Show Don't Tell: Micro-budget Filmmaking

In this episode I am joined by acclaimed cinematographer and Columbia University film professor Tal Lazar.Throughout the interview, Tal shares his perspective on the art of cinematography from a storytelling perspective. We discuss visual tactics for directors, how to achieve a specific cinematic vision, and the improtance of developing your own visual language.Tal also shares his philosophy on why cinematography is not inherintly a technical artform, recommendations for buying vs. renting gear, and much more.Links from the show:Latent ImagesSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5470278/advertisement

In this episode, I am joined by professional location scout Jillian Fisher - Known for her work on films like The Whale, Theater Camp, Reality, and countless others.Throughout the interview, Jillian shares a behind the scenes look at her career, from breaking into the business to working on Hollywood feature films. She also talks about her journey to build up the local film industry in Kingston NY, micro-budget scouting tactics, and many lessons learned along the way.Links from the show:Jillian Fisher - InstagramSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5470278/advertisement

Today I am thrilled to be joined by filmmaking legend Larry Kasanoff, known for his work on major feature films like True Lies, Terminator 2, Mortal Kombat, Platoon, Dirty Dancing, and countless others. Throughout the episode, we discuss Larry’s unique career path - from his early feature film work to his breakout success as a producer and studio executive. He also shares his unique philosophy on navigating life and creativity, which is expanded upon in his new book A Touch of the Madness: How to Be More Innovative in Work and Life... by Being a Little Crazy. This is a must listen for filmmakers at all stages in need of a dose of wisdom and creative inspiration.Links from the show:www.atouchofthemadness.comPick up "A Touch Of The Madness" here:AmazonBarnes & NobleBooks-A-Million Bookshop.orgIndigo Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.co

Today I am joined by filmmaker Jason Abrams, here to talk about the unique origin story and process behind his debut feature film.Jason was inspired to make Hungry Dog Blues - a small town crime thriller - after his father’s business was indicted and raided by the federal government. This led to a 5 year journey to write, produce, direct, and ultimately act in a feature film that loosely tapped into his real life experiences.Throughout the interview we discuss the unconventional origins of the project, raising $135,000 from a pool of investors, and his 17 day shooting schedule. We also unpackthe casting process, the importance of building camaraderie with your crew, his post-production workflow and much more. Links from the show:Hungry Dog Blues - InstagramJason Abrams - InstagramSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5470278/adverti

Today, I’m thrilled to have Joshua Caldwell return to the show to discuss his latest feature film Mending The Line. Josh is a prolific filmmaker who got his start with the $6000 feature film Layover, before leveraging its success to develop numerous subsequent features that have each grown in scope and budget. His latest feature Mending The Line (now in theaters) marks his biggest production to date, and stars Brian Cox and Sinqua Walls.Throughout the interview, we discuss Josh’s process developing, producing, directing, and selling his latest feature. Josh also shares critical lessons for filmmakers looking to build long term careers - from managing rejection to navigating the business of film, and much more.Links from the show:Joshua Caldwell - InstagramMending The Line - Instagram6K Filmmaker - Course Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker

In this episode, I am excited to be joined by acclaimed producer Sevier Crespo to discuss his path as a filmmaker over the past 20 years.Sevier’s career kicked off after a mentorship with Robert Townsend inspired him to pursue film producing. Over the next two decades, Sevier produced countless film projects that have premiered at majors film festivals like Cannes, and has worked with the likes of Al Pacino, David Beckham, Kendrick Lamar, Kurt Russell, Ariana Grande, Mandy Moore and Demi Lovato, Lucy Hale, Taryn Manning, and countless others.Throughout the interview, Sevier shares his journey and some of the key ingredients to his success at each stage. He also about his experience making a $50K movie that generated millions of dollars in revenue, tips for supplemting your income while building a body of work, and much more.Links from the show:Sevier Crespo - InstagramSevier Crespo - WebsiteSevier Crespo - IMDBSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spre

In this episode, I am joined by filmmakers Craig Melville, Ben Yannette, and Andy Hassell - who I initially connected with through my filmmaking community The Backlot. Last summer, this filmmaking trio took part in a community-driven competition that required them to produce a trailer for a new feature film concept. Ultimately, their trailer won the top prize in the competition, and they were awarded a camera from Blackmagic Design, a partnership with We Make Movies, and other exciting perks. Throughout the episode, we discuss the process that went into creating this powerful proof of concept, and how they pulled it off at each step, among many other things!Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5470278/advertisement

Today, I am excited to be joined by Jens Jacob - an acclaimed film producer, entrepreneur, and founder of the startup Saturation.io.Throughout this episode, Jens shares his journey building his new budgeting platform for filmmakers. One that re-imagines film budgets from the ground up, making them more accessible to emerging filmmakers, and more powerful for studio level productions. Jens also shares his philosophy on the importance of collaborative producing, and the specific tools Saturation.io offers that meet those needs.Links from the show:Saturation.ioSaturation.io - InstagramSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5470278/advertisement

Today I am joined by editor, writer, and producer Gray Jones - who holds no less than 290 credits in film and television, and also runs a prolific stock footage business.Throughout this episode, Gray shares lessons from his new book Make Six Figures With Your Smartphone, which serves as a practical guide for filmmakers looking to build passive income using footage they may already have sitting on their phone. We discuss the benefits and pitfalls of selling stock footage, the importance of finding a niche, the best platforms to sell on, and much more. Gray also gives us a behind the scenes look at his own stock footage catalog, and highlights his top performing clips - including one single shot that alone has generated over $16,000. Links from the show:SellStockEbook.comDrivingFootage.comGray Jones - TwitterGray Jones - InstagramSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us

In celebration of this milestone 200th episode, today I return to the origins of the podcast with a solo episode - all about my experience making our latest feature film (Disappearing Boy) with no crew. Throughout the episode, I break down the highly unconventional workflow that went into this production, which spanned the course of a year, 30+ locations, and multiple shooting blocks.I also unpack the creative benefits of taking time off in between shooting dates, my approach to writing and shooting in tandem, how to balance camera and sound while directing, and other critical lessons for likeminded filmmakers making features of their own.Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

In this episode I am joined by filmmaker Tom Levesque to share the story behind his debut feature film Shut Eye.Shut Eye is the first feature film that delves into the strange world of ASMR, and is inspired by Tom’s own experiences with insomnia. Throughout the episode, we take an in depth behind the scenes look at this project, from concept to budgeting to distribution.Tom speaks to his documentary-style approach on this feature, which helped him complete principal photography in just 15 days. He also touches on his camera setup, aspect ratio choice, post-production workflow and more.Links from the show:Shut Eye - MovieShut Eye - InstagramSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

In this episode I am joined by filmmaker Josh Guffey, here to share his journey and a behind the scenes look into the making his debut feature film "All Gone Wrong".Throughout the interview, we cover the process from end to end - discussing the realities of working with limited budgets and resources, and how Josh navigated these challenges at each step. Josh also details his collaboration with actors and crew, his distribution model, maximizing efficiency when producing, maintaining persistence, and loads more.Links from the show: Josh Guffey - WebsiteSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

Today I am joined by folk filmmaking pioneer Dan Lotz, here to talk about his impressive body of work - which consists of no fewer than 19 feature films.Throughout the episode we discuss Dan’s innovate approach to filmmaking, which has allowed him to create movies under incredible circumstances. From making a feature film on an 8 day vacation, to shooting an entire realtime movie in just 3 hours.We also discuss the benefits of releasing films on YouTube, different production formats for low budget features, optimal runtimes, editing & shooting in tandem, and much more. Links from the show:Dan Lotz - YouTubeDan Lotz - TwitterSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

Today I am thrilled to have writer/director/photographer Carter Smith back on the show to talk about his latest micro-budget feature film Swallowed.Carter’s first short film (Bugcrush) won Sundance in 2006, and led to his feature film work which includes The Ruins, Jaime Marks is Dead, and multiple recent Blumhouse movies. His latest feature though, is a departure from larger studio productions to say the least. It was produced with a skeleton crew using very DIY tactics, yet managed to find incredible success at festivals and beyond.Throughout the interview, Carter and I discuss his experience in the micro-budget realm, his approach to creativity, and much more. Links from the show:Carter Smith - InstagramAll The Dead Boys - WebsiteSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

Returning to the show today is writer/director/editor Pete Ohs, who you might know from his feature films Everything Is Beautiful Far Away, Youngstown, and his most recent - Jethica.Jethica was produced with no crew and on nearly no-budget, but that didn’t stop it from premiering at SXSW or securing theatrical distribution. Pete’s story is an amazing case in point for the power of DIY filmmaking, and just how much can be achieved by getting truly creative with your approach.Throughout the episode, we go in depth on Pete’s process, filmmaking model, and the benefits of working in such a minimalistic way. He also talks about working without a traditional screenplay, his unique collaboration with the actors, navigating festivals, and loads more.Links from the show:Pete Oh's - InstagramSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

In this episode I am thrilled to be joined by David Rock (AKA DRock), who you might know as Gary Vaynerchuk’s Executive Creative Director, and the man behind many incredible content pieces and social media innovations.Throughout this episode, we talk all about DRock’s career trajectory, from meeting Gary to making his first video to scaling their content empire.DRock also shares his wealth of knowledge on growing an audience (with specific tactics for filmmakers), talks about best practices for navigating social media, and so much more.Links from the show: DRock - TwitterSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

Today, I am joined by filmmaking duo Evelyn Lorena (writer/director) and Maris Lidaka (producer/editor) - the team behind Gabriela, a new short film. Evelyn and Maris were able to leverage the success of their short film to secure a filmmaking grant and fellowship from Netflix, making them another great case-in-point for green lighting your own projects. In this episode we discuss their journey to create and release the short film, how it created new opportunities for them, lessons learned, and much more.Links from the show: Evelyn - InstagramMaris - InstagramBlended Future ProjectSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

Returning to the show is acclaimed director and editor Mike J. Nichols, here to talk about his latest feature doc John Waite - The Hard Way.Mike’s latest feature was put together under incredible constraints, and was fully edited in just 9 weeks. Throughout the episode, we discuss some of the benefits and challenges of working this quickly, and Mike’s creative workflow from end to end.Mike also shares some incredible advice for fixing problem areas. For instance - trimming a feature film to 20 minutes to identify issues, or using sound to find creative solutions to challenging scenes.Links from the show:Mike on TwitterMike on InstagramSign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

In this episode I am joined by actor, comedian, and filmmaker Marisela Grajeda Gonzalez to talk all about navigating a career as a filmmaker.Marisela began her filmmaking journey at age 35, when she went back to school to study acting - eventually graduating with a BFA at almost 39 years old. Since, she has forged her own path as a filmmaker by producing her own work. Throughout the interview, Marisela talks about going into filmmaking later in life, dealing with self doubt, and making her debut short film. She also shares thoughts on the current state of filmmaking, how tech can empower new filmmakers, and more. Links from the show:www.mariselagg.com www.twitter.com/mariselagrajed1Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday.

Joining me in this episode is script supervisor turned television director Faye Brenner, who just made her directorial debut at age 69.As a script supervisor, Faye has worked on feature films like "Stand By Me," "Ghost," "Father of the Bride 2," and "Clear and Present Danger" to name a few. After decades in the business, Faye was able to break in as a director on "The Rookie" by showcasing her talents with a powerful short film. Throughout the episode we discuss Faye's unique path, along with many practical lessons for filmmakers looking to branch out into TV.For more exclusive content like this, sign up for my newsletter at https://noamkroll.com/newsletter