Matt and Oren celebrate 500 episodes! That's basically one episode per week without dropping a beat, not even on Thanksgivings, since 2015.

And while it's true "Just Shoot It" has changed a lot over the years. So too has the film & TV industry. It all started with a focus on auteur filmmaking. But the podcast took a definite shift towards commercial directing over the years.

And while both Matt and Oren have successful careers and get paid to actually do what they love doing, neither broke out in a way that made them lose touch with what it really means to make it in the film and TV industry. Through the ups and the downs, both for the industry as a whole and for their individual careers, they've ridden the same rollercoaster as you.

Matt talks about some dark times and how he made it through. And Oren and Matt both exchange techniques and ways of thinking that they picked up over the years to help them succeed faster. In the end, they wrote their own rules instead of waiting to "suddenly be discovered".

Sure, luck was involved, but in a lot of ways, they learned to help luck take root.

It's a real up-close look at where Matt and Oren are today in their careers, a look back at how they got there, and some introspection about what they might have done different.

You can't miss this episode if you're looking to find tips and tricks to make it in film or TV in 2025 and beyond.

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Help our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/JustShootItPod

Matt's Endorsement: Molegirl aka "Tunnel Girl" on TikTok

https://www.fastcompany.com/91299852/tiktoks-tunnel-girl-is-digging-again-much-to-the-internets-delight

https://www.tiktok.com/@engineer.everything?lang=en

Oren's Endorsement: Adobe's Firefly Boards https://www.adobe.com/products/firefly/features/moodboard.html

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seth Worley https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2124394/ made money selling tools for filmmakers. And Matt and Oren get him to talk about ways filmmakers can make side-income today. Can filmmakers make money selling plug-ins and stock footage? And if so, how?

But why make side-income as a filmmaker or working commercial director? Simply put: AI. And the guys get into a broader discussion how AI will change video and the impact AI will have in an already saturated marketplace of creatives. And they wrestle with tough questions like, what kind directors won't be replaced by AI?

Like a lot of filmmakers, Seth's real passion is making good work. And he gets into his 9-year journey to complete his latest film, "Sketch". Did it change his life completely? The short answer is no. But you'll want to hear how making his feature film transformed how he worked from Nashville as a commercial director.

This is the VFX episode you won't want to miss. And you’ll hear some great tips for making a Spielberg-reminiscent, Amblin-inspired movie for today's audiences.

Find Seth on IG @thesethworley

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Help our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/JustShootItPod

Matt's Endorsement: Evan Monsma's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@EvanMonsma

Oren's Endorsement:

"Why You Should Shoot It Twice" from Frameset https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSrlQdtuLi0

The latest episode from the podcast "Lonely Island and Seth Meyers " https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/laser-cats-5/id1738121304?i=1000732778308

Edgar Wright on "Smartless" podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/edgar-wright/id1521578868?i=1000731238799

Seth's Endorsement: Sho Pizza Bar https://www.shopizzabar.com/

The album "Getting Killed" by the band Geese. https://geesebandnyc.bandcamp.com/album/getting-killed

The soundtrack from "It Follows" https://music.apple.com/us/album/it-follows-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-deluxe/1842890406

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you define your voice as a director? John-Michael Powell https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3119508/ talks about his new film "Violent Ends" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6902560 and the career journey that brought it to theaters.

When the entire faculty of his art college told him to give up on becoming an artist, John-Michael moved to Los Angeles. He landed his first job at Bunim-Murray Productions, spending nights watching VHS tapes of "The Real World" and transcribing every line of dialogue onto scraps of paper. By day, he lived in a garage in the Valley off the 405 and close to the edge of moving back home.

The better he became at editing TV segments with paper scraps thumb-tacked to a corkboard, the faster he spiraled towards mastering useless skills and boring stories about the way things were.

But John-Michael had a knack for finding building blocks in any situation. Even alone, the work fueled him. But he still didn't yet know why that mattered to him.

Soon things started taking shape: a Sundance award, editing a documentary on the Boston Marathon bombers, learning comedic timing from legend Jerry Zucker, and eventually an Emmy. Suddenly, he began seeing how the trajectory he was on, was nothing he imagined growing up in Arkansas.

Listen as John-Michael shares about his career. Why Arkansas is a big part. And how it's all about constant discovery. You're really going to enjoy seeing and feeling why he’s in love with building his voice as a director and uncovering the secrets that await.

Find him on Instagram: @johnmichael_powell

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Help our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/JustShootItPod

Matt's Endorsement: The cookbook "Let's Party", by Dan Pelosi https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dan-pelosi/lets-party/9781454956785/

Oren's Endorsement: An interview with David Zucker on the podcast "How I Write: Hollywood Director Explains The 15 Rules of Comedy" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-zucker-hollywood-director-explains-the-15-rules/id1700171470?i=1000715428218

John Michael's Endorsement: "A Dictionary of Color Combinations", by Sanzo Wada https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Color-Combinations-Various/dp/4861522471

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.