Change The Game

In this episode of the I Hate This Industry podcast, hosts Steven Almeida and Darryl Reese Jr. explore the excitement and challenges of starting new ventures, particularly in the realms of business and filmmaking. They discuss the importance of resilience, consistency, and storytelling in achieving success. The conversation also touches on the evolving landscape of the music industry and the necessity for artists to adapt and view themselves as brands. The hosts share valuable insights and tips for aspiring filmmakers, emphasizing the significance of mastering storytelling and sound design.

Takeaways

• Starting a new venture is exciting but comes with challenges.
• Resilience is key in navigating business difficulties.
• Consistency in efforts leads to better outcomes.
• Filmmaking requires a strong foundation in storytelling.
• The music industry is constantly evolving and requires adaptation.
• Artists must view themselves as brands to succeed.
• Sound design is crucial in filmmaking and should not be overlooked.
• Learning from past experiences is essential for growth.
• Collaboration and teamwork enhance the creative process.
• Patience and persistence are vital in achieving long-term success.

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Instagram.com/Darrellreesejr

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Twitter.com/___therealworld

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Alright, quiet on the set.

(00:09):
What is it for artists to come into the game today and then try to navigate?
In the industry, it's more opportunity, but it's also a lot more confusing.
Right, I mean, yeah, you get along there with that one.
We live in a generation to where we are, we jump in, we jump in the water first.
It's okay, you learn how to swim.

(00:30):
You can learn how to swim that way.
Action!
Welcome to the I Hate This Industry podcast.
I am your homeboy and handsome host, Steve and I made it.
This is my good brother, the co-host Darrell Reese Jr., the architect of the GoPrint, the
mastermind, the genius, man.
What's good, brother?
Yes, indeed, man.
How you feeling, man?
What's good with you?

(00:50):
I'm good, bro.
I'm tired.
It's episode nine.
It's 2025.
Trump about to be in office.
I'm chilling.
I can be more day, man, a few more days to the inauguration.
A few more days, man.
A few more days.
How you feeling, man?
The more it creeps up, like the more it comes, I think it's kind of going to be more of the
same as like we've seen before.
Like I feel like that.

(01:12):
It's just social media is deeper, like it's more bigger, but I think everything else is
going to be more than the same.
Which you mean as it's been like with the past years or like how it was when he was
in office last time?
Yeah, he was in office last time.
Yeah, me too.
I think honestly, I don't think it's going to be as bad as people think it's going to

(01:32):
be.
Well, some people think it's going to be great.
I don't think it's going to be as bad as people think it's going to be.
I think at the end of the day, it's on the people.
I think I said that last time when we talked about it, it's on the people.
You got to get to it, man, no matter who's in president, no matter who's in that office,
you got to figure it out.
You got to do it.
You got to figure out your life.

(01:52):
You got to figure out what's going on and making him the villain, it's not going to
change.
It's not going to help your situation.
That would make you any, you know, put you in a position.
So yeah, I think it's going to be, I think we're going to be all right, man.
The people are resilient, man.
We resilient people.
America is a lot of resilience, man.
A lot of people who know how to rise up and make it out the struggle or make it through

(02:15):
the struggle.
Yeah, I do want to start by saying, man, a lot of love and praise to LA, man.
It is really bad out there.
Absolutely.
We have many prayers to those out there.
Yo, that fire is, I saw a fire tornado.
Bro, damn.
Like a fire tornado.
And I'm just like, nah.
And did you hear it?

(02:36):
Clearly, you've heard about it.
But did you hear about all the politics behind it?
Like how the mayor cut the funding?
I heard a little bit about the fire chief.
I heard about the funding part and things like that.
I did hear a little bit about that.
I got to dive deep into that.
I have heard about that.
And how Trump was on, when Trump was on Joe Rogan's podcast, he was talking about that

(02:57):
and critiquing that whole situation of them cutting funding and all that.
So it was very sad to see that how he predicted actually happened.
Hopefully they get it together, man.
I don't know whose fault it is.
I know there's a lot of blame going around.
I don't know whose fault it is.
And maybe now is not the time to be blaming people.
Those people need help, man.

(03:17):
I hope they get those fires under control.
It's looking like hell on earth out there, man.
It's looking crazy.
Yeah.
Well, what's good with you, bro?
How's the beginning of the year been?
Man, it's been all right, man.
Just gearing up for this film as far as editing and releasing.
We are still in post-production.
We're going to be in post-production for a good minute.

(03:39):
For a good minute.
I know we're going to touch on it more about that process.
But man, this is my first big production.
Well, not big production.
This is my first real short film production.
Like I've done two short films before.
But this is my first time with like a cast and crew
and things like this.
So the editing process and putting clips together,
matching the clips, syncing the clips,

(04:00):
like you know about this.
Like we've been going through this back and forth with it.
Yeah.
And that's really been it, man.
Just gearing up for some client work,
gearing up for this on-pod, the film, the album.
Man, it's looking exciting, man.
It's looking exciting.
So what, this is good to start off like that.
What we got in store for the people in 2025 with the podcast?

(04:20):
Man, consistency one.
That's number one.
That's number one.
Yeah.
That's number one.
That's the only thing.
But nah, definitely that.
And just reaching up people more.
And as a whole audience out there that needs the knowledge,
that needs the game that we're given and things like that.
And even though we're not industry professionals

(04:42):
in the field that we talking about,
but we have been through it.
And we do have some knowledge in these fields
that we talking about.
So the things that we're giving out and the information
that we're giving out, we have the knowledge of it.
So that's the knowledge that we're going to give out
because we know it and been through it.
So that's really it, man.
Just trying to be consistent with it.
Just continue to give the knowledge

(05:04):
and just reach new people with it.
Because like I said, there's a whole audience out there
that need it.
I wouldn't even say we're not industry professionals
because I mean, I know what you mean.
But I would consider us professionals in our field.
If you take into consideration the 10,000 hours put in,
the execution of projects, that's what professionals do.

(05:26):
I feel like, I get it.
Because people consider it like you have to work
for a corporate business.
You have to work for all that.
That's how people consider it.
But having your own business and running your race
in this industry, that's you're a professional.
Because you're executing on a professional level,
you're a professional in this field.
And we got to just expand that.

(05:46):
I think, I know I've talked to a few people.
I know that there's people that really want
to do interviews on the pod.
I definitely foresee that in the near future for this.
Just having some guests doing some interviews.
Absolutely.
That's something I really want to do.
Consistency for sure.
I want to just more clips more.

(06:08):
And something that I know we talked about earlier on,
I think we could follow through with it
depending within the next few episodes.
I do want to put together the House Rules book
for the I Hate This Industry podcast.
Something that highlights the tips and tricks
that we brought upon into the podcast.

(06:30):
I know we stopped for a little bit,
but we're bringing that back and just collecting that
and giving people a breakdown of those tips and tricks
and expanding on them in a book.
That's something I think people,
I want people to look forward to.
Man, something I want to look forward to working on.
Yeah, definitely.
And expanding the brand, man.
There's some merch.
We need some merch out this year too.

(06:51):
Yeah, I gotta have that.
We need some merch out.
Yeah, I was thinking about that the other day
with the film.
Like I got it on the website.
It's just I haven't promoted it yet,
so I definitely gotta get that.
And I'll tell you something that I noticed, man.
I noticed when we stopped on the consistency stop,
the numbers dropped.
Word, yeah.

(07:11):
With some more people who are listening to understand,
yo, I tell you, we give you the game
because we go through it.
We going through it.
As with all things, things happen,
the consistency fault is you got the holidays,
you got personal shit coming in.
Being consistent with this thing could be difficult
when your time isn't completely available just for this

(07:32):
or when this isn't the crux of what you do.
Kind of if you're not building.
Both me and Darryl got many aspects to our life,
so it's not.
Sometimes it's hard to line it up,
especially with so much going on.
But I want y'all to see that in being completely transparent.
When we were doing, when we were consistent,
the numbers were higher than what they are now

(07:53):
as far as podcast downloads.
And maybe the real still do pretty okay on IG.
But as far as the downloads go,
there's been a decline in that.
And it's because of the consistency.
When you lack the consistency, it affects the algorithm,
it affects, you know, people stop checking for it
if they weren't checking for it.
So let that be a lesson, man,
to everybody out there creating something

(08:15):
or producing something or putting out content.
That consistency is important.
That shit a motherfucker.
And we going through it shows right now
it's navigating that storm to generate that,
to get those numbers back up.
And it's simple.
It was a lack of consistency.
Very simple problem.
And the solution is, I guess, simple too.
But guess what?
We back.

(08:35):
We back.
We bike.
We back.
I came into the new year, like, you know,
last year I did a vision board
and like I had all these goals written out
and things like that.
And this year I had a lot of goals written out.
And it wasn't as much as I had last year.
And the only reason because of that is I was just like,
I set a foundation for myself last year
from my personal, financial, educational, business,

(08:58):
work-wise, mentally, spiritually, things like that.
And I set that foundation.
And so it basically rolled over to this year.
So I'm just building on that foundation.
I'm laying the brick.
I'm laying the brick each day.
And I have my goals,
but they are kind of in line with the same goals
I had last year as far as things that I had
when I'm trying to accomplish in business

(09:18):
and things like that.
So it basically just me adding bricks and bricks and bricks.
So I'm still working on the same house.
I'm not going to a different house every year,
every year, every year.
And I'm still, yeah, working the same house.
Because the house that I'm working on is not built.
And once it's fully built,
then maybe I can still go on to that house.
But even when it's completely built,

(09:39):
I still got more land to conquer.
I still got more land around it to build.
So that's where we're at with it.
I feel that's why it's important
to lay those foundations, man.
It's important to lay those foundations.
I feel you on that.
I haven't really, I got notes.
I've done my notes about my goals and all that.
I usually make a vision board.
I'm actually staring at my last year vision board right now

(10:01):
because I have it hanging on my door, on the studio door.
So it's like, and I put it there that way
because where I sit at my desk,
I can always look at it, you know what I mean?
On top of the whiteboards, I got two whiteboards on the wall
and I got a third one that I'm setting up in the main,
in like the main part of the apartment.
And I got my money challenge, my 52 week money challenge.

(10:25):
I got that on the wall.
I got affirmations on the wall.
It's consistent, guys.
This is all consistent with how to rewire your brain
for success and for accomplishing things.
Like I'm a visual guy.
I need to see it.
No, I need to see, I need to read the words
right across from me.
He's never give up.
I need to see that.
That's how I keep my focus.
But I got my notes for the goals.

(10:45):
I haven't done the vision board yet, which I will.
I'm gonna dedicate a whole whiteboard to it.
But that foundation is true.
I feel you, not true, like I understand what you saying
because last year, last year was a big year for me.
It is like a lot went on last year,
but I had a focus on, I wanna get to this.
Even with my creative space,
I had a goal of getting my studio to a space

(11:06):
where I wanted to be.
I had a goal of getting my financial income
to a place where I wanted it to be.
I had a goal of getting my car.
I had a goal of doing all these things.
And I was able to accomplish all that crazy.
Because when I think about it,
it's so much I got done in 12 months.
And if I won't tell the story of my year,
but it just a lot happened to have,

(11:28):
to still be able to get done all of these things
in 12 months, 12 months isn't a long time.
It's a long time, but it's not a long time
because they fly by, girl.
So the fact that I did all of that
as I come into the new year is like,
damn, is exactly what you're saying.
Now it's just adding things.
It's like, let's say the House Rules podcast
is on episode 10, which is a part of my book.

(11:50):
The book, and that's how I keep the book alive
and promote the book and whatever I'm doing with that.
Still having that podcast going, I'm like, damn, man.
Even though it's 10 episodes,
it's like I've consistently done it for 10 episodes.
It don't sound like much,
but you see how consistency is hard to keep sometimes.
Doing that, it's just like the fact that I still have it

(12:10):
as I build on it is like, okay,
this is gonna evolve into something else.
The fact that I still keep it alive keeps me going,
keeps those opportunities coming,
keeps all of that opening.
And now actually I get a lot of traction with that.
I get people hitting me up all the time
and telling me, yo, they appreciate this, they like that.
So it's like those things keep the water running,

(12:32):
keep you going.
But you don't have to get there,
you don't start that foundation.
Yo, this, it would be crazy.
How I did the podcast before was from a small desk.
I made a goal to get the desk I wanted,
made a goal to get the set that I wanted, all of that,
and to be able to start the year off and go,
damn, I don't have to work on those things anymore.

(12:54):
You know, like I've already accomplished that.
Now let me add on to it.
Absolutely, your foundation is set.
It's set, at least a nice portion of it, you know.
Even with writing the book two years ago,
I remember that being such a big goal for me at that time,
and I pushed to get it done in that time frame,

(13:15):
and getting it done, I was like,
shit, I have a book, and now I have the podcast
that accompanies the book and all these other things
that I'm working to do around that,
because I got that one part done.
So it's like, it's so important, man.
It's so important guys to lay that foundation
and don't get discouraged.
I got the book right behind.

(13:36):
Oh my God, bro, my God.
Yeah, I got one right here for the people.
Right here.
For the people, go cop that, man.
It's good shit.
I'm not gonna lie, I wrote it.
I'm not gonna lie as I continue to go through things
and continue to take on new projects and all that,
and as I do the podcast,

(13:57):
because the podcast, real quick, not to navigate from things,
the book is good, man.
I love it.
Again, my first attempt at putting out a self-help book,
but the podcast is really in a quick fashion
for five minutes for people who can't read.
I break down the rules there.
It's more relatable.
It's easier to consume.

(14:17):
And I feel like the way I'm doing the podcast,
I should have wrote the book, but that's how things evolve.
Now I know for the next one how I know how to write it,
but as I approach things now and in accomplishing things,
I lean on those rules so much, man.
I'm reading another book where they say the same thing,
almost word for word, that I said in my book,

(14:39):
and I'm like, that's crazy.
So I'm reading another book to get information
and help me.
You know, I read a lot of self-help books.
I'm reading a book to get some information from it,
and the information they're giving is the same information
I put in my book.
And I'm like, all right, fuck it.
I'm here then.
I'm in the right track,
because I'm the guy who wrote that book
searching for information to get help

(14:59):
or to help understand things,
and they're giving me the same information.
I'm like, it's like, okay, so I'm in this realm
of what I'm talking about, you know?
And so it's dope, man.
I lean on that book a lot, guys,
for as I create things and build things,
and I'm not just good with my own phone.
That's good, man.
Oh, that's good, bro.

(15:20):
That's good.
When I started in the media and entertainment,
I had a passion.
My passion was music.
Music and media.
I love music and media.
I love entertainment.
I love film, but music, man.
I started as an artist, then worked with artists,
managing artists, then A&R,
and just being an overall producer when it came to music.
And I've seen the industry change so much

(15:40):
since I was a kid to now.
Do you think it's lucrative for up-and-coming artists
to enter the music industry today,
given the ever-changing climate of the industry today,
because it never stays in one place.
It literally changes week to week.
Do you think it's like a lucrative environment

(16:05):
for up-and-coming artists that don't...
I don't wanna say that don't understand the business,
because a big part of the music industry now
always has been the business,
but a lot of it is fueled by passion,
and artists were passionate about their craft and their art.
And I say that doesn't have a place today.
I just feel like today, it is easier to get on,

(16:27):
and easier to create opportunities.
I feel like it's tougher to just come out and do music
and not be a brand, not be a product,
not be a...
And the reality is that some people, some creators,
some artists are just not cut out for that.
And you don't have the A&Rs like you did before.

(16:48):
You don't guide these people at these labels anymore
that are just helping guide artists through the industry.
That was what an A&R did, was guide you through the industry.
They picked out the beats,
or they lined you up with people that you used to...
Granted, those people do exist,
but they're not there as they were before.
Lucian Gray's... Lucian runs Universal.

(17:09):
His son is Elliot, right?
I think so, yeah.
Elliot had, on the independent label that signed,
he was the guy behind 6ix9ine, Trippie Redd,
and then he signed Ice Spice.
Everybody understand, this is where Ice Spice comes from.
Y'all know how I feel about Ice Spice.
This is an Ice Spice park.
Y'all know how I feel about Ice Spice, man.

(17:31):
She just dropped the deluxe, too.
Oh, fuck, the Ice Spice drop in the deluxe is crazy.
All right, nevermind.
If you listen to a whole Ice Spice album...
So, Elliot is the guy behind signing Ice Spice and her,
and the majority of her career up to this point, right?
And we've seen all the money that got dumped,
and we've seen all the money got dumped into her.

(17:51):
We saw all the looks that she got,
the placements that she got, amazing.
But the right thing to do with an artist like that,
Elliot gets the position at Atlantic.
It shifts, so you gotta understand, Atlantic was in the red.
They were so in the red that they weren't dumping money
into artists, right?
Most of their artists were sitting on the shelf.
They just weren't active.

(18:13):
You had Cardi B. Wezzen put out music,
and she puts out music here and there,
but no real money was being pumped into that.
And you can see that with a lot of acts over there.
Remember, Atlantic has rock acts.
They have tons of acts.
Money just wasn't being fluctuated into these artists,
into these acts, into these brands,
or however you wanna phrase it.
So here comes Elliot, cleans house,

(18:34):
and he sets up a new team.
And now, you know what's gonna start to happen?
The money is gonna start to roll over there.
So you're gonna see new things happen,
and people get pushed out.
But you know what happens now?
There's nobody to run the independent label
that he owned, right?
I forgot what it's called.
There's nobody to run that.
And I'll show you how this-
Penke stacks, what's up?

(18:55):
Penke, yeah.
And you're gonna see,
and I say that for those who pay attention,
you can see the decline in Ice Spice's career.
I'm only using it as an example here, right?
Because when Elliot was running 10K,
the money was flowing and she was moving around,
she was getting all the looks.
When Elliot went over to Atlantic,
there's been a decline in her career.

(19:16):
There's been a decline in her likeability.
There's been a decline in it
because he's not at the helm of that ship anymore.
So there's no way to pump money or make those decisions.
I mean, you probably have somebody else who's in that place.
I don't know.
I have not looked into 10K besides that.
But what I do know is that it doesn't-
Trippie Red, Trippie Red is an anomaly
because he kind of has a cult following

(19:37):
so he could kind of do what he,
people go on, he's not that big of a following,
but he has a cult fan base.
So as long as he puts out product and music,
you know that he could sell to that cult fan base
and he'll generate some type of motion.
Ice Spice is a commercial product, right?
So you have to market and sell it at a commercial level.
It needs commercial attention.

(19:58):
She stopped getting that.
And if y'all, the numbers, she sold like 4,000.
The look isn't there no more.
You don't see her as much as you used to see her.
Like granted, that's because she took Olsen
because now she's, you know, you don't see her as much.
But y'all know what I mean.
So I say all of that to say that is the music industry today.

(20:21):
How fast that changed.
That is the climate and the atmosphere
that we're dealing with in the music industry.
Not to mention releasing music on IG
where you're probably gonna make no money,
probably very little money.
How are streaming, streaming,
is streaming really profitable?
Long-term maybe yes, but is streaming really,
can you survive off streaming of your upcoming artists?

(20:43):
You know what I mean?
It's all these different elements.
Shows, can you generate shows?
How, you know, can you get bookies?
You have to go through corporations
because Live Nation owns everything,
and Live Nation and Ticum.
You know, like all these backdoor things that are happening,
that's the climate and the atmosphere.
So it's like, what is it for artists
to come into the game today and then try to navigate?

(21:04):
In the industry, it's more opportunity,
but it's also a lot more confusing.
Right, I mean, yeah, I mean, yeah,
you hit it on the nail with that one.
Like we live in a generation to where we are,
we jump in, we jump in the water first.
Like it's okay, you learn how to swim.
You can learn how to swim that way.
But you go back 20, 30 years from now,

(21:27):
they teach you how to swim.
You go to the, like, you go to school to learn this trade.
You go to school to learn this business.
You go to music school to learn this.
You go to film school to learn this.
And we live in a generation now to where, okay,
let's say somebody like me, I didn't go to film school,
but I got YouTube, I got these podcasts,
I got this information.

(21:48):
So I'ma go out and do it myself.
And if I fail, I fail without this and that.
But what separates me and you for a lot of people,
we often get the knowledge before we try to jump out
and do something.
This generation now, they don't seek the knowledge.
They just go out and do it.
They stay in a video or TikTok one time

(22:09):
and they didn't think they can do it.
They might have a homeboy say, I like this rap,
I like this, I like your voice.
Then you go out and make a song and nobody listen to it.
And then you quit.
There was a time to where an act, you go see,
like A&R go see an act at a show or they discover an act.
Before we even release music, we're gonna work on your image.

(22:30):
We're gonna work on your sound.
We're gonna work on this, we're gonna work on that.
But the most important thing is we're gonna work
on your brand.
And we talked about it on the last few parts,
like artists have to look at themselves as brands.
And in 2025, it's not even artists anymore.
Filmmakers, engineers, producers, even artists.

(22:53):
If you're in this media space, entertainment space,
you have to look at yourself as a brand.
Because if you're gonna expand, if you're gonna do this,
the people looking at you and they wanna work with you,
they don't care that you do one thing.
They wanna see if you do this and that,
this and that, this and that.
Cause we have this mindset that we want
and we're gonna be as big as Drake.

(23:14):
We're gonna be as big as Taylor Swift.
We're gonna be the next Jordan Peele.
We're gonna be the next Spielberg or Christopher Nolan
and things like that.
And we try, we release a film, it does okay.
We release another one, it's not successful.
We release another one, it's not as successful
and then we quit.
If you've done something three or four times,

(23:35):
you technically have not even tried.
Cause it takes you, it takes repetition.
It takes you to fail, it takes you to fail,
takes you to fail like you do not know.
It's a meme that's been going around
since I was in high school of a guy on the ground,
just digging, just digging, just digging.
And on his last dig, he left, he left.
And then the picture showed diamond on the other side of it.

(23:58):
On that last dig, it was just dig.
One more time, he would have got the diamond.
So he would have got the money, he would have got it.
And so as far as from an artist standpoint,
it's like they think if they're not,
if their first single or their first album or first EP
or a second one is not getting a thousand streams,
getting a thousand of this,
they look at that as not success

(24:20):
or they look at it as like I failed
so I'm gonna try and do something.
I'm gonna quit, I'm gonna quit.
So again, we talked about the brand aspect of artists,
how they should look at themselves.
And we live the way we are now, cutting a record,
just sometimes just not gonna do it.
Like you have to be able to utilize these platforms
and things like that.
That's why I always commend Sweety

(24:42):
for doing what she did and the team around her.
Like I can't remember the last Sweety hit,
but she's always on this, on this, selling this,
selling that, and she's a brand.
Like Cardi B hasn't dropped an album in ten or 20 years,
but she's always in the news for something.
She's always in the media space on something,
talking about something, whether it's good or bad,

(25:04):
whether it's this and that.
So we live in the most multifaceted generation
to where it's okay to do multiple things.
Like back in the day, if someone tried to do this,
try to do that, the people around them,
or maybe steer them away, like,
hey, you should focus on doing just that.
Like you should focus on doing just that.
And trust me, I get, I been, when I first started,

(25:26):
I been told that, like I was told like, hey,
matter of fact, this business right here, VTC,
like when I first started it,
I remember I was being told like,
you shouldn't focus on podcasting, YouTube, music,
and doing all this in one time.
Like you shouldn't focus on that.
I get the ideology of, if I put all my energy
into this one thing, it would flourish.

(25:47):
Like I get that.
But also you gotta understand
that everybody's work ethic different.
Like my work ethic may be different
from someone else's what it is.
And your work ethic may be different
from someone else's, which it is.
The people we surround ourselves with,
they work ethic, we want that to match
what we're putting out.
So again, everybody's work ethic is different.
So you can't tell a turtle to run as fast as a cheetah.

(26:14):
He has to run his race and only do what he's capable of.
Everybody not capable of selling 100,000 the first week.
Everybody not capable of that.
Like only a few in this generation have shown
that they can do that from Tyler Carrera,
or Kendrick Lamar, from Drake, Taylor Swift, Beyonce.
Those are only a select few people that can do that.

(26:36):
So you have to understand that,
okay, I'm in this ecosystem.
I have to operate within my ecosystem
and not try to put or do too much.
But it also matters who you surround yourself with.
Like how you mentioned about I Spice
and who she, like her situation.
If a system changes within an artist, that matters.

(26:57):
That matters.
That goes to show you that artist development matters.
And then you can't always look at the artist
as far as like, damn, like if they get fucked over
or something happened, you always blame the team
and things like that.
So like from a team aspect,
the team often takes it on the chin, like TDE.
If something happened, they take it on a chin,

(27:19):
plus takes it on a chin.
So people always looked at artist development
as the label's fault.
But like you said, Spice is a prime example that,
hey, my situation changes.
Hi, I Spice.
Now you gotta work.
Now you gotta work.
Well, you gotta work.
Now it's time to work.
And we have seen her try to work and it don't work.

(27:42):
It don't work.
So, but that's just in that moment.
And again, this generation is a microwave society.
So always don't look at someone failing in their moment
as a failure to their career.
We've seen people, like we've seen talented people
like Mario like just go crazy in the 2000s.

(28:03):
And then once he had this versus moment,
then he started getting booked.
Then he have like a resurgence in his career
and things like that.
And so we've seen that.
But the way social media is set up
and way this generation is set up
is just because this person did this or sold this,
they failed in that and things like that.
So we're talking about all the time.

(28:23):
Like a system matters and brand development is key.
You have to focus on building a brand.
Like you will never see me just work like,
yes, I'm filmmaking and film production
is what I truly wanna do is debt.
It's debt.
But you won't just see me just doing solely debt.

(28:43):
That's not the generation we live in.
This was 30 years ago, then someone like a Spielberg,
then someone, even though they focus on it now,
but someone or lesser totem would just focus on just debt.
Now we have so many opportunities.
We have so many platforms and things like that
to flourish and what we're doing.
So we have the podcast that we're creating.

(29:05):
We have the album that we're doing.
And we have these production outlets
to be able to do one thing.
And then every industry that we're in
is a billion dollar industry
and there's opportunity for everybody.
But it always come back to their work.
That's what it boils down to.
Without a doubt.
I had somebody tell me once that I do too much.
This is like at the, when I was rubbing down Autumn House,

(29:28):
this was actually at the creative retreat I was at.
And they were telling me like, yo, you do a lot.
Cause I was there.
Oh yeah, I've been telling them that a lot.
It's like, yo, you're doing a lot.
You gotta focus on one thing.
And I was like, yeah, they,
I've heard that my whole life, right?
Because I do a lot of things.
What I love though, when they told me that Beagle
was with me, right, my brother.
And he stepped in and he said, yeah, you right.

(29:48):
He should focus on one thing.
Cause he's part of my, that my ecosystem
as well.
And he goes, he's like, yeah, you right.
He goes, that works for some people.
He's like, but if you can do more, why not?
And when he said that, I was like, damn, yo.
He hit it right on the head because
at that point in my life was not,

(30:11):
like I said, I've heard it my whole life.
And it always makes me question myself.
Cause you're like, man, maybe I haven't got to
where I want to go in this field
because I'm doing too much.
But why not?
If you can do, because everybody's not built.
Like you said, everybody's not built like you.
Everybody don't work like you.
So it's like, I should just focus on this
because I know if I put all my attention

(30:32):
and everything into this, I can make something from that.
But I want to do so much.
It's not just a matter of, it's like, I want to do it all.
I want to, if I wasn't multifaceted
and had that kind of drive, I would have never put out the book.
I would have, I put out records.
I put out my own personal records.
I got records out.
Those were goals of mine to make music that I could put out.

(30:53):
And people received it.
I don't look at the streams too much,
but when I look at the streams, they up there in the thousands.
So it's like, yeah, somebody listening to it.
I appreciate that.
Cause it means it's being heard.
And if I never created it, it would have been heard.
I have music that I used to drop on SoundCloud.
And I had one person hit me up and tell me, yo,
I was going through a lot.
I was being, you know, they were having thoughts of suicide

(31:14):
and all that.
And they said this record I had with my brother Lamar,
Lamar Hart called Comfortable.
And he said, yo, that record got me through those tough times.
Like, I never got to sell a record.
You know, it's moments like that that is why I've even made music,
is to connect with people.
So that moment alone justified me ever creating a record.
You know, whether I'd stopped at that moment,

(31:35):
or I've clearly continued on after that.
But that moment alone was enough.
You know, I was fulfilled from that moment.
Now what I try to do professionally and like to,
is something else.
But that moment as a creator was enough.
And I, doing that same thing, I've shot and directed videos.
My own videos, other people's videos, clients' videos.
Doing that, I've worked on short films, roll short films.

(31:57):
I wrote a book, writing novels, doing all these different things.
Because I love it, I'm passionate about it.
And I can.
At the end of the day, I still got the will to do it.
It's different.
I'm not forcing myself.
It's all, yo, I be tired.
I got long days, man.
I got a family.
I got a job.
I'm still kicking out.
Like, I'm still doing shit at the end of my days.

(32:18):
Whether I dedicate two hours, three hours to it at the end of my day,
I'm still doing it.
Writing a page a day, writing something, doing the pod,
and doing this pod, doing my other pod, writing down ideas, right?
Like, I'm still going.
And it's because I feel a will to do it.
I feel called to do it.
There's something that's driving me that's not just a...
I can't explain it logistically,

(32:39):
because logistically it all makes sense, you know?
But there's passion and purpose, you know what I mean?
The two can meet together.
There's also different elements in both of them.
Everything you're passionate about isn't going to be your purpose.
You know, things that are your purpose might not be what you're passionate about.
They meet at times, but when you get to decipher that
and be able to balance both of those things, I think you find...

(33:03):
You find a sense of peace and you find a sense of drive that is not always there.
I think it's very important to figure that part out.
Yo, musicians and artists, take the industry as it comes, man.
I personally, I won't say I'm somebody I don't care about the music industry.
I love music. I love the music industry.

(33:23):
I'm not so passionate about the music industry as I once was.
I love it. And I probably...
The right... You said it best, man.
It takes inspiration.
So if I'm inspired, I'll be moved, you know?
Until that time is I don't see myself just jumping into anything
until it connects with me spiritually.
And right now, that's very difficult to do.

(33:44):
Because y'all suck.
So it's like...
That's a very talented people out there.
It just got to move me, man.
And there's a lot of other things that I'm passionate about, man.
A lot of other things that I feel like it's going to come into fruition.
You know what's important, man?
See, I tell you, I made music because I had something to say.
You know, there's a message.

(34:05):
I want to connect with people how I saw the world.
When you can find different mediums for that, I think that's unique.
I think that's special.
And I think that's willing and that's something that should be explored.
I found a way to connect vision and message to film.
I found a way to connect vision and message to books.
I found a way to do different forms of content, through different forms of creativity.

(34:25):
You know, that's something I saw with you.
I saw you start off having this idea.
And I remember the irony of you wearing that hoodie, man.
I remember that.
I remember, though, that era, man.
I remember you in that space, man.
I remember how passionate you were about VTC, man.
And it was ill because it reminded me of me.
Like, damn, man.
It's like that shit that when you got that fire going, it's like...

(34:46):
And you had all these different things that came from VTC, where it was like the gaming,
the sports, you had all these all this visit, all these different things you wanted to connect.
And to see you now, the message is the same in a way.
But maybe you've added to it, maybe that.
But you found different mediums to do it.
And you learned what worked, what didn't work.

(35:06):
Or you're learning what worked, what didn't work.
You put a focus on the things that were working.
You're trying new things.
You're exploring all those things.
But you're still connecting with the...
Like, even if you don't know what VTC is, GoPrint, it's the same messages there.
People who know, know.
Those are don't, don't.
But yeah, man, it's funny that you said something about VTC.
I had a thought a while back.

(35:29):
And I think I just came to the conclusion on that thought.
And I'm glad you mentioned it.
Because a long time ago, not even a long time ago, like early last year, right?
I was like, damn, I had this fire, this drive.
I had this high energy.
I was in college.

(35:49):
I was like, damn, I had this level of seeking knowledge.
I know my whiteboard every day.
And I had just this fire inside me when I created VTC, my first business.
And then last year, I just sat down.
I was just like, damn, I don't see that no more.

(36:10):
Where I don't see that same fire, where I don't see that same level of inspiration in it.
As I was just thinking like, but I got more knowledge.
I'm doing much better things with what I'm doing in GoPrint.
The actions that I'm taking is moving the needle.
It may not be going as fast as I want it to, but I've came just in the prison as far as

(36:34):
I'm not satisfied, but I'm in the prison of how things are moving.
Then you said that about, because I got an audience, it's a different point of view.
Like when you met me during that moment.
And I just came to a realization that I have settled down as far as within my business.
I was moving too, not moving too fast, but you know when you excited, you started a new venture,

(36:58):
you're starting something new.
You're, it's like the honeymoon stage.
It's like you're moving fast, you're moving at this speed and things like that.
You're telling everybody about it.
You're posting about it.
You're excited about it.
You're moving so fast, you making mistakes, but you just like, I don't care.
I'm just, it's going to move it.
I'm still moving.
It's like, I can give you an example.

(37:18):
It's like when Flash first starting, first learned how to run.
When he first got his power, he couldn't control it.
He couldn't control it.
He was just doing all this and that.
It was burning up his clothes.
He was running over people.
He was just running too fast.
And that's how I looked at my VTC moment.
I'm looking at the present as in today, I've slowed down.
I know how to control my powers.

(37:40):
And so I still have that fire in me, but I don't necessarily just show it with the excitement
and things like that.
Like the knowledge that I've accumulated over the years, I've applied it in the client productions.
I've applied it with my films.
I've applied it in the podcast.
I've applied it in this album and future things that we're working on and things like that.

(38:01):
And it's just like, I'm just smooth selling up and it's like, it's time to get to work.
So when it like those first couple of years, it was like, I was just excited to have a business.
I was just excited to say I had a business.
I was excited to say, hey, I'm forming a team.
Like let's come join me, bro.
Or I was like, I wasn't taking on just anybody by a damn near just like, if I know you and

(38:24):
you got some type of-
I'll make it work.
Or some type of something in this, let's work.
Right?
Let's go.
Let's come on the train.
Let's go.
That's it.
Let's work on it.
And all, and all.
Trust me.
I learned.
I learned.
I feel you.
Trust me.
I feel you.
Like I said, when that first venture started today, no one's here.

(38:44):
I just got rid of the last person like a year and a half ago.
So it's just like, this is where I am with gold printing, what I'm moving with.
And I was just like, I'm like, I just finally came to that moment.
Like I just had a real life moment just now and was just like, damn, like I'm smooth selling
with it.
Like it's time, like let's get to work.

(39:06):
And like that's the mindset I've been having this past few years.
And like I just never could just formulate it into what I call it or what it is.
So I'm just like in that, let's get to work stage.
It's like, I don't-
I would celebrate the small wins.
I would celebrate this and that.
But it's like, I'm not going to be as joyous and excited as I was when I first started

(39:28):
my first business.
Cause that was 2018, bro.
Yep.
Like that's seven years ago.
Yep.
It's been a while.
That's what I'm saying.
It's just like, let's get to work.
Like that's the mentality.
And that's the mentality old.
I feel you on that kids.

(39:49):
Autumn House was 2019.
None of them people here.
Much respect to them, I wish them all the best, but none of them here.
And it's because, and I don't even blame none of them.
I blame myself.
I expected too much from people who didn't have the same type of vision or commitment
as I did.
And that's it ain't their fault.
That's my fault for putting that on them.
So I don't even look at that as a failure.

(40:10):
But what I've done outside of that and what I've done within that is a testament to the
work that there's a testament to what I can do and what I'm motivated to do.
The business model ain't the same.
Bro, just being here is a testament of the longevity.
I mean, VTC didn't come in wet.
It evolved.

(40:31):
Absolutely.
It evolved into GoPrint, into what you're doing now.
And that fire, that passion is still that we're potting right now.
We could not be potted.
We could not be potted.
You could not be doing the text messages in the group chat for the film.
Man, the shoot day, when y'all finished shooting, I saw people's reactions in that chat of somebody

(40:56):
was like, man, you just, you don't know what you did.
You just started, you just created a monster.
That right there is the, like you planted this seed and you watered it.
All you had to do, the right people come to you.
The right people will be attracted to you and the right people find inspiration.
Only even if you collaborate with people for a moment, if that inspiration takes them to

(41:17):
another level, what GoPrint is doing is doing its job.
You know, it's inspired people, it's motivated people.
You've created these opportunities.
You created inspiration, something that's branching off of that tree that you planted.
And that's going on to do that.
Wait, man, when this first, the thing is the seed at the table, the foundation,
the universe is so grand in the idea that even what we've started now is,

(41:43):
couldn't even tell you what it's going to be.
Like, you understand, like this is just a beginning.
And the fact, just seeing people's reactions, seeing the clips, the audio, everything,
I'm like, damn, this motherfucker really did it.
You know what I mean?
And he said, I don't know how many people know.
I know because I've been there since the inception.
I remember when you had the idea, you were like, so I know everything you've dumped into it.

(42:07):
I've seen it.
I've been working on it with you for years.
I can't even, I don't even remember how long it's been.
I know it's been years though.
It's been a minute.
It's been a minute.
So when I see it, I'm like, shit, like we in it, like legit.
We in it, like it's process, like round two is coming.
It's like this is-
I dreamed about this, bro.

(42:28):
I dreamed about this.
So it's, yo, as you say, never feel bad about taking an idea and making it into reality.
No matter who you lost on the way, no matter whether it's the same company or not,
whether the passion don't feel the same or it doesn't, that energy is more controlled now.

(42:49):
You know what I mean?
I was the same way.
I was, to people who probably had no interest in business
and put them in positions I shouldn't have put them in.
Like, and did I make some incredible shit?
I did in the timeframe.
I felt like, damn, you know why I also met more?
Because I knew those people weren't, I did a lot of the work.
I knew those people weren't really, and it's not shade on them.

(43:09):
I'm not knocking them because a lot of those things could not have been done without their efforts.
But what I'm saying is it took me pulling that effort out.
You know, I had to put them in the, I had to create the environment.
I had to push.
I had to do all that.
Granted, people need that.
Whether those people around or not, I don't know if that's what I was leading to.
But a lot of things that were created were, they're all dope.

(43:32):
They're all special in the moments.
They were great.
A lot of that took a lot of pushing, a lot of molding, a lot of, as it should,
because these things aren't easy to accomplish.
It was a, I knew how to channel it.
I didn't, it didn't always work and I wasn't always making the right decision.
Because in those moments, you make decisions that you have to make to get shit done in those moments.
Maybe because you're overly excited because you're going through it.

(43:54):
For the first time, we failing in the process, you know?
And I don't know if a lot of people understand that.
I know it's hard for creatives because I know a lot of creatives.
I know a lot of very creative people and talented people who have,
I know a lot of talented people who have never created something.
You know what I mean?
I know people who raw talent, just talking, oh, they got dreams and goals and all that,

(44:15):
but don't know how to piece it together.
So I tell them to read my book.
But they don't know how to piece it together.
So I see it when it's there and I see it when, I see when people got it, I see it when people don't have it.
So it takes a lot to do this thing.
I've learned not putting in there now when I work on something that's super controlled.
Like this pod, I can focus certain things on into it.

(44:37):
That it takes everything I've done and learned and I could channel it into something.
With the book, with the things that I'm working on, future projects.
I'm able to take all of that and channel it.
I've worked on short films and all that.
The next one that I'm on set for, because I'm going to be on set for everything after this.
I'm not missing any more.
But anything I'm on set for, how I'm going to transform that environment is going to take it to the next level.

(45:03):
And not because I'm the greatest, but because I'm taking everything I've learned and applying it.
I'm still failing, but I'm no longer failing like how I used to.
But it took going through it.
You know, you made two films before this one.
You know what I mean?
If you're going to fail, fail forward.
Fail forward.
Yeah, I got to keep trying, man.
You got to keep going.

(45:24):
Shit, nothing could have worked before.
I wouldn't have stopped.
What I've been, I'll tell you Sean about, again, no shade towards people who I worked with in the past, man.
I wish everybody the best.
But I say this to stress how this thing isn't easy.
Right?
Because a lot of the people I've worked with in the past did not continue.

(45:47):
Talented people, I'll say that.
Talented people, work ethic, when they applied it, great.
Was the consistency there?
Did they continue to do this thing after they left the company?
They did it.
Maybe some tried, but didn't because it's hard to maintain this thing and do this thing.
You have to, you have to love it, but you can't just love it.

(46:09):
You have to develop it.
You have to work it.
You have to want to live this thing, breathe it, eat it.
You know, like it's not just a-
Sometimes you got to be obsessed with it.
You have to be obsessed with it.
Most times.
Because the amount of things that don't go right, sometimes outweigh the things that do go.
See, you never see the failures.

(46:31):
You never see them.
You see what goes right.
You see the things that get put out.
You see that.
You see that things that don't come out.
So just know this thing take a lot more than just passion.
It take a lot more than just passion.
It take a lot more than just love it.
It take blood, sweat and tears to put this thing together.
That's why when you see it now, it's at a better quality.

(46:53):
It's at a better standard.
It's at a better- you know, like it's why you see it now.
I'll say it again.
Because it took us there and it took all that shit that before that we happened.
So, I know we touched on it real quick, but the editing process, man, let's get-
I know just when he said-
I was just when they get into that, like just to making a movie.
And the editing process, and it's like the first phase and the sinking eclipse and things like that,

(47:19):
just me and you just going through it and just trying to find it.
And it's basically just like a big learning curve.
And then I was just like this first big film with a cast, with a crew, like just locations, multiple locations.
I'm just like, okay, we got what we got, still maybe, not maybe, still a little bit of adding in
and things like that that I got to do on my end.

(47:42):
But it's a lot of learning curve and a lot of experience doing this.
Like I know what to do and what not to do on the next one.
And that's the beauty of filmmaking.
That's the beauty about just creative endeavors or just any endeavor.
You know, if you're given a second chance at this, you now have the knowledge on what not to do and what to do.

(48:04):
So that's why the next few, it's like the next one is going to be like a beautiful moment.
And just the editing process, I'm just like, okay, I was putting clips, I had the clips sync.
I was editing the clips, putting this clip on top of this clip.
Okay, let's see how I like this reaction.
And I was like, damn, this might be harder than I thought it was going to be.
I was just like, okay, okay, let me get in the mood, let me get in the groove.

(48:27):
Then I started getting in the groove.
Yeah, with the John and Malika scene, I was getting in the groove.
And I was just like, okay, well, I'm getting somewhere.
I'm getting somewhere with this.
Because again, the first two short films wasn't like this.
It wasn't with another audio source as far as like the Sennheiser.
It wasn't this level of quality.
It wasn't this level of editing proxies and labeling folders and things like that.

(48:52):
So this is very, very detailed.
And I was all just like, okay, we're getting somewhere with this.
And we still on 10% in.
And I was just like, yeah, this is a four-week thing I got.
And what I want to do with it is I don't think it's going.
I would say if these don't work out.
This is like the first week I was like, I want all the clips sync.

(49:14):
I got that done.
That's the easy part.
Right, that's the easy part.
And so now it's just, okay, putting the clips together.
And I was just like, okay, let's just see what we're here with there.
And then once I get those done, I'll send it off to you for sound design.
And I was just like, okay, okay.
And let me watch some videos.
Let me see what's going on.
I reached out to this guy in LA.

(49:36):
If I'm forgetting that, if I'm missing a thing, what would Tawan Boseman.
Tawan Boseman, I can't even think of his name right now.
So I'm talking about it.
But yeah, like he's done multiple films.
He has done multiple films and he has won multiple awards and things like that.

(49:57):
So I was just like, I really want this guy to like just not just tell me everything he know,
but like just pass on some level of knowledge to me because I know I can take.
If I'm interested in that field, if I take in the knowledge, I'm going to apply,
especially if it's like in this moment and I'm in that moment of editing it.
So he told me about some sync stuff that I sent to you.

(50:20):
He was just telling me about some stuff a while back.
He sent me some stuff before I started filming because I sent him, I was like, hey, man,
can you give me some game, give me some knowledge and things like this and tips.
He sent me his own paragraph on the film aspect and just from a director standpoint,
I really took that in and I really applied that to what I was doing.

(50:42):
But I tell you what, man, you can Google.
As a spectator of a sport, you won't know what it's like in a boxing ring until you get in it.
Until you get in it.
Like you won't know what it's like until you get punched.
You know, my fault to get you off, but on the new episode of House Rules,

(51:04):
the podcast for the new rule, the rule of the week is of the next episode is work wounded, right?
And in it, I have a Michael Jordan quote and I think I have a Michael Jordan quote in there.
I got two of them.
And one of them is sometimes you got to get hit to know you in a fight.
I mean, that's what the world.
That's what it is.

(51:25):
Because when you out, you know what motivated me to start Autumn House?
I had this saying I used to tell myself and how I used to get myself like, OK, I'm going to do this.
It was, if you don't got a horse in the race, shut the fuck up.
That was my thing. I had all these perspectives and all that.
And I'm like, yo, I want to do this. I want to do that.
But I have a horse in the race.
So he's like, man, it is.

(51:47):
And I have worked. I have been working.
It wasn't like Autumn House was my first thing, my first experience.
I have been doing this thing for a while, but I hadn't been taking it serious.
I had, but it wasn't like fully dedicated, committed serious.
And I saw it because when I committed to Autumn House, everything changed.
So it's like, you don't know until you win it.
You don't know until you win that water swimming, how you're going to do.

(52:09):
You're going to sink a sweat.
So that's the game, man.
You're going to fail, yo. Fail forward, man.
That's definitely a motif for this episode, man.
Fail forward because you're going to fail.
There's no way around you not failing.
You're always going to look back at what you just did and see all the things you could have done differently.

(52:33):
That's without a doubt.
As a creative, as a director, as a filmmaker, as an artist, you're always going to see everything that you could have done differently
and how you could enhance it because you never going to, as a creative, you're never going to stop thinking about what I should have done, what I could have did, man.
That equipment you should have used, you know what I mean?

(52:54):
But it's important to try, man. You got to shoot your shot.
You only learn by going out on the field and working.
Absolutely. And that's the mindset that I went into it.
And I remember they asked Nipsey, it was like, man, this song on this album that you wish would have made it or you wish you would have done.
He was like, yep, I'm going to do it on the next one.

(53:15):
And like I said, they're cool before on the pod.
And that's the mentality I went by.
I was just like, okay, I could have did this on this film.
But you know what? And what we building, there's always room to be done on the next one.
It's always room to be done on the next one after that. And I was just listening to the advice that Tawar and Bazemore gave me.
And I was just like, okay, I love the inspiration. I love the notes and things like that he gave me before I started.

(53:42):
And I took that all in. But again, he's done it.
And I've done it on the smaller scale with the short films I did back in college.
But again, I didn't know what it was like until I stepped in the ring because this wasn't this stuff, two films that I did.
This was just training. I was in the actual ring. This was a title shot.

(54:04):
It was just like, damn, okay, this scene that we did was actually the first scene that we did.
And I had a time frame on the situation.
And I was just like, I want to do it in this time frame because of course, we was doing it at a business and they had they opening hour.
So I was like, okay, let's do it like this. It was the preparation beforehand.

(54:28):
I didn't foresee certain things like just little small details to how the chess piece.
Like when we shoot this one scene, we've got to move the chess piece a certain way to make it seem like, okay, we was playing chess.
We don't want to look the same the whole entire scene.
And so it was just things like that. And I had my shot list.
I had my miller note ready. I had my script ready. I had two behind the scenes things like that.

(54:53):
But it's just certain things on set that you just won't foresee. And you can plan, plan, plan all you want.
But once you get in the ring, it's a different game, it's a different level. And a difficulty level is up there.
So making a film, people may think is just turning on the camera and acting and things like that.
I promise you, it's so much going, it's so much going into it that you need to know from the settings to the camera to putting things in focus to how things sound.

(55:22):
Make sure someone's listening to the audio, make sure the clapper is syncing up, make sure things in there on top of make sure the lines are correct.
Like, OK, how many shots do we need of this? Like, OK, we don't have the luxury of shooting this four times, then going to look at it on a laptop.
Like, no, we are on a time constraint. So we have to trust that, OK, this is the shot that we got and we have to move on to the next.

(55:48):
And so things like that. And by all means, like it was a fun process, like the whole process. Very fun.
But it was also just very time consuming and just long hours, like being tired and things like that.
And of course, the excitement was there and things like that. And no one lacked work ethic. That was the thing.
Like, I love everyone's work ethic that was there on set. And so making this film, bro, like, and it's crazy that like I'm so amped up and juiced up.

(56:18):
Like, I'm ready for the next one. Like, we already got the next two that we want to shoot this year. And I'm just like, OK, let's do it.
Let's get into it. Let's jump in this ring again. Because you know what? I've learned. I've learned. I've had my first boxing match.
I kind of know the game. I know I'm in this four. I'm on this four corners. Like, I know the game now.

(56:39):
And of course, I'm still back in the ring. That's going to be things that I didn't foresee. That may be things that I'm going to be things that new things that I'm going to learn and things like that.
That I carry over to the next film, because as long as we can draw breath and have the ability to function, there's always going to be another film and things like that.

(57:00):
So that was the beauty in it. But that was just production.
Post-production is a beast, bro. That's Thanos, bro. That's Thanos with all five definitive stones.
Now, I was going to say, when I did Hostage, Hostage took us two years because I shot in multiple locations.

(57:21):
But also, we never, you know, it's like someone we took a break from. Editing took me even long, not longer, but it took me a long time.
I remember and I didn't even have all the knowledge. I had what I had learned, what I had been studying and then just kind of on the move.
And I was there and I did, man. Production of Hostage was insane.
When I think back to it, Hostage, I love it even with my editing, everything, because I did everything myself and it's dope as fuck.

(57:49):
Shooting that was some of the longest days I've had, you know, a lot of it was kind of on the fly, but I was really in production mode and director mode and all that.
I had help. I had a basic team, but they were kind of just following my cues and doing everything.
And I see now, I see all the, I didn't have external, like external mics to pick up audio. I was just kind of just going using the camera audio.

(58:13):
All things I look back and I can change, but when I look at how I shot it and all that and how I pieced it together and I'm like, damn, this is what two years of like kind of shooting and doing, producing and editing took.
Man, it was so, so much work. But everything, everything I shot after that evolved because, and that was a short film.

(58:36):
That was a short film. That was a 14, that was 14. I'm gonna tell y'all right now, 14 minutes is a lot. I had no idea. 14 minutes is a lot.
And I couldn't believe I did that. Granted, I've made films before, short films, mostly documentaries, you know, that was my bad with documentaries back when I started doing media.

(58:59):
So to do that with a music video and a short film was like, whoa. And to piece it together where I felt like it was good. It's a lot.
And I didn't have a real, I had a team, but I didn't have like a like a team, team. I had people who helped me. But it was a lot, bro.
We had fog machines. We did all that shit. We had it. It was so crazy. When I look back at it now, I'm like, damn, that's how I know.

(59:22):
Even when I did the creative retreat, when I think about all these productions, I'm like, and it makes you reflect. You go, yo, I really put together productions.
It's really, you know, and it'd be a lot. So that's why I always say, like, like, as you say, like the next thing is all the things you're gonna do there.
You're doing the next and all the things you did. I still haven't released anything from the creative retreat that I did. I had a whole docu- docu- series for that.

(59:48):
It's just so, it's so much. So when you're doing productions and you're doing that, you don't, again, you don't know so many issues that come up.
All these things that happen when you aren't set, you can't account for. You could pre-plan. You could have your storyboard. I had all of that as well.
Storyboard. I had pre-production meetings. I did everything. And still when you aren't set, you got to deal with everything that comes as it comes there.

(01:00:10):
You got to deal with how am I going to make this shot happen? I know what I want in this shot. I know the type of shot I want. I know I want to make.
I had a shot where I was making, like the mirror scene I did. I had to create a backdrop. I had to hold up like this black backdrop. I had people there.
I had to, and one of the scenes he gets snatched by him. I didn't know how to create that cinematically, but I had somebody actually pull him back and made it work with the cutting and editing.

(01:00:36):
It was so much cool shit that your innovation really shows on you on set and how you deal with problems and how you problem solve and how you're able to time manage, man.
Yeah, definitely. And editing, man.
Yeah. As I went into this, I went into this and I was just like, I know this is not going to be easy. I know it's going to be one of my toughest production things like that, but you know me. I'm ready for it.

(01:01:00):
I'm ready to get in there. I'm ready to jump back in there and rank again and we're going to do it. I will say though, this set and this film was, it's going to be one of the largest production films that I'm going to do for the next few years.
The next two I know are not going to be this level of production or the next two are going to be at like three locations between like both films. So it's just like.

(01:01:30):
You think the one you just did was a higher production?
Yeah, this one is going to be higher production than the next two. This one had multiple locations. This one had things like that that I need to get done. And the next two are going to be at like one or two locations.
I know the next one is going to be one location and then the one after that is going to be.

(01:01:51):
Which one is the next?
The invitation.
Yeah, yeah, because that's a.
We are here giving this exclusive shit.
This might get cut though.
Yeah, that one is like, we'll talk about it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because that one's kind of like a short short.
It's not like.
Yeah, yeah. And then the other one is on Malachi for the film.
Oh yeah, that's right. That's right. I forgot. Okay.

(01:02:13):
Yeah. So them two are going to be like way less.
I was going to say because mine is going to be a production.
That's what I'm saying. Like that one is going to be a production.
That one and the one with the girl. Them two are going to be. Those are going to be big.
Yeah, those two are going to be. Yeah, I got to progress them now.
Yeah.
That was on a budget for them now.
Vending machine is going to be. It's going to be. The good thing about vending machine that is one location.

(01:02:39):
Yeah, I guess some exclusive shit. We're going to decide. We keep this on the map.
They made it this far. Yeah.
Brandon, if you listen this far, you could definitely.
Vending machine is in multiple locations, but the crux of it happens in one location.
But the production of it is going to be up there because it's a lot going on.
But that I want it like that. Like I'm not.

(01:03:01):
That's honestly I don't. I can't see it no other way.
And how I want to. How I want us to like make it happen.
I mean, I don't. We're going to get the budget for the funding to do everything.
That's without a doubt, because also I believe at that point we're going to be in position to do that.
So whether or not, you know, whether or not the business is right on the other end,

(01:03:22):
either way, I know whether we're dealing with corporate or private investors, we're going to make it happen.
I just fully, fully, fully believe that.
Oh, yeah, definitely.
And it's to take it to the next.
Also, because what I got planned for all the other things I'm working, all this shit got to line up.
Like, because in a way it's all connected because it is.

(01:03:43):
I just. I mean, that's another conversation.
All right, y'all, we're going to get into the industry tips of the week.
And we're going to be talking about filmmaking, y'all, because that's what we're at right now, man.
I feel like the tips should reflect what's going on in our lives as we go through it.
So, yeah, understand what the things that we are doing to as we create and and build the things that we're building in the world.

(01:04:09):
So tip one is master storytelling before equipment.
Great story will always outshine flashy visuals.
Focus on writing compelling scripts, standing character development and mastering pacing.
Remember, the emotional core of your film is what will resonate most of audiences, not just the camera you use.
Tip two, start small and get creative with resources.

(01:04:33):
This one's important. Yeah.
You don't need a massive budget to make a great film.
Use what you have, whether it's shooting on a smartphone or repurposing everyday locations.
Limitations often fuel creativity.
Embrace them as opportunities to innovate.
Tip three, plan for sound as much as visuals.
You've heard Daryl talk about this nonstop about getting the audio right, man.

(01:04:56):
Sound design and music are just as important as the visuals.
A poorly mixed soundtrack can ruin a great film.
Prioritize quality audio equipment and learn how to use sound to enhance emotion and immersion.
Enter festivals and embrace feedback.
Film festivals are great platforms to showcase your work and gain exposure.
However, use them not just as not just for accolades, but for honest feedback.

(01:05:19):
Criticism is an opportunity to grow and refine your craft.
And this one, man, we've been talking about it all.
So, stay consistent with content creation.
Make short films, web series, or even vlogs to keep honing your skills and building your portfolio.
Regular content keeps you sharp, grows your audience, and provides opportunities to experiment without the pressure of a big production.

(01:05:41):
And most importantly, be patient and persistent.
Filmmaking is a marathon, not a sprint.
Success often comes after years of hard work, rejection, and learning.
Stay committed, keep creating, and don't let setbacks derail your vision.
There you have it.
There's no need to expound on that because everything we talked about is right there in tips.

(01:06:03):
Stay consistent, stay persistent.
Create, create, create, create.
Honing your skills, develop your skills, fail forward.
These are key things not just for filmmaking, for life, for accomplishing things.
Man, accomplishing your goals, reaching your goals, testing the waters.
Go outside, y'all.

(01:06:24):
Go outside.
Go out there, build a team, a track a team.
Go out there, experiment with people.
Try different people, different locations, different jobs.
What works, what doesn't work.
Creating something that's not simple, it's not easy.
Sometimes it's as simple as this, putting a mic cutting a camera on.
Other times, Darryl tells you, man, that he went into that production ready for anything and dealt with what happened in there,

(01:06:47):
but you don't know until you in the ring.
You have to take all those things, man, and just go outside, man.
Go out in the world and create something special, man.
Create something that hasn't been created.
Absolutely.
And I can touch on one thing about the initial tips as far as sound design.
That was number one on my list when I came into this.

(01:07:11):
And I talked about it a lot on the previous part.
I knew with the equipment that I had, it wasn't going to get done.
I had a lav mic and a camera mic hooked up to my own camera.
And I was just like, nah, it ain't going to get done.
Then I went to Amazon, being like, $100 mic, $200 mic, $300 mic.
I was like, nah, it ain't going to get it done.

(01:07:32):
Let me see if I can rent something industry standard.
So that's when I found this company in New Orleans, Sound Hard.
Went over there, got the Sennheiser MK860, and we got the job done.
The film in its rawest form sounds amazing, but it still has so much work to do.
And man, it's going to sound beautiful when it's done.

(01:07:53):
Like once Steve's done editing it and enhancing it, it's going to sound beautiful, man.
I just say prioritized sound, man.
The YouTubers, the filmmakers will tell you that is key in the production.
Like we live in a society to where we can shoot on our phone.
We can shoot 4K on our phone.
We can go rent a camera.
We can go get these cameras and have decent to good quality.

(01:08:19):
But to cut them audio out the camera is not always the best.
So once you enhance your quality, the sound is going to take your production level all the way up.
When I mention quality, I don't talk about video quality.
It's more so about storytelling, the sound and things like that.
Like let's get that number one first before we even worry about what the image looks like.

(01:08:45):
Prioritized sound, be consistent in your approach.
And man, if you're going to fail, fail forward.
And just salute.
That's what it is, man.
Just seek the knowledge.
Just seek the knowledge.
Apply it, man.
Let's tag on to that.
The budget on the tips.
I mentioned something about the budget resources.

(01:09:07):
Yo, you don't have to buy it.
You can rent it.
Absolutely.
You can rent it.
You know what I mean?
Like you don't have to buy it, guys.
You can rent it.
You can do it.
You know what?
I tell you something we used to do back in the early autumn house days and back when I was running around with Zaki and Sofa.
I'm going to tell you a little secret, guys.
I'm going to tell you a tip.
He's a jewel, man.
This ain't in the tips.

(01:09:28):
This is getting game right now.
We would buy when it came down to clothing, we bought clothing pieces or we would buy it and return it.
We just buy it for production and return that right the next day.
You know why?
Because we just need it for this.
We're just creating the image.
We're just doing that.
So remember that, too.

(01:09:49):
If you can't really afford it, but you can buy it, buy it for production and return it.
That's a hack.
If you can buy the camera piece, if you could buy that, you could buy the light you need or the mic you need.
If you could buy it just for that production and then return it afterwards, you're good.
You're good.
That's just a way to get around it all.
This has been another episode of the I Hate This Industry podcast.

(01:10:14):
I am your humble and handsome host, Stephen Almeida.
And that's my good brother, my co-host, the architect of the Goat Print, the genius man, Daryl Reade.
Thank you for tuning in.
See you next time.
Peace.
Peace.
OK, that's a wrap.