Respect The Process

Wow! What a fun, productive talk with Bradley Johnson, Managing Director and EP at Seed Media Arts, and Seed Director Matthew Underwood. We discuss Matthew's spec spot for Chevy titled "Follow Your Own Road" - including the process of developing the script, shooting it on location in Utah, and editing it down from an initial long cut. Matthew's started shooting weddings and music videos then moved to directing documentary and corpo...

Matt McCain and Michael Boychuk founded their Little Hands of Stone ad agency in 2019 after both having extensive careers working at other agencies and companies like Amazon. Matt and Michael worked together at the legendary Wong Doody in LA in the late 90s/early 2000s. The LHoS founders discuss their fun projects, unique creative process, and illustious careers in advertising.  I espscialy enjoyed hearing how they craft memorable ...

Comedy Director Michael Ryan Fagan was in town, so we chat it up about directing comedy for ads... and we never stop. We discuss his career directing actor Vincent Pastore from The Sopranos, among others. We debate the pros and cons of using LED walls and other virtual production techniques in commercials. MRF shares some stories about creative solutions he came up with to film spots, like using a remote controlled robot camera or ...

Cinematographer Dustin Pearlman stops by the podcast for a great chat. We met at the DGA trying to dispel myths to help up and coming directors, and we ended up chums. Dustin has shot for brands, agencies, promos, narrative and doc. I try to nail him down to what he likes best... Stay tuned. Check out his work by clicking his name or here. 

Thanks to our editor Jake Brady We could not do the show without him and love this guy behin...

Commercial Director Bo Barrett shares his journey from acting in over 300 commercials to pursuing directing. He discusses how he learned on film sets by observing legendary directors. He dives into directing his first paid commercial for the brand Shorebirds and the positive response it received. Bo provides advice for other directors just starting out. He emphasizes the importance of respecting your own creative process above all ...

Filmmaker Ross Haines shares how his career making spots has grown and tells us about his short film "Around the Band". Ross got his start editing surf films in Hawaii, joined Beyoncé’s team for her HBO feature doc, Life Is But a Dream and helped launch DC Shoes' internal film department.

We discuss "Around the Band," as a visual poem comprised of vignettes, and shares stories from working with brands that include NIKE, FORD, TRAVE...

Part two, the exciting conclusion to my chat with Filmmaker Nema Vand. Presently, he is directing commercials at VaynerMedia and Eva Nosidam, the in-house production unit. A turning point came when Nema documented Mike Winkelmann's (Mr. Beeple) historic NFT sale, which gained him recognition as a storyteller and director. Now, Nema's goal is to direct feature films. As most directors start in commercials, Nema...

Filmmaker Nema Vand has enjoyed an eclectic career in entertainment, from being an extra on David Fincher's set, to starting his own casting company to presently directing commercials at VaynerMedia and Eva Nosidam, the in-house production unit. A turning point came when Nema documented Mike Winkelmann's (Mr. Beeple) historic NFT sale, which gained him recognition as a storyteller and director. Now, Nema's goa...

Commercial director Jason Cook is known for his design-driven approach and ability to concept visually striking commercials that effectively convey messaging. We discuss his formative directing gigs like spots for Toyota and Maytag, where he also served as creative director. He provides advice on working with actors and improv techniques.

Cook also opens up about passion projects like his award-winning short film "Fucking Ghosts" a...

My guest is Sacha Reeb, Chief Creative Officer at Manifest. Sacha shares insights into real collaboration and explains Creative Pushups - an internal exercise turned event series - sparked new ideas through contributions to "mini briefs" on Slack. Constantly improving ideas through collaboration or reflection is key.

Sasha's real-world examples of how Creative Pushups evolved demonstrate how opening ourselves up to others' perspect...

Veteran commercial director Carolyn Chen returns to the podcast to offer invaluable career advice. like how storytelling remains key, despite changing tools. My friend Carolyn has since transitioned to life coaching, helping those in entertainment navigate challenges. She provided candid insights into the emotional toll of freelancing.

Most fascinating was hearing Chen's metaphorical approach to coaching. By empowering clients thro...

Thrilled to welcome back Jason Wolk - Founder, Managing Director, and Executive Producer of Spears & Arrows. As the leader of one of the top commercial production companies, Jason has a truly unique insight into the ever-changing advertising world and production.

Jason and I explore the myriad ways the industry has evolved just in the past few years alone. From shifts in camera techniques and storytelling approaches, to changing cl...