Today’s guest is Ray Rushing, a Cinematographer in small-town Ohio. Ray is what I like to call the chilliest of chill. As you'll hear in the interview, he has a crazy journey into filmmaking which I found really inspiring. He’s got a ton of talent so don’t let the “Pit talk” fool you. You'll find out what that means later.  I could have talked with Ray for hours about himself and the projects he's worked on and I know you'll leave this episode feeling the same. In this Interview you’ll learn about how Ray's name has changed over the years, being in "the pit", his black and white TV, how he almost became a history teacher, teaching Final Cut at apple, how a few words from a guy with beautiful tattoos can change your life, how a random twitter post can lead you to a job at quicken loans and taking headshots of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs, and how having friends that fought for him lead to his first major DP gig with professional golfer Ricky Fowler. To see Ray's work, check out these links below: https://www.rayrushing.tv/ https://www.instagram.com/rayrushing/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest is Matthew Rojas, a Director based out of Dallas, Texas. I think that Matthew comes at filmmaking with such an interesting athletic and also religious perspective and you can tell that the hard work and dedication he’s put into the craft has really paid off. You can tell that once Matthew sets his mind up that he is going to achieve something, you can already consider it done because he’s going to do whatever it takes to accomplish it. If you need some motivation and advice on how to achieve your filmmaking goals, it doesn’t get much better than this interview. In this interview, you’ll learn about Matthew’s transition from football to filmmaking in faith, fighting to get into film school, how Eraserhead changed his whole perspective on movies, working with producers like one and ONLY Wilson Lemieux, how batman and TIE Fighters inspire the greatest body shop ad you’ve ever seen, telling engaging stories without words, hiding psychological triggers like flashing lights in plain sight, him and his wife working together like a dadgum dream team, and a conversation he continues to have with his former self. To follow Matthew's work, check out the links below. https://www.matthewprojas.com/ https://www.instagram.com/matthewprojas/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest is Brent Christy, a cinematographer, and director in Charlotte, North Carolina. Brent has worked on a crazy amount of projects and there's a good chance you've seen his work before, from indy shorts with the Film Riot gang, working in the electrical department in films such as Iron Man 3, and directing and dp'ing several feature films. This man can do it all. In this interview you’ll learn about Brent’s journey into filmmaking, being an incentive chaser, how to work with others on set, networking with high caliber people, comparing and contrasting collaborating with talented directors such as Shea Sizemore and previous guest Justin Robinson, Working with basically no lighting package vs large lighting packages on the films Low Country and Snowbirds, balancing family life with pursuing a film career, directing and dp-ing “western adjacent” feature films, getting the completeness of your ideas on the canvas, how the good stuff is never easy, and the power of simple encouragement. Brent is one of my heroes and it was an honor to hear about his journey in the film industry. Whether you know it or not, you’ve waited a long time for this interview. To follow Brent's work, check out the links below. https://www.brentchristy.tv/ https://www.instagram.com/brent.christy/ Toyota Racing "The Dream": https://vimeo.com/506383545 Snowbirds: https://vimeo.com/419047509 Low Country: https://vimeo.com/456129366 My Brother Jordan: https://youtu.be/ryEq5Yov2G0 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest on the Hometown Hollywood podcast is Justin Robinson, a writer and director in Charlotte, North Carolina. I don’t know if I have ever or will meet anyone else quite like Justin. After watching and crying through his Documentary “My Brother Jordan” which now has over 11 MILLION views and is getting crazy attention all over the world, I started watching tons of his other sketches and short films and I knew I had to get him on the show. If you haven’t seen the doc, I would recommend you watch it as soon as possible. He has a crazy journey and he’s basically worked with all my childhood filmmaking heroes through the years. If you need some motivation to work harder and to be more intentional in life and with your film career, look no further than the soothing, metaphor-filled advice Justin gives in the show.  Also, people often confuse him with Columbian Singer “Maluma '' so I thought this background music would be appropriate. In this interview, you’ll learn about Justin's crazy work ethic and sleep struggles, potential ventures in ASMR, Working with YouTube legends like Jamie Costa, Olan Rogers, Brett Driver, and more, where to seek inspiration for great dialogue, How to make filmmaking personal, his strange first encounter with Ryan Connally and the Film Riot gang, Josh Connolly’s untapped acting potential, Art the Fart, Matthew McConaughey and a desert writing cabin, and how he’s handling all the well deserved success of "My Brother Jordan". Justin is a great guy, it was an honor to hear about his journey and I learned a ton from this interview. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did so Let's get right into the show. To follow Justin's work, check out the links below.  http://justinrobinsonfilm.com/my-brother-jordan/ https://www.youtube.com/user/jrobfilms1 https://www.instagram.com/jrobproductions/ https://vimeo.com/user9562210 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest is Dylan Hryciuk, a Director and basically every other role you can think of at his own film company, Versa Films in Saskatoon, a city in Saskatchewan, Canada. I’m a huge fan of Dylan’s work and I’m pretty sure I could have drilled him for hours with questions about all of his awesome projects. He’s an open book, I really believe if you are starting out on your film journey and you take notes on the things he talks about and actually try them out, your work will improve faster and you'll meet more talented people to work with. In this interview you’ll learn about how doing free work can eventually lead to landing a music video with a music label, how to approach planning your film projects, where to seek inspiration, thoughts on cameras and gear, how a negative mindset might actually be helpful in growth, how to use social media to meet filmmakers you admire, how awesome former guest Nik Pilecki is, how to secure 40+ locations for a music video and how the traditional method of slowly working your way up on a film set might not be the best option. I have this feeling that Dylan’s career is just on the verge of exploding so if you haven't already, go follow him on social media and watch him kill it in the industry. www.versafilms.ca vimeo.com/versafilms www.instagram.com/versafilms/ www.instagram.com/dylanhryciuk/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest on the Hometown Hollywood Podcast is Wilson Lemieux, Executive Producer and Director at his properly named, Lemieux Company in Amarillo Texas. Wilson is someone I knew I had to get on the show because if you know him at all, you know he is the embodiment of what this show is all about. He’s making the film dream happen in his own home town by doing incredible work that can compete with the best. I loved getting to hear his story and I was inspired by his confidence in himself and his team. You can tell in the interview that his relationships with others mean everything to him and he invests a lot in other people. As a little note, before we started recording the interview we hadn't been talking for more than 5 minutes and he was already giving me encouragement and advice that I really needed to hear, and I believe that speaks a lot about his character. In this interview you’ll learn about how to start a company with $600 to your name, going from 1 man band DSLR shoots to full-crew, big-budget productions in one year, the best freaking bodyshop ad you will ever see, how working in a small town can actually present you with an accelerated opportunity for growth, the importance of Gushers on set, how to be intentional in your work and family, and the importance of building a team and letting your hitters hit. Whew. If you get to the end of this podcast and don’t understand how important it is to invest in the relationships you have with other people, then you have completely missed the point. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. To follow Wilson's work, check out the links below. lemieux.company/ www.instagram.com/lemieux.company/ www.instagram.com/wilson.lemieux/ www.facebook.com/LemieuxCompany/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

We're finally back with a new episode! Today's guest is Logan LeBlanc, a Cinematographer and Director from Lafayette Louisiana. Logan is crazy talented and had me cracking up with his sense of humor. In this interview we talk about how selling your prized guitar can start a film career, a lot of peanut butter references, adapting your style to fit the direction of the project, diamond-studded pressure cooked chicken, networking for introverts, and the inspiration behind his new short film, 17 Year Locust, which was funded by #createlouisiana French Culture Film Grant. If you need a good laugh and inspiration to make it in the film business, look no further than this podcast episode. To follow Logan's work, check out the links below. https://www.instagram.com/loganleblancdp/ https://www.instagram.com/17yearlocust/ https://www.facebook.com/17-Year-Locust-110916510704018/ https://lmleblanc.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest is Thomas Manning, a Director of Photography and editor based out of Mesa Arizona I’m super excited to have Thomas on the show because I’m a huge fan of his show/channel on YouTube, Epic Light Media. Currently, at the time of this recording, their channel is just shy of 100k subscribers and it is growing fast. They pack every single video with so much valuable content about lighting, story, and how to actually make money doing video work, so if you are not subscribed, you should because you are missing out. Besides the Youtube Channel, Thomas is a talented DP who in my opinion has absolutely perfected the high key commercial look that a lot of clients are looking for and I think his work looks beautiful. In this interview you’ll learn how a documentary about benjamin franklin inspires YouTube success, knowing when you are prepared to make a gear purchase for your camera ecosystem (disclaimer: this answer might hurt), seeking inspiration in places like a Gordon Ramsey masterclass, and how to network, find clients and recognize ideal opportunities for new work. To follow Thomas' work, check out the links below. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeO18n9AxKQS0BQfL6AamQw https://www.instagram.com/epiclightmedia/ https://www.epiclightmedia.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest is Joey Katches, a Director of Photography based outside of Sacramento, California. If you listen to today's podcast and don’t feel inspired or have a more positive outlook on life, then you should probably get that checked because Joey is 100 percent concentrated positivity. Joey is a super talented DP, has an awesome story about his journey into the film industry and an inspiring work ethic. In this interview, you’ll learn about what it takes to make quarantine passion projects, camera gear, and DIY anamorphic lenses, making the jump from Alaskan missionary to a full-time filmmaker, and what tools you can use to network, learn and step up your film game. To connect with Joey check the links below for his website, Instagram, and some of my favorite examples of his awesome work. https://www.instagram.com/storylitfilms/ https://vimeo.com/447244957 https://vimeo.com/443945612 https://storylitfilm.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support

Today’s guest is Nik Pilecki, a cinematographer based out of Ontario Canada. As he’ll say in the interview, he’s an open book. And that book is packed with awesome lighting, camera work, and practical tips for progressing your film career. Some of my favorite examples of Nik's work include his music video work for “first prescription”, Plain White: Brigade, his SFA firemen ad, and the short film Inhale. In this interview, we talk about Nik’s crazy journey into the film world and you’ll SEE  why he has an EYE for lighting and executes his camera work with surgical precision. And yes those jokes are as CORNEA-s they come. We talk about cameras, lights, real actionable tips to meet other talented filmmakers, the best hamburger chain known to man, and how passion projects can take you to the next level of work. I really admire Nik and I’m so thankful he agreed to come on the show. I would recommend taking notes on what he says because I really believe if you do what he says, you will progress faster in the film industry wherever you are. To connect with Nik check the links below for his website, Instagram, and some of my favorite examples of his awesome work. https://www.instagram.com/nikpilecki/ https://vimeo.com/hungryboyproductions https://vimeo.com/416908561 https://vimeo.com/317114951 https://vimeo.com/441159433 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hometownhollywood/support