The Ambitious Filmmaker

This week we talk with wedding filmmaker Graeme Schoenberger of Grey House Visual about the transition from steady career to a pursuit of creative passion as a video business owner. Graeme talks through his transition of time management when becoming a father and we dive deep into the power of networking and relationships.

Your film teacher tries to get you to quit filmmaking...twice. Would you give up or would you double down on your passion and move forward anyway? This is only part of the story of Adam Clayton, the filmmaker behind the show Becoming Borderless, a man whose openness to saying "Yes" whenever an idea or opportunity presented itself led him from a 9-5 job to traveling the world with his camera and his own television show...and a bunch of hijinks in-between. Adam's story shows us (and anyone listening) the true power in pursuing the work your passionate about and how it can open doors to exciting adventures you would never expect. We chat relationships, exploring opportunity, and creating work that's just for you. 

The center piece of your film is being bulldozed in front of your eyes on day one of shooting. Your hard drive fails and footage is lost. Half your crew bails leaving you skeleton crewed for an entire film...Would you still finish? We chat with Spencer Whiteout, director of Space Waves as he tells us these stories and more. A journey of perseverance that took five years from page to premiere, and the hurdles of the indie filmmaker that would stop at nothing to see his idea come to fruition. This episode is dedicated to any and all Ambitious Filmmakers that have put it all on the line to make their movie, and the ones that are looking for inspiration to do it themselves. Listen to this podcast then hop over to Beast Mode: The Making of Space Waves documentary to see just what's possible with no budget but a lot of heart and passion for the craft. After this episode you won't have any excuses left to start making waves of your own.

When it comes to your clients, do you maintain boundaries or does the client have free reign on your time and energy? We take this topic deep with video content creator Lizbet Palmer. Lizbet shares some tips, tricks, and techniques about the powers of Boundary Setting she's learned from Nedra Glover Tawwab's book: Set Boundaries, Find Peace. We also talk mindset shift as Lizbet talks through her journey of starting her family while maintaining and growing a sustainable video business.

We chat with international film producer Daren Smith and learn about his journey as he evolved from a struggling video business owner to a 6-figure producer working around the world. Daren gets tactical as he breaks down his Craftsman Mindset shift and how you can start pivoting your life and business to be more in alignment with your passions and financial goals. We dive into the power of niche and Daren offers all Ambitious Filmmakers a peek into indie budgets so anyone in the narrative space can start honing their own producing skills. Take advantage of all these resources!

We catch up with friend, filmmaker, and newly published author Julian Vaca as we talk through the power and importance of music when it comes to creating projects. Julian talks us through the Soundstripe platform and how they've developed a company that "Keeps the Creator creating" through music and the many other services they offer. 

Is Hustle Culture the best way to build a business? Is it sustainable? We talk with David Le about the perils and promises of Social Media and dive into if and how it can help you develop a sustainable video business. David walks us through how he transitioned from filmmaking as a side hustle to his full time career and teaches us about a new type of burnout that many people don't realize they're experiencing.

"Stop selling what you do and start selling a result." A foundational piece of advice from Richy Ramirez as he talks us through his journey from a freelancer to the owner of a profitable video agency. Richy also talks about the mindset shifts necessary behind raising rates and how essential that is to maintaining a sustainable video business. We discuss the power and importance in creative thinking and why you should be nourishing and nurturing it as you work with clients and businesses. Richy talks big picture and the many forms that can take for developing filmmaker. Mark even throws out a special offer for our listeners that you definitely don't want to miss.

We're back and better than ever as we start off season four with the long time listener, first time guest, Christos Creates. We chat with Christos about the perils of complacency in business and clients. The power of free work and whether or not it's worth it for an up and coming (or well seasoned!) filmmaker. Christos even teaches us his Decision Making Triangle, and how you can implement that same ideology when taking on your own work. This episode is packed full of great stuff, so welcome back to the Ambitious Filmmaker Podcast, and it's time to dig right in!

Our Season 3 Finale! Our last interview of the year is with Cinematographer Sydney Lawson. With Sydney we talk about building your creative team and how that keeps your business and passions healthy. In that vein we explore Niching down into a part of the industry you actually enjoy, and how your team should be doing the same. Sydney discusses the power of Mentorship and how pivotal it is to your success as a business. From all of us here at The Ambitious Filmmaker Network, we wish you a Happy Holidays and promise that the new year means new content and another season here at the AF Podcast!

Have you lost yourself in Hustle culture, grinding away but still feeling completely empty inside. Then listen in as we talk with Founder of Laux Creative, Jeromy Laux, as we take a deep dive into the mental health aspect of constantly grinding and within that the internal motivations behind it. We talk Mental Health and its importance as Entrepreneurs as we get honest with the things we've overcome and are still working through. All of this leads to getting tactical as Jeromy talks about how he positioned his video business to be scalable and how you can shift your mindset to be happier and more successful as a video business owner.

If someone you looked up to told you that you just don't have what it takes to succeed...would you listen? That happened with Director Chandonae Baskin and it's been a fuel for her to be relentless in getting what she wants. Now she's on retainer with a stock footage site, has companies reaching out to her to create content for them, and all the while creating short films and diving into her first feature. We talk about being relentless and the importance of establishing your brand. We talk set experiences and overcoming the fears of the process. We talk about the power of making the firm choice of being what you want and doing what you want to do. Chan brings a great energy to this episode and some solid wisdom.

Have you "Come Out" in your business? What exactly does this mean? Find out as we talk with founder of Reel Hoot Productions, Anita Kwan. With Anita we talk about the power of cultivating connections and not being afraid to ask for help when you need it. Why we need to be authentically ourselves to create the best work possible, and how that helps us find our ideal clients. Anita walks us through her journey of how she found her way to being confident in who she is and how this is continually opening bigger and better doors.

A broken leg, a boss turning their back on you, and pulling in no money...What do you do? If you're today's guest, commercial director John Zambrana, you leave and start your own company. John shoots straight with us about his humble origins as we learn about adding extra value to your clients to secure repeat business. We get candid about when you should "Fire" bad clients and the power you have as a video business owner. John talks to us about extreme ownership and the importance of getting a Mentor to grow a successful video business.

Our latest guest, Tommy Guta, has a booming Product Video business and a massive TikTok following. But what did it take for him to get here? Dropping out of college, twice, and two failed production companies. But Tommy dives into where those production companies went wrong and how he pivoted those failures into the success he is reaping today. We talk about the expectations of both ourselves and the people who know us, we talk about the necessary credentials to becoming a filmmaker and we get real candid about the necessity of Film School.

This episode is chalked full of great wisdom and insights from our friend Heather, founder of the Fellow Filmmaker YouTube channel. Heather talks about her journey from hobbyist creative in 9-5s to the events that pushed her to finally pursue her dream of being a full-time filmmaker. Heather talks with us about the constraints of time in life and the importance of getting after what you want. She teaches us about her "The Answer is Already No" philosophy and how that empowers us as creatives in the industry. Heather talks about some of the best ways to reach out to the creators who inspire you and how you can forge a working relationship with them while being authentic to where you are in your own journey. She even shows us her Failure Journal and talks about how we can convert failures into success. We had so much fun recording this episode and will definitely be bringing Heather back for a second round.

In this episode we talk sales with Content Marketer and host of The Top Brand Builders podcast, Danny Greene. WIth Danny we dive into cultivating leadership and self confidence as you enter the freelance space. We talk goals and the sacrifices required to achieve them. Danny even gives us his top sales tips to help you close more projects and get more clients.

Having a hard time finding a Mentor? Don't think you need one? Think again and listen in as we take a deep dive into the top 3 Keystones to finding the perfect Mentor. Within that we explore our own personal experiences in the search for mentorship, the various levels where you can find it, and how you can start giving back as a mentor yourself right now where you're at! We even fill you in on our new streaming platform and how Mentorship is a key element within it, and we're giving away a free lifetime membership to one lucky listener so tune in and found out how it can be yours today!

Find out what it means to you! Self Respect is a foundational element to growing and maintaining a successful video business. How can you expect clients to respect you if you don't respect yourself? We take a deep dive into the elements of self-respect with our friend and fellow filmmaker Josh Emerick. Going through real world examples we talk through steps you can take when dealing with respect issues and mindset approaches to handling situations in a way that optimize finding a good resolution to conflict....and what to do when you can't. GIVEAWAY: Josh is giving away one of his Theal Producer Packs to help organize and optimize your video business systems! Find out how to get it by listening in to our latest episode!

Our Action Sports streaks continues in this episode as we get Gnar Gnar with Tokyo based filmmaker Karen Masumoto. With Karen we dive into the power and importance of cultural perspective in filmmaking, with Karen sharing what she's learned as a female filmmaker and the community she wants to build and stories she wants to share. We dive into the pitching process and some mindset requirements to keep moving forward toward the coveted "green light". We round off this powerful conversation with an open dialogue on imposter syndrome and ways you can start overcoming this crutch to the creative process.