March 20, 2024 • 29 mins
Feeling adrift in the industry's slowdown? Wondering how to navigate uncertainty as a producer? Join us as we tackle the burning question: How can mentorship and community be lifelines in challenging times? From CoPros debates to real-world examples, we're diving deep into the power of guidance. Tune in to discover how mentorship can transform obstacles into opportunities on this episode of Producers' Happy Hour.
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Topics: #community, #mentorship, #filmproduction, #commercialproduction, #industryprofessionals, #producersbootcamp
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lawrence (00:00):
Hey there, lone wolf. Yeah. You. We see you. The one
navigating the maze ofuncertainty in this ever
changing industry.
You know, it's it's funny howthe chaos of a film set or or
even just prepping a project cansometimes feel like a distant
memory. But here's the thing,amidst the quiet and all the
(00:23):
uncertainty, there is a beaconof hope, a lifeline that has the
power to keep us afloat in theseturbulent waters. We learned
this in 2001 when the planesflew into the buildings. We
learned this in 2008 when theeconomy took a tumble in its
community and mentorship.
Sister Christian (00:41):
In times like these, when the industry takes a
pause and the future feels moreunpredictable and somewhat shaky
more than ever, we believe inmentorship and community steps
in as our guiding light. Theindustry often rewards people
for keeping their knowledge,insight, contacts, notebooks,
you know, call sheets close totheir chest. Evidence of this is
(01:05):
apparent in some recent co prosposts that I know I've read, but
we're here to promote theopposite.
Lawrence (01:11):
So grab your headphones, lean in close, and
let's dive deep into the powerof community and mentorship.
Because in a world where theonly constant is change, having
someone to guide us through thestorm might just be the
difference between sinking andsoaring. So welcome back to the
Producer's Happy Hour. You'relistening to Producer's Happy
(01:32):
Hour. I'm Lawrence Lewis.
Sister Christian (01:33):
And I'm Sister Christian.
Lawrence (01:34):
And we're here to help you unravel the complexities of
film and commercial production.
Sister Christian (01:39):
Whether you're a seasoned producer, a
production executive, a bidder,or a key part of the production
team, we're here to equip youwith the insights that I know
Lawrence and I wish we had whenwe started out.
Lawrence (01:50):
So you can navigate today's production challenges,
conquer those demanding clients,and unlock the magic to seamless
production.
Sister Christian (01:56):
All with a cocktail, of course. So grab a
drink, say goodbye to thegatekeepers, and let's dive into
the art of producing.
Lawrence (02:04):
This is episode 501. Those who do those who those who
work on episodic knows that thatmeans we've been doing this for
5 seasons, our 5th year ofproducer's happy hour.
Sister Christian (02:15):
Yeah. It's, hard to believe, but these last
5 years have flown by and alsobeen the slowest
Lawrence (02:21):
of my life. My god. And here we are, still in in
certain territories, but we'llget into that. How are you?
Sister Christian (02:27):
I'm good. I feel like, you know, I'm still
nervous about how where ourindustry is going, but I'm
trying very hard to keep that,out of the forefront of my mind.
Yeah. How are you doing?
Lawrence (02:42):
Same here. I mean, I'm right there with you. I've been
I've been fortunate enough tohave enough work to, you know,
get me through. I know there's alot of people that are busy, but
I know there's a lot more peoplethat are not.
Sister Christian (02:55):
There's so many people who are not busy
right now. I mean, you couldjust tell. And, like, I
understand that the messageboards have started to pop up
with more jobs, but there's ainteresting climate out there
right now.
Lawrence (03:06):
There there is for sure. So we're happy to be back
doing this and reconnecting withour community out there, and
that's what this episode's allabout, community mentorship.
Yes. Because it's needed nowmore than ever. But first,
before we get into all thatstuff, what are you drinking?
Sister Christian (03:21):
Well, today, I'm having
Lawrence (03:25):
a Ah.
Sister Christian (03:26):
Something by Lone River called a Ranch Rita.
It's margarita style spicy.
Lawrence (03:32):
I love it. I love a ranch water.
Sister Christian (03:34):
Definitely drinkable.
Lawrence (03:36):
What are you drinking? I am drinking a a good classic
Tito's and soda. You know?Uh-huh. Very basic.
Safe. I went safe. I didn't havea lot of time to prep something
fancy. But I do wanna talk aboutcocktails because like we did
last year, cocktail forecast for2024, last year's was quite Oh,
(03:57):
yeah. Accurate.
Right? There was Yes. Yes. Yes.Resurgence of all those nineties
cocktails, Appletinis, lemondrops
Sister Christian (04:03):
I love a It was
Lawrence (04:04):
my favorite. Espresso martinis. Saw them everywhere.
Mhmm. So the cocktail forecastfor this year is calling for
more coffee based cocktails,believe it or not.
So we'll keep seeing theespresso martinis and maybe some
other ones. Also, savorycocktails.
Sister Christian (04:19):
Oh, yeah. Because I've seen a resurgent
of, like, hey. Let's take adirty martini and make it worse.
Lawrence (04:25):
Yeah.
Sister Christian (04:25):
And because I love a good dirty martini. But
just a sad pickle juice, so I'mlike, oh, Listen. Picklebacks?
Sure. Like, I will do a shot ofwhiskey with a pickle, and then
I will I will do all of that.
But I'll bring one to the showeventually, but I'm just not
sure about a pickledini.
Lawrence (04:43):
I I I am not a fan of pickles. I do not like pickles,
but Oh, hot take. I'm sorry. Ijust don't.
Sister Christian (04:50):
Lawrence.
Lawrence (04:51):
But fat washing is also going to be a a trend this
year. And here's my top cocktailrecommend for Los Angeles. It's
in Los Filas. I think you youwent there, sister. On Vermont.
They have a cocktail called ElGuero. It is avocado fat washed.
So it's a mezcal, kind of like amargarita, not as sweet, but
(05:14):
it's green because it's been fatwashed through, avocado. And
it's one of the best cocktailsin LA.
Sister Christian (05:19):
And if it was a if it was in Brooklyn, it
would be made by a dude with ahandlebar mustache
Lawrence (05:24):
and his and suspenders.
Sister Christian (05:27):
But first, Lawrence, have you ever wanted
to take your commercial filmproduction skills to the next
level?
Lawrence (05:32):
We've got something special for you. We want you to
join us for our very first inperson producers boot camp.
Sister Christian (05:40):
That's right. It's super exciting. You're
hearing it here first. Yeah. OnSunday, April 28, 2024, coming
up very soon, in Santa Monica,California, We, Lawrence and I,
are hosting a half day immersivedeep dive into the art of
commercial film production.
Lawrence (05:57):
I mean, talk about community and mentor ship.
Right? This is it. We we'refinally got someone kicked us in
the ass. His name's JordanBrady.
And he's like, just fucking doit. So we're doing it. We're
gonna be in person, and we'regonna import all of our
knowledge into your brains.Limited spots are available just
to make sure that everyone getspersonalized attention. It's
gonna be a very small group, sograb your seat now.
Sister Christian (06:20):
And we're so fortunate to be presenting
alongside Jordan Brady'scommercial directing boot camp.
This workshop is your ticket tomastering the intricacies of
producing stellar content at toptier levels.
Lawrence (06:32):
That's right. Elevate your filmmaking skills with
insights covering everythingfrom deconstructing directors'
treatments to negotiating agencyand client relationships,
Sister Christian (06:50):
Hell, that's a bargain. Plus, it's the day
after Jordan Brady's director'sboot camp, so you can make it a
weekend of learning and growth.
Lawrence (06:57):
And as a special bonus, we're offering a $100
discount to everyone who isparticipating in Jordan Brady's
commercial directing boot camp.
Sister Christian (07:04):
Head over to producers happy hour.com/ boot
camp to secure your spot today.
Lawrence (07:10):
Do it.
Sister Christian (07:16):
So I've really have been in what I would like
to describe as survival mode for2 years. Like, it's just it's
been relentless. There's noforward planning. There's no
anything because the way thatwork has been and the
uncertainty from commercialmarket to streaming Everything.
Short form content, like, allthat shit.
Like, everything is so uncertainright now that, I don't know,
(07:39):
the industry's changing as weknow as it always does.
Lawrence (07:42):
Yes. And we've got AI. We've got this all this
instability in in geopoliticsand economics.
Sister Christian (07:49):
Well, there's so much affecting us now. And
then also the you know, we'vebeen talking about it for years.
Like, how people receive theirTV or their programming is
different. So, of course, howthey're gonna be advertised to
is different.
Lawrence (08:01):
The 32nd commercial for national broadcast
television is a dinosaur, and wehave to adapt. And that's what
mentorship and community helpspeople do to get you know,
everyone is so and we're I wannatalk about this co pros thread.
Everyone is so protective ofwhat they do and and who they
are and their resources, theirnetwork, their their their,
(08:25):
insights into how they operate.It's so protected because
everyone's so afraid of of,somebody taking their jobs
because they have theinformation that they have,
where as in in in, as opposed tothat concept, sharing
information and getting a pointof view from other producers who
maybe do things slightlydifferently, or actually, maybe
(08:47):
they only do commercials everyonce in a while. And they also
do reality TV, or they doexperiential, or they do live
events, or they do content, canopen your eyes to other ways of
being more flexible as aproducer and finding more ways
to reinvent yourself.
Sister Christian (09:08):
Yeah. 100%. Because I think that we belong
to these forums for 2 formultiple reasons in my I do, at
least. When I need help, I ask.When I can help, I do.
Lawrence (09:19):
Yeah. Yeah.
Sister Christian (09:20):
That's what it is. There's a there's a give and
take here. And I can rememberwhen I was transitioning from
PMing to producing, half of thepeople that I worked for
immediately cut me off becausethey were nervous that I would
take their job. I'm like, I'mnot there's enough work for us
to go. Like, what?
I'm not looking for your job.No. But but since we're all so
self taught, that likementorship is, I think, a very
(09:43):
valuable thing, and these forumsthat we belong to are very
valuable because you can gutcheck yourself. Like, why live
in your own spiral of anxiety?
Lawrence (09:53):
Oh my god.
Sister Christian (09:53):
Like like, I'm it's my favorite thing to do.
But the defensiveness that I'veseen sometimes on these
platforms by people who areseasoned, it's like, woah, woah,
woah. Do you remember what itwas like when you were in this
position reaching out for help?Like, the teacher always says,
the only dumb question is anunasked question.
Lawrence (10:14):
And I remember, to your point, I remember being a a
new producer. I finally made thestep up to producing, and I was
you know, I had a veryparticular director, and it's
the only director I ever workedwith. And I was Right. Didn't
know, like, is this normal? Thiswith the way he operates.
And I was like, how do otherproducers handle this? And I
just had no basis to Right. Toto, to work on top of. Right?
(10:42):
Because you don't as aproduction manager
Sister Christian (10:44):
were you gonna get that basis?
Lawrence (10:45):
And how was it gonna right. So I I, you know, I
started asking around like, hey,would you can I take you out to
lunch? Would you be my mentor?And it it was just like, what? I
don't I don't know what youknow, it was a lot of kinda
shrugged shoulders and, like,
Sister Christian (11:00):
Well, also, like, like, what what the what
is the expectation of somebodywho is the mentor? Yeah.
Lawrence (11:05):
Do you know
Sister Christian (11:05):
what I mean? Like, what and then and,
honestly, I've been thinkingabout that question, and it's
like, I guess I had what Iwouldn't what would be called
mentors these days were my promy producer friends that I would
call and and and ask adviceabout. So unwittingly, we we
created a network of mentors andmentees, mentorees.
Lawrence (11:28):
Yeah. Is that
Sister Christian (11:31):
because because we actually were open
enough and vulnerable enough toask each other, is this right?
Lawrence (11:38):
And and I wanna get to this co pros thread, but, like,
that's why we created thispodcast. Right? It's like, let's
talk about our our our what wedo and how we do it, and let's
build a library of resources forother producers that are coming
up behind us. Because withoutmentorship programs, without
(11:58):
education and, sure, you can goto film school, but you're not
gonna learn how to producecommercial. I'm sorry.
No matter
Sister Christian (12:03):
That's what I've heard.
Lawrence (12:04):
Go to USC, pay all the money you want. You're not gonna
learn how to deal with this. Sobuilding a a resource a library
of resources for for peoplelike, you know, we were just
talking to somebody the otherday who turned down, you know, a
a specific type of shoot becausethey never did it before. And
it's like you're a producer. Youcan figure out, you know, you
(12:25):
can figure it out.
Maybe you have to fib your waythrough a few things. But also,
we can put together a course of,like, here's how you do a car
shoot. Here's how you do a foodshoot. Here's how you do here's
how you work with stunt people.Here's how do you do pyro.
Here are all the things that youdon't know you don't know when
you have to do a retail clothingad, you know, like a dress for
(12:46):
less thing where you've gottashow, you know, 82 pieces of
clothing. And how does thatwork? There's no fear in sharing
that information because it'sall it's about what you do with
it. And
Sister Christian (12:57):
Yeah. I think that that's big that's a big
deal. Like, it's about what youdo with the information. Like,
you're not stealing anything.You're just telling somebody
something, whether they listento you or not, it's like, that's
a whole different story.
Yeah. Or apply the advice thatyou've given them in a way that
is productive
Lawrence (13:13):
for them. There's no harm in sharing the info. No.
And so this Co Pros that we keeptalking about was a person who
reached out on Co Pros Mhmm.Very vulnerably, asking for a
mentor.
Sister Christian (13:28):
And had signed the post producer. And it was
like, okay. I think that some ofthe feedback that that they had
received was that, how can youcall yourself a producer? That's
an earned title.
Lawrence (13:41):
Mhmm.
Sister Christian (13:41):
Yeah. And I was like, woah. Woah. Woah. You
don't know who this person is?You know, like I mean, like, I I
still at the level that I am,but but with senior producer,
executive producer, seniorproducer, senior producer?
It's like, what is what exactlylike, I mean, I still absolutely
get into situations where I'mlike, oh, shit. Like, let me run
(14:03):
this by somebody. Is this asdumb as what I'm sounding? Or
have you ever heard this before,or has a crew member ever said
this to you? Right.
Like, those are still very validthings that I know. I mean, even
though, again, you and Icombined have done every single
type of job that there is outthere, something's gonna come up
where we're like, oops. Don'tknow this.
Lawrence (14:22):
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. All the time. Especially when,
you know, more and more with allthis technology, and I know you
do very technologically advancedshoots with the people that you
work with.
Sister Christian (14:32):
Goddamn right.
Lawrence (14:33):
I do as well. And sometimes you're telling
something that's not really beendone before, or the technology
is, yeah, or the technology isreally new. And, you know, and
and and you're expected to knoweverything about it even though
it's never been done before. Andit's like, well, this is this is
new technologies. This is brandnew, but we're gonna figure this
out and we're gonna make thishappen.
(14:54):
And, you you know, the industrydoes not let you expose that you
may not know everything aboutsomething.
Sister Christian (15:03):
Exactly. And that and they've and it actually
encourages you to lie in thosesituations, which makes me
uncomfortable because I can'tlie. But I know in the last job
that you did, there was a wholeweek where we didn't even speak
because that first week was,meetings that you had.
Lawrence (15:21):
Oh, yeah.
Sister Christian (15:22):
How to do something, where to do it,
what's the best to do, what do Ineed to have it done, like, all
these things. And I was like,yeah, that happens on jobs,
especially because half the timewe're teaching everyone around
us how to do it too. We'velearned it.
Lawrence (15:36):
We've learned
Sister Christian (15:36):
it. Later, we're telling people this is
what we're doing.
Lawrence (15:39):
And this is how it's done. Yeah. And that is being a
producer. Thank you for comingto our boot camp.
Sister Christian (15:45):
Right. But I know that you also told me,
like, when we when I shared thatpost with you, I was just so,
like, I know I forwarded it toyou, and I was like, this hurts
my heart right now because
Lawrence (15:55):
I know.
Sister Christian (15:56):
Like, why in a public forum would you ever type
something like that? And then itand then you were like, you had
wanted a mentor, like, earlyinto producing career. And I was
like, exactly. Like, there isjust, like, if you find somebody
who is kind, who, is willing toshare their experience with you,
(16:19):
that is just a gift.
Lawrence (16:20):
It
Sister Christian (16:20):
is. Har like, harbor it.
Lawrence (16:22):
Absolutely.
Sister Christian (16:23):
Nurture that relationship.
Lawrence (16:25):
And we want we hope through this podcast, we aspire
people who have the knowledge toopen their hearts and be those
mentors to the people thatcoming up behind them. Because
if we don't, this this industryis gonna be in trouble. The jobs
are so compressed and so muchmore challenging than they've
ever been.
Sister Christian (16:42):
It elevates what it means to be a producer
if everybody's educated and theyknow what they're doing on jobs.
So it's not just a you know,like, we've said it many, many,
many times that anyone can callthemselves a producer, but that
doesn't mean that you're good.You know, if we could just take
a moment to elevate people tothe status of being good at what
they do, then I mean shit. Wewe've got ourselves an industry.
Lawrence (17:06):
And not being afraid to ask for help or not being
afraid to ask questions. Right?Yes. The whole Yeah. The the the
gaslight of it all of thisindustry is that you're not
allowed to ask questions becausethat shows weakness.
Christian, I just got a calendarfor a job, and the timeline is
(17:30):
totally crazy. It's so short.Like, how do you stay organized
during prep when these timelinesare truncated like that?
Sister Christian (17:37):
There is so much to think about and no room
for error. None. And to behonest, sometimes stuff falls
through the cracks. I don'tknow.
Have you ever bolted awake at 2AM and screamed humane society?
Lawrence (17:48):
Oh my god.
Sister Christian (17:50):
Like, oh, the cater.
Lawrence (17:52):
Oh my god. The director wants fog, and I didn't
put it on the freaking permit.Oh, it's insane. What gets me
through these jobs, though, andeven just my daily life, is
checklists. I'm obsessed withchecklists.
That's the only way I can stayorganized.
Sister Christian (18:06):
Even though we've been doing this for years,
a solid checklist is superuseful.
Lawrence (18:10):
Yeah. Even seasoned commercial pilots, like airline
pilots who have been doing thisfor 25 years, use checklists for
the most basic things. That'show important they are.
Sister Christian (18:19):
I'd like to think that my job is way more
important than a pilot's job,but whatever.
So we did a thing and made a newpreproduction checklist. This
one is built for contemporaryfilmmaking methods, and, you
know, it's also geared towardsthe way we are expected to work
these days.
Lawrence (18:33):
Yeah. Which is crazy fast. So don't let anything slip
through the cracks. Get thepreproduction checklist. There's
a link in our show notes whereyou can grab it, or you can just
find it on our website,producers happy hour dotcom.
Go get
Sister Christian (18:46):
it. Another thing that is you know, like, I
just wanna touch on again thesurvival mode is what I'm
calling it over the last, 2years of just, like, surviving.
And I I find I find even how mysocial media is presented and my
because, you know, you have tobe on it, kids, and or my
(19:07):
LinkedIn or any of that shit.Like, it it it it it lists out
what I've done, not what I cando. And I think that that's part
of sir yeah.
That's part of survival mode islike, yeah. I can fucking do
this commercial with, you know,my eyes closed. I can produce
anything, of course. I mean,just this list of things right
(19:28):
here on a resume or my websiteproves that I can, but it only
show like, but it doesn't showwhat I'm capable of. I don't
know if the the there's adisconnect here.
And so I wanna start presentingmyself and for the jobs that I
want or interesting to me, notjust trying to get, producing
(19:50):
gigs. And I don't think thatthat's what I've been doing, but
I think that that's what my whatthe old version of having a
website resume and a LinkedIn
Lawrence (20:02):
is. Right.
Sister Christian (20:04):
I think that there's so much more out there.
Lawrence (20:07):
What jobs have you done? Who have you worked for?
It's not even that. It's like,what production companies have
you worked for? What directorshave you worked for?
Sister Christian (20:14):
It's like when you like for freelancers, you
know, like anybody who's evertried to buy a house and is
freelance, the banks are lookingat your shit going, okay. Great.
You did this blockbuster movie 2years ago. Great. But what do
you have coming up?
Like, how can you prove thatyou're going to have income
versus I think that the futureis going to be so much more than
(20:35):
just showing your resume.
Lawrence (20:37):
Yeah. It has to be. You have to be kinda
omnipresent, almost. You know?People wanna
Sister Christian (20:43):
I think so.
Lawrence (20:44):
See who you are, see what you do, see what your
attitude is. It's, yeah, it'sreally interesting.
Sister Christian (20:50):
No. No. And I think that also you, you know,
you have to be multifacetedthese days as a producer. We
usually always are, but the youhave to be nimble enough to
pick, to pick up and put downthings because of how short our
prep time is and how you can'tstart, you know, production
(21:11):
designer until the very lastminute and all that. You
actually have to be able to doother people's jobs as well.
Lawrence (21:17):
Yeah. I mean, I had to learn SketchUp for a little job.
You know, to like it's rough tolearn, but I was like, I gotta
put something together because Idon't have the resources to
bring on a production manager oran illustrator or anything. I
just need to, like, lay someshit out to demonstrate what I'm
talking about. And yeah.
And and this I have to remindus, this hearkens back to
(21:40):
episode 101. Do you rememberwhat episode 101 of this podcast
was about? No. Flexibility.
Sister Christian (21:52):
I know.
Lawrence (21:53):
Do you remember that? That was our very first episode,
and here we are.
Sister Christian (21:57):
I can't remember this morning. Well, but
Lawrence (21:59):
it's like we're just singing this we're singing the
same old song in a new in a newmelody because that's what it's
all about, and we're justlearning it in different ways.
Right? Mhmm. We're learning indifferent ways because now it's
impacting how we get jobs andwhat kind of jobs we're getting
and what kind of jobs we wannaposition ourselves to get. And
the biggest thing I hear fromall of my friends that are in
(22:20):
this industry that are so afraidof the future is my skills are
nontransferable.
And I I wanna push back againstthat because it's like, well, I
don't know if that's true ornot. Right? We just have to
understand how to interpret ourskills in a new way and
understand what those what thoseopportunities are. And those
(22:42):
opportunities lie in futuretechnology. And, you know, I
don't wanna say AI, but
Sister Christian (22:51):
I mean, you have to make AI your own beast.
Yeah. I mean, it it it is it'scoming. It's going to happen,
and I don't I don't want I'm notgonna embrace it because I I or
am I? Stay true.
I just mean that, like, it'sit's it is infinitely helpful
(23:11):
when you are, struggling towrite something because you're
exhausted.
Lawrence (23:16):
On 16th hour.
Sister Christian (23:18):
Exactly.
Lawrence (23:19):
Some saves you from sending a snarky email.
Sister Christian (23:22):
Yeah. No. I I mean Yeah. I did the oh my god,
Lawrence. I did this.
I I fed one of my emails into,an AI program Mhmm. And, asked
it to dial it back 20%. And thenafter and then I got that new
one, and then I said, can youmake it 10% more corporate? And
(23:43):
it
Lawrence (23:45):
And it
Sister Christian (23:46):
did. Yeah. Yeah. Because I could not I did
not have the capacity of thebrainpower, the the, oh, energy
or the even the the the space todo that myself.
Lawrence (23:57):
Or not on your 16th hour of a 5 day shoot. Right.
But it's, like, changing withthe climate of everything, the
entire landscape. I know we usethat word a lot, but it's true
because it's not just TVcommercials, it's social media.
Instagram, TikTok, blah blahblah.
And it's like, are you are youknow, are if if you are Gen Z
(24:17):
looking into get into thisindustry, are you do you have a
website? Or are you just sendingpeople to your Instagram, to
your TikTok? Are you put is thatwhere you're putting your your
your your, content that you'vemade? It goes to, you know,
point more to the fact that,like, new points of view,
different points of view of thedifferent generations that are
in our industry are important,and you are only gonna learn
(24:40):
about that through community,through mentorship. Yes.
And I I promise you, you know,to all of our seasoned producers
out there, you start mentoring aGen Z right now, you are gonna
learn some shit.
Sister Christian (24:52):
You're gonna learn some shit. That's my
favorite part.
Lawrence (24:55):
Yes.
Sister Christian (24:55):
My favorite part about, talking to because
I'm just like, oh, that's agreat idea. Like like, oh, shit.
I wish I would've known thatwhen I was then or any of it or
just, like, how how are just tounderstand how people are
communicating because I knowwhen I'm looking for a,
photographer I mean, I get sentInstagram handles versus
(25:19):
websites these days, hands down.Absolutely. So, yeah, I'm no
longer looking at websites forphotographers.
I'm just scrolling through theirsocial media.
Lawrence (25:26):
So being a mentor or just getting involved and
sharing your ideas and yourpoints of view and the way you
do stuff with other people inthis community, other producers
who may take your job, you don'tbe afraid of that because, you
know, you're creating anexperience. You know, we say
that so many you say that,Christian, actually. You're the
party planner. You're the partyhost when they show up on set.
(25:49):
That experience you create is a180 degrees different than the
experience that I create on set.
Yes. And that is that is the thethe the sweet spot. That's the
that's the sugar you're pouringon top of the whole thing, and
that's what makes you you as aproducer. The way your crew
feels, the way your agency orclient feels, or or the way your
(26:09):
director feels. It's a it's avery unique thing.
So the nuts and bolts and yourpoint of view of how you do your
work, sharing that with somebodywho maybe calls themselves a
producer, but maybe isn't atyour level yet, shouldn't be a
fearful
Sister Christian (26:24):
thing. My ego tells me I'm so good that if I
told all these secrets tosomebody, they would bop out and
start to be able to produce atmy level immediately, but that's
not true either. No. No. It justisn't.
So getting insight from 2 it'slike like, just from a couple of
seasoned producers, I feel. Ijust wish I woulda had it when I
(26:46):
was first coming up for sure.
Lawrence (26:47):
I needed so desperately to have a a senior
producer in my life back then.Let me tell you the mistakes I
made.
Sister Christian (26:54):
A nice one.
Lawrence (26:55):
A nice one. I had a few
Sister Christian (26:57):
Oh, boy. Who are see you next Tuesdays.
Lawrence (27:00):
You have a little bit of an echo. Your reverb y sound
sounds like you're in a newplace. Are you in a new place?
Sister Christian (27:07):
Yes. It has been 2 plus years in the making,
but I have officially moved toCalifornia.
Lawrence (27:14):
Boop boop. From New
Sister Christian (27:15):
York and I
Lawrence (27:16):
I hate it. Boop bam.
Sister Christian (27:17):
And I have to tell you, everybody thought that
I was going to be out here waysooner than I thought, but I
have moved to California and Ihappen to be living in the
desert. I have to say, I do missthe shit out of New York For all
of you out there, I'm not givingup my home base of New York. I'm
just, yeah. It it's been a it'sbeen a slow moving coup, and I'm
(27:40):
gonna take over California now.
Lawrence (27:41):
Yeah. In fact, you just did a job in New York,
didn't you?
Sister Christian (27:44):
Yes. My first time in New York doing work, for
about 2 years, I think, was thelast job that I had done there.
So, yeah, it was, so much fun tosee everybody. So I hope to be
doing more work there since I'mhere now.
Lawrence (27:58):
That's how it works. Alright. Well, Christian, thank
you for the chat today.
Sister Christian (28:03):
Oh, today was a good one. I'm glad that we're
back at it too. It gives me,something to look forward to. I
know how that sounds, but it'sjust I have been sly. I've
worked.
Don't get me wrong.
Lawrence (28:14):
Yes.
Sister Christian (28:14):
But it's nothing like the level that we
were at
Lawrence (28:17):
No. 2 years ago.
Sister Christian (28:19):
No. So I'm ready to get back at it for
sure.
Lawrence (28:22):
Same here. So for everyone listening, producers
happy hour.com/bootcamp. If youwanna come hang out with us for
a half day after Jordan Brady'scommercial director's bootcamp,
It'll be a blast, a $100 off ifyou are participating in that.
Otherwise, stick around for morepodcast episodes because we're
(28:42):
back every other Tuesday.
Sister Christian (28:43):
We're back y'all. It's gonna be a good
time.
Lawrence (28:46):
So, Christian, how do people get ahold of you if they
want you?
Sister Christian: Sisterchristianproduces.com. (28:48):
undefined
It's old and dated.
Lawrence (28:52):
Speaking of
Sister Christian (28:53):
Please. I haven't updated it in so long.
It just looks like shit from 7years ago, so have at it. So,
Lawrence, if they want you, howdo they get you?
Lawrence (29:02):
I mean, mine's no better. Lawrence t lewis.com. I
will update it at some point,you know? Alright. See y'all in
a couple weeks.
Bye. Bye.
Sister Christian (29:11):
Thanks for joining Producers Happy Hour.
Lawrence (29:13):
If you got value from this episode, please don't keep
it to yourself. Spread the loveby rating and reviewing us on
Apple Podcasts.
Sister Christian (29:20):
And let's be honest, we wouldn't have the
show without you. Your feedbackhelps us to keep making this
amazing content.
Lawrence (29:26):
This show is brought to you by our editor,
brenrussell@podladd.com.
Sister Christian (29:30):
And Christopher Daniels, who is our
branding expert and one fabuloustreatment designer.
Lawrence (29:35):
So until next time, always remember Making is hard.
Hey there, lone wolf. Yeah. You. We see you. The one
navigating the maze ofuncertainty in this ever
changing industry.
You know, it's it's funny howthe chaos of a film set or or
even just prepping a project cansometimes feel like a distant
memory. But here's the thing,amidst the quiet and all the
(00:23):
uncertainty, there is a beaconof hope, a lifeline that has the
power to keep us afloat in theseturbulent waters. We learned
this in 2001 when the planesflew into the buildings. We
learned this in 2008 when theeconomy took a tumble in its
community and mentorship.
Sister Christian (00:41):
In times like these, when the industry takes a
pause and the future feels moreunpredictable and somewhat shaky
more than ever, we believe inmentorship and community steps
in as our guiding light. Theindustry often rewards people
for keeping their knowledge,insight, contacts, notebooks,
you know, call sheets close totheir chest. Evidence of this is
(01:05):
apparent in some recent co prosposts that I know I've read, but
we're here to promote theopposite.
Lawrence (01:11):
So grab your headphones, lean in close, and
let's dive deep into the powerof community and mentorship.
Because in a world where theonly constant is change, having
someone to guide us through thestorm might just be the
difference between sinking andsoaring. So welcome back to the
Producer's Happy Hour. You'relistening to Producer's Happy
(01:32):
Hour. I'm Lawrence Lewis.
Sister Christian (01:33):
And I'm Sister Christian.
Lawrence (01:34):
And we're here to help you unravel the complexities of
film and commercial production.
Sister Christian (01:39):
Whether you're a seasoned producer, a
production executive, a bidder,or a key part of the production
team, we're here to equip youwith the insights that I know
Lawrence and I wish we had whenwe started out.
Lawrence (01:50):
So you can navigate today's production challenges,
conquer those demanding clients,and unlock the magic to seamless
production.
Sister Christian (01:56):
All with a cocktail, of course. So grab a
drink, say goodbye to thegatekeepers, and let's dive into
the art of producing.
Lawrence (02:04):
This is episode 501. Those who do those who those who
work on episodic knows that thatmeans we've been doing this for
5 seasons, our 5th year ofproducer's happy hour.
Sister Christian (02:15):
Yeah. It's, hard to believe, but these last
5 years have flown by and alsobeen the slowest
Lawrence (02:21):
of my life. My god. And here we are, still in in
certain territories, but we'llget into that. How are you?
Sister Christian (02:27):
I'm good. I feel like, you know, I'm still
nervous about how where ourindustry is going, but I'm
trying very hard to keep that,out of the forefront of my mind.
Yeah. How are you doing?
Lawrence (02:42):
Same here. I mean, I'm right there with you. I've been
I've been fortunate enough tohave enough work to, you know,
get me through. I know there's alot of people that are busy, but
I know there's a lot more peoplethat are not.
Sister Christian (02:55):
There's so many people who are not busy
right now. I mean, you couldjust tell. And, like, I
understand that the messageboards have started to pop up
with more jobs, but there's ainteresting climate out there
right now.
Lawrence (03:06):
There there is for sure. So we're happy to be back
doing this and reconnecting withour community out there, and
that's what this episode's allabout, community mentorship.
Yes. Because it's needed nowmore than ever. But first,
before we get into all thatstuff, what are you drinking?
Sister Christian (03:21):
Well, today, I'm having
Lawrence (03:25):
a Ah.
Sister Christian (03:26):
Something by Lone River called a Ranch Rita.
It's margarita style spicy.
Lawrence (03:32):
I love it. I love a ranch water.
Sister Christian (03:34):
Definitely drinkable.
Lawrence (03:36):
What are you drinking? I am drinking a a good classic
Tito's and soda. You know?Uh-huh. Very basic.
Safe. I went safe. I didn't havea lot of time to prep something
fancy. But I do wanna talk aboutcocktails because like we did
last year, cocktail forecast for2024, last year's was quite Oh,
(03:57):
yeah. Accurate.
Right? There was Yes. Yes. Yes.Resurgence of all those nineties
cocktails, Appletinis, lemondrops
Sister Christian (04:03):
I love a It was
Lawrence (04:04):
my favorite. Espresso martinis. Saw them everywhere.
Mhmm. So the cocktail forecastfor this year is calling for
more coffee based cocktails,believe it or not.
So we'll keep seeing theespresso martinis and maybe some
other ones. Also, savorycocktails.
Sister Christian (04:19):
Oh, yeah. Because I've seen a resurgent
of, like, hey. Let's take adirty martini and make it worse.
Lawrence (04:25):
Yeah.
Sister Christian (04:25):
And because I love a good dirty martini. But
just a sad pickle juice, so I'mlike, oh, Listen. Picklebacks?
Sure. Like, I will do a shot ofwhiskey with a pickle, and then
I will I will do all of that.
But I'll bring one to the showeventually, but I'm just not
sure about a pickledini.
Lawrence (04:43):
I I I am not a fan of pickles. I do not like pickles,
but Oh, hot take. I'm sorry. Ijust don't.
Sister Christian (04:50):
Lawrence.
Lawrence (04:51):
But fat washing is also going to be a a trend this
year. And here's my top cocktailrecommend for Los Angeles. It's
in Los Filas. I think you youwent there, sister. On Vermont.
They have a cocktail called ElGuero. It is avocado fat washed.
So it's a mezcal, kind of like amargarita, not as sweet, but
(05:14):
it's green because it's been fatwashed through, avocado. And
it's one of the best cocktailsin LA.
Sister Christian (05:19):
And if it was a if it was in Brooklyn, it
would be made by a dude with ahandlebar mustache
Lawrence (05:24):
and his and suspenders.
Sister Christian (05:27):
But first, Lawrence, have you ever wanted
to take your commercial filmproduction skills to the next
level?
Lawrence (05:32):
We've got something special for you. We want you to
join us for our very first inperson producers boot camp.
Sister Christian (05:40):
That's right. It's super exciting. You're
hearing it here first. Yeah. OnSunday, April 28, 2024, coming
up very soon, in Santa Monica,California, We, Lawrence and I,
are hosting a half day immersivedeep dive into the art of
commercial film production.
Lawrence (05:57):
I mean, talk about community and mentor ship.
Right? This is it. We we'refinally got someone kicked us in
the ass. His name's JordanBrady.
And he's like, just fucking doit. So we're doing it. We're
gonna be in person, and we'regonna import all of our
knowledge into your brains.Limited spots are available just
to make sure that everyone getspersonalized attention. It's
gonna be a very small group, sograb your seat now.
Sister Christian (06:20):
And we're so fortunate to be presenting
alongside Jordan Brady'scommercial directing boot camp.
This workshop is your ticket tomastering the intricacies of
producing stellar content at toptier levels.
Lawrence (06:32):
That's right. Elevate your filmmaking skills with
insights covering everythingfrom deconstructing directors'
treatments to negotiating agencyand client relationships,
Sister Christian (06:50):
Hell, that's a bargain. Plus, it's the day
after Jordan Brady's director'sboot camp, so you can make it a
weekend of learning and growth.
Lawrence (06:57):
And as a special bonus, we're offering a $100
discount to everyone who isparticipating in Jordan Brady's
commercial directing boot camp.
Sister Christian (07:04):
Head over to producers happy hour.com/ boot
camp to secure your spot today.
Lawrence (07:10):
Do it.
Sister Christian (07:16):
So I've really have been in what I would like
to describe as survival mode for2 years. Like, it's just it's
been relentless. There's noforward planning. There's no
anything because the way thatwork has been and the
uncertainty from commercialmarket to streaming Everything.
Short form content, like, allthat shit.
Like, everything is so uncertainright now that, I don't know,
(07:39):
the industry's changing as weknow as it always does.
Lawrence (07:42):
Yes. And we've got AI. We've got this all this
instability in in geopoliticsand economics.
Sister Christian (07:49):
Well, there's so much affecting us now. And
then also the you know, we'vebeen talking about it for years.
Like, how people receive theirTV or their programming is
different. So, of course, howthey're gonna be advertised to
is different.
Lawrence (08:01):
The 32nd commercial for national broadcast
television is a dinosaur, and wehave to adapt. And that's what
mentorship and community helpspeople do to get you know,
everyone is so and we're I wannatalk about this co pros thread.
Everyone is so protective ofwhat they do and and who they
are and their resources, theirnetwork, their their their,
(08:25):
insights into how they operate.It's so protected because
everyone's so afraid of of,somebody taking their jobs
because they have theinformation that they have,
where as in in in, as opposed tothat concept, sharing
information and getting a pointof view from other producers who
maybe do things slightlydifferently, or actually, maybe
(08:47):
they only do commercials everyonce in a while. And they also
do reality TV, or they doexperiential, or they do live
events, or they do content, canopen your eyes to other ways of
being more flexible as aproducer and finding more ways
to reinvent yourself.
Sister Christian (09:08):
Yeah. 100%. Because I think that we belong
to these forums for 2 formultiple reasons in my I do, at
least. When I need help, I ask.When I can help, I do.
Lawrence (09:19):
Yeah. Yeah.
Sister Christian (09:20):
That's what it is. There's a there's a give and
take here. And I can rememberwhen I was transitioning from
PMing to producing, half of thepeople that I worked for
immediately cut me off becausethey were nervous that I would
take their job. I'm like, I'mnot there's enough work for us
to go. Like, what?
I'm not looking for your job.No. But but since we're all so
self taught, that likementorship is, I think, a very
(09:43):
valuable thing, and these forumsthat we belong to are very
valuable because you can gutcheck yourself. Like, why live
in your own spiral of anxiety?
Lawrence (09:53):
Oh my god.
Sister Christian (09:53):
Like like, I'm it's my favorite thing to do.
But the defensiveness that I'veseen sometimes on these
platforms by people who areseasoned, it's like, woah, woah,
woah. Do you remember what itwas like when you were in this
position reaching out for help?Like, the teacher always says,
the only dumb question is anunasked question.
Lawrence (10:14):
And I remember, to your point, I remember being a a
new producer. I finally made thestep up to producing, and I was
you know, I had a veryparticular director, and it's
the only director I ever workedwith. And I was Right. Didn't
know, like, is this normal? Thiswith the way he operates.
And I was like, how do otherproducers handle this? And I
just had no basis to Right. Toto, to work on top of. Right?
(10:42):
Because you don't as aproduction manager
Sister Christian (10:44):
were you gonna get that basis?
Lawrence (10:45):
And how was it gonna right. So I I, you know, I
started asking around like, hey,would you can I take you out to
lunch? Would you be my mentor?And it it was just like, what? I
don't I don't know what youknow, it was a lot of kinda
shrugged shoulders and, like,
Sister Christian (11:00):
Well, also, like, like, what what the what
is the expectation of somebodywho is the mentor? Yeah.
Lawrence (11:05):
Do you know
Sister Christian (11:05):
what I mean? Like, what and then and,
honestly, I've been thinkingabout that question, and it's
like, I guess I had what Iwouldn't what would be called
mentors these days were my promy producer friends that I would
call and and and ask adviceabout. So unwittingly, we we
created a network of mentors andmentees, mentorees.
Lawrence (11:28):
Yeah. Is that
Sister Christian (11:31):
because because we actually were open
enough and vulnerable enough toask each other, is this right?
Lawrence (11:38):
And and I wanna get to this co pros thread, but, like,
that's why we created thispodcast. Right? It's like, let's
talk about our our our what wedo and how we do it, and let's
build a library of resources forother producers that are coming
up behind us. Because withoutmentorship programs, without
(11:58):
education and, sure, you can goto film school, but you're not
gonna learn how to producecommercial. I'm sorry.
No matter
Sister Christian (12:03):
That's what I've heard.
Lawrence (12:04):
Go to USC, pay all the money you want. You're not gonna
learn how to deal with this. Sobuilding a a resource a library
of resources for for peoplelike, you know, we were just
talking to somebody the otherday who turned down, you know, a
a specific type of shoot becausethey never did it before. And
it's like you're a producer. Youcan figure out, you know, you
(12:25):
can figure it out.
Maybe you have to fib your waythrough a few things. But also,
we can put together a course of,like, here's how you do a car
shoot. Here's how you do a foodshoot. Here's how you do here's
how you work with stunt people.Here's how do you do pyro.
Here are all the things that youdon't know you don't know when
you have to do a retail clothingad, you know, like a dress for
(12:46):
less thing where you've gottashow, you know, 82 pieces of
clothing. And how does thatwork? There's no fear in sharing
that information because it'sall it's about what you do with
it. And
Sister Christian (12:57):
Yeah. I think that that's big that's a big
deal. Like, it's about what youdo with the information. Like,
you're not stealing anything.You're just telling somebody
something, whether they listento you or not, it's like, that's
a whole different story.
Yeah. Or apply the advice thatyou've given them in a way that
is productive
Lawrence (13:13):
for them. There's no harm in sharing the info. No.
And so this Co Pros that we keeptalking about was a person who
reached out on Co Pros Mhmm.Very vulnerably, asking for a
mentor.
Sister Christian (13:28):
And had signed the post producer. And it was
like, okay. I think that some ofthe feedback that that they had
received was that, how can youcall yourself a producer? That's
an earned title.
Lawrence (13:41):
Mhmm.
Sister Christian (13:41):
Yeah. And I was like, woah. Woah. Woah. You
don't know who this person is?You know, like I mean, like, I I
still at the level that I am,but but with senior producer,
executive producer, seniorproducer, senior producer?
It's like, what is what exactlylike, I mean, I still absolutely
get into situations where I'mlike, oh, shit. Like, let me run
(14:03):
this by somebody. Is this asdumb as what I'm sounding? Or
have you ever heard this before,or has a crew member ever said
this to you? Right.
Like, those are still very validthings that I know. I mean, even
though, again, you and Icombined have done every single
type of job that there is outthere, something's gonna come up
where we're like, oops. Don'tknow this.
Lawrence (14:22):
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. All the time. Especially when,
you know, more and more with allthis technology, and I know you
do very technologically advancedshoots with the people that you
work with.
Sister Christian (14:32):
Goddamn right.
Lawrence (14:33):
I do as well. And sometimes you're telling
something that's not really beendone before, or the technology
is, yeah, or the technology isreally new. And, you know, and
and and you're expected to knoweverything about it even though
it's never been done before. Andit's like, well, this is this is
new technologies. This is brandnew, but we're gonna figure this
out and we're gonna make thishappen.
(14:54):
And, you you know, the industrydoes not let you expose that you
may not know everything aboutsomething.
Sister Christian (15:03):
Exactly. And that and they've and it actually
encourages you to lie in thosesituations, which makes me
uncomfortable because I can'tlie. But I know in the last job
that you did, there was a wholeweek where we didn't even speak
because that first week was,meetings that you had.
Lawrence (15:21):
Oh, yeah.
Sister Christian (15:22):
How to do something, where to do it,
what's the best to do, what do Ineed to have it done, like, all
these things. And I was like,yeah, that happens on jobs,
especially because half the timewe're teaching everyone around
us how to do it too. We'velearned it.
Lawrence (15:36):
We've learned
Sister Christian (15:36):
it. Later, we're telling people this is
what we're doing.
Lawrence (15:39):
And this is how it's done. Yeah. And that is being a
producer. Thank you for comingto our boot camp.
Sister Christian (15:45):
Right. But I know that you also told me,
like, when we when I shared thatpost with you, I was just so,
like, I know I forwarded it toyou, and I was like, this hurts
my heart right now because
Lawrence (15:55):
I know.
Sister Christian (15:56):
Like, why in a public forum would you ever type
something like that? And then itand then you were like, you had
wanted a mentor, like, earlyinto producing career. And I was
like, exactly. Like, there isjust, like, if you find somebody
who is kind, who, is willing toshare their experience with you,
(16:19):
that is just a gift.
Lawrence (16:20):
It
Sister Christian (16:20):
is. Har like, harbor it.
Lawrence (16:22):
Absolutely.
Sister Christian (16:23):
Nurture that relationship.
Lawrence (16:25):
And we want we hope through this podcast, we aspire
people who have the knowledge toopen their hearts and be those
mentors to the people thatcoming up behind them. Because
if we don't, this this industryis gonna be in trouble. The jobs
are so compressed and so muchmore challenging than they've
ever been.
Sister Christian (16:42):
It elevates what it means to be a producer
if everybody's educated and theyknow what they're doing on jobs.
So it's not just a you know,like, we've said it many, many,
many times that anyone can callthemselves a producer, but that
doesn't mean that you're good.You know, if we could just take
a moment to elevate people tothe status of being good at what
they do, then I mean shit. Wewe've got ourselves an industry.
Lawrence (17:06):
And not being afraid to ask for help or not being
afraid to ask questions. Right?Yes. The whole Yeah. The the the
gaslight of it all of thisindustry is that you're not
allowed to ask questions becausethat shows weakness.
Christian, I just got a calendarfor a job, and the timeline is
(17:30):
totally crazy. It's so short.Like, how do you stay organized
during prep when these timelinesare truncated like that?
Sister Christian (17:37):
There is so much to think about and no room
for error. None. And to behonest, sometimes stuff falls
through the cracks. I don'tknow.
Have you ever bolted awake at 2AM and screamed humane society?
Lawrence (17:48):
Oh my god.
Sister Christian (17:50):
Like, oh, the cater.
Lawrence (17:52):
Oh my god. The director wants fog, and I didn't
put it on the freaking permit.Oh, it's insane. What gets me
through these jobs, though, andeven just my daily life, is
checklists. I'm obsessed withchecklists.
That's the only way I can stayorganized.
Sister Christian (18:06):
Even though we've been doing this for years,
a solid checklist is superuseful.
Lawrence (18:10):
Yeah. Even seasoned commercial pilots, like airline
pilots who have been doing thisfor 25 years, use checklists for
the most basic things. That'show important they are.
Sister Christian (18:19):
I'd like to think that my job is way more
important than a pilot's job,but whatever.
So we did a thing and made a newpreproduction checklist. This
one is built for contemporaryfilmmaking methods, and, you
know, it's also geared towardsthe way we are expected to work
these days.
Lawrence (18:33):
Yeah. Which is crazy fast. So don't let anything slip
through the cracks. Get thepreproduction checklist. There's
a link in our show notes whereyou can grab it, or you can just
find it on our website,producers happy hour dotcom.
Go get
Sister Christian (18:46):
it. Another thing that is you know, like, I
just wanna touch on again thesurvival mode is what I'm
calling it over the last, 2years of just, like, surviving.
And I I find I find even how mysocial media is presented and my
because, you know, you have tobe on it, kids, and or my
(19:07):
LinkedIn or any of that shit.Like, it it it it it lists out
what I've done, not what I cando. And I think that that's part
of sir yeah.
That's part of survival mode islike, yeah. I can fucking do
this commercial with, you know,my eyes closed. I can produce
anything, of course. I mean,just this list of things right
(19:28):
here on a resume or my websiteproves that I can, but it only
show like, but it doesn't showwhat I'm capable of. I don't
know if the the there's adisconnect here.
And so I wanna start presentingmyself and for the jobs that I
want or interesting to me, notjust trying to get, producing
(19:50):
gigs. And I don't think thatthat's what I've been doing, but
I think that that's what my whatthe old version of having a
website resume and a LinkedIn
Lawrence (20:02):
is. Right.
Sister Christian (20:04):
I think that there's so much more out there.
Lawrence (20:07):
What jobs have you done? Who have you worked for?
It's not even that. It's like,what production companies have
you worked for? What directorshave you worked for?
Sister Christian (20:14):
It's like when you like for freelancers, you
know, like anybody who's evertried to buy a house and is
freelance, the banks are lookingat your shit going, okay. Great.
You did this blockbuster movie 2years ago. Great. But what do
you have coming up?
Like, how can you prove thatyou're going to have income
versus I think that the futureis going to be so much more than
(20:35):
just showing your resume.
Lawrence (20:37):
Yeah. It has to be. You have to be kinda
omnipresent, almost. You know?People wanna
Sister Christian (20:43):
I think so.
Lawrence (20:44):
See who you are, see what you do, see what your
attitude is. It's, yeah, it'sreally interesting.
Sister Christian (20:50):
No. No. And I think that also you, you know,
you have to be multifacetedthese days as a producer. We
usually always are, but the youhave to be nimble enough to
pick, to pick up and put downthings because of how short our
prep time is and how you can'tstart, you know, production
(21:11):
designer until the very lastminute and all that. You
actually have to be able to doother people's jobs as well.
Lawrence (21:17):
Yeah. I mean, I had to learn SketchUp for a little job.
You know, to like it's rough tolearn, but I was like, I gotta
put something together because Idon't have the resources to
bring on a production manager oran illustrator or anything. I
just need to, like, lay someshit out to demonstrate what I'm
talking about. And yeah.
And and this I have to remindus, this hearkens back to
(21:40):
episode 101. Do you rememberwhat episode 101 of this podcast
was about? No. Flexibility.
Sister Christian (21:52):
I know.
Lawrence (21:53):
Do you remember that? That was our very first episode,
and here we are.
Sister Christian (21:57):
I can't remember this morning. Well, but
Lawrence (21:59):
it's like we're just singing this we're singing the
same old song in a new in a newmelody because that's what it's
all about, and we're justlearning it in different ways.
Right? Mhmm. We're learning indifferent ways because now it's
impacting how we get jobs andwhat kind of jobs we're getting
and what kind of jobs we wannaposition ourselves to get. And
the biggest thing I hear fromall of my friends that are in
(22:20):
this industry that are so afraidof the future is my skills are
nontransferable.
And I I wanna push back againstthat because it's like, well, I
don't know if that's true ornot. Right? We just have to
understand how to interpret ourskills in a new way and
understand what those what thoseopportunities are. And those
(22:42):
opportunities lie in futuretechnology. And, you know, I
don't wanna say AI, but
Sister Christian (22:51):
I mean, you have to make AI your own beast.
Yeah. I mean, it it it is it'scoming. It's going to happen,
and I don't I don't want I'm notgonna embrace it because I I or
am I? Stay true.
I just mean that, like, it'sit's it is infinitely helpful
(23:11):
when you are, struggling towrite something because you're
exhausted.
Lawrence (23:16):
On 16th hour.
Sister Christian (23:18):
Exactly.
Lawrence (23:19):
Some saves you from sending a snarky email.
Sister Christian (23:22):
Yeah. No. I I mean Yeah. I did the oh my god,
Lawrence. I did this.
I I fed one of my emails into,an AI program Mhmm. And, asked
it to dial it back 20%. And thenafter and then I got that new
one, and then I said, can youmake it 10% more corporate? And
(23:43):
it
Lawrence (23:45):
And it
Sister Christian (23:46):
did. Yeah. Yeah. Because I could not I did
not have the capacity of thebrainpower, the the, oh, energy
or the even the the the space todo that myself.
Lawrence (23:57):
Or not on your 16th hour of a 5 day shoot. Right.
But it's, like, changing withthe climate of everything, the
entire landscape. I know we usethat word a lot, but it's true
because it's not just TVcommercials, it's social media.
Instagram, TikTok, blah blahblah.
And it's like, are you are youknow, are if if you are Gen Z
(24:17):
looking into get into thisindustry, are you do you have a
website? Or are you just sendingpeople to your Instagram, to
your TikTok? Are you put is thatwhere you're putting your your
your your, content that you'vemade? It goes to, you know,
point more to the fact that,like, new points of view,
different points of view of thedifferent generations that are
in our industry are important,and you are only gonna learn
(24:40):
about that through community,through mentorship. Yes.
And I I promise you, you know,to all of our seasoned producers
out there, you start mentoring aGen Z right now, you are gonna
learn some shit.
Sister Christian (24:52):
You're gonna learn some shit. That's my
favorite part.
Lawrence (24:55):
Yes.
Sister Christian (24:55):
My favorite part about, talking to because
I'm just like, oh, that's agreat idea. Like like, oh, shit.
I wish I would've known thatwhen I was then or any of it or
just, like, how how are just tounderstand how people are
communicating because I knowwhen I'm looking for a,
photographer I mean, I get sentInstagram handles versus
(25:19):
websites these days, hands down.Absolutely. So, yeah, I'm no
longer looking at websites forphotographers.
I'm just scrolling through theirsocial media.
Lawrence (25:26):
So being a mentor or just getting involved and
sharing your ideas and yourpoints of view and the way you
do stuff with other people inthis community, other producers
who may take your job, you don'tbe afraid of that because, you
know, you're creating anexperience. You know, we say
that so many you say that,Christian, actually. You're the
party planner. You're the partyhost when they show up on set.
(25:49):
That experience you create is a180 degrees different than the
experience that I create on set.
Yes. And that is that is the thethe the sweet spot. That's the
that's the sugar you're pouringon top of the whole thing, and
that's what makes you you as aproducer. The way your crew
feels, the way your agency orclient feels, or or the way your
(26:09):
director feels. It's a it's avery unique thing.
So the nuts and bolts and yourpoint of view of how you do your
work, sharing that with somebodywho maybe calls themselves a
producer, but maybe isn't atyour level yet, shouldn't be a
fearful
Sister Christian (26:24):
thing. My ego tells me I'm so good that if I
told all these secrets tosomebody, they would bop out and
start to be able to produce atmy level immediately, but that's
not true either. No. No. It justisn't.
So getting insight from 2 it'slike like, just from a couple of
seasoned producers, I feel. Ijust wish I woulda had it when I
(26:46):
was first coming up for sure.
Lawrence (26:47):
I needed so desperately to have a a senior
producer in my life back then.Let me tell you the mistakes I
made.
Sister Christian (26:54):
A nice one.
Lawrence (26:55):
A nice one. I had a few
Sister Christian (26:57):
Oh, boy. Who are see you next Tuesdays.
Lawrence (27:00):
You have a little bit of an echo. Your reverb y sound
sounds like you're in a newplace. Are you in a new place?
Sister Christian (27:07):
Yes. It has been 2 plus years in the making,
but I have officially moved toCalifornia.
Lawrence (27:14):
Boop boop. From New
Sister Christian (27:15):
York and I
Lawrence (27:16):
I hate it. Boop bam.
Sister Christian (27:17):
And I have to tell you, everybody thought that
I was going to be out here waysooner than I thought, but I
have moved to California and Ihappen to be living in the
desert. I have to say, I do missthe shit out of New York For all
of you out there, I'm not givingup my home base of New York. I'm
just, yeah. It it's been a it'sbeen a slow moving coup, and I'm
(27:40):
gonna take over California now.
Lawrence (27:41):
Yeah. In fact, you just did a job in New York,
didn't you?
Sister Christian (27:44):
Yes. My first time in New York doing work, for
about 2 years, I think, was thelast job that I had done there.
So, yeah, it was, so much fun tosee everybody. So I hope to be
doing more work there since I'mhere now.
Lawrence (27:58):
That's how it works. Alright. Well, Christian, thank
you for the chat today.
Sister Christian (28:03):
Oh, today was a good one. I'm glad that we're
back at it too. It gives me,something to look forward to. I
know how that sounds, but it'sjust I have been sly. I've
worked.
Don't get me wrong.
Lawrence (28:14):
Yes.
Sister Christian (28:14):
But it's nothing like the level that we
were at
Lawrence (28:17):
No. 2 years ago.
Sister Christian (28:19):
No. So I'm ready to get back at it for
sure.
Lawrence (28:22):
Same here. So for everyone listening, producers
happy hour.com/bootcamp. If youwanna come hang out with us for
a half day after Jordan Brady'scommercial director's bootcamp,
It'll be a blast, a $100 off ifyou are participating in that.
Otherwise, stick around for morepodcast episodes because we're
(28:42):
back every other Tuesday.
Sister Christian (28:43):
We're back y'all. It's gonna be a good
time.
Lawrence (28:46):
So, Christian, how do people get ahold of you if they
want you?
Sister Christian: Sisterchristianproduces.com. (28:48):
undefined
It's old and dated.
Lawrence (28:52):
Speaking of
Sister Christian (28:53):
Please. I haven't updated it in so long.
It just looks like shit from 7years ago, so have at it. So,
Lawrence, if they want you, howdo they get you?
Lawrence (29:02):
I mean, mine's no better. Lawrence t lewis.com. I
will update it at some point,you know? Alright. See y'all in
a couple weeks.
Bye. Bye.
Sister Christian (29:11):
Thanks for joining Producers Happy Hour.
Lawrence (29:13):
If you got value from this episode, please don't keep
it to yourself. Spread the loveby rating and reviewing us on
Apple Podcasts.
Sister Christian (29:20):
And let's be honest, we wouldn't have the
show without you. Your feedbackhelps us to keep making this
amazing content.
Lawrence (29:26):
This show is brought to you by our editor,
brenrussell@podladd.com.
Sister Christian (29:30):
And Christopher Daniels, who is our
branding expert and one fabuloustreatment designer.
Lawrence (29:35):
So until next time, always remember Making is hard.
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