On Air Off Set podcast

When it comes to big budget movies that combine pyrotechnics, car chases, scattering crowds or any combination there of, both the Special Effects Department and Stunt Department need to combine forces to make it all work on camera, while keeping everyone involved safe. In my final episode, I chat with Keith Campbell (stunts) and Craig “Tex” Barnett (Special Efx), about how they are able to create some of the most chaotic and eye-popping sequences from their work on Adam Sandler's most recent movie “Spaceman of Bohemia” to “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Transformers.

A word from your host Rob Albrecht giving you an update on the  On Air Off Set podcast.

Rounding out this three-part episode on film school is my guest Fernanda Rossi - screenwriter and filmmaker. She explains her unique approach to mentoring and coaching everyone from film students to established filmmakers in her international seminars and workshops.

In part 2 of this three-part episode I chat with cinematographer and part-time teacher/instructor Jeffrey Hagerman.

There's a lot of mixed feelings about “film school” these days. In this three-part episode I chat with three separate guests about the state of film education and training as well as the industry as a whole. First up in part 1 is Randall Dottin, professor and chairperson of the screenwriting department at New York Film Academy,

We all can use therapy these days and if you're a creative/artist, perhaps you can use a professional who understands and even has some experience your field. I chat with two NYC-based therapists to mine the depths of this type of specialization.

We continue our conversation with my guests Brian De la Cruz and Derek Stalley in part two of our sprawling conversation about people of color in Hollywood, on and off set. 

If 2020 didn’t deliver us enough drama with the pandemic and lockdown, along came nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. With this as the backdrop, I recorded an interview back in June over Zoom with fellow freelancers Derek Stalley and Brian De La Cruz about the state of things socially. They open up about their experiences as people of color working in film/television as well as in their day to day personal lives. We further touch upon diversity and minority representation on screen and behind the camera. This is a two-part episode.

There has always existed the independent factions of any artistic mediums whether it be cinema, music, or fine arts. But does theater has have it’s own established independent scene? Theater guys like Michael Pagano and his mentor and former high school teacher Dave Coonan weigh in as they have carved out their own scene out on Long Island. According to them, their approach parallels garage and punk rock bands in philosophy. They follow their rules when it comes to producing, writing, casting, set building, self-funding, and self-promoting these theater pieces. Adding to the mix is the raw, edgy, sometimes shocking, sometimes dark bite associated with their storytelling and you can see why the term “garage theater” is totally appropriate.

Continuing from episode 27, I chat with composer Patrick Kirst. To showcase the collaboration with director on any given film project, we engage in a little creative musical workshop.

Film scores are there to enhance a scene at times, and at other times to go above and “beyond the two dimensions of the screen” as composer Patrick Kirst explains, perhaps to convey something the scene cannot. From the classical symphonic heights of John Williams to the jazzier vibes of Bernard Hermann to the modern electronic/orchestral hybrid work of Hans Zimmer, each composer brings their own style to a project. Ultimately though it is the collaboration of directors and composers that bring a film score to life. In this two-part episode, my guest Patrick Kirst shines a light on this process, and shares his philosophy on what makes a great score.

For sound mixers/recordists it’s always been a balance of capturing the best location sound possible while dealing with airplanes, police sirens, construction, lawnmowers, leaf blowers, barking dogs, refrigerators, air conditioners, phones ringing……not to mention searching for a clean RF signal in a world of endless wireless interference, avoiding a boom mic in frame, rigging a mic to a complicated piece of wardrobe, pleading with director for one more take, barking at crew people for being chatty. ARGGGGGHHHHH!! If anyone on set has ever wondered why our default facial expression is a look of irritability, now you know why. But hey this is the profession we chose and we accept that these obstacles will always be there. Joining myself in an airing of grievances are fellow sound mixers, Fiona McBain and Alex Sullivan. At this risk of this coming off like a pity party for sound department I hope listeners will at least walk away with an appreciation that without sound there truly is no picture.

The set of horror movie can be exactly that.....a horror show and not in a good way. But don't tell that to filmmaker Jeremiah Kipp and efx makeup artist Tony O'Brien. They love their jobs and they bring that passion and joy to a film set. Fresh off production of their feature film "Slapface", I chat with both about their love of all things gory, scary, fantastical in cinema and their collaboration in bringing monstrous characters to life.

We were not prepared nationwide for this pandemic and the subsequent shutdown. Loss of income, quarantine, the threat of an unknown virus among countless other issues can impact everyone negatively. So what can one do as a creative/artist who works in the Film/TV industry with the all their skills, resources, and connections available? How about starting a charitable organization like Isabella Olaguerra and Jacqueline Patchen did. As members of Feed They Freelancers they help organize delivery of food and other supplies to other freelancers in the NYC area. I chat with both to find out the inner workings of this group, what inspired them to get it off the ground, and what their hopes are for the future.

In this every changing world it is getting more and more complicated trying to discern authentic journalism from click bait and “fake news.” It is important that we recognize those in the media that have integrity and strive to deliver the most unbiased and informed stories. I chat with news segment producers, Titi Yu and Mona Iskander, to catch a glimpse into this world.

Alot has changed since those early childhood days for many of us. Only with last 10-15 years of superhero movies do they finally have a definitive place in cinema history……though not without controversy. In the aftermath of Martin Scorcese’s opinion that these movies are not real “cinema” myself and returning guests Lou and Phil try and put some perspective on this comic book movie/tv boom.

WARNING: Spoilers left and right! As far as the comic book world, you might be an outsider looking in like myself. In fact, I had alot of catching up to do for this episode when it comes to all the superhero movies and tv shows that have come out since 2000. So let’s all channel our inner geek in this epic two part episode as we take a look at comics in 21st century Hollywood. In part one, I chat with two friends of mine Phil Ristaino and Lou Arahovites about the highs and lows, the hits and misses, and my overall takeaways from this genre.

In the beginning there’s an idea. Several weeks, sometimes months, sometimes years later after so many rewrites and revisions do we finally have a screenplay. It could be a masterpiece or it could still be a dud. Many of us have the vision, but how many of us have the gift for the written word. There are many schools of thought when approaching writing a script. First step, ask someone who has written multiple. Joshua Todd James and returning guest Martha Pinson share their philosophies.

For those of us who grew up in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, New York City has changed so much, and the film/tv industry along with it. Filming here has gotten more accessible in certain ways but more complex in others. Leave it to locations team Charlynne Hopson and George Marro, who have worked on so many NYC-based productions, to provide us a glimpse into accessing the various locations needed to shoot your favorite scenes….a diner, a rooftop, an alleyway, a bar, a highway, a prison, a school, a park. Each have their own unique challenges visually and logistically. Add to that, the demands of the filmmakers versus the realities of shooting in this city, one can see how important the duties are of the locations department.

What is it about being an "artist" or "creative" that never dies within many of us? Is it a compulsion? What does success look like and what is it about merging commerce with making our "art" that is so challenging? I sit down with two longtime collaborators to put some perspective on our careers, where we struggled, where we failed, where we succeeded, where do we go from here.

The Tarantinos, the Spike Lees and the Wes Andersons of the world get all the credit. They are after all, the creative force behind their respective films. Yet with all that they have on their plate how is it possible for one person to direct an entire cast and crew which can consist of up to hundreds of personnel? The answer is they don’t. Enter the First Assistant Director. They are quite possibly the true eye of the storm on a film shoot, not known to the public eye, but certainly to everyone on set. How does a film production with all it’s moving parts stay on schedule and on budget? A solid 1st A.D will make it happen. Josh Williams and Joe Ciccarella have been that proverbial eye of the storm for many projects over many years. All guts and no glory, this job ain’t for everyone and they’re here to tell you why.

Stunt performers are there to take all risks and absorb all the hits to make an action scene come to life in a film or tv show. They make it all seem easy…..until something goes wrong and in this world of stunts there’s always that danger. One miscue, one false move, one unsecured rig can end a person’s career or even their life, but they know that going in to this job. As much as their roles have evolved over the decades, what also has changed is the push for more safety regulations and more recognition from Hollywood. Continuing from episode 15, Stephen Koepfer and Rose Sias shed more light on the most dangerous department on set.

Films and tv shows have become more and more action oriented as time goes on. There is a demand for more eye-popping thrills but with a healthy dose of scrutiny as to the authenticity of a fight scene or a car chase or a fall from a building. A director can dream up all the death-defying sequences they want but without a dedicated stunt department to coordinate it all, they will remain a dream. Stephen Koepfer and Rose Sias give us a break down of the tight-knit community that are the stunt performers, the stunt doubles and the stunt coordinators of film and television.

There is no one size fits all linear path to making your first feature film on an independent level. You’re an unknown filmmaker with no track record, but you might just be sitting on an amazing script, a script that’s also completely doable with a small budget. Maxing out your credit cards, fundraising, asking for favors, bartering, stealing shots, filming only on weekends or after hours, losing sleep…..it’s the nature of the beast.  Two aspiring directors, Diana Rodriguez and Brian Finn, join me to talk about their experiences making their first indie feature films.

The client is always right.....right? As a creative, working with the corporate world can be a challenge albeit a lucrative one. They may not fully understand or appreciate what you bring to the table in making that industrial/promo/commercial that they hired you for. Returning from season one is Alan Ginsberg of LIXI Studios to chat about corporate gigs and his most recent commercial shoot in Iceland. .

Possibly in no other art form do we celebrate what's brilliant along with what's trash, then in the world of cinema. What is it about bad movies that bring us together as an audience? Dedicated cinephiles, Jason Levy and Joe Hernandez, return from episode 2 to shed some light.

The road to joining the union can be a battle working in the world of film and television. My colleagues, Nick (sound mixer) and Kevin (grip and electric), share some war stories from non-union productions and the realities of freelancing.

Continuity errors, dialogue errors, oh my! One person on set has the duty to try and ensure that these mistakes are avoided. To explain the role of Script Supervisor we talk with Tressa Giardina and her mentor, the legendary Martha Pinson.

Let's get real about the world of disposable social media content and "clickbait" headlines. On the cusp of launching their new web series "The Daily Realness" on Snapchat, filmmakers Skyler Fulton and Nick Massey talk about their experiences with content creating in this day and age of social media blitz.

Venezuelan film producers Leo Zelig and Lolo Bello of "333 Experience" talk about the challenges they faced trying to adapt to the “Hollywood” system, while also learning about distribution in South America and beyond.

Production sets can take their toll physically and mentally after many years. What can we do to ensure longevity? Let's mine this topic with Liz Cash, a specialized physical trainer, and one of her clients, Lisa Sene, a Steadicam and Camera op.

The acting bug is forever. I chat with two actor friends of mine, Sal Rendino and Renata Hinrichs, to talk about acting school, agents, film vs theater and general sustainability as an actor.

Anyone can make a documentary right? Find an interesting subject, follow them around with a camera and let the story unfold? Let's find out with a couple of documentarians, Phil and Joshua.

Should film appreciation and history be taught at an early age? Is film school really worth it? I sit down with a high school Film/English teacher and one of his former students to broach these topics as well as film fandom, social media and generation gaps.  

To give a film its visual style any Cinematographer a.k.a. Director of Photography (DP) needs a reliable Gaffer. I chat with both to find out what makes this relationship on set so important.

Imagine showing up to a film shoot to dress up as a homeless person wandering in the background one day. The following day you to play a masked protester in a riot scene. The day after that you get called in to dance your ass off as one of many club-goers in a high-end commercial. By the end of that of week you've literally worn many hats. Give it up for the unsung heroes of the acting world, the background actors aka the extras. They also can make or break a scene. What is a day in the life like for them?

In my very first episode I talk with Samantha and Alan of Lixi Studios about content creating in the modern era and....are film festivals still viable?