Podcast · Film & TV

The No Film School Podcast

by No Film School · English · Film & TV

A podcast about how to build a career in filmmaking. No Film School shares the latest opportunities and trends for anyone working in film and TV. We break news on cameras, lighting, and apps. We interview leaders in screenwriting, directing, cinematography, editing, and producing. And we answer your

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 46 min
Latest: 2 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026 · 40 min

How SNL Editors Turn 36 Hours of Footage Into a Finished Sketch

Saturday Night Live’s prerecorded sketches can go from first footage to national broadcast in roughly 36 hours. Host GG Hawkins talks with SNL editors Christopher Salerno and Mak Makower about the post-production workflow behind that turnaround, including their work on the Emmy-nominated “MAHAspital” sketch starring Harry Styles. They break down how footage moves from set to the edit, why line-by-line stringouts are essential, how they use Adobe Premiere Pro tools like transcription, Essential Sound, multicam sequences, and reverse match frame, and how sound design helps build tension before…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

29 Sep 2026 · 50 min
Actor-Turned-Director Lee Kirk on Directing Actors and the Making of 'Nimrods'
Writer-director Lee Kirk joins No Film School’s GG Hawkins to break down the making of Nimrods, his Green Day-inspired coming-of-age road movie. Kirk traces his path from studying acting at DePaul University to learning screenwriting and eventually directing, and explains how his acting background continues to shape the way he works with performers. He also discusses developing Nimrods with Billie Joe Armstrong, weaving real stories from Green Day into the screenplay, casting and rehearsing a young ensemble, building a collaborative crew, creating a timeless visual texture, embracing…
27 Sep 2026 · 55 min
Fantastic Fest Triumphs With 'Fantastic Pitches'
Ryan Koo and Jourdan Aldredge report from Fantastic Fest 2026 in Austin, Texas, where they explore how the festival is expanding beyond exhibiting genre films to helping filmmakers actually get movies made. They break down the first completed feature from Fantastic Pitches, Nicholas Curcio’s Playhouse, what filmmakers can learn from its $100,000 production, and this year’s ambitious winning pitch, Father Figure. They also discuss the value of pitching even when you don’t win, the advantages of designing films around microbudget constraints, and some of the movies and filmmaking communities…
24 Sep 2026 · 54 min
Fantastic Fest Premiere 'Into the Sky' Proves an 'Indie Blockbuster' is Possible
Recorded at Fantastic Fest 2026 in Austin, No Film School founder Ryan Koo talks with Into the Sky writer-directors Drew Mylrea and Evan Buxbaum about the decade-long path to making their sci-fi comedy. They trace the project from an early script that Evan initially rejected through Black List evaluations, financing, casting Sam Richardson, and an ambitious 25-day production with dozens of locations and hundreds of VFX shots. Drew and Evan also explain how they divided responsibilities as co-directors, used LiDAR scans and Lego figures to pre-visualize scenes, navigated production setbacks,…
17 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
How 'Voicemails for Isabelle' Director Leah McKendrick Defeated Development Hell and Got Her Movie Made
Writer-director-actor Leah McKendrick joins GG Hawkins to break down the long road to getting Voicemails for Isabelle made after years in development. McKendrick traces her unconventional path from aspiring pop singer to independent filmmaker, studio screenwriter, and director, explaining how the frustration of watching projects stall pushed her to bet on herself and make Scrambled. She shares how directing that indie feature changed the way studios saw her, helped her reclaim Voicemails for Isabelle, and ultimately led to Netflix and Sony backing her as its director. The conversation also…
12 Sep 2026 · 41 min
She Shot Her First Feature in Just 11 Nights — Making 'Lockjaw'
Writer-director Sabrina Greco joins No Film School to discuss the making of her feature debut, Lockjaw, a dark comedy centered on a woman whose jaw is wired shut after a car accident. Greco explains how the project grew from a short into a feature, why she committed to an 11-day all-night shoot in Los Angeles, and how a tight-knit filmmaking community helped make the production possible. She also breaks down directing Blu Hunt’s physically constrained but highly expressive lead performance, adapting scenes when they stopped working on set, using two cameras to move quickly, and drawing on…
3 Sep 2026 · 58 min
The Art of the Reshoot: How the 'It Ends' Team Saved Their Indie Horror Feature
Writer-director Alex Ullom and producers Carrie Carusone and Evan Barber break down the unconventional path behind It Ends, their micro-budget indie horror feature about four friends trapped on an endless road. They explain how they raised their initial financing, leaned on their filmmaking community, turned production limitations into creative advantages, and used multiple rounds of strategic reshoots to transform an early cut that wasn’t working. The team also shares how they cut a Jeep in half to shoot on an LED volume stage, navigated an expensive and complicated post-production process,…
27 Aug 2026 · 49 min
How a Wine-Infused Cold Email & Pool Parties Got 'Pools' Noticed
Writer-director Sam Hayes and actor-filmmaker Michael Vlamis break down the making and unconventional release of Pools, a coming-of-age film built around an overnight pool-hopping adventure. They discuss the logistical challenges of shooting underwater on an indie schedule, building an ensemble cast around specific actors, and why traditional distribution offers pushed the team toward a hands-on grassroots strategy. Sam explains how pool-party premieres, years of networking, and a wine-fueled cold email helped Pools find a new audience through the Letterboxd Video Store, while Michael…
22 Aug 2026 · 36 min
Inside 25 Years of Tribeca: What Independent Filmmakers Need to Know
Tribeca Festival Director and SVP of Programming Cara Cusumano joins No Film School’s GG Hawkins to reflect on 25 years of Tribeca and explain what independent filmmakers should understand about today’s festival landscape. Cusumano discusses Tribeca’s evolution from its post-9/11 roots into a multidisciplinary storytelling festival, how programmers evaluate nearly 14,000 submissions, why filmmakers should build relationships with their peers instead of chasing gatekeepers, and how festivals are responding to shifts in film distribution and audience behavior. She also shares how emerging…
15 Aug 2026 · 40 min
Fiscal Sponsorship Explained
Fiscal sponsorship can give independent filmmakers access to tax-deductible donations, in-kind contributions, corporate partnerships, and other fundraising opportunities without changing how they monetize their films after completion. Host GG Hawkins talks with filmmaker Lindsay St. Laurent and New Hollywood's Ian Mark about how fiscal sponsorship works, how to approach donors, and why building sustainable working conditions into an indie production matters. They also discuss tax incentives, pre-production strategies that can prevent burnout, protecting cast and crew on low-budget sets, and…
6 Aug 2026 · 31 min
The Editing Process Behind Dialogue-Driven Drama The Revisionist
Editor Jon Fine joins GG Hawkins to discuss shaping The Revisionist, a dialogue-driven drama directed by Alex Vlack and starring Alison Brie, André Holland, and Dustin Hoffman. Fine explains how the cast’s performances transformed the tone of the script, how music and abrupt sonic interruptions helped place viewers inside a writer’s creative process, and how restructuring the film made its shifting layers of fiction and reality clearer. He also shares his Premiere Pro workflow, his approach to testing editorial ideas, and why emerging filmmakers should learn by making their own projects. In…
31 Jul 2026 · 39 min
From Script to $100k Equity Financing: Navigating The Greenlight List (Partner Episode)
Most filmmakers wait until after production to identify their audience and develop a distribution strategy. In this partner episode, GG Hawkins speaks with Greenlight Coverage founder Jack Zhang and Level 33 Entertainment Vice President Andreas Olavarria about evaluating a screenplay’s commercial potential before production begins. They explain how AI-assisted script coverage can support—not replace—human decision-making, what distributors look for when assessing independent films, and how the Greenlight List gives screenwriters a path toward $100,000 in equity financing and guaranteed…
30 Jul 2026 · 45 min
The Filmmakers at Wonder Dynamics Building AI for Filmmakers
Wonder Dynamics co-founders Tye Sheridan and Nikola Todorovic join GG Hawkins to explain how their filmmaking backgrounds shaped the development of AI-powered production tools for artists. They trace the company’s evolution from an interactive storytelling startup to Autodesk Flow Studio, a tool designed to transfer live-action performances to CG characters while preserving creative control and compatibility with established VFX pipelines. The conversation covers Hollywood’s changing relationship with artificial intelligence, the potential for lower-cost sci-fi filmmaking, Autodesk’s…
27 Jul 2026 · 38 min
How This Comedy Was Edited Before Production Wrapped
Editor, director, and producer Whit Conway explains how the Hulu comedy Never Change! was assembled on an unusually compressed post-production schedule. He discusses cutting scenes while production was still underway, building an organized Adobe Premiere Pro workflow, using searchable transcripts to locate alternate performances, and collaborating with director and co-editor Marty Schousboe. Conway also shares how constant iteration shapes comedy, why editors cannot become precious about an early cut, and how aspiring comedy filmmakers can create the work they want to be hired to make. In…
25 Jul 2026 · 48 min
The Long Game of Producing: Joy Gorman's Career Lessons
Producer and Joy Coalition founder Joy Gorman Wettels joins GG Hawkins to discuss the long, uncertain path of building a producing career, from developing Next to Normal and spending 17 years at Anonymous Content to betting on herself as an independent producer. She explains why she staffed Little House on the Prairie before it received a green light, how she develops projects designed to create cultural conversations, and why the industry’s shrinking infrastructure threatens the next generation of producers. Gorman Wettels also shares lessons from 13 Reasons Why, Home Before Dark, and The…
19 Jul 2026 · 40 min
Inside the Craft of Action With Emmy-Nominated Stunt Coordinator Victor Paguia
Emmy-nominated stunt coordinator and performer Victor Paguia joins No Film School’s GG Hawkins to explain how action sequences are designed around character, story, safety, and production realities. Drawing on more than two decades of experience—including his work on I Am Legend, Zombieland, and CBS’s FBI—Paguia discusses breaking into the stunt industry, developing distinct fighting styles for characters, creating ambitious television action on an eight-day prep schedule, and using previsualization to make sequences safer and more effective. He also shares practical advice for independent…
16 Jul 2026 · 54 min
The Art of Asking for Money for Indie Films feat. Madhouse Films
Madhouse Films co-founders Katherine Romans and Charlie Traisman join GG Hawkins to explain how they built an independent production company from the ground up. They discuss using short films as their version of film school, raising project financing through relationship-building, approaching investors as creative partners, and transitioning from shorts to feature films. The conversation also explores cold outreach, fiscal sponsorship, balancing artistic ambition with financial realities, building durable producing partnerships, and why filmmakers must treat their projects like small…
11 Jul 2026 · 49 min
How Microbudget ‘Sour Party’ Became a Steven Soderbergh Presents
After an earlier feature project collapsed, filmmakers Amanda Drexton, Michael A. Drexton, and Samantha Westervelt decided to stop waiting for permission and make Sour Party with the people, locations, equipment, and lived experiences already available to them. They discuss financing and shooting the microbudget comedy, surviving festival rejection, finding a distributor, budgeting for post-production, and campaigning through Decentralized Pictures until Steven Soderbergh selected the film to receive his support and the “Steven Soderbergh Presents” credit. In this episode, No Film School's…
6 Jul 2026 · 53 min
Secrets to an Oscar Short Film Campaign with Julia Aks and Steve Pinder
No Film School’s Jo Light records live from Aspen Shorts Fest with Julia Aks and Steve Pinder, the co-writers and co-directors of Jane Austen’s Period Drama. The conversation covers how the short grew from a period-drama pun into an Oscar-nominated comedy, what it took to produce an ambitious period piece on a limited budget, and how the filmmakers navigated festivals, awards qualification, campaign strategy, and the career momentum that followed. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins, Jo Light, and guests Julia Aks and Steve Pinder discuss... How Julia Aks and Steve Pinder first met…
26 Jun 2026 · 55 min
The Assistant Route: Networking, Mentorship, and Building a Film Career & Community
In this episode, GG Hawkins talks with writer, director, producer, assistant, and Not Your Daddy’s Films co-founder Vika Stubblebine about building a sustainable film career through assistant work, mentorship, community, and creative self-advocacy. Vika traces her path from acting and theater at UCLA to working in TV production at Sony, becoming a writers’ assistant, writing episodes of S.W.A.T., and helping build Not Your Daddy’s Films into a Los Angeles community for women and non-binary filmmakers. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Vika Stubblebine discuss... How Vika…
25 Jun 2026 · 48 min
How a $7K, 7-Day Movie Built Around One Extraordinary Person Became a Festival Hit
Filmmaker Joe Burke and actor-writer-producer Oliver Cooper join No Film School to discuss the making and release of Burt, a black-and-white micro-budget feature inspired by real-life musician Burt Berger. The conversation covers how Burke and Cooper built a narrative film around a non-actor, shot the movie in seven days for $7,000, used a tiny crew to preserve authenticity, and pursued a self-distribution strategy through Filmhub after the film gained momentum on the festival circuit. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins, Joe Burke, and Oliver Cooper discuss... How Joe Burke and…
24 Jun 2026 · 43 min
Designing Indie Horror: The Production Design of 'Obsession'
GG Hawkins speaks with production designer Vivian Gray about building the visual world of Obsession, from Southern Gothic references and texture-heavy interiors to practical blood gags and micro-budget problem-solving. They discuss what a production designer actually does, how Gray collaborated with the director, cinematographer, costume designer, and art team, and why color, texture, aging, and window treatments can make a major difference on an indie horror film. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Vivian Gray discuss... What a production designer does and how the role…
19 Jun 2026 · 45 min
The Art of Curation: Inside Kanopy’s Approach to Film Discovery
No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with Kanopy’s Aaron Spears and Matt Lewis about curation, film discovery, and how independent films find audiences in a streaming landscape shaped by algorithms. The conversation covers Kanopy’s library- and university-based model, the importance of human-led programming, how poster art and social media influence discovery, and why theatrical and festival experiences still matter for the long-term life of a film. In this episode, No Film School'se GG Hawkins and guests Aaron Spears and Matt Lewis discuss... What Kanopy is and how it differs from…
12 Jun 2026 · 47 min
The Logistics of Chaos: Directing Lord of the Flies With 36 Child Actors With Marc Munden
GG Hawkins speaks with BAFTA-winning director Marc Munden about directing the new Netflix adaptation of Lord of the Flies, written by Jack Thorne. Munden discusses revisiting William Golding’s novel, shaping the series’ visual language, filming on a remote island in Malaysia, working with 36 young actors, and how limitations around child actors’ schedules helped inspire the show’s hallucinatory nighttime look. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Marc Munden discuss... Why Munden was initially conflicted about adapting Lord of the Flies again How Jack Thorne structured the…
11 Jun 2026 · 46 min
Pete Ohs' 2026 Distribution Experiment #2: Erupcja (and Releasing an Indie Starring Charli XCX)
GG Hawkins continues No Film School’s 2026 distribution experiment with filmmaker Pete Ohs, focusing on the release of Erupcja, his Warsaw-shot microbudget feature starring Charli XCX, Lena Góra, Will Madden, and Jeremy O. Harris. Pete breaks down how the movie was made, how its TIFF premiere led to a deal with One Two Special, and what he learned from theatrical touring, Q&As, VOD timing, marketing assets, fan edits, and the emotional sustainability of releasing independent films. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Pete Ohs discuss... Making Erupcja in Warsaw, Poland,…
4 Jun 2026 · 44 min
They Started in the Red — Then Made a Movie: The Story of 'Hacked'
No Film School’s GG Hawkins talks with filmmaker Shane Brady and producer Emily Zercher-Brady about turning a devastating real-life hack into the revenge comedy-horror feature Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma. The conversation covers the couple’s filmmaking origin stories, how losing $20,000 sparked the movie’s premise, why they pushed forward after their budget was cut in half, what it took to shoot between Los Angeles and Florida during the SAG strike, and how they approached building a collaborative low-budget set. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins, Shane Brady,…
21 May 2026 · 51 min
They Said This Movie Did Everything You’re Not Supposed To—Then The President’s Cake Won Cannes
No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with writer-director Hasan Hadi and producer Leah Chen Baker about the development, financing, production, and release journey behind The President’s Cake. The conversation traces the film from NYU and COVID-era writing sessions through the Sundance Labs, the challenge of building an aggressively independent financing plan, shooting on location in Iraq with non-professional actors, and the impact of winning both the Caméra d’Or and the Audience Award at Cannes. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins, Hasan Hadi, and Leah Chen Baker discuss... How…
15 May 2026 · 28 min
Insights Into Blackmagic Design's Latest Cameras and Products Introduced at NAB 2026
Jourdan Aldredge speaks with Blackmagic Design’s Simon Westland at NAB 2026 about the company’s latest camera, live production, mobile filmmaking, DaVinci Resolve, Blackmagic Cloud, and AI workflow updates. They discuss how Blackmagic’s new products serve both high-end live production and independent filmmakers, why hands-on trade show demos matter, and how filmmakers can think about camera choices as they grow their craft. In this episode, No Film School's Jourdan Aldredge and guest Simon Westland discuss... Blackmagic Design’s NAB 2026 product announcements and why the company released…
14 May 2026 · 41 min
How Specificity Makes Better Films: ‘Mile End Kicks’ and ‘I Like Movies’ Director Chandler Levack Explains
GG Hawkins talks with writer-director Chandler Levack about making I Like Movies, Mile End Kicks, and Roommates, and how Levack protects a specific filmmaking voice while moving between indie features and studio comedy. They discuss the realities of Canadian film financing, directing with limited time and bigger resources, building cinematic worlds through research and memory, and why filmmakers have to keep making work instead of treating one movie as their only chance. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Chandler Levack discuss... How I Like Movies helped open doors for…
8 May 2026 · 44 min
Inside Premiere’s Color Mode: Adobe’s Biggest Color Grading Overhaul in a Decade
No Film School’s Jourdan Aldridge sits down with Adobe’s Jason Druss at NAB 2026 to discuss Adobe Premiere’s new Color Mode, a three-year effort to rethink color grading for video editors. The conversation covers why Adobe rebuilt its color pipeline, how Color Mode differs from Lumetri and traditional pro-color tools, and what editors can expect from operations, styles, modules, film emulation, AI object masks, and upcoming beta features. Jason also shares his path from film school and color grading at NFL Films to product marketing at Blackmagic, Frame.io, and Adobe. In this episode, No…

About The No Film School Podcast

The No Film School Podcast is a English film & tv podcast from No Film School. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: No Film School
Language: English
Category: Film & TV
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 46 min
Latest episode: 2 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1078804724

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