, you'reon a walkie talkie and they're
telling, you know, raunchy jokes.
And then you would hear uh Bryn, are you on the line?
(36:57):
You know, and you could justand like everyone would be quite
.
You know, and you could justand like everyone would be quiet
.
You knew, I knew that somebodywent around in person, was like
there's a chick on the line.
Oh my God, you better not youguys better be quiet, because it
would be dead silent for aminute.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
And then they would.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
So I did and I hate this now that I did this but I
started like cussing around theguys to be because they would
all do that.
That wasn't me, you know, and Ireally regret that.
But you know, in 2003 four orfive I just like.
I wanted like, just be calm.
(37:32):
It's just like I'm just aperson and that was the only way
that I could think of you know,like you, you don't want to
stick out any more no than youalready do, and so I feel like
we almost were doing the same.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
We were taking different tactics to get to the
same spot yeah, and I I regretnot speaking up, but there I
chose certain moments to speakup and I, yeah, there were
repercussions for it always umyes like I was told one time all
well, now you have to be quiet.
You've used your politicalcapital and I was like, yes, sir
(38:06):
, I know, so it really ischoosing your battles and that
and I, I think you know, being37 now and feeling like I've
gone through so much more oflife, I just have a lot of grace
towards that 28 year old whowas just lost and, frankly,
(38:28):
scared a lot, um through some ofthe experiences I had early in
my career and it, I, I, I don'tthink that it was worthless,
like I think that I, I wouldnever say I'm grateful because I
would never want to relive someof the things, but I those
weren't on my list of things.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
I wanted to relive either.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
Not a fan.
10 out of 10.
Don't recommend, yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
But I just think, though, that there's a reason,
like I'm going to make surethere's a reason I went through
it For sure, because I don'twant, like I'm gonna make sure
there's a reason I went throughit because I don't want, I don't
ever want, to sit back andthere always is yeah, and you
may not know now, you may knowin it could 20 years, but you
will be able to use thatexperience for something for the
good.
I believe that with everything.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I agree, yeah, and I do think it's getting better,
for sure mean in my field aswell.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
It is getting better.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Yeah, and right now I work with mostly men and it's
fine.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Yeah, they treat me good, my.
So I just adopted um myhusband's daughter and the firm
that we used for that, which iswonderful and she's the best the
firm we use is an all femalefirm, Really.
Yeah, and I just thought, andmy husband hired them, like he
picked them because of theirmerit.
I didn't go seeking anall-female.
He like found the best peopleto do it and it happens to be an
(39:51):
all-female firm and I love that.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
Yeah, it's like are you good?
Yeah, that's what matters.
Yeah, um stand-up comedy, bryn?
Yeah, where does that come in?
I?
Speaker 2 (40:05):
remember vividly before Comedy Central and after
Comedy Central, and as soon asComedy Central became a thing
like that's all I watched.
I watched stand-up all the time.
It was my favorite favoritething to watch.
To listen to in the car likejust 100%.
My favorite thing never in amillion years.
To in the car like just ahundred percent.
My favorite thing Never in amillion years did I think I
would ever, ever, ever do it,because who am I?
(40:28):
And that's terrifying, and Iwant people to like me, you know
, and if I start going tellingmy opinion everywhere, nobody's
going to like me, you know.
So, um, but I, I went to NYUand so I was surrounded by
comedy there and you saw my CV,but first I interned at Comedy
Central.
(40:48):
I went to a job fair and I waslike the first person to go up
to the table and that's becauseI got there early.
Remember to get there early.
That was a big, but I was thefirst one to go to the table and
she ended up hiring me.
So I interned at Comedy Centralat a really exciting time.
Somebody there knew the personwho hired interns at the Daily
Show and they got me aninterview at the Daily Show.
(41:11):
And then somebody there hadinterned at SNL and they got me.
So every single opportunity wasbecause of somebody that I met
at one of the others but I.
So I've always loved it andI've always wanted to be a part
of it, but I never thought Iwould do it.
My first, one of my firstcollege classes at NYU.
You do those cheesyintroductions and this woman who
(41:34):
ended up becoming my one of mybest friends in the world said,
just mentioned casually that shedoes stand up comedy and I was
like we're gonna be friends youknow, and she, you know we still
are to this day.
She's awesome, um, and then whenI got divorced and like had
some kind of harder thingshappen in my 30s, he's just like
you're like you only live once.
I'm gonna do this now.
(41:55):
Yeah, so, being an academic, Itook a class first and then I
mean I did too there you go,yeah, I.
I want the academics of it, themechanics, but yeah, and I just
I love it.
I love it so much.
Yeah, how did you get into it?
My therapist you have somestuff to work out and we only
have an hour.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
You need stage time.
No, she actually recommendedimprov due to I was having a lot
of anxiety at the time and shewas like improv would be great,
yeah, but I always found improvreally scary because I'm like
I'm not.
I've never felt like I was veryquick witted, yeah, like I like
to sit back, take it in thensay something, yeah.
(42:40):
So I saw that standup was atthird coast and I had heard
you're like close enough.
I know I was like you prepareahead of time and then just get
up and do what you prepared.
Yeah that's me, that's great.
And I was like it doesn'tmatter if I'm bad at it, like I
don't.
That's so funny.
I've never thought I was funny.
So what do I have to lose?
Yeah, just them telling me I'mnot funny.
(43:01):
I already knew that see thatwas.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
That would have been devastating to me.
I did improv for fun in college.
That was no big deal to me but,getting up and being like this
is who I am.
It was terrifying, yeah,interesting, but I love it now.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
I love it.
Yeah, I loved the classes.
Yeah, because people were verysupportive and it just felt so
like new and different, and I'vealways enjoyed public speaking.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
So it was like I can get up in front and whatever and
you can, and you're great atproducing, which is not a lot.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
Of comedians can do both you know, and that's pretty
much what I'm doing now,because I mean I haven't done
stand-up in a while, yeah, butyou've been.
I feel like you've been prettyactive, yeah, and you're a
producer of the Clean comedycollective.
I am.
Speaker 2 (43:44):
I have a show in Spring Hill right now.
That's the only one that I'mofficially, yeah, producing, but
it's it's been going well and I, I love it.
It's so much fun.
I love the vendor there.
The coffee shop is wonderful isthat great?
Speaker 1 (43:57):
monthly, monthly, monthly, yeah, okay, monthly.
I much prefer a monthly showthan a weekly show.
Oh my gosh, I can't.
I couldn't even keep up withthe monthly in the end yeah,
like it's a lot.
Speaker 2 (44:08):
Weekly was a lot.
We were doing that weekly showat the bunganut pig rip bunganut
pig.
They closed forever.
Speaker 1 (44:14):
It'd been there for like 30 40 years or something
and it has shuttered yeah,interesting, but um, but
weekly's tough.
What is the place in SpringHill where it's located?
Speaker 2 (44:23):
It's Just Love Coffee Shop in Spring Hill.
Yeah, isn't there more than one?
Yeah, so it's a chain, but it's, you know, franchisees.
Yeah, and the owner there,frank Snodgrass, just has a
beautiful story.
He's got a wonderful heart, andso I was happy to partner with
him because of his communityfocus.
And he really loves hiscommunity and he wanted a space
(44:46):
he already has like musiciansthere at night and he just has a
great.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
He just has a great heart for the community there,
and so it was an easy yes, forme, I think one of the hard
things about producing isgetting the audience to show up.
Have you struggled with that atall, or is there a pretty yes,
yeah?
Speaker 2 (45:04):
yes, not at spring hill, but in every other one
that I've helped with.
Yes, but spring hill, I thinkthe difference is that, like I
said, frank snodgrass, he hasalready built a community there
that already comes at night forcreative things like christian
music, christian songwritersnight, or they do like a swing
dancing night.
So there's already, like peoplealready know to come there.
(45:27):
Um, and I don't know if it justbeing that that little bit
further away from Nashville, Ifeel like might help.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
I feel like it could, because that's like um the guy
who runs comedian discovery anddoes the comedian discovery?
Speaker 2 (45:38):
live shows.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Yeah, he, I think he's tapped into an audience
there of like he does it in thesuburbs more whereas there's a
decent amount with Zany's ThirdCoast and then the local shows,
yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
But what?
What Comedian Discovery?
What Josiah is great at is themarketing.
Yeah, he's good.
He's so good at that and and,and, and.
He's also, and I think that's alot of it.
He's so giving so manycomedians like he'll just reach
out to them and go hey, I thinkyou could be doing this better
on your social media and helpthem out, and then so they just
(46:10):
love him forever in return, youknow.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
Yeah, and I do too.
I'm one of them.
I'm a big fan, you know.
He's actually going to be onthe podcast in a few weeks so,
oh, I can't wait to see that.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Really good, yeah, he's awesome yeah, he's a great
guy.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Um, so your stand-up comedy does it?
Do your jokes come easily, ordo you have, to like, really
work at it?
I think both.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
Yeah, the first set, you know, I've I've got 30, 30
to 35 minutes right now and Imean you know when you're
building you.
Okay, this first 15 was hardyou know, and the second 15 for
me was also hard to kind of getright.
And now what's terrifying is Ihave some audition tapes put
(46:58):
together and I feel like I'vebeen doing.
You know I'm reaching out foropportunities to I feature a lot
now and I've got a headlining,you know, coming up.
It's exciting.
Speaker 1 (47:07):
It's a big deal it is a big deal.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
I'm very excited and I got to headline once already,
um, for 25, 30 minutes and thatwas so fun.
Um, I God bless them forputting me up when I barely
barely knew what I was doing.
But but, but it was, it wasreally fun shout out to Bobby
and Joyce, cause that was areally fun show.
But yeah, so I'm doing a bitmore of that.
(47:31):
What I'm terrified of isputting those away, cause I feel
very comfortable right now withmy 25 minutes, cause I've I've
got a different five here I canpull, like I said, I've got
about 35 and I can.
I've been doing the jokes for awhile, so I need to start
putting them away.
It's exciting to write.
(47:52):
I love writing, but the idea ofgoing back to ooh, I don't know
if this is going to work isterrifying.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
But I'm doing it, I am.
I always enjoyed as I gotlonger.
I think the longest I did was15 to 20, maybe, and it was
really fun to look at your jokesand then say, like, how do
these transition together?
Yes it's like you're tellingthis story but you've written
these jokes all separate, butyou can figure out how they all
(48:19):
go together yeah, and they cango together differently.
Speaker 2 (48:22):
I was.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
I love to like switch them around to find the right.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
It's a puzzle, yeah that's my favorite thing too you
take your chunks, you go.
Okay, here's my, you know,divorce chunk in my case.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
here's my favorite thing too you take your chunks,
you go okay, here's my you knowdivorce chunk in my case.
Speaker 2 (48:34):
here's my you know my kids chunk.
And I look at the audience andI go, oh, people here look like
they have kids or no, they don't.
So I'll swap that out with mydating chunk or whatever it's
fun.
It is fun, and especially whenyou get to the point where you
can do that without having tothink so hard.
That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
That's what I don't want to lose, like getting all
the new material, yeah, that'sit, that's all, yeah.
And I've, like every once in awhile, kind of like had an idea
and I feel like I'm like how doI write jokes again?
I don't even know.
So we'll see.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
Yeah, but yeah, I'm sure it'll be like riding a bike
, sure it will.
Speaker 1 (49:12):
Let's say that it will.
Yeah, yeah, um, what advicewould you give someone who's
interested in uh, I was gonnasay filmography?
Speaker 2 (49:23):
cinematography or filmmaking in general.
Yes, thank you.
Um, just start with your phone,don't be intimidated.
Just start trying.
Try to tell a good story withwhat you have and it's not going
to be good the first time andthat's okay, you know.
You can then look at itcritically.
There's a lot on YouTube nowand you can do a lot with just
(49:44):
your phone.
Yeah, you know.
So just I would say just start,you know and see what you like
about it and what you don't, andtell your story.
Just make it authentic.
That's the other thing I wouldsay.
It's like what is yourperspective and what are you
trying to say in the world?
and be authentic to that, andthat that is what should shine
(50:06):
through and that's advice I feellike.
Speaker 1 (50:09):
Just start be authentic.
Yeah, that's it.
Bullet points, yeah.
So what are you obsessing overlately?
Speaker 2 (50:19):
This is.
I hate this answer, but I am sointo like, spiritual warfare
and conspiracy theories,theories right now.
Wow, which is like heavy, crazystuff.
Uh, okay, how do those gotogether?
Sometimes they're the same okay.
Like, for example, there's thealiens conspiracy theory and
(50:43):
whatever side you fall on that,but there's a tie-in to
spiritual warfare, because somepeople believe that aliens are
actually interdimensional demons.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
Okay, I've heard that I haven't heard the
interdimensional.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
I've definitely heard , just like sometimes there's a
difference between demons andinterdimensional, I think
there's an argument that that'sthe same that's redundant, yeah,
but some people think they'reinterdimensional beings and some
people think they're demons andI I don't know what's, but I
feel like it would befascinating if they were
interdimensional demons likethis.
And then if you I mean just ona day-to-day, if you think of it
(51:18):
that way, like I don't know, itfeels more like a battle that
you can face.
I know that sounds crazy, butlike if it's all fate and it's
all kind of written and it not,you know what's your, what's
your role in that.
But if, but if there's somelittle, there's some
interdimensional demon likemaking your life harder, then
it's I don't know, it's morelike a challenge that I can
(51:39):
stubbornly take on.
Okay, I don't know, um, it'scrazy, but it's so fun to me,
it's just really fun to thinkabout you know, I think that's
fascinating.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
I I mean, I've heard, I didn't know you were a crazy
person learning so much.
What YouTube channel are youwatching?
I have a few, but um, yeah, um,I realized.
So I decided what I'm obsessingover today is cranial sacral
massage, because I'm pretty sureI've mentioned my cranial
(52:11):
sacral lady, like on all theprior podcasts and I was like I
think it's clear to everyonewhat I'm obsessing over.
Speaker 2 (52:19):
So, and that's, head massages, it's the whole body.
Speaker 1 (52:22):
It just like works with like your nervous system
and stuff so cool.
Got that at three o'clock today.
That's cool.
It's good though All massage isgood, all massage is good.
Yeah, yeah.
Do you have a recommendation?
I do.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
If the interdimensional demons was too
far, don't worry, I have alighter conspiracy theory, one
that I love.
It's a YouTube channel calledthe Y files.
Have you heard of it?
No Fascinating, so it'll gointo, like some government stuff
.
There's this, like you know.
I mean I'll have the classics,like you know aliens or Bigfoot.
(53:02):
And then yeah like all thegreats, but it'll go into
government.
You know stuff.
Mk Ultra.
Speaker 1 (53:12):
I like some interdimensional stuff.
I like government conspiraciesyeah, definitely Bigfoot.
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 2 (53:20):
They're the classics yeah, the classics, the easy
ones right the gateway tointerdimensional dehumanization.
It's a gateway drug.
Speaker 1 (53:31):
It is, yeah, interdimensional do you?
Speaker 2 (53:31):
it's a gateway drug.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
It is yeah, well, uh, okay.
So I went to a bigfootconference and I I knew this you
and marianna were right.
Speaker 2 (53:40):
Yeah, we're gonna we're.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
The next podcast I'm recording is about that, so I
don't want to go too far in, butyeah, let's just say portals
were discussed, I might have togo next year.
Speaker 2 (53:50):
I really might.
Speaker 1 (53:51):
I feel like we're going to have a large group.
Speaker 2 (53:53):
So feel free, I'm in, I will do it yeah.
Speaker 1 (53:58):
So my recommendation is not quite on that level.
I listen to this podcast calledZero to Travel.
Oh, what's that about?
It's about basically makingtravel like your lifestyle and
like how people can do itdifferently, and I love that he
interviews a lot of people abouttravel, so the one that I am
(54:19):
recommending is April 22nd andit's called a 2190 plus mile
mother-son adventure throughhiking the Appalachian Trail
after a decade of nomadic familytravel.
Speaker 2 (54:33):
Good night.
That's a title, it's quite atitle.
Speaker 1 (54:36):
I know I'm like oh, it keeps going.
Speaker 2 (54:37):
Yeah, just read it, Don't ever remember.
Speaker 1 (54:39):
Yeah but it was really interesting.
It's what got me kind ofinterested in hiking part of the
Appalachian Trail eventually.
It just sounds very peacefulbut also like hard and
challenging.
But they talk about how there'slike people along there that'll
have like food and drinks foryou and you meet different
people and yeah, yeah, and Ithought it was cool that it was
(55:01):
like a mother-son that isadventure.
It's very unique yeah, and likeI think she was working
remotely, sometimes on the trailand he was doing some schooling
.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
I'm like how?
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Yeah, so it was.
It was pretty interesting.
I liked it.
Yeah, what are you lookingforward to this week?
It's my second week in my newjob Nice, so better than the
first week, I feel like, but notquite crazy it was information
overload Like.
Speaker 2 (55:29):
I don't know if you've ever had anything to do
with teaching, but I'm sure yousee the memes about professional
development and it's just likeall day seminar my dad was a
teacher, was he?
Speaker 1 (55:40):
yeah, what did he teach sixth grade um history in
English.
Oh, that's so cool.
Speaker 2 (55:44):
30 years, sixth grade that's the lord's work.
Yeah, that's tough, um yeah, soI'm looking forward to like
getting to know more of mycolleagues and finding out more
about what I'm going to be doingfor the rest of the year, but
it's it's been a greattransition so far.
Like I'm, I work with somereally nice but really
(56:06):
impressive people.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
That's cool.
Speaker 2 (56:08):
I feel co-workers really make or break, make or
break absolutely your directsupervisor and the people around
you and my direct supervisorjust seems awesome and I can
already tell he's taken a lot ofthe last minute work off of my
plate, which I am soappreciative of.
Speaker 1 (56:24):
Yeah, it's great.
Yeah, um, I am looking forwardto the fact that right now
there's a painter at my housepainting my steps.
These things have needed to bedone for a long time.
Good for you.
I ripped out the okay Ishouldn't say I, my dad and my
nephew ripped off these likerunners that were left from the
(56:46):
cellar.
They're just, they were hideous,just dated, and they would get
so dirty and dusty it was hardto keep clean.
So they ripped them out andthere were all these holes and
over the course of like a monthand a half I've been filling the
holes and sanding and I finallyfinished this last week.
And now the painters they'repainting, so there's not.
My friend came over and she'slike why are there red dots on
(57:10):
your stairs?
Speaker 2 (57:12):
I'm like, yeah, that's the style now.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
Pimple breakout yeah, so I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (57:17):
I'll be home, I feel good, yeah, and it'll be fresh.
Yes, our trim is looking realrough and we have a kid who just
started driving and needed acar and we're staring down
college and we're like it'sgonna stay rough like we're not.
It's fine, it'll keep peelingand eventually it'll peel all
the way off, and then we'll doit, you know yes, I feel like
(57:40):
that's house everything yeah,there's always something yeah so
, brynn, where can people findyou if they want to follow you?
um, I love Instagram, so you canfind me at Bryn Does Comedy on
Instagram, and then I haveFacebook as well.
Bryn Daniels and I don't know,or come grab coffee with me at
(58:00):
Belmont, I guess.
Speaker 1 (58:02):
Sounds great Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (58:03):
Thank you so much for having me, nicole.
I miss you, I miss you too.
We'll rectify that.
Yeah, let on a podcast.
No, yeah.
Speaker 1 (58:12):
Thank you, guys for listening.
If you could, please follow theYouTube channel, that'd be so
helpful and follow wherever youlisten to your podcasts.
I'll see you next week.
All done.
Yay, thanks for listening to mycrunchy Zen era.
Please subscribe and leave areview wherever you listen to
your podcasts.
This podcast is produced by me,nicole Swisher and my good
(58:34):
friends Summer Harkup and LizColter, editing is by Drew
Harrison Media and recording isdone by Lagos Creative in
Nashville, tennessee.
Thanks for hanging out.
We'll be back next week.
There's some glow due toradiation Two heads where they
usually are one.
Hey, brian.
Hey, what's something crunchyor zen that you've done lately?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm kind of doing a lot right now.
I'm trying to slowly get allthe toxins out of everything,
but it's impossible.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You mean like out of your house, out of your food?
Yeah, house food body.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I mean, it's every time we like.
Even today, I had this tea bag.
I really wanted some tea and Isaw something on Instagram that
said there's tons ofmicroplastics in the tea bag.
Yeah, but you know what?
I'm changing out my pots and mypans and I'm getting PFASs out,
and so I'm very slowly doingall of those things very slowly.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I feel like we have not talked about this, because I
did that in November and I havea Word document on my desktop
that says going clean.
And it's like different things.
I'm slowly working on.
So Black Friday, my goal is tobuy new pots and pans.
I want the caraway ones, so didI, and they're expensive.
(01:02):
But, last year there was areally good Black Friday sale.
I just was not ready to pullthe trigger.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
So this year, this year's my year brand, that's
good, I our place, I think itwas had a back to school sale
and so I got like a little miniset and that was I'm getting
there, you know nice welcome tomy crunchy zen era.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
This is a weekly podcast filled with a little fun
, a little humor and a whole lotof curiosity.
My guest this week is BrynDaniels.
I'm your host, nicole Swisher,as usual, except I forgot to
share that this time.
This is the first time I'veever forgot what's my name.
That feels like me in comedyshows again every time I host
(01:52):
going.
Wait, did I say?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
my name.
I used to do that.
All the time I do that atchurch, they have me like make
announcements at church andthey're like why don't you ever
say your name?
I'm like I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
It's the last thing you remember, yeah, so Brynn and
I met doing stand-up comedy.
She's a local stand-up comedian.
You do some outside ofNashville too.
I feel like.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, Kentucky, Florida, but the Southeast for
sure.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yeah, and she's an assistant professor of
cinematography at BelmontUniversity.
Yeah, I just started this week.
That's exciting, yeah it's verycool.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I'm loving the community there, nice.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yeah, how?
I mean?
How is it different fromLipscomb?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Not very, because they're both.
Neither of them are hugeschools and they're both
Christian private colleges, butit's enough bigger that that's a
little bit different, yeah, butit's.
It seems like it's going to bea really good fit, really fun,
good.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Well, we're excited to have you here at the end of
your first week.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
So if you could relive anymemory, what would it be and why
?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Of course I want to say the cheesy ones, right,
because that's fine, we've hadlots of cheesy ones okay, well,
like you know, I'm on my secondmarriage, but it was a beautiful
, just kind of private backyardwedding with us and our kids,
and it was just like if youcould have a time capsule of a
day yeah no pressure.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Um, I would love to relive that and just do that
again do you feel like you don'tremember it very well, or you
just want to like have thosefeelings again?
Yeah, it.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
It was only four years ago, so I remember it
pretty well, but it was just sopeaceful and so lovely and just
like we didn't have.
You know, my kids are old, alittle bit older now, and we're
all just going in a milliondifferent directions, and that
was a time when we were just allreally present with each other.
Yeah, so I would love to getmore of that.
(03:46):
And as the summer has officiallyended and everyone's back in
school, it's like right now.
That's exactly what I'm cravingis more connection with my
family, because we're all kindof going everywhere.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I'm always amazed with my friends who have kids.
When the school year starts Imean even during the summer,
there's so many vacations butI'm like I don't understand how
you guys manage this.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
You're just an Uber driver for a lot of years,
especially when you have, likewe're outnumbered.
You know we have three.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So yeah, I've been, I've been anticipating this week
because, living in Bellevue,commuting to Brentwood, I hit
CPA, the private school traffic,and it like doubles my commute,
oh yeah, and so my co-workerskids go there and so I've been
like Chandler.
When are we starting back?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
and I'm like this is D-Day, it's totally true,
because it's so Nashville kindof like eases in.
So we have one kid in privateschool and, sorry, two kids in
private, one in public.
They start in totally differentplaces, they're in totally
different places, they're intotally different counties at
different times.
Um well, actually now they're atthe same exact time during the
day that I have to get everybody, but my, my oldest, just turned
(04:55):
16, so she is going to bedriving herself and her younger
brother to school, which isgreat, yeah, but also terrifying
as a parent.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
This is the kid last year that I was giving advice to
.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes, she went and visited colleges.
This summer gosh, yeah, I'malready crazy.
Yeah, it's crazy, but they doso.
Public school starts first,then private school and then
college, so literally mycalendar has three different
school calendars on it.
It's a mess, yeah, but it'sgood.
So you'll get another bit oftraffic here in a week, yeah,
(05:29):
ugh, don't say that.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Sorry, it's just it's rough.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah, I mean, nashville traffic is no joke.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
No, yeah, and it's so connected to the schools, I
mean and and tourists, but, likeyou just know, it's coming.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, because traffic here starts.
It doesn't start at 5 pm likeit does in some cities.
It starts when school is out.
It starts at 3 pm, so it is allconnected to the schools.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, okay, we could keep talking about traffic, but
that is not our topic today.
Okay, I'm going to ask you agrab bag question here.
Okay, let's find the question.
It is are you an introvert,extrovert or ambivert?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I guess probably it would be ambivert, but I feel
like an introvert because of thedefinition that says like if
you feel drained when you're outin crowds and I do, like it's
so weird Cause I teach right, soI'm teaching in a crowd and
then I do stand-up comedy in acrowd, so you would think I
would say extrovert so I guessI'm an ambivert, because I can
be, but then I get home and I'mlike, please, no one talk to me
(06:32):
for at least an hour.
Yeah, which I don't have.
That luxury.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
I actually think a lot of stand-up comedians might
be introverted.
Yeah, or am ambivert.
There's not as many extroverts.
What do you think you are?
I'm definitely an ambivert,there's not as many extroverts.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
What do you think you are?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
I'm definitely an ambivert, which I never remember
what that's called, so I'm gladto see I wrote that.
You wrote it down, so that'sgood.
Yeah, and I always struggle tobalance that, because if I'm
alone too long then I getexhausted that way.
But if I'm with people too much, then I'm exhausted that way.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Oh, I never get exhausted from being alone.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Really no, I don't.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
But also, I'm not alone very much, because I have
three kids, that's true, youknow, and I am alone, solidly
alone, truly truly no.
All alone all the time Soundslike a dream, but it doesn't.
I'm kidding.
Yeah, I love my family.
I really do.
I love my family.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I really do.
My roommate is also.
He's an introvert and we haveopposite schedules, like he
works Wednesday to Saturday, 12to 10.
And then I work like a normalMonday to Friday office job and
it is so absolutely perfect andlike we are very respectful of
each other and like I leave himalone on like Monday and Tuesday
(07:48):
when he has it off, and thenhe'll often just leave Sunday
and then I'm just like alone.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
So it's like a beautiful friendship yeah,
that's lovely, just shipspassing in the night in a
wonderful way, yes, yeah, andthen we catch up, and then we
move on.
So that's good.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
I like that, right.
Yeah, what kind of great.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, what would you say is something people would be
surprised to learn about you.
I'll go with my old party trick.
I am a five-foot-tall whitegirl and I used to love pulling
out the entire 14 minutes ofRapper's Delight, just like at a
party, for fun.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I know the whole thing.
How long is this?
Because we have some time.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I said a hit no, so I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
So I like surprising people with that kind of stuff,
and what would you say like whenyou were in middle school, what
did you think you would be whenyou grew up?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I think I thought I would be a singer.
Can you sing?
I can.
Yeah, I didn't know that aboutyou.
I don't do it much anymore, butI like, I loved it and I always
thought that I would dosomething with singing and I
don't at all, but I do feel likeyou enjoy performing.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I do it's kind of, I do it's adjacent.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah, and then I just heard about a comedian Shoot I
can't remember where she's basedout of Maybe Missouri or
Arkansas who does kind of like afaith based worship, singing
and comedy.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
OK, I was like I got to get in on that.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Like I don't know what it is.
I got to see it though.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah, yeah, youtube videos for sure, yeah, okay, can
you tell me about what you donow For work, for work, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, not the fun.
I mean we can talk about thattoo, I know, but you know a lot
about that.
So, yeah, I just started atBelmont, so I teach
cinematography.
I'm a professor there.
I was at Lipscomb up until thisyear, so I get.
I always like to joke that Iteach the fun stuff and nothing
practical, but it's veryhands-on, like I do teach how to
(09:49):
use cameras and how to uselighting and how to craft a
story from the more technicalside of things, and I'm also an
editor by trade.
So I taught a little bit ofthat at Lipscomb.
But just helping people tellstories in a more visual way,
how to get emotion to comethrough with the visual tools
(10:11):
that you use, not just the wordsthat people are saying.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, it's such a visual medium yeah, and did you
write before and like film anddo all the things like that?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
yeah, I, you know, like every young film student, I
was like, oh, I'm going to be adirector and I'm going to do
movies and, um, I didn't lovedirecting as much as editing and
shooting.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Really yes.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Maybe because I'm an introvert, but I I enjoyed being
on a team, Um, but notnecessarily being the leader or
the final.
I kind of like listening tosomeone's vision and and feeling
.
I feel like it's a challengefor me.
I'm gonna understand what thisdirector wants and I'm gonna do
it.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I don't know.
I love that, and so is thatwhat the director is.
They're just like team captainlike.
This is what we're doing yeah,they're kind.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
There's a good director, is a jack of all
trades and I mean, and a masterof maybe some, but really none.
They create a great team andthey just kind of like have the
vision and pull it all togetherwith a great producer, you know,
with a great team.
But the great ones, the greatdirectors, know a little bit how
to talk to theircinematographer and know a
(11:24):
little bit about sound and alittle bit about all the things
and I just really zoned in onthe two things that.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I like.
How is that different from aproducer?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Producers just have to deal more with the money
stuff.
They'll also be pulling theteam together and um, but
general and sometimes they'll,and, but general and sometimes
they'll.
You know, have a bit to do withthe, the overall creative
vision.
But for the most part and theproducers will often hire the
directors so that will take itin a certain creative direction,
(11:56):
but for the most part thedirector kind of has the final
say yeah, except in a studiosituation.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
So were you always kind of creative growing up.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yes, and it was very strange because I grew up in a
very sciencey family, sogenerations of pharmacists, and
then I was like I want to go toNew York and make movies or you
know, and so it was very weird.
But I started doing theaterfrom a young age and, god bless
my parents, they were sosupportive of this thing that
they didn't know anything about.
(12:27):
And yeah, so I actually myparent, my dad, tells this fun
story when I was very little,sitting in my grandfather's lap,
so I did acting that was kindof how I started and he he says,
before I could talk, that Iwould sit in my grandfather's
lap and he would give me anemotion and I would act it out.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
So, yes, from the very beginning, yeah, and you're
pretty expressive, I would sayon stage.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, as a stand-up comedian.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I like making faces you do.
I feel like you're caught a lotwhen people are taking pictures
.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
It's not attractive, but it's entertaining.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Yeah, yeah was there like a movie or film growing up
that really inspired you to headinto filmmaking.
So cliche.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I mean I loved the original Star Wars and I had
brothers so that was a very biglike culturally, that was very
big in our house, right.
So I loved Star Wars.
That's kind of what got me intoit all the special effects, the
camera work um.
And then when I got older, mymy favorite film was Eternal.
(13:32):
Eternal Sunshine of theSpotless Mind.
Have you ever seen it?
No, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Jim.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Carrey in a serious role, which is not a big deal
now, but at the time you know itwas different um, you want to
hear something weird, what Ihaven't seen all the Star Wars.
I hear that so much.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I feel like that's like something to be ashamed of,
but I'm just like I havememories of like blips of scenes
, yeah, so I'm sure I was likewalking through the room or
something because it was justalways around.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
yeah, yeah, the toys like everything.
But I mean I had two brothersright, so I had like there was
no getting away from Star Warsin my house.
Did you have a movie that youreally liked growing up?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Freaky Friday comes to mind.
Given that Freakier Friday iscoming out, definitely liked
that.
I was texting some friends lastnight.
I was like who's going to seethis?
Speaker 2 (14:24):
I heard it was fun and I heard it was geared more
towards our age demographic yes,yeah yeah, I could definitely
see that.
I love Alex.
My husband took our daughterbecause that's her favorite
movie.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
The old freaky really she loves that movie.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
I love it so she was not gonna wait until next
weekend and I couldn't go, butthey had a great time yeah, I
don't think I can go until forlike a few weeks yeah, you're
busy, it's fine, yeah good stuffyeah, but yeah solid, it's a
great I have been really likingLindsay Lohan's movies on
Netflix lately, yeah like whatother ones, the Christmas ones
that she's been doing.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Oh, are they new?
Um, yeah, I mean the lastcouple years I I didn't they're
so cheesy it's amazing.
I love a cheesy Christmas movie, though, yeah, I can't remember
what they're called, butthey'll, I mean they'll pop up,
they'll be around soon, you know.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Give it a month, all the Christmas movies will be out
oh yeah, I think it's so funnyhow many of them shoot in the
summer, like here in Nashvilleokay, I didn't know that they're
in.
Nashville.
Yeah, I was just talking to acamera guy the other day who had
shot another one here inNashville over the summer.
I was like how are they?
They're just like blowing airconditioning and fake snow.
I'm like that sounds miserable,trying to pretend Like inside
(15:34):
or something.
No, like they'll do exteriors.
I don't know how they do it.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
That's interesting.
I was actually going to ask youabout the scene here in
Nashville.
For film, yeah, for film,there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
There's a lot of creative people, because there's
a lot of music video here andthen I didn't know this before I
moved here but there's a lot ofadvertising.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Oh, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
And so that comes with a lot of production people.
Atlanta is kind of bigger on TVand, I think, still film, but
there's a lot of documentarystyle stuff happening right now.
There's like a healthdocumentary show.
I know there's some true crimethat shoots in, you know
Nashville and then parts of likethe Midwest as well interesting
(16:14):
.
So we get a little bit ofeverything yeah, it's so
interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
it's not a world that I really know, but no, since
moving here, I know three actors, which is weird.
I've never known any.
Yeah, and I mean nobody likebig.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
It's just they're all trying to make it.
You know, yeah, and it reallyis a hub and you can sustain
yourself between Nashville andAtlanta.
So I know a lot of people thatdo that, who are actors.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Have you done any of that work here, or have you been
teaching?
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I've been teaching mostly but I love music videos.
So I did a lot of music videosand I worked in advertising,
actually for the first kind ofdecade that I was here.
So I was in the productionhouse of an advertising firm
editing and shooting anddirecting sometimes and writing
and it was this awesome likesmall firm.
So I got to do.
(17:02):
I mean I even sang jingles.
You know, sometimes you sangjingles.
Yeah, yes, I got to do.
I mean I even sang jingles.
You know, sometimes you sang,oh yeah, jingles, yeah yes, I
got to do everything.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
It was fun.
Yeah, did you write thecommercials or did somebody come
?
Sometimes okay did you findthat challenging to get creative
with that.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It's a different challenge because you only have
30 seconds and you kind of haveto tell a story and get an
emotional pull, and then thetype of, and then advertising
too, you have to kind of play toa really like a big common
denominator.
So I remember, like you know,fresh off my graduate degree,
and I'm writing thesecommercials, they just mark it
up and go no four syllable words, good point, good point, good
(17:45):
note.
They're like cast a wide netyou know, so, yeah, it was
different, but then I had funwith it.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Some of the clients would let us.
We mostly did attorneycommercials oh really, yeah, so
cheesy and silly.
But what was nice about that isthat we didn't take ourselves
very, you know, seriously.
So we would just cut up in thestudio all the time and have fun
.
But then we would have somepeople like there was one guy
out of Texas called himself theTexas Hammer.
We had another guy that calledhimself the Bull, and so like we
(18:14):
got a real bull With the TexasHammer.
We had him smash through a door, like that was fun.
You know, for a minute the guyout of Texas was gonna get MC
Hammer.
He was trying and MC I mean likeI'm a huge MC Hammer fan, so I
had so much fun writing theynever happened, but it was so
(18:34):
much fun writing commercials foran attorney that involved MC
Hammer anyways, I could go out,it was fun.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Some attorneys have a sense of humor that's right
you're, you're one of them.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I'm one of them.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Yeah, few, and far between.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, but you're a little bit more well-respected
than some of the ones.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Thanks, yeah, yeah.
What would you say was one ofyour favorite projects to work
on other than attorneycommercials, other than attorney
commercials While I was there.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
There I was allowed to use their equipment and
studios.
And then a fellow this was whenI was in the editing side of
things my fellow editor had aband and I got to make a music
video for his band and musicvideos are my favorite projects
and I don't know that one'sstill one of my favorites
because my kids were in it.
All my friends and I wereshooting it together and it was
(19:27):
my buddy's music and I stilllike he's a very talented
musician, so I loved it.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
How.
I mean, how do you make a musicvideo?
You know it's a big question,but I'm like, where would you
start?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
so many different ways.
You have to decide if you wantit to be narrative or not.
I actually teach a whole classon this, so you might not have
wanted to go down that road, butyeah, I mean you have to decide
do you want narratives or doyou want a story, or do you just
want it to be performance based?
And a lot of times that hasmore to do with budget.
You know how big of a story canyou tell and how much money do
(19:56):
you have to go, you know, allover town and hire actors and
shoot it?
But um, and you need, you needa good, solid crew.
Yeah cool what has been like oneof the biggest challenges in
your career every single timethere's a strike or you know big
(20:19):
layoffs or projects, I mean itjust in a creative field it just
happens all the time, yeah, andso freelancing can be really
tough, um, on the whole, youknow, for like a decade or
whatever.
But so I I made a consciousdecision after freelancing for
just a couple years that Iwanted to try to have things
more steady.
So I did work at an advertisingfirm where it was like more
(20:41):
nine to five, so I had kids tooby that point.
So so I needed that.
And then I always knew I got mymaster's degree right out of
college because I knew that Icould teach at the professor
level in my field with just that.
So as soon as, like, even thatadvertising firm had picked up
and I just couldn't travel withthem as much as they wanted me
(21:03):
to, it was really nice to thenbe able to move over into
teaching.
How much travel is involvedWith the advertising because it
was such a small firm.
We started like once or twice ayear and then by the time I
left it was getting to be fiveor six and I was a single mom
then.
So I was like I really can't.
(21:23):
I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, and what would you say are like some
personality traits that wouldmake someone successful in this
area.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
In filmmaking in general.
I'll say if you're, ifadvertising there were a lot of,
I mean, mad Men captured it, itwas a wild place.
And filmmaking if you're goingto freelance, you really do, you
have to be tough, and I thinkit does help if you are an
extrovert, because so much of itis about relationships yeah you
(21:55):
will get your job based on theperson that liked you from the
last set that you were on thatmakes sense yeah, yeah and so,
other than, obviously, thetraveling played into switching
to teaching what I mean, whatelse went into that decision?
Speaker 1 (22:11):
The hours?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yeah, as the kids.
Again, I've got kids, so like Ireally wanted to be able to
pick them up from school and andtake them to school and have
spring break with them and haveit not, and take them to school
and have spring break with themand have it not.
It's just always a fight, youknow when you're in a nine to
five and now that I have aschedule that you know it
doesn't match exactly, but itmatches up pretty well.
At Christmas time and over thesummer I can be more present
(22:36):
with them.
So I mean that that was thebiggest thing yeah, um, I had a
question in my head.
I was like ready to go and thenI just looked at you and I was
like I don't know, it's goneyou'll get it later.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
It'll come back, yeah , oh, I know what.
Did you find that teaching camenaturally to you, or was it a
pretty big switch that you hadto work at?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I had a little bit of both, because when I started I
didn't have, like they call it,pedagogy.
It's this very fancy wordpedagogy, right like learning
how to teach other people andwith my degree I didn't have any
of those classes, so I neverformally learned how to teach
(23:21):
and our department at Lipscomb,where I started, was so small
that there was nobody to really.
Everybody was too busy.
Nobody could be like, hey, I'llhelp you.
it was like you're in figure itout it was all trial by fire, so
that my classes that I plannedlooked very different the next
year yeah, and they did thefirst year, but it was not.
(23:44):
I like to think that I was goodat it, but I definitely wasn't
great at it at first and I justhad to like, through feedback
with the students and throughjust looking and going, they're
not engaged.
I can tell that they're notengaged.
I need to rethink this.
You know, lecture or activity?
Speaker 1 (24:02):
or whatever.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, it's really a skill set.
There's a reason teachersactually go to school for that
yeah, yeah, I feel like a lot ofpeople think they can just kind
of like slip in and it'll belike an easy change.
I don't think that's the case.
It's not it's not.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
it's not that you can't get there.
Some people can't, I mean, mostpeople can, but there are some
people who don't who they do itand they're like I really don't
like this and I'm notcommunicating.
They just can tell that they'renot connecting the concepts and
there are some of the best,like filmmakers and
practitioners, but it's a wholedifferent thing to communicate
it.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, for sure.
What do you find you enjoy bestabout teaching?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
The relationships with the students, about
teaching the relationships withthe students.
You know they're like 18 to 22in my case and they're like the
world is their oyster.
But it's all so terrifying andI remember that.
I remember being in their shoesand being terrified and I enjoy
like being able to guide andlike a lot of times I feel like
I'm just like an extra mom youknow, come to my office and
(25:05):
they're dealing with this lifething, or they're, you know.
Do you know asking me if I everhave, um, if I ever feel like I
don't belong and it's like, yes,that gets better, but you will
constantly deal with that inyour life like imposter syndrome
.
I don't want to say it nevergoes away, but you, you know, I
feel it.
Now I'm starting at a new placeand I'm like everybody here is
(25:26):
so accomplished, you know,looking at their CVs, I'm like
mine doesn't have any, you know.
So you still feel that way andI think I enjoy being able to
reassure them and also to say Ididn't think I could do what
you're doing either, but now Iteach people how to do it so you
can definitely do it.
How to do it, so you candefinitely do it.
You know, I like that part ofit.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Do you get to be involved in their projects?
A lot like filmmaking, anythinglike that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Sometimes, yeah, and if they want me to be more so
than I will.
But it is nice, I think, tolike let them go out and fail
sometimes, because they're goingto learn from that.
If I just tell them don't dothis and do that and don't do
this, you know going to learnfrom that.
If I just tell them don't dothis and do that and don't do
this, you know it doesn't stickas much as if they just I'm like
just go, just go do it, andthey'll fail at some things and
they'll accomplish some otherthings and they'll get better,
it's the best way.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Are they all out there doing music videos now?
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So yeah, so at our at Belmont now it's like, um,
there are a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
I mean Belmont's very music, heavy right.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Belmont and Lipscomb were very music heavy.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
I didn't know Lipscomb yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
But the program at Belmont is specifically like
motion pictures, and so I'malready like how can I sneak in
music videos?
I mean, I love movies too, forsure.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
But I know I'm always like you guys should really
have a music video class here.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Been there a week, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
I, I'm gonna make it happen yeah, would you say.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
there have there been any opportunities over the
years that you ended up turningdown that like it seemed like,
oh my gosh, I should do this,but then for sure, the biggest
one.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I like to say that I peaked in college.
All my coolest jobs were whileI was still a student.
I saw you had some pretty coolinternships and stuff.
Yeah, I mean, I really did so.
I interned at Saturday NightLive.
That was my coolest one and Igot asked to be an executive
assistant at SNL at SNL by oneof the top executives and I but
(27:33):
I I had worked there and I hadseen how that person treated
there yeah so I knew that itcould be a great opportunity,
but I also knew that I'd beworking 80 to a hundred hours a
week and that I could also thennot.
I saw this person had awonderful assistant who did
(27:54):
everything I mean as far as Icould see as perfectly as you
could have done it.
And at the end of that yearthat person wanted to get out
and move up and the executivewas so mad that they were
leaving that kind of blacklistedthem and that was the executive
that wanted me.
And also the tough thing was Ihad worked in a different
department and they told me theywere like look, we would have
(28:17):
hired you the next timesomething came up, but if you
say no to this executive, Iwon't be allowed to hire you.
Oh, that was really hard.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Yeah.
Do you regret that or do youfeel like you made the right
decision?
I?
Speaker 2 (28:31):
don't.
I don't regret it because Iwould have again 80 to 100 hours
a week and I wouldn't have beenpursuing my dreams at all and
it could have at the end of it,I could have been like that
their last assistant and notgotten anything out of it
anyways.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
I always feel like the one of the hallmarks of a
good leader is that when youtell them you have an
opportunity, that and it'ssomething that'll help you grow,
that they might be sad thatyou're leaving but they're happy
for you Agree, and I think it'svery telling if that's not the
(29:10):
case and should be reassuring.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Yeah, and that's so.
Kudos to the boss in mydepartment who was like I'm
going to be real with you, thatis going to be hard and we would
have hired you, but if you sayno, I won't be able to.
And I was like, all right, and,but that's when I decided to go
to graduate school.
So I think, like you know, whenGod closes the door, he opens a
(29:32):
window.
Um, and I didn't have gradschool on my radar at all, but I
also wasn't.
I'm a cinematographer.
Now, I would never, afterundergrad, have told you that I
could do that.
I was like I'm five foot tall,I can't lift things like the
dudes who like, when you thinkof a cinematographer, you think
of a tall guy who can lift allthe camera and equipment and
(29:55):
stuff.
And I, when I went to gradschool, I was like you know, I
still really want to do this,and now I'm just going to, I'm
just gonna, I'm just gonna pourmyself into it and it was only
because of those extra yearsthat I got the confidence to do
that part of it at all.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
That's really cool yeah, so you don't have to be
able to lift.
I've seen you carry some stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
I I did like I worked in the equipment center in grad
school because I felt sodeficient in that like camera
world and I made sure that Icould lift all the things and
that I knew how everything fittogether, because I it was also.
I mean, it was a time like inthe 2000s it wasn't common,
there weren't femalecinematographers.
I got laughed at when I toldsomebody at an internship in LA
(30:40):
that I wanted to be acinematographer really oh,
completely and completely.
And I didn't even, I wasn't evenupset, I was like, yeah, I get
it, this is not going to be easy.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
I mean, how did you find the confidence to continue
after someone laughs at yourdream?
I'm very stubborn.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Served you well.
I'm very stubborn.
You're a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
You get it.
I do, I'm like oh, you think Ican't do it?
Huh, now guess what?
Yeah, I'm gonna do 10 timesbetter actually that's right.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Yeah, yeah, laugh at me will you.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Are there more women now in the field for?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
sure, actually in um, I think the movie was made in
2017 and the Oscar nominationwas 2018.
I could be getting that yearslightly wrong, but the first
female was nominated forcinematography for the first
time ever for cinematography inin 2018.
And Eternal Sunshine of theSpotless Mind, the movie that I
(31:36):
mentioned, had a big impact onme.
One of the reasons was and thatwas 2002 or 2003.
I should know, but it's veryclose to there it was the first
movie I ever saw in a theaterthat was shot by a female.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
Yeah, and it was Ellen Kuras.
So you see, ellen, and you're,like that's for sure, a woman.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
And.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
I was so intrigued by that and it was after that that
I went to grad school, and itwas after that that I started
that I went to grad school andwas like maybe I, maybe I can
you know.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Isn't it so interesting how, even though you
maybe didn't know what shelooked like, but you're like
that's a woman, so she at leastlooks somewhat like me.
Right, it can really impactjust having the confidence.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
I think that we're more evolved than that, that we
don't have to see somebody thatlooks like us.
But I did, and my firstcinematography class that I
taught at Lipscomb um.
I had.
I had a girl in there who Ithey they asked me specifically
like what was it like being afemale, you know, when you were
(32:42):
trying to be a cinematographer?
And she cried.
She was like I just never.
And she does it for a livingnow and she's great at it.
She's great at it, she's in LAand San Francisco.
But yeah, it's nice.
It's nice to see somebody.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, yeah, it matters.
I mean, that's whyrepresentation in general
matters a lot, whether it'sbooks, movies, tv shows,
anything it really does.
I mean, it just makes adifference when you see people
who look like you.
Who?
Speaker 2 (33:11):
look like you or who think like you, and it's not
like it doesn't have to only bethat Right, but especially for a
profession.
I mean, I literally was justlike well, I can't do that.
I'm just you know, not say I'mjust a girl, but I'm you know,
like I don't see anybody elsedoing it.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Who's a girl, I obviously can't do that.
Maybe I could be a cameraassistant.
You know, that was really mythinking.
Yeah, I know.
So my mom went to law schoolwhen I was in high school and so
I never got the impression thata woman couldn't be a lawyer
because I was like, well, mymom's doing it, right, here we
go.
It was always on the table,yeah, um, but I know that she
wanted to go when, like aftercollege, and I asked her one
(33:52):
time why she didn't and it wasbecause women didn't do that
very much.
Yeah, there was more to it aswell like she wanted to be a mom
and at the time, yeah, evenmore.
It's harder to see that it's.
It's tough now to be a lawyer.
Yeah, as at the time even more.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
It's harder to see that it's tough now to be a
lawyer, as a mom, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
And I would say there were 50% female in law school.
It's when you get out of lawschool and choose the practice
area that it becomes verydifferent.
And in the practice area I wentto, it's unusual.
I was once one of the partners,once told me that a client said
(34:31):
to him that I would have itmade because I'm a female in
private equity and I was like,have it made Like this is
miserable being the only womanhere.
So it's just, it's.
It's interesting to think aboutthat and what he was implying,
that I would just they'd keeppromoting me because they needed
(34:52):
their token woman no so it.
It was very like shocking for meto go from.
I mean my mom's doing it,there's 50% women in law school
Like what are you talking about?
And then just going and beinglike, oh, I was naive.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
I'm not often with people who have been in that
situation, because I've been inthat situation for sure as well.
Did you like have any tacticsthat you would do to make the
men feel more comfortable withyou being around any?
Speaker 1 (35:22):
tactics that you would do to make the men feel
more comfortable with you beingaround.
Oh, interesting, I mean I waspretty quiet.
I would fade into the backgrounda lot.
Okay, I tried to benon-confrontational and like,
(35:47):
one biggest events for of theyear was a golf event one time,
and I was the only woman out ofover a hundred people, and so I
actually went and did golflessons to show up, um, but I
always felt I was trying to makemyself, as I don't know, fly on
the wall as possible.
I don't know, fly on the wallas possible, um to not be,
because I think in my profession, women are often viewed as
(36:09):
pushovers, um, or a word I willchoose not to use on this clean
podcast that we can all you know, female dog ish um, and so I
was always very aware of thatand obviously that one's worse
so I'm gonna yeah, I'm gonna bea pushover like.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
I had.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
I've had men take credit for my work and I just
sat there and took it same I.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
I didn't sit there and take it, I went the other
way but I, I don't love how Imanifested because I'm in those
situations and I would be.
You know, you're in anelectrical department and it is
just as masculine as that sounds.
And so there, you know, you'reon a walkie talkie and they're
telling, you know, raunchy jokes.
And then you would hear uh Bryn, are you on the line?
(36:57):
You know, and you could justand like everyone would be quite
.
You know, and you could justand like everyone would be quiet
.
You knew, I knew that somebodywent around in person, was like
there's a chick on the line.
Oh my God, you better not youguys better be quiet, because it
would be dead silent for aminute.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
And then they would.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
So I did and I hate this now that I did this but I
started like cussing around theguys to be because they would
all do that.
That wasn't me, you know, and Ireally regret that.
But you know, in 2003 four orfive I just like.
I wanted like, just be calm.
(37:32):
It's just like I'm just aperson and that was the only way
that I could think of you know,like you, you don't want to
stick out any more no than youalready do, and so I feel like
we almost were doing the same.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
We were taking different tactics to get to the
same spot yeah, and I I regretnot speaking up, but there I
chose certain moments to speakup and I, yeah, there were
repercussions for it always umyes like I was told one time all
well, now you have to be quiet.
You've used your politicalcapital and I was like, yes, sir
(38:06):
, I know, so it really ischoosing your battles and that
and I, I think you know, being37 now and feeling like I've
gone through so much more oflife, I just have a lot of grace
towards that 28 year old whowas just lost and, frankly,
(38:28):
scared a lot, um through some ofthe experiences I had early in
my career and it, I, I, I don'tthink that it was worthless,
like I think that I, I wouldnever say I'm grateful because I
would never want to relive someof the things, but I those
weren't on my list of things.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
I wanted to relive either.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
Not a fan.
10 out of 10.
Don't recommend, yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
But I just think, though, that there's a reason,
like I'm going to make surethere's a reason I went through
it For sure, because I don'twant, like I'm gonna make sure
there's a reason I went throughit because I don't want, I don't
ever want, to sit back andthere always is yeah, and you
may not know now, you may knowin it could 20 years, but you
will be able to use thatexperience for something for the
good.
I believe that with everything.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I agree, yeah, and I do think it's getting better,
for sure mean in my field aswell.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
It is getting better.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Yeah, and right now I work with mostly men and it's
fine.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Yeah, they treat me good, my.
So I just adopted um myhusband's daughter and the firm
that we used for that, which iswonderful and she's the best the
firm we use is an all femalefirm, Really.
Yeah, and I just thought, andmy husband hired them, like he
picked them because of theirmerit.
I didn't go seeking anall-female.
He like found the best peopleto do it and it happens to be an
(39:51):
all-female firm and I love that.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
Yeah, it's like are you good?
Yeah, that's what matters.
Yeah, um stand-up comedy, bryn?
Yeah, where does that come in?
I?
Speaker 2 (40:05):
remember vividly before Comedy Central and after
Comedy Central, and as soon asComedy Central became a thing
like that's all I watched.
I watched stand-up all the time.
It was my favorite favoritething to watch.
To listen to in the car likejust 100%.
My favorite thing never in amillion years.
To in the car like just ahundred percent.
My favorite thing Never in amillion years did I think I
would ever, ever, ever do it,because who am I?
(40:28):
And that's terrifying, and Iwant people to like me, you know
, and if I start going tellingmy opinion everywhere, nobody's
going to like me, you know.
So, um, but I, I went to NYUand so I was surrounded by
comedy there and you saw my CV,but first I interned at Comedy
Central.
(40:48):
I went to a job fair and I waslike the first person to go up
to the table and that's becauseI got there early.
Remember to get there early.
That was a big, but I was thefirst one to go to the table and
she ended up hiring me.
So I interned at Comedy Centralat a really exciting time.
Somebody there knew the personwho hired interns at the Daily
Show and they got me aninterview at the Daily Show.
(41:11):
And then somebody there hadinterned at SNL and they got me.
So every single opportunity wasbecause of somebody that I met
at one of the others but I.
So I've always loved it andI've always wanted to be a part
of it, but I never thought Iwould do it.
My first, one of my firstcollege classes at NYU.
You do those cheesyintroductions and this woman who
(41:34):
ended up becoming my one of mybest friends in the world said,
just mentioned casually that shedoes stand up comedy and I was
like we're gonna be friends youknow, and she, you know we still
are to this day.
She's awesome, um, and then whenI got divorced and like had
some kind of harder thingshappen in my 30s, he's just like
you're like you only live once.
I'm gonna do this now.
(41:55):
Yeah, so, being an academic, Itook a class first and then I
mean I did too there you go,yeah, I.
I want the academics of it, themechanics, but yeah, and I just
I love it.
I love it so much.
Yeah, how did you get into it?
My therapist you have somestuff to work out and we only
have an hour.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
You need stage time.
No, she actually recommendedimprov due to I was having a lot
of anxiety at the time and shewas like improv would be great,
yeah, but I always found improvreally scary because I'm like
I'm not.
I've never felt like I was veryquick witted, yeah, like I like
to sit back, take it in thensay something, yeah.
(42:40):
So I saw that standup was atthird coast and I had heard
you're like close enough.
I know I was like you prepareahead of time and then just get
up and do what you prepared.
Yeah that's me, that's great.
And I was like it doesn'tmatter if I'm bad at it, like I
don't.
That's so funny.
I've never thought I was funny.
So what do I have to lose?
Yeah, just them telling me I'mnot funny.
(43:01):
I already knew that see thatwas.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
That would have been devastating to me.
I did improv for fun in college.
That was no big deal to me but,getting up and being like this
is who I am.
It was terrifying, yeah,interesting, but I love it now.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
I love it.
Yeah, I loved the classes.
Yeah, because people were verysupportive and it just felt so
like new and different, and I'vealways enjoyed public speaking.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
So it was like I can get up in front and whatever and
you can, and you're great atproducing, which is not a lot.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
Of comedians can do both you know, and that's pretty
much what I'm doing now,because I mean I haven't done
stand-up in a while, yeah, butyou've been.
I feel like you've been prettyactive, yeah, and you're a
producer of the Clean comedycollective.
I am.
Speaker 2 (43:44):
I have a show in Spring Hill right now.
That's the only one that I'mofficially, yeah, producing, but
it's it's been going well and I, I love it.
It's so much fun.
I love the vendor there.
The coffee shop is wonderful isthat great?
Speaker 1 (43:57):
monthly, monthly, monthly, yeah, okay, monthly.
I much prefer a monthly showthan a weekly show.
Oh my gosh, I can't.
I couldn't even keep up withthe monthly in the end yeah,
like it's a lot.
Speaker 2 (44:08):
Weekly was a lot.
We were doing that weekly showat the bunganut pig rip bunganut
pig.
They closed forever.
Speaker 1 (44:14):
It'd been there for like 30 40 years or something
and it has shuttered yeah,interesting, but um, but
weekly's tough.
What is the place in SpringHill where it's located?
Speaker 2 (44:23):
It's Just Love Coffee Shop in Spring Hill.
Yeah, isn't there more than one?
Yeah, so it's a chain, but it's, you know, franchisees.
Yeah, and the owner there,frank Snodgrass, just has a
beautiful story.
He's got a wonderful heart, andso I was happy to partner with
him because of his communityfocus.
And he really loves hiscommunity and he wanted a space
(44:46):
he already has like musiciansthere at night and he just has a
great.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
He just has a great heart for the community there,
and so it was an easy yes, forme, I think one of the hard
things about producing isgetting the audience to show up.
Have you struggled with that atall, or is there a pretty yes,
yeah?
Speaker 2 (45:04):
yes, not at spring hill, but in every other one
that I've helped with.
Yes, but spring hill, I thinkthe difference is that, like I
said, frank snodgrass, he hasalready built a community there
that already comes at night forcreative things like christian
music, christian songwritersnight, or they do like a swing
dancing night.
So there's already, like peoplealready know to come there.
(45:27):
Um, and I don't know if it justbeing that that little bit
further away from Nashville, Ifeel like might help.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
I feel like it could, because that's like um the guy
who runs comedian discovery anddoes the comedian discovery?
Speaker 2 (45:38):
live shows.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Yeah, he, I think he's tapped into an audience
there of like he does it in thesuburbs more whereas there's a
decent amount with Zany's ThirdCoast and then the local shows,
yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
But what?
What Comedian Discovery?
What Josiah is great at is themarketing.
Yeah, he's good.
He's so good at that and and,and, and.
He's also, and I think that's alot of it.
He's so giving so manycomedians like he'll just reach
out to them and go hey, I thinkyou could be doing this better
on your social media and helpthem out, and then so they just
(46:10):
love him forever in return, youknow.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
Yeah, and I do too.
I'm one of them.
I'm a big fan, you know.
He's actually going to be onthe podcast in a few weeks so,
oh, I can't wait to see that.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
Really good, yeah, he's awesome yeah, he's a great
guy.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Um, so your stand-up comedy does it?
Do your jokes come easily, ordo you have, to like, really
work at it?
I think both.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
Yeah, the first set, you know, I've I've got 30, 30
to 35 minutes right now and Imean you know when you're
building you.
Okay, this first 15 was hardyou know, and the second 15 for
me was also hard to kind of getright.
And now what's terrifying is Ihave some audition tapes put
(46:58):
together and I feel like I'vebeen doing.
You know I'm reaching out foropportunities to I feature a lot
now and I've got a headlining,you know, coming up.
It's exciting.
Speaker 1 (47:07):
It's a big deal it is a big deal.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
I'm very excited and I got to headline once already,
um, for 25, 30 minutes and thatwas so fun.
Um, I God bless them forputting me up when I barely
barely knew what I was doing.
But but, but it was, it wasreally fun shout out to Bobby
and Joyce, cause that was areally fun show.
But yeah, so I'm doing a bitmore of that.
(47:31):
What I'm terrified of isputting those away, cause I feel
very comfortable right now withmy 25 minutes, cause I've I've
got a different five here I canpull, like I said, I've got
about 35 and I can.
I've been doing the jokes for awhile, so I need to start
putting them away.
It's exciting to write.
(47:52):
I love writing, but the idea ofgoing back to ooh, I don't know
if this is going to work isterrifying.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
But I'm doing it, I am.
I always enjoyed as I gotlonger.
I think the longest I did was15 to 20, maybe, and it was
really fun to look at your jokesand then say, like, how do
these transition together?
Yes it's like you're tellingthis story but you've written
these jokes all separate, butyou can figure out how they all
(48:19):
go together yeah, and they cango together differently.
Speaker 2 (48:22):
I was.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
I love to like switch them around to find the right.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
It's a puzzle, yeah that's my favorite thing too you
take your chunks, you go.
Okay, here's my, you know,divorce chunk in my case.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
here's my favorite thing too you take your chunks,
you go okay, here's my you knowdivorce chunk in my case.
Speaker 2 (48:34):
here's my you know my kids chunk.
And I look at the audience andI go, oh, people here look like
they have kids or no, they don't.
So I'll swap that out with mydating chunk or whatever it's
fun.
It is fun, and especially whenyou get to the point where you
can do that without having tothink so hard.
That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
That's what I don't want to lose, like getting all
the new material, yeah, that'sit, that's all, yeah.
And I've, like every once in awhile, kind of like had an idea
and I feel like I'm like how doI write jokes again?
I don't even know.
So we'll see.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
Yeah, but yeah, I'm sure it'll be like riding a bike
, sure it will.
Speaker 1 (49:12):
Let's say that it will.
Yeah, yeah, um, what advicewould you give someone who's
interested in uh, I was gonnasay filmography?
Speaker 2 (49:23):
cinematography or filmmaking in general.
Yes, thank you.
Um, just start with your phone,don't be intimidated.
Just start trying.
Try to tell a good story withwhat you have and it's not going
to be good the first time andthat's okay, you know.
You can then look at itcritically.
There's a lot on YouTube nowand you can do a lot with just
(49:44):
your phone.
Yeah, you know.
So just I would say just start,you know and see what you like
about it and what you don't, andtell your story.
Just make it authentic.
That's the other thing I wouldsay.
It's like what is yourperspective and what are you
trying to say in the world?
and be authentic to that, andthat that is what should shine
(50:06):
through and that's advice I feellike.
Speaker 1 (50:09):
Just start be authentic.
Yeah, that's it.
Bullet points, yeah.
So what are you obsessing overlately?
Speaker 2 (50:19):
This is.
I hate this answer, but I am sointo like, spiritual warfare
and conspiracy theories,theories right now.
Wow, which is like heavy, crazystuff.
Uh, okay, how do those gotogether?
Sometimes they're the same okay.
Like, for example, there's thealiens conspiracy theory and
(50:43):
whatever side you fall on that,but there's a tie-in to
spiritual warfare, because somepeople believe that aliens are
actually interdimensional demons.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
Okay, I've heard that I haven't heard the
interdimensional.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
I've definitely heard , just like sometimes there's a
difference between demons andinterdimensional, I think
there's an argument that that'sthe same that's redundant, yeah,
but some people think they'reinterdimensional beings and some
people think they're demons andI I don't know what's, but I
feel like it would befascinating if they were
interdimensional demons likethis.
And then if you I mean just ona day-to-day, if you think of it
(51:18):
that way, like I don't know, itfeels more like a battle that
you can face.
I know that sounds crazy, butlike if it's all fate and it's
all kind of written and it not,you know what's your, what's
your role in that.
But if, but if there's somelittle, there's some
interdimensional demon likemaking your life harder, then
it's I don't know, it's morelike a challenge that I can
(51:39):
stubbornly take on.
Okay, I don't know, um, it'scrazy, but it's so fun to me,
it's just really fun to thinkabout you know, I think that's
fascinating.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
I I mean, I've heard, I didn't know you were a crazy
person learning so much.
What YouTube channel are youwatching?
I have a few, but um, yeah, um,I realized.
So I decided what I'm obsessingover today is cranial sacral
massage, because I'm pretty sureI've mentioned my cranial
(52:11):
sacral lady, like on all theprior podcasts and I was like I
think it's clear to everyonewhat I'm obsessing over.
Speaker 2 (52:19):
So, and that's, head massages, it's the whole body.
Speaker 1 (52:22):
It just like works with like your nervous system
and stuff so cool.
Got that at three o'clock today.
That's cool.
It's good though All massage isgood, all massage is good.
Yeah, yeah.
Do you have a recommendation?
I do.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
If the interdimensional demons was too
far, don't worry, I have alighter conspiracy theory, one
that I love.
It's a YouTube channel calledthe Y files.
Have you heard of it?
No Fascinating, so it'll gointo, like some government stuff
.
There's this, like you know.
I mean I'll have the classics,like you know aliens or Bigfoot.
(53:02):
And then yeah like all thegreats, but it'll go into
government.
You know stuff.
Mk Ultra.
Speaker 1 (53:12):
I like some interdimensional stuff.
I like government conspiraciesyeah, definitely Bigfoot.
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 2 (53:20):
They're the classics yeah, the classics, the easy
ones right the gateway tointerdimensional dehumanization.
It's a gateway drug.
Speaker 1 (53:31):
It is, yeah, interdimensional do you?
Speaker 2 (53:31):
it's a gateway drug.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
It is yeah, well, uh, okay.
So I went to a bigfootconference and I I knew this you
and marianna were right.
Speaker 2 (53:40):
Yeah, we're gonna we're.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
The next podcast I'm recording is about that, so I
don't want to go too far in, butyeah, let's just say portals
were discussed, I might have togo next year.
Speaker 2 (53:50):
I really might.
Speaker 1 (53:51):
I feel like we're going to have a large group.
Speaker 2 (53:53):
So feel free, I'm in, I will do it yeah.
Speaker 1 (53:58):
So my recommendation is not quite on that level.
I listen to this podcast calledZero to Travel.
Oh, what's that about?
It's about basically makingtravel like your lifestyle and
like how people can do itdifferently, and I love that he
interviews a lot of people abouttravel, so the one that I am
(54:19):
recommending is April 22nd andit's called a 2190 plus mile
mother-son adventure throughhiking the Appalachian Trail
after a decade of nomadic familytravel.
Speaker 2 (54:33):
Good night.
That's a title, it's quite atitle.
Speaker 1 (54:36):
I know I'm like oh, it keeps going.
Speaker 2 (54:37):
Yeah, just read it, Don't ever remember.
Speaker 1 (54:39):
Yeah but it was really interesting.
It's what got me kind ofinterested in hiking part of the
Appalachian Trail eventually.
It just sounds very peacefulbut also like hard and
challenging.
But they talk about how there'slike people along there that'll
have like food and drinks foryou and you meet different
people and yeah, yeah, and Ithought it was cool that it was
(55:01):
like a mother-son that isadventure.
It's very unique yeah, and likeI think she was working
remotely, sometimes on the trailand he was doing some schooling
.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
I'm like how?
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Yeah, so it was.
It was pretty interesting.
I liked it.
Yeah, what are you lookingforward to this week?
It's my second week in my newjob Nice, so better than the
first week, I feel like, but notquite crazy it was information
overload Like.
Speaker 2 (55:29):
I don't know if you've ever had anything to do
with teaching, but I'm sure yousee the memes about professional
development and it's just likeall day seminar my dad was a
teacher, was he?
Speaker 1 (55:40):
yeah, what did he teach sixth grade um history in
English.
Oh, that's so cool.
Speaker 2 (55:44):
30 years, sixth grade that's the lord's work.
Yeah, that's tough, um yeah, soI'm looking forward to like
getting to know more of mycolleagues and finding out more
about what I'm going to be doingfor the rest of the year, but
it's it's been a greattransition so far.
Like I'm, I work with somereally nice but really
(56:06):
impressive people.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
That's cool.
Speaker 2 (56:08):
I feel co-workers really make or break, make or
break absolutely your directsupervisor and the people around
you and my direct supervisorjust seems awesome and I can
already tell he's taken a lot ofthe last minute work off of my
plate, which I am soappreciative of.
Speaker 1 (56:24):
Yeah, it's great.
Yeah, um, I am looking forwardto the fact that right now
there's a painter at my housepainting my steps.
These things have needed to bedone for a long time.
Good for you.
I ripped out the okay Ishouldn't say I, my dad and my
nephew ripped off these likerunners that were left from the
(56:46):
cellar.
They're just, they were hideous,just dated, and they would get
so dirty and dusty it was hardto keep clean.
So they ripped them out andthere were all these holes and
over the course of like a monthand a half I've been filling the
holes and sanding and I finallyfinished this last week.
And now the painters they'repainting, so there's not.
My friend came over and she'slike why are there red dots on
(57:10):
your stairs?
Speaker 2 (57:12):
I'm like, yeah, that's the style now.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
Pimple breakout yeah, so I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (57:17):
I'll be home, I feel good, yeah, and it'll be fresh.
Yes, our trim is looking realrough and we have a kid who just
started driving and needed acar and we're staring down
college and we're like it'sgonna stay rough like we're not.
It's fine, it'll keep peelingand eventually it'll peel all
the way off, and then we'll doit, you know yes, I feel like
(57:40):
that's house everything yeah,there's always something yeah so
, brynn, where can people findyou if they want to follow you?
um, I love Instagram, so you canfind me at Bryn Does Comedy on
Instagram, and then I haveFacebook as well.
Bryn Daniels and I don't know,or come grab coffee with me at
(58:00):
Belmont, I guess.
Speaker 1 (58:02):
Sounds great Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (58:03):
Thank you so much for having me, nicole.
I miss you, I miss you too.
We'll rectify that.
Yeah, let on a podcast.
No, yeah.
Speaker 1 (58:12):
Thank you, guys for listening.
If you could, please follow theYouTube channel, that'd be so
helpful and follow wherever youlisten to your podcasts.
I'll see you next week.
All done.
Yay, thanks for listening to mycrunchy Zen era.
Please subscribe and leave areview wherever you listen to
your podcasts.
This podcast is produced by me,nicole Swisher and my good
(58:34):
friends Summer Harkup and LizColter, editing is by Drew
Harrison Media and recording isdone by Lagos Creative in
Nashville, tennessee.
Thanks for hanging out.
We'll be back next week.
There's some glow due toradiation Two heads where they
usually are one.
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