Tag Archive for: writer

14: Kent Youngblood – Film Director, Producer, Writer, and Cinematographer

Summary

Kent Youngblood has over twenty years of production management experience with commercials, network promos, digital content, and photo shoots. He spends his career crewing, scheduling, budgeting and location managing for production companies such as Paramount, Viacom, Herzog & Company, and High Noon Entertainment. Kent helps create commercials for clients like Audi, Ford, Coors, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, and Verizon. He helps create promos for networks such as Disney, HBO, and Starz. You may have seen his work on properties such as the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, CNN, ESPN, and CBS Sports.

In addition to making commercials, Kent is a film director, a producer, a writer, and a cinematographer. His films have screened at numerous festivals worldwide, garnered notable media attention, and won the coveted Golden Remy for Best Experimental Film at Worldfest several times. Those films were Patriot Dreams in 2003, and Wonder City in 2004.

Show Notes

[1:29] Kent’s biographical background

[2:20] How Kent got started

[8:15] Where Kent is now in his career

  • Discussion about the challenges of being a commercial producer
  • “What is a producer? Well, with regard to television and film, it’s really a creative project manager. There are some creative sides to it, but you are really organizing a project. But having said that, there are ten different designations of producer in film and video.”

[10:25] Defining the roles specific to a line producer, especially in the Colorado market

  • “That’s what really excites me about it [being a line producer] — it’s just trying to figure out how to creatively solve an idea.”

Kent Youngblood on the track

[13:18] What is the difference between a commercial and a promo?

[13:59] What is your ideal scenario when a client comes to you with a project?

  • Explanation of the advantages of a script, a creative brief, a mood board
  • Why it is necessary to have these things in advance for planning, procurement, and scheduling

[18:05] Retrospectively, what do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started?

  • “The journey is made me who I am today.”

[22:11] What is required to be a PA?

  • “Are you willing to start at the bottom to be in this industry?”
  • “… filmmaking is not a solitary enterprise. It’s a collaborative environment. You have to work with people, and a lot of times you’re going to be working with people that have more skill sets than you do,  at least initially.”

Kent Youngblood and crew

[27:01] What is your take on the value of a tribe, and networking?

[30:32] How do the other sides of your project help you with your business?

[33:11] How do you make a living here in Denver?

[37:19] Lions and talent and children, oh my…

[41:06] How did you get your work initially and how has that evolved to get most of your work through referrals?

[43:40] Advice on dealing with slow times in the business

[50:31] What are your favorite kinds of projects? What are your favorite kinds of clients?

[53:46] When things go wrong…

[55:17] People Kent looks up to and why — Gale Anne Hurd, producer, The Walking Dead; Richard Burton, actor, Cleopatra; Joel Pilger, RevThink;  Steve Urbano, director/producer

[58:45] Discussion of how to deal with issues, particularly working with  location scouts

[1:00:39] Literature to influence and inspire

[1:02:29] Best pieces of advice from Kent, and his philosophical perspective

[1:07:14] Kent’s biggest lesson

 

Kent Youngblood behind the wheel

Links and Resources

 

Be sure to check out podcasts with other great guests in the film and media industry on our DMP Podcast Page!

/0 Comments/by

18: Trai Cartwright – Screenwriter, Producer, Master Storyteller

Summary

Trai Cartwright is a 25-year industry veteran and a creative writing and business development specialist. She teaches, produces and writes screenplays and novels. While in Los Angeles, she was a screenwriter, independent film producer and story consultant, and development executive for HBO, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and New Line Cinema.

She was the assistant director for Leonardo DiCaprio‘s online endeavors, and the manager for 20th Century Fox‘s Mobile Studios. Trai currently teaches creative writing, screenwriting, and producing for Western State Colorado University, Denver University, and CU Denver. Conferences, cons, and one-on-one as a development and story editor. She's the screenwriter of Secret Ellington, and the producer of a docu-webseries called Hidden Tigers, and a short film called Sundown Road.

Show Notes

[1:20] Trai’s background

[2:36] Growing up as a child writer and storyteller

[3:09] Trai's introduction to screenwriting, film, theatre, and community at NYU

[4:52] The discovery that crew work was not her calling

[6:17] Trai's first studio job at Orion Pictures, Sharon Bidal, and Wordperfect

[7:50] Lessons obtained (in hindsight) about education

[9:59] The film industry and the adventurous spirit

[11:50] Figuring out how you want to work

[12:48] The value of being a PA

[13:22] How Trai earned her money

[16:29] Decompressing in Fort Collins

[18:02] Doing time in Chicago, and a fortuitous encounter in a pool hall

[19:50] Gary Marshall, Northwestern University, and Avid editing systems

[21:38] The Honeymoon Period, and learning when to call the fire department

[25:43] Heading to LA with Dawn Wildsmith, Surf Nazis Must Die, and being a PA in LA

[32:19] How temping changed Trai's life

[33:54] Working in the industry, and The Irv Scheckter Company

[36:12] Adventures with Prelude Pictures

[38:24] Lost in Space in Marilyn Monroe's old dressing room at Paramount Pictures

[39:33] VP of Creative Services and Peter Saphier

[41:11] Side work with writers

[42:47] Working remotely as a viable option in the film industry

[44:25] Amassing skills as a crew person in Colorado

[45:24] The need to go where the opportunities are

[48:00] Filmmaking as a career vs. a hobby/project

[49:30] 10,000 hours to expertise, 5,000 hours to competence

[50:30] Ambition vs. heart – for writers, directors and producers

[51:47] Having the persistence and be willing to truly commit in the film industry

[53:15] Savoring the brilliant moments and learning to fall

[55:21] Living in Colorado while working in the industry

[56:55] Building businesses in Colorado vs. California

[59:40] Working in Colorado

[1:01:22] The coup at Creative Artists Agency

[1:04:57] Teaching the business of show business

[1:06:37] The value of education

[1:08:00] Never stop learning

[1:09:45] Vet your educators in order to build yourself a community

[1:12:27] Leaving LA

[1:17:36] Creativity defined

[1:18:37] Marriage and creative people

[1:20:20] Shifting perspectives in order to succeed and be happy

[1:23:03] Pulling back in order to move forward, and lift other people up

[1:27:20] Creating a Master's Program with Denver Media Professionals

[1:28:28] Women in Film and Media in Colorado (WIFMCO)

[1:32:00] Find an organization that resonates with you, and become a part of it

[1:34:25] All the cool things that WIFMCO does

[1:37:05] Giving back and investing within the Colorado film and media industry

[1:40:16] The lesson learned over the last year

[1:42:11] The biggest life lesson

[1:44:40] Advice for aspiring screenwriters

Links and resources

 

Be sure to check out podcasts with other great guests in the film and media industry on our DMP Podcast Page!

/by

19: Tom Malloy – Veteran Actor, Writer, Producer, and Film Fundraiser

Summary

Tom Malloy is an actor, writer, and producer, a passionate and driven filmmaker committed to telling compelling stories with commercial appeal. Many of these projects are developed through the production company he founded in 2005, Trick Candle Productions.

In 2016, Tom co-founded the sales and distribution company called Glass House Distribution. Glass House maintains a presence in all the major film markets including AFM, EFM, TIFF, MITcon, and Cannes, and has grown from two people to a seven-person operation, recently adding a TV-series department.

Tom's unique ability to both write projects and raise funding for them has been a primary factor in the success of the company. In fact, Tom shared his expertise on the subject in the best-selling book about independent film financing called Bankroll. In 2019, Tom co-founded Filmmaking Stuff HQ, which is one of the premiere online training platforms for filmmakers.

Show Notes

[1:37] Dividing time between LA and upstate New York

[2:48] How Tom got into the film business

[4:45] How his various roles all work together

[6:33] Motivational speaking and getting started in fundraising

[8:50] Creating the perfect pitch

[10:53] Improving on earlier pitches

[12:18] The average day of a producer

[14:29] Juggling multiple projects

[16:14] The advantages of partnering up and building your network

[17:50] Moving from working with friends to working with pro talent

[19:26] The difference between a producer and a fundraiser

[21:47] Defining different types of producers

[23:57] Tom's take on crowdfunding

[25:41] Investors motivated by ROI vs. vested interest

[29:12] What kind of package do filmmaker's need to pitch a studio?

[31:35] Movie Plan Pro

[33:01] The merits of various funding sources

[35:19] What do producers take into account when producing a first-time director's script?

[38:13] How do find producers and investors?

[41:36] How to approach pitching single projects versus a slate of projects

[43:07] Pitching for the hot genre

[44:37] How does an aspiring filmmaker turn this passion into a business?

[46:45] How much does it cost to go to a film market?

[48:29] Investing in your career

[49:42] How do you keep the executive producers/backers out of the creative process?

[51:13] How do you figure the budget of how much you need to raise for a film?

[52:30] Quick tips, the most effective strategy, and advice for first-time fundraisers

[55:12] How do you know you have a great script?

[57:42] Advertising for readers

[58:10] What is involved in the pre-production development?

[59:30] Bankroll Your Film

[1:05:33] “Stay out of the movie business!”

 

Links and resources

 

Be sure to check out podcasts with other great guests in the film and media industry on our DMP Podcast Page!

/by