The Break Breakdown: A Podcast from Queens Bird Films

The big goal for many indie filmmakers is a theatrical release. But when you are self-distributing your own feature film, is a theatrical release possible? For director, actor, and executive producer Scott Monahan, it was. With an acting resume and a background in devised theatrical work, Scott's debut feature film Anchorage came together one intuitive step at a time. Benjy and Courtney speak with Scott about the big obstacles he faced in getting the feature film produced and distributed, how he approached the project as a first time feature director, and the intuitive, creative methods he used to theatrically release this epic debut film. MORE ABOUT ANCHORAGE: Buy or Rent Anchorage https://geni.us/Anchorage Anchorage Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmuGZz_lKwo Follow Anchorage on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anchoragemovie/ Follow Scott Monahan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chipsahoyjunkie/?hl=en Follow Dakota Loesch on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakotaloesch/?hl=en When you're ready to start your own web series or indie film, start here with: HOW TO MAKE A WEB SERIES | PLAYBOOK: https://www.artists-strategy.com/queens-bird-web-series-playbook SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: ⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/kinsleyvs⁠⁠⁠ ---------- Host & Producer: Courtney Romano Host & Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: Queens Bird Films is a production company telling stories to make life fun. With irreverence, depth, and a bit of whimsy, we make things for people who want to fall back in love with life. See the films, series, and podcasts we made for you here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠queensbirdfilms.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the NEWSLETTER: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/QBlist⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on INSTAGRAM: ⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/queensbirdfilms⁠⁠

Can you really launch a film career with a microbudget feature? The short answer is yes, and Joshua Caldwell has done it. Joshua shares his insights on winning the MTV Movie Award, the jobs he took in LA to make connections in the industry, his writing process, how he approached his self-produced $6k microbudget feature The Layover by flipping the traditional approach, and how it all led to his latest film: Mending the Line, starring Brian Cox. And now, as he continues to build his own career, Joshua has taken his experience with The Layover and put it into his 6K Filmmaker Course, teaching aspiring filmmakers how to make microbudget feature films and launch their own careers. Watch Mending the Line here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSkv_sEyPSc Watch The Layover here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tNXYvA6ahQ Read more about Joshua here: https://www.meyd-ent.com/ Check out the 6k Filmmaker course here: https://www.meyd-ent.com/6kfilmmaker When you're ready to start your own web series or indie film, start here with this FREE GUIDE TO PITCHING: ⁠⁠https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64e37261c7567cef7b9f6cd9⁠⁠ SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: ⁠⁠bit.ly/kinsleyvs⁠⁠ ---------- Host & Producer: Courtney Romano Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: Queens Bird Films is a production company telling stories to make life fun. With irreverence, depth, and a bit of whimsy, we make things for people who want to fall back in love with life. See the films, series, and podcasts we made for you here: ⁠⁠⁠queensbirdfilms.com⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the NEWSLETTER: ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/QBlist⁠⁠⁠ Follow on INSTAGRAM: ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/queensbirdfilms⁠⁠

Web series production is not one size fits all. Some indie filmmakers may start with web series distribution. Others could start with a web series script they are itching to write. And then some might start on a whim while traveling, and spin one simple idea into an epic documentary series made up of 70 short films, shot across 3 continents, over the course of one decade. That's what filmmaker Kevin Longa did. In today's episode, producer Benjamin Shaw talks with Kevin about TASTE, his indie web series cataloguing the stories of food entrepreneurs — from pastry chefs to foragers — from around the world. Starting on this journey with a DSLR camera he got off Craig's List, Kevin has made a prolific body of work by bringing a sense of experimentation, grit, and resilience to this massive 10 year project. Watch Kevin Longa's indie web series here: TASTE And! Kevin is looking for collaborators. DM him on Instagram for more info. When you're ready to start your own web series or indie film, start here with this FREE GUIDE TO PITCHING: ⁠https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64e37261c7567cef7b9f6cd9⁠ SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: ⁠bit.ly/kinsleyvs⁠ ---------- Host & Producer: Courtney Romano Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: Queens Bird Films is a production company telling stories to make life fun. With irreverence, depth, and a bit of whimsy, we make things for people who want to fall back in love with life. See the films, series, and podcasts we made for you here: ⁠⁠queensbirdfilms.com⁠⁠ Subscribe to the NEWSLETTER: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/QBlist⁠⁠ Follow on INSTAGRAM: ⁠⁠instagram.com/queensbirdfilms⁠⁠

[BONUS EPISODE] Hot take: you don't need piles of cash and limitless free time to make a feature film. You can make a feature film with no crew, write as you go, edit you as you go, shoot on weekends, and in less than a year, have a feature film in the can and ready for distribution. This is exactly what filmmaker Noam Kroll did with his film Disappearing Boy. Noam is a vertiable fount of wisdom when it comes to micro-budget filmmaking. He has made a living as a working indie filmmaker, hosts the successful filmmaking podcast Show Don't Tell, and created a feature film incubator called The Backlot for indie filmmakers. Noam knows how to make something from nothing, and he's done it again and again and again. We were thrilled to have him on this bonus episode of TBB! SHOW NOTES 7:28 Defining micro-budget filmmaking 10:42 The Rick Rubin / Def Jam ethos of filmmaking 12:07 Is the micro-budget filmmaking practice a strategy or necessity? 15:14 Be the best or be the only 20:20 How Noam started crafting the narrative of his micro-budget film 29:40 The production schedule for Disappearing Boy 33:47 How narrative directors can approach the technical aspect of a no-crew feature 40:20 Noam’s advice for making a big film 41:54 The one thing Noam wish he knew about filmmaking earlier 44:08 The strong foundation to launch your career from 47:09 Inspiration vs. Luck Sign up for Noam's newsletter here: noamkroll.com/newsletterFollow Noam on social here: @noamkroll You might not need a lot of money for a no-crew feature film, but when you do need to raise money, start here with this FREE GUIDE TO PITCHING: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64e37261c7567cef7b9f6cd9 SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs ---------- Host & Producer: Courtney Romano Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story. We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make. We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable. Practical & philosophical tips for your indie filmmaking journey, as well as QBF production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more: http://bit.ly/QBlist

Over the course of two years, we made a web series. And in that time, writer/director Courtney Romano recorded moments of the process — from self-reflection to directing actors to producer's meetings. In today's episode, we piece together a two year process through those BTS audio clips and commentary. Hopefully they give you a feel for the process as a whole. And hopefully, their inherent nebulous, winding, hard-to-pin-down ethos reminds you that you can do this, it isn't a straight line, and the work you do that no one ever sees will indeed add up to something. Today's Final Word is from creative producer Kara Griffin Cushman, who you can find here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-griffin-cushman SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs ---------- Host: Courtney Romano Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman Producer: Sara States Musical Theme: Match ZimmermanKinsley Vs. Theme: Shira Krasnow Created by Courtney Romano The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story. We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make. We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: http://bit.ly/QBlist

Color is emotional. And while you might not be consciously aware of the importance of color in film, once you start noticing color's effect on your feelings, you can't unsee it.In this week's episode, Kinsley Vs. colorist Marika Litz talks with Courtney and Benjy about the psychology of color in film, how a colorist and a director work together to find a common color language, they break down what a colorist's job is and isn't, and they dive into the pink effect of Episode 3: Spiral with Courtney. This episode will convince you of the importance of color in film and inspire you with practical tips on how to color grade your videos and films. Today's guest was colorist Marika Litz, who you can follow here: https://www.marikalitz.com Today's Final Word is from actor Angela Reed, whose work you can read about here: https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Angela-Reed SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs ---------- Host: Courtney Romano Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman Producer: Sara States Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman Created by Courtney Romano The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story. We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make. We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: http://bit.ly/queensbirdfilms

They say a film gets made three times — once when it's written, once when it's filmed, and once when it's edited. The filmmaker may see all three versions, but the audience will ever just see one: the edited movie. So whether you're the film's editor, director, or producer, the post production steps are arguably the most important part of your indie filmmaking process. In this week's episode, Courtney is joined by filmmaker Akram Shibly. Akram does it all — he's a writer, director, editor, actor, and podcast host. He brings his multi-disciplinary talents to his own film company, True Intent Productions. Akram served as Post Production Supervisor on Kinsley Vs., working closelly with the Editor, Colorist, and Sound Designer to ensure the overall technical vision was executed through the post production steps. Courtney and Akram discuss the importance of film editing, the intangible trust factor a team needs during the film editing process, post production troubleshooting tips, and how they decided to axe one of Courtney's favorite scenes. Today's guest was filmmaker Akram Shibly, whose work you can find here: trueintentproductions.com and on YouTube here: youtube.com/trueintent Today's Final Word is from playwright and librettist, Tasha Gordon-Solomon, who you can read more about here: dgf.org/fellows/tasha-m-gordon-solomon SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs ---------- Host: Courtney Romano Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman Producer: Sara States Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman Created by Courtney Romano The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story. We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make. We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: http://bit.ly/queensbirdfilms

As you're beginning the process of indie filmmaking, you can answer "what makes a good web series?" a hundred different ways. But one way to ensure success is the relationship between director and cinematographer. It's this dynamic that creates the footage that eventually becomes your indie film or web series. And the dynamic you create in the behind the scenes of the filmmaking process — from your shot list, to the narrative vibe, to decisions like whether the camera is handheld or static — will determine what kind of footage you can get. Executive Producer Benjy Shaw fills in as host today for a conversation between director Courtney Romano and cinematographer Ian McCay. They discuss what they look for in a director/cinematographer collaboration, how they approached on-set challenges, tips for leading both the camera department and the actors, and how they filmed the final episode of the series as a one take. Today's guest was cinematographer Ian McCay. You can find out more about Ian's work here and on social. Today's Final Word is from performance artist, writer, and professor of Contemporary Performance, AB Brown. SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs ---------- Host: Courtney Romano Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman Producer: Sara States Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman Created by Courtney Romano The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films. ---------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG ---- ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS: We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story. We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make. We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: http://bit.ly/queensbirdfilms

What happens on a film set? The answer is: anything and everything. From managing full company moves between locations, to making sure everyone is fed, to running behind on time, to straying from the script, the energy of a film set can be (at times) overwhelming. Each time you "make your day" can feel like a miracle. Executive Producer Benjy Shaw joins Courtney today to talk through the big lessons they learned from being on a film set as a small film production company and what makes a good web series. Courtney shares how she made on-the-fly directorial choices when they were running out of daylight. Benjy discusses how to make a film set operational. And they both share their takeaways on what worked, what didn't, and what they'll do differently in their next film production process.   Today's Final Word is from celebrated theatre and film actor Cherry Jones.   SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs   ----------  Host: Courtney Romano  Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw  Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman  Producer: Sara States  Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman  Created by Courtney Romano  The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films.  ----------  Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG  Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG  Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG   ------------  ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS:  We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story.  We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make.  We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable.  Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: http://bit.ly/queensbirdfilms

Low budget indie films usually require lots of cutting corners. So why is costume design important? How can you get visual bang for your microbudget filmmaking buck? And what is the one department you really can't live without? Costume designer and producer Allison Koehler joins Courtney today to answer those questions and more. From costume design as character analysis to pulling off slick, aesthetic indie film costume ideas within her budget constraints, Allison describes how costume design in film can make or break a project. Today's Guest was costume designer & producer Allison Koehler. You can find out more about her work on http://alliekoehler.com. and follow her on social @allisonOkoehler   Today's Final Word is from Eddy Lee, Broadway and voice actor. Learn more about Eddy's work here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4003963/ and follow him on social @edru00   SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs ----------  Host: Courtney Romano  Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw  Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman  Producer: Sara States  Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman  Created by Courtney Romano  The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films.  ----------  Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG  Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG  Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG   ----  ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS:  We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story.  We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make.  We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable.  Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: http://bit.ly/queensbirdfilms

You've got the script. You've got the team. But how do you get the money? Before you can raise a dime, you have to understand the importance of budgeting in film production and the basic strategies behind raising money for your indie film project. In this week's episode, Courtney is joined by Kinsley Vs. actor and producer Sara States to talk about budgeting in pre-production, and how to raise money for an indie film project. Sara and Courtney discuss specifics like film budget percentages, how much of a movie budget goes to actors, and the lessons they learned in fundraising for a low budget series — including specific line items they would change if they could do it over again and who to ask for independent film funding. Today's Guest was actor & producer Sara States. You can find out more about her work on http://sarastates.me and follow her on social @sarastates  Today's Final Word is from Charles O. Anderson, choreographer and Chair of the Dance Department at The Ohio State University  Learn more about Charles here: http://charlesoanderson.me  SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs ----------  Host: Courtney Romano  Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw  Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman  Producer: Sara States  Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman  Created by Courtney Romano  The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films.  ----------  Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG  Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG  Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG   ----  ABOUT QUEENS BIRD FILMS:  We’re an independent film company based in New York City. Our mission is to make films, episodics, and theatrical events that tell the whole, and sometimes overlooked, story.  We believe how we make things is just as important as what we make.  We strive to unearth the surprising and inevitable.   Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: http://bit.ly/queensbirdfilms

The beginning stages of self-producing indie art can be messy. But we have to start the process to actually produce. Whether you want to figure out how to break into tv and film, make your own web series, or give yourself an acting job, self-producing — and the process it requires — can feel impossible. In today's episode, host Courtney Romano (writer/director of Kinsley Vs.) and guest Benjamin Shaw (executive producer of Kinsley Vs.) discuss how to start making a web series. From casual conversations to table reads to script edits to rounding up producers, Courtney and Benjy break down the exact steps they took at the beginning of their team's process to produce a full web series for YouTube. Today's Final Word is from Jen Spyra, author of BIG TIME.  Learn more about Jen here: jenspyra.com SUBSCRIBE & STREAM KINSLEY VS. on YouTube now: bit.ly/kinsleyvs  ---------------------- Host: Courtney Romano  Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw  Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman  Producer: Sara States  Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman Created by Courtney Romano  The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films.   ---------------------- Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG  Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG  Follow @queensbirdfilms on TikTok and IG Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the QNS BRD List here: bit.ly/queensbirdfilms

How do you make something out of nothing? As independent artists, we face the same questions with each new project: how do I do this? What comes next? What if it's not good? Join the team behind Kinsley Vs., a 7-episode digital series, as we break down the indie filmmaking process that took us from script to screen. Beginning February 1st.   Host: Courtney Romano  Executive Producer: Benjamin Shaw  Supervising Producer: Match Zimmerman  Producer: Sara States  Musical Theme: Match Zimmerman and Beth Rausch  Created by Courtney Romano  The Break Breakdown is a production of Queens Bird Films.   SUBSCRIBE HERE to stream KINSLEY VS. on YouTube beginning on 1/23: youtube.com/@queensbirdfilms Follow @thebreakbreakdown on IG Follow @kinsleyvs.series on TikTok and IG  Follow @queensbirdfilms on IG   Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE.

Rashad Chambers has made quantum leaps and giant strides by leveraging every move — one step at a time. After earning his law degree in Ohio, Rashad found himself in New York City, getting into producing, becoming a talent manager, then co-producing American Son starring Kerry Washington and earning a Tony award nomination for producing Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations. He discusses the steps it took, over the course of eleven years, to reach his dream to produce on Broadway, and how a simple, clear mindset has given him the confidence to take each and every step. Here's the musician St. Lenox we discussed on the podcast (also, sidebar: his music was featured in the credits of Screen Test!). Rashad on Instagram: @rashadvchambers Esquire Entertainment: esquireentertainment.com The Industry Standard Group: theindustrystandardgroup.com Follow @queensbirdfilms and queensbirdfilms.com for updates on our next project. And don't miss our short film, Screen Test (2020): watch it for free now. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE. Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Lauren Karaman is an absolute joy. She's also an actor, a plus size model, a Project Runway alum, and the founder and creative director of the 36-24-36 Project. In this episode, Lauren tells the story of why she decided to pursue a career in the arts, the toxic diet culture implicit in so many theatre programs, and how leaning into who she is (instead of disowning it) paved the way for her big break as one of the first curve models on Project Runway. Lauren talks about that big break leading directly to path she's always wanted to take and her advice for anyone who feels they have to change themselves to get ahead. Lauren on Instagram: @laurenkaraman Lauren's website: laurenkaraman.com The 36-24-36 Project: 362436project.com Follow @queensbirdfilms and queensbirdfilms.com for updates on our next project. And don't miss our short film, Screen Test (2020): watch it for free now. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE. Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

We set out looking for our big break. We hope for it, we strategize for it, and we obsess over it. But there’s something that’s more in our control, and perhaps more impactful to our overall trajectory: the decisive moment. In this week’s episode, we unpack what the decisive moment is, how it propels you forward, and how you’ll know what to do once you’re in one.  Follow @queensbirdfilms and queensbirdfilms.com for updates on our next project. And don't miss our short film, Screen Test (2020): watch it for free now. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE. Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

One of the most elusive and nebulous parts of the filmmaking process is THE PITCH. What needs to be in it? How do you get people in the room? What do you do once you get people in the room? The truth is, there are lots of ways to answer those questions, and the answer will change from project to project. But the one thing you can have control over in every single pitch is you. So how do you become more magnetic? More appealing? More self-assured in your pitch? Today's podcast episode is about using the concept of the Fleur du Mal as a guide for bringing your most engaging self to the forefront of your pitch. It's something I've personally been working on for months, and today I'm distilling it down to the 3 questions that have helped me the most in preparing to pitch with magnetism and self assurance. This episode is for anyone who's ready to go big, go deep, and get the deal. FREEBIE! Grab the "Pitch Prep: Fleur du Mal Guide" to help position your pitches here: https://bit.ly/TBB30free Follow @queensbirdfilms and queensbirdfilms.com for updates on our next project. And don't miss our short film, Screen Test (2020): watch it for free now. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE. Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Because he's an actor, voice actor, comedian, puppeteer, writer, facilitator and more, Joseph Lymous can simply be called a world builder. What started out as building a world for himself under the marriage of self-liberation and comedy, has now turned into a legitimate breakthrough moment. Joseph's online content, from comedy sketches to music and movement, have become his calling card — even Beyonce herself reposted his work! — as he enters the rooms where deals are made. He generously discusses what it feels like when you finally catch your big break, how he is balancing this breakthrough with his creative process, the value of telling simple stories, and he defines success in the most beautiful way you've ever heard it described.  Joseph on Instagram: @jomiray Joseph on Facebook: facebook.com/jomirayproductions Joseph on YouTube: youtube.com/user/Jomiray Follow @queensbirdfilms and queensbirdfilms.com for updates on our next project. And don't miss our short film, Screen Test (2020): watch it for free now. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE. Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

The idea for Kelly Murtagh's screenplay began 11 years ago, and this year her feature film of that screenplay will debut as a world premiere at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. In this episode, Kelly breaks down the pivotal moments that helped her transform her personal journey with bulimia into a feature film premiering at one of the most renowned festivals in the country. She discusses how becoming a mother, finding the right collaborators, and receiving integral advice along the way allowed her to tell her story from her most authentic voice. This episode is for anyone who needs to be reminded that on the other side of your fear can be something truly magical. Stream Kelly's film Shapeless at Tribeca Film Festival: tribecafilm.com/films/shapeless-2021 Shapeless website: shapelessthefilm.com Kelly on IG: @kellymurtagh Shapeless on IG: @shapelessthefilm Shapeless trailer: Deadline Follow @queensbirdfilms and queensbirdfilms.com for updates on our next project. And don't miss our short film, Screen Test (2020): watch it for free now. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE. Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Tia DeShazor is digging into every inch of her career. She's an actor, and also a lyricist & librettist, she founded BOLD, and she's a creative coach helping folks to live their best creative lives. In this episode, Tia talks about her experience advocating for herself during an important career milestone at BMI, how her own experiences as an actor on the road helped create BOLD, an organization with a mission to build up Black women in the performing arts for the restoration of culture, and what percentages, IP rights, and awards shows have to do with creating a more just and equitable playing field. Tia is an absolute joy and a passionate teacher. This episode is for anyone who needs inspiration to set boundaries in their career, listen to their body, and ask for exactly what they deserve. Here's the article in Vulture about Michaela Coel we were discussing. Follow Tia on social here and follow BOLD here. Learn more about Tia's work HERE and learn how to get involved with BOLD HERE. Follow @queensbirdfilms and queensbirdfilms.com for updates on our next project. And don't miss our short film, Screen Test (2020): watch it for free now. Find out about our latest production news, casting calls, episode releases, and more by joining the Qns Brd List HERE. Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com