They say "write what you know" to start your filmmaking career. In this episode, my guest, Jake Ringsell, makes the case to create films about subjects you don't know. If it works, that's great, but if it doesn't, he concludes, then you've learned something.

This is advanced, gutsy filmmaking, and I'm here for it with director-editor-musician Jake Ringsell. His new film, now streaming on YouTube, is called THE RALLY (2024). The tagline for the film is, "mortality is brought to the fore when a terminally ill woman goes on a camping excursion with her best friend."

It's more than that, though. It's something beautiful that will move you, and I'm so glad to talk with Jake for this episode.

In this episode, Jake and I discuss:

• The deeply personal reaction for his film on the festival circuit and on YouTube for his film;
• How he got started and whether student loans are a whole thing in the UK for film school (they are);
• Whether non-musicians do a good job shooting music videos?
• What should people to expect when they watch the film;
• The unique lighting that tells the story;
• The casting process to tell such a personal story;
• How he got connected with the writer of the film and how the plot differs from real-world events;
• The challenges and opportunities of making a film starring only two women when it’s written and directed by two men;
• The decision for it to hit streaming at Omeleto after its festival run;
• His role with music in films as a musician and what indie filmmakers should know about scoring their films;
• How he feels about royalty-free music services;
• If indie filmmakers and musicians should work together more often;
• What’s next for him. 

Jake's Indie Film Highlights: FESTIVAL OF SLAPS (2023) dir. by Abdou Cisse; OLYMPUS LOST (2025) dir. by Amadeus Redha

Memorable Quotes:

“I think [THE RALLY] is really relatable. I think anyone has their own story that it reminds them of or might remind them of.”

 “We were just about to shoot the first shot, and this isn’t a joke, and we had a line of about 50 nudists.”

“If you’re too close to something, even if you’re writing a song, if you write something that hurts a bit too much, it’s not going to be as great if you can look at it with hindsight.”

“ If we'd made a film and they were like, that's not how two women...talk to each other, that's great because then we've learned something” 

“Somebody is going to take this as an app idea, but you should connect musicians with filmmakers.”

Links:

Watch THE RALLY Now

Follow Jake On Instagram

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content