Our second guest, Lamont Davis of Davis Mobile Detailing, came in for a great illuminating chat focused primarily on running a business and what it takes.
We discovered Lamont had a passion for automobiles at a young age and how he used that passion to create the successful auto detailing business he owns and operates today.
Basically it takes an exceptional amount of drive and a willingness to always be there to manage your business properly.
We also learned how creating a niche is a great idea in business so you can stick out above the competitors and stay on the forefront of a successful enterprise.
One of the things I really love about this gig is getting to know all of these fascinating people and learning about their lives and work. I am often asked who has been the best guest on the show and I honestly can’t answer that because every single podcast has been an incredible learning experience.
Our first guest, Dusty Cagle, is a comedian and farmer. His sharp wit matched by good natured charm, was evident as soon as he walked into the room.
It was after hours so we all had a little whiskey before we got going with the show. Needless to say we were all smiles when the show began.
During this episode we learn about Dusty’s upbringing and his life as a farmer who moonlights as a standup comedian. We also discuss several facets about comedy itself including the creative process, hierarchy and routines.
episode three, here we go
In fact we talked about enough stuff for two episodes, so please check out the special bonus episode with Dusty Cagle below. In this episode we focus on the topic of COVID-19.
The second episode was basically part 2 of our first recording. We went over three hours and had plenty of material.
For this episode we covered a broad range of topics including why attempt a podcast, risk taking, creating legacy, reading & writing, the effects of time, solving the problems of the world, and working with friends.
Solving the world’s problems for over 70 episodes
It was and still continues to be fun getting to know these guys.
Everything was put together and tested. All systems were go and we were ready for our first recording.
What the heck were we going to talk about???
The main themes of the show from my perspective are (not necessarily in any order):
To promote positive directions that humanity may be heading towards into the future.
Support artists and other creative business folk by giving them a platform to let the world know what they are about.
To promote the idea of raising the floor across the board for humanity by looking at new financial structures such as basing currency on humanity itself.
For this first show many of the above themes were discussed with the exception of all three of us giving an introduction into our lives with a composite of who we were and what we do.
After brief auto biographical synopsi of our nature the discussion quickly went into the subject of raising the floor of humanity. In this, Neil and Daniel state that no one should be without a place to sleep, food & water, education and access to medical care. With these things in motion, it creates a healthier better society better prepared for the future ahead.
Please check out this classic first episode of the series.
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teaser trailer for episode 1 of The Creative Businessmen
Well over a year ago, a fella by the name of Neil Hoover contacted me on Facebook about producing a podcast he and his business partner Daniel Storie were wanting to create. I agreed to meet them at a local Starbucks to further discuss the details and perhaps reach an accord of some type. I never really considered myself much of a podcaster but…
My day job was about to end and I was about to venture into the world of freelance. I had some experience with podcasts via my old job so I was seriously considering this opportunity as something to go for. The cinematography jobs weren’t exactly plentiful and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be away from home months on end working Grip & Electric teams in the carnivalesque, nomadic filmmaker lifestyle. Maybe if I was in my twenties it would have been cool for a while. But anway…
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was thinking a simple audio set up using a zoom(audio recorder not the app) and go pros, but these guys had something else in mind. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it all but I was intrigued so I decided to give it a shot.
A few weeks went by since our initial meeting before I met with Neil at what was to become the studio.
the “before”
I was just an empty shell filled with dreams at that time and little else. I was happy to see an actual space to use for the podcast. That was definitely a plus to me as I could see these guys were serious.
We discussed the gear that we would need and slowly over the next month the studio began to take shape. Equipment was ordered and we met at the studio to begin piecing it together.
getting there
It was great to see that carpet was in place along with a cyclorama (curtain), coffee table with attached mics (exceptionally nice mics), lighting rig, huge desk and the highly coveted Blackmagic Design Television Studio 4K switcher (whew).
the switcher
I was never a broadcast guy. Always a die hard filmmaker. But… it was time to forget about that silly notion. It is empowering to learn new things and there was much to learn.
Neil troubleshoots as we build
The hardest part was trying to figure out how to get the gear working. Luckily with the aid of YouTube combined with persistence, everything got figured out.
almost there
After mics, cameras and headsets were wired up, we were ready for our first show.
This battle station is fully operational.
Next time I will talk about episodes 1 and 2 of The Creative Businessmen podcast. We’ve come a long way but have a long way to go and I am enjoying the ride all the way.
Check out The Creative Businessmen podcast wherever podcasts are available and on our YouTube channel (link below).
“The Werewolf Hunters” is one of those films that came out of nowhere to me. It was part of a mini anthology horror short that I had written more than a few years ago. It had been a hot minute since I had directed a film of my own and had an opportunity to knock it out in a day of shooting alongside shooting some stuff for Kill Giggles and a promo for Louis Bekoe’s “Zombie Fried Chicken.”
By the time we got to my shoot, it was beginning to get dark. I know, why did I agree to shoot and direct a short after almost a full day of shooting. Having motivation by my filmmaking brothers from other mothers Jaysen Buterin and Louis Bekoe at my side helped. My script was only about two and half pages and makes up really just one scene though a couple shots I guess make up small scenes of their own. We began wide showing a male werewolf hunter entering a small stone cottage in the woods. I had the gift of having John Quade (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) director of photography and master gaffer from the industry to help me. Along with Aidan Ford as my AC/Key Grip, Louis Lando Bekoe and his wife Shannon on sound and pretty much anything else, and Joh Harp and Soraja Davis on Makeup and wardrobe.
We began with an exterior shot showing Michael Williams (werewolf hunter) enter the cottage and perform a ritual. Because the short is only 2+ minutes long we covered most of the action from each angle shot. We set up a 2k behind a tree, a kicker or two inside the structure and fogged the place up.
When the werewolf hunter is desperately trying to reverse the effects of a werewolf bite, another werewolf hunter (Margaret Alice) finds him but it’s too late. We took the scene all the way until Michael William’s character begins to transform.
After sfx makeup was applied by Joh Harp, we began the action sequence where the two werewolf hunters fight. This I pretty much got from a couple of angles and had enough to make it exciting. Michael and Margaret did an excellent job!!! Years of theater combat training behind all that. I love that we put a light in the small faux stove and pumped the fog through a large plastic pipe going into the bottom of it from the outside. Did I mention we shot all of this during a thunderstorm. Due to the professional level headed crew all lights were rigged safe and everything went great. We only stopped due to the storm for about 15/20 minutes.
For the transformation we shot a wide from outside the door showing the silhouette of the fully transformed werewolf. Addition to that we grabbed a close up of the Margaret and a few cutaways of her reaching for a weapon.
I enjoy a good shadow play.
For the scene before last, we shot an intimate scene of him dying in her arms revealing that they were more than just partners in the werewolf hunting biz. They played it perfectly and after a couple of takes we were ready for the Shirley Temple (last shot of the day).
For the last shot we were joined by some excellent extras in wonderful garb and accoutrements.
Though part of me feels that this was way too rushed I never meant more than to do a sketch of a movie anyway. It works in and of itself but sometimes wonder how it would feel if it was embedded in the initial idea of the mini horror anthology.
So we moved a mere few blocks down the street and set up shop at The Ramkat, an awesome music venue in Winston Salem. Myself, Jason Ledford and Thoren Claytor (Amazing Assistant Director) followed director Jaysen Buterin around the large location going through the eight scenes we needed to cover there.
In that same day.
The weight of what we had to pull off in such a tiny amount of time hit like a ton of bricks.
We began with a rock concert that is to be a part of a montage depicting Tommy and Eden growing closer. We had a minor issue with lighting in the beginning but got through it and shot some amazing footage. And yes, the director himself played drums.
We moved on to a bar upstairs. Tommy speaks with the bartender (Lee Troutman) and learns about a bachelorette (Christy Johnson) party with Eden and a clown (Shane Terry). We used green and magenta gels on our lighting and I got all my coverage off the job arm. I love giving the scene an extra bit of movement that adds to the emotional content visually.
Tommy encounters the clown for few terse words in the bathroom. Lighting this was fun. A great friend of mine, DP/Gaffer John Quade (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) joined us for part of the day. It was great getting some insight from him. Incidentally he is in the crowd at the rock concert standing right next to the happy couple.
We moved on to the bathroom entrance where Tommy and Eden almost run into each other. Quick scene but took a hot minute to set up. Just one wide shot, no additional coverage.
We then move on to Tommy and the clown having a coming to terms buddy to buddy discussion over several drinks.
Still at the bar we cover Tommy and Eden hanging out until closing time.
That green backlight is so great.
While we set up the lighting for outside, we left Dalton to second unit the clown strip tease at the bachelorette party.
Outside we covered some more dialog between Tommy, Kinky Dinky and Eden.
We did have a pause in production while the entire crew searched for a prop in a bush, but other than that, all went great.
A great moment was when we used a dummy version of Kinky Dinky that I am quite sure Michael Williams enjoyed chucking down the steps. It looked fantastic! Joh Harp and Soraja Davis’s hard work paid off!!!
Our martini shot for the day and for general production was an awesome GoPro POV shot of the poor clown tumbling down the concrete steps.
we’re finished/photo by Katherine Holmes
So proud of this film and everyone that took part in making it come to life!
No one knew the depths of reason we would soar past on this day.
the food is so good here
No one knew.
bts footage/Katherine Holmes
I had planned to do this since day one. Thank you so much Marisol for the excellent makeup job!!! After Jaysen got over his initial shock we quickly got the set lit and blocked.
What a great camera team!!!
The scene was a dialog scene mainly with four people until one of those pesky clowns (Melissa Eastwood) shows up trying to brighten up everyone’s day with balloons. Tommy wasn’t having it.
We moved from the wide to a close two shot of each side of the table. Below you can check out the lighting change on Tommy as his emotional level rises in the scene.
After the 2 shots, we moved on to close ups. Most of the coverage was fairly standard and I also had B camera rolling the entire time.
The red light just for Tommy was gaffer Jason Ledford’s brilliant idea which we loved and utilized as we should.
Every time Michael Williams let loose as Tommy, the whole world stopped.
This scene took a bit to set up and execute but we got it in the can as they say (can refers to film canisters from the old days).
Our day was nowhere near done but at leas the final location of the film was a few blocks away. We were still unaware of how much more we really had to do that day.
The dinner scene with Eden and her movie star Mom, Deborah de Prima (Judith O’dea/“Night of the Living Dead”) represents the quiet before the storm in a production sense.
The scene is simple enough, dialog with mainly two people with a brief exchange in the beginning with a fan (Denny Nolan) of de Prima.
Me and Jason Ledford agreed to go with nice soft overhead lighting that had served us so well on this shoot so far. After he and his crew were done, the set looked amazing.
The shots were a wide followed by medium ots (over the shoulder) shots. We got a little additional footage from B cam courtesy of Dalton Pope.
So funny story. It was still daylight when we began shooting and then turned dark when we were in our second setup. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t considered the sunset. I was used to setting up dinner scenes away from windows when stressed on time. Needless to say we had to shoot the wide again. No big deal.
After the second go on the wide we were done for the day and looking forward to being almost at the finish line.
Little did we realize how grueling that last day would be.
We were back in Asheboro for the final time & once again found ourselves using the same theater location that we used the exterior of previously.
The space was impressive and we had plenty of time to set up. We used theater’s lights along with our own for a great look.
The scene involves a rehearsal for a clown laden musical production that goes very poorly. The director (C. Michael Whaley) leaves in a huff while the clowns (Matt Patterson, John Mazza and Christy Johnson) deliberate.
A & B Cameras were placed on the upper and lower levels for the wides and then we moved in for coverage.
The dialog coverage was followed by the entrance of teenage Tommy bringing his own brand of clown punishment. This needed to be blocked meticulously due to the fact that things can go wrong. Safety is all important.
The continuation of this pivotal scene involving a stabbing and a shooting needed to be rehearsed carefully.
We used a retractable blade and a billet hit was added in post. Jordan Blake and Tom Gore did a fantastic job.
The performances were realistic and well played.
We finished the sequence with close ups. “Don’t breathe Tom. Don’t breathe.”
For the Martini shot (final shot of the day), Dalton Pope broke out his drone and we got some great stuff.
