Filmmaker Emmanuel Afolabi joins the show for a wide-ranging discussion of his path from Nigeria to pursuing his filmmaking dreams. While relatively young, Emmanuel is very generous with his knowledge, hoping to help others as he himself grows. It was energizing to speak with someone so dedicated to their craft. Through determination and skill, he's already created impactful work while telling important stories. My new pal Emmanuel is a director to watch.  FLOW Use the link plus...

Vasanth Seshadri is the Founder, head honcho and Creative Director of the ad agency in Singapore called The Sunny Side. Vasanth shares his non-traditional path into the ad world, starting out as an engineer before catching the creative bug. We talked about his globetrotting career that took him from Singapore to New York and back again. Click here to see some of the cool work The Sunny Side has been cooking up lately. I find it fascinating to hear Vasanth's perspective on building an agency...

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

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

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

Cinematographer Dustin Pearlman stops by the podcast for a great chat. We met at the DGA trying to dispel myths to help up and coming directors, and we ended up chums. Dustin has shot for brands, agencies, promos, narrative and doc. I try to nail him down to what he likes best... Stay tuned. Check out his work by clicking his name or here.  Thanks to our editor Jake Brady We could not do the show without him and love this guy behind words. Need your pod spruced up? Check out his Podcast...

Commercial Director Bo Barrett shares his journey from acting in over 300 commercials to pursuing directing. He discusses how he learned on film sets by observing legendary directors. He dives into directing his first paid commercial for the brand Shorebirds and the positive response it received. Bo provides advice for other directors just starting out. He emphasizes the importance of respecting your own creative process above all else. Love it! Thanks to our editor Jake Brady We could not...

Filmmaker Ross Haines shares how his career making spots has grown and tells us about his short film "Around the Band". Ross got his start editing surf films in Hawaii, joined Beyoncé’s team for her HBO feature doc, Life Is But a Dream and helped launch DC Shoes' internal film department. We discuss "Around the Band," as a visual poem comprised of vignettes, and shares stories from working with brands that include NIKE, FORD, TRAVELOCITY, RAM, LINCOLN MOTORS, JOSE CUERVO, FENDER, VANS,...

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

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

Commercial director Jason Cook is known for his design-driven approach and ability to concept visually striking commercials that effectively convey messaging. We discuss his formative directing gigs like spots for Toyota and Maytag, where he also served as creative director. He provides advice on working with actors and improv techniques. Cook also opens up about passion projects like his award-winning short film "F*****g Ghosts" and his philosophy of respecting the creative process and...

My guest is Sacha Reeb, Chief Creative Officer at Manifest. Sacha shares insights into real collaboration and explains Creative Pushups - an internal exercise turned event series - sparked new ideas through contributions to "mini briefs" on Slack. Constantly improving ideas through collaboration or reflection is key. Sasha's real-world examples of how Creative Pushups evolved demonstrate how opening ourselves up to others' perspectives can strengthen our creativity. Enjoy! Thanks to our...

Veteran commercial director Carolyn Chen returns to the podcast to offer invaluable career advice. like how storytelling remains key, despite changing tools. My friend Carolyn has since transitioned to life coaching, helping those in entertainment navigate challenges. She provided candid insights into the emotional toll of freelancing. Most fascinating was hearing Chen's metaphorical approach to coaching. By empowering clients through "squids" and other techniques, she's putting a modern...

Thrilled to welcome back Jason Wolk - Founder, Managing Director, and Executive Producer of Spears & Arrows. As the leader of one of the top commercial production companies, Jason has a truly unique insight into the ever-changing advertising world and production. Jason and I explore the myriad ways the industry has evolved just in the past few years alone. From shifts in camera techniques and storytelling approaches, to changing client expectations, directors must constantly adapt to...

Life Coach Lydia Hurlbut, co-founder of the Filmmakers Academy along with famed Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, joins me in a wide-ranging discussion about spirituality, wellness practices and nurturing creativity. Lydia is a Reiki practitioner in addition to her role at FA, and shares insights from her own journey with mindfulness, energy work and more. She also demonstrated some Reiki techniques on me, live during oir pod chat. We get a lil' woo woo, diving into Lydia's history with...

Commercial Director Tom Kuntz shares more insights into his spots. We discuss his philosophy around collaboration over the years, from thinking input wasn't needed early on to now embracing other creative minds. The importance of respecting all involved in the process is emphasized. Valuable perspective is offered for any filmmaker on realizing their vision. This is the exciting conclusion to our interview. A treat to have him on the show.  Check out Tom's work here and well as on his site...

Iconic commercial director Tom Kuntz kicks off Season Two. Over the course of his illustrious career, Tom has pushed creative boundaries with award-winning campaigns for Skittles, Old Spice, Tubi, Apple, Ikea, Bacardi, more Apple, Pringles with the guys hand stuck in the can... and so many more. He's won every award in advertising, including two Gold Lions at Cannes Lions for his Skittles "Beard", a Gold Lion for the iconic Old Spice commercial starring Isaiah Mustafa and consistently tops...

Our podcast editor Jake Brady is one most befitting interviewee for this very special 500th episode of Respect the Process. Jake provides his unique perspective on what he's learned from cuttig our guests and the behind-the-scenes process of editing. We discuss common themes from creatives and filmmakers and repeated stories I tends to bring up that he will omit, as well as the joys and challenges of editing audio podcasts. This is a peek behind the curtain of our show, how the sausage is...

My friend and marketing expert Joel Pilger of RevThink joins me for another insightful discussion. Joel shares his expertise on positioning your company and putting yourself out there through LinkedIn outreach. He also stresses the importance of respecting the process and keeping at it until opportunities come your way. Joel also shares an impactful story of how he landed a major project through experts travel by putting himself out there and meeting with clients in New York City. FLOW...

Just me rambling for 10 minutes about how lucky I am to make commercials for a living, and more importantly, that my family is safe and healthy. That is never taken for granted. That I get to work with my sons, my friends and often their kids is a such a treat. Enjoy your time with loved ones. FLOW STATE Click MAGIC MIND and use this nifty discount code JB20 and gobble it up daily with your coffee. If you follow me on Instagram you've seen my geniune endorsment of this mighty mind power...

Jeanne Mailloux works on commercial sets as a union Electrician. (And spells out to me the difference between the Grips and Electricains.) She shares fascinating insights about her start in filmmaking meeting Nick Cage, working on "Birdman" and being a female Electrician in that male-dominated department. We delve into reflections on human suffering, ego, humility, and how Buddhism has shaped Jeanne's understanding of life and art. Her passion for mental health advocacy is clear.  I never...

Greg Hahn is the Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Mischief@No Fixed Address. Just moments before this insightful and engaging chat, Adweek named Mischief "US Agency of the Year" for excellent brand-building for clients like Tubi (you remember those Super Bowl spots), Peet's Coffee, Tinder and more. They also called out the stellar branding Mischief itself. Super impressive given they opened during the pandemic. In 2022, less than two years into its existence, Mischief was named Agency...

Director Nur Niaz is a talented filmmaker creating stylish and fun films for Samsung, Toyota, BMW, Coca-Cola, Red Bull and many more. I met Nur via another filmmaker's instagram post of Nur's work an d loved it. He's living in his home country of Kazakhstan, yes it's a real place, so we zoomed and you'll love this chat.  Also check out Nur's treatments and templates you can use for your pesky Director's Treatments. It's a great resource.  Check out all the Nur's stellar work here.  FLOW...

Managing Director/Exec Producer Rebecca Niles offers us a masterclass in everything filmmakers need to know about joining a roster at a top production company. Rebbeca joined Art Class, one of the busiest shoppes working with brilliant filmmakers, and is dedicated to serving agencies and the next gen of filmmakers to make great stuff. She brings deep global production experience spanning advertising, branded content, and feature films. At ArtClass, Rebecca oversees productions, manages...