To my fearless clients – This may be a little long-winded but I promise the 10 minutes you take to read this will save you hours and days on the first project you apply it to. 

For some context, I’ve been working in commercial production for over 15 years and have worked on hundreds of successful campaigns with clients all across the globe. 

As the EP at Eastward I’ve produced commercial, branded, political, and entertainment content with a wide range of clients from all different backgrounds and experience levels. Some have been a dream to work with, while let’s say – others have maybe presented a few more challenges along the way. 

With the goal of helping myself by helping you –I've put together a little guide to end your creative misery and help you become the ultimate production partner.

Know your budget and be transparent: 

1. During the bidding/budgeting process please have a clear budget in place and be transparent about it. Production costs can vary drastically from production to production and there is no point in us providing a creative treatment that clearly could not be accomplished in the budget you have. Our goal is to provide solutions and if we don’t know the budget (or you're unwilling to share) you limit our ability to help. 

2. Please don't ask us to bid 8 variations of the same project – this just wastes everyone's time and resources and makes it clear you don’t know what you really want. We’ll pick-up on this and budget appropriately to account for the lack of direction. 

3. Come prepared. We’ll typically ask you to fill out a questionnaire (bid template) ahead of time or request a “discovery call” before we ever bid a project. This is an opportunity for us to get to know you as a client, how organized the project is, and little details that can have big impacts on the budget. Come prepared for this and be decisive on the objective. 

4. Going back to #1 and worth repeating. The creative and production approach can have a significant impact on the budget: There are many factors that can impact the budget, including the number of locations, the number of cast and crew, and the type of equipment needed, and VFX requirements to name a few. We’ll be your sherpa in this process so by disclosing the budget in advance, we can work together to come up with creative solutions that stay within your budget and still deliver the results you want.

Now that we’ve gotten through that. Let’s talk about working together or the process.

Be our advocate:

Our best clients have also always been our best advocates, and they know how to manage stakeholders. 

1. Manage stakeholders effectively: Stakeholders very rarely know the complexities of what they're asking for and how it will create unintended consequences in other areas of the video. If you’re uncertain, check in with us, we’re here to help you. 

2. Be willing to say no: It's important to be open to feedback and new ideas, but it's also important to be realistic about what is and isn't possible. If a request from a stakeholder falls outside the scope of the project, compromises the quality/direction of the piece, can’t be achieved in the current schedule, or just goes against common sense. Please…Don't be afraid to say no. 

3. Be an Advocate: Like mentioned above the best relationships come from keeping each other's interests in mind. This never goes unnoticed and we’ll always push the extra mile for those relationships centered in mutual respect. Remember we’re here to help you achieve your goals and deliver kick-ass work, so help us, help you.  

Revisions, Feedback, & Scheduling:

1. Trust the process: We’ve been here before, many times over. You’ve hired us for a reason, so allow us to be your guide through the process. We want to make you look good and make it as painless as possible. So trust us to handle the details, save your sanity. 

2. Limit micro revisions: Though tempting, micro revisions quickly spiral out of control and open a door that generally should remain shut. 

3. Consolidate feedback: Instead of pushing for micro revisions, try to gather all feedback, consolidate it, and eliminate conflicting feedback from multiple stakeholders BEFORE giving it to us. This will help to streamline the process, keep everyone on schedule, and ensure that the final product is the best it can be.

4. Avoids delays: If we don't receive necessary materials until the day of production or by a scheduled date in post, it affects the work and can cause delays that disrupt the workflow. By providing materials on time it helps to avoid these delays, digest the material, gather any additional resources,  and lead to productive creative solutions.

5. Allow for Flexibility: The production process is controlled chaos and can be unpredictable, Being open to feedback and new ideas allows for flexibility and the ability to pivot if needed. 

And with that, our little lesson on being a kickass production partner comes to a close. So go forth, dear client, and conquer the production world with all the knowledge and wisdom we've bestowed upon you.We can't wait to see what amazing things you'll create. Happy producing!

Written by: Jake Bulgarino, EP, Eastward Films. 

Thinking small to go big – Sometimes, it's the little things that can make the biggest impact. And when it comes to conducting successful interviews, that couldn't be more true. Whether it’s a documentary subject with a checkered past, a high-profile CEO of a fortune 100 company, or the president of the United States, these adjustments can make a big impact from a B- interview to an A+. 

 

Visuals

1. Pick your background first. Decide on the location and background that you want to use, and then figure out how to position your subject within that space. What does the background say about your subject, how can you adjust small things in the background to make a big impact in the final image. 

 

1. Get your subject off the background as much as possible: I cannot stress this enough. Get your subject off the background to create separation in both your lighting and camera focus. Nothing yells amatrue more than a subject plastered right up against a wall. 

 

1. Ambient Lighting: If you can't control all the ambient lighting in the location, try to place your subject in a spot where the lighting equipment you're using can work in conjunction with the ambient light.

 

Conducting the Interview

1. Gonna make this number one as a personal pet peeve of mine. When conducting an interview, it's important to be mindful of your own habits and behaviors. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
   1. Avoid making unnecessary noises: Try not to click your pen, shuffle papers, tap your foot, or make any other distracting noises while the subject is speaking. This happens more times than you believe but stop moving around when your subject is talking. 
   2. Avoid "stomping" on each other's lines: Give the subject time to finish answering a question before asking a new one, and vice versa. It’s okay to direct your interviewee and ask them to pause before answering your question.
   3. Don’t comment as your interviewee is speaking. Naturally we’re used to making small comments as your conversing but is a mess in post trying to cut our your “right” or “uh huh” in post. 

 

1. Consider having a pre-interview: A pre-interview with the interviewee is a great tool to get comfortable with one another. Typically we’ll elect for a video chat over a phone call. This can help to establish a rapport and make the actual interview more relaxed and natural.

 

1. Don't share all the questions in advance: Sometimes this is unavoidable but we always recommend not sharing all the questions with the interviewee ahead of time. This can help to elicit more organic and spontaneous responses.

 

1. Listen carefully & be flexible and willing to dig deeper: Pay close attention to what the interviewee is saying and try to pick up on any cues or hints about where they want the conversation to go. This will help you to keep the conversation flowing and avoid awkward pauses. Be open to going off script and exploring topics that the interviewee is passionate about. Sometimes the best answers come “off-script” when you ask follow-up questions and delve a little deeper into a subject.

2. Sound - I would be remiss and crucified by my sound recordist colleagues if I didn’t have a line about sound here. Simply said, if you have shitty sound you don’t have an interview. Hiring a professional will solve a lot of these problems for your but if you find yourself being the Maverick of the production world a few tips to keep in mind. 

 

1. Room Tone. Always get 20-30 Seconds of roomtome after an interview. 
2. Turn off appliances you have access to. 
3. Make sure your picking a location you have control over and can limit any interruptions for unwanted sound. 
4. Always Boom and Lav your subjects. Post will thank you. 

 

Well, that's a wrap – we hope you've enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at how we approach interviews here at Eastward Films. Remember, sometimes it's the little things that can make a big difference, so don't be afraid to think outside the box and try something new. And if you have any questions or inquiries, feel free to shoot us an email at info@eastward.com – we'd love to hear from you.

 

Written by: Jake Bulgarino, EP, Eastward Films. 

Here at Eastward, we got our start creating documentaries about the amazing stories of everyday people. But we very quickly began filming with celebrities and V.I.Ps (Very Important People) on V.I.Ps (Very Important Productions) - starting with the highest grossing female actress of all time (Google it, it may surprise you).

In all of these experiences, we took away lessons about how to approach VIP projects - both relating to the talent and the talent’s team - to get the best video possible. But no experience taught us more than the afternoon we spent with the (now) President of the United States - Joe Biden. 

Through our longstanding creative partnership with Giffords, we were asked to create a video series featuring some of the biggest names in politics - Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigeg and many others. We created a mobile studio that we could pack into a min-van and head out on a moment’s notice - which, given their schedules, was often necessary. We drove to a hotel ballroom in Boston for Elizabeth Warren and waited patiently in a conference room in Detroit for Beto O’Rourke to finish the debate.

But as the project was wrapping, we got a call from our client - could you film with Vice President Joe Biden? Tomorrow? At his home in Delaware? 

The answer, of course, was hell yes! (As if we had any other choice). 

We assembled our team and drove to (address redacted) outside Wilmington, DE. And along the way, the stress of navigating around a VIP of this stature became apparent. 

So…you will only have 45 minutes to set-up (we needed 2 hours).

So…you’ll only be allowed to ask three questions (we had a list of twelve).

So…you can only do it in his private office and you CANNOT break anything (gulp).

We arrived and were shown to Joe Biden’s private home office. We quickly made a plan on the back of a napkin (literally) about how to move equipment/people in and out of the space for a two camera set-up with lights, custom designed backdrops and sound. Thirty minutes later we were moving couches, pictures of Biden + Obama, and setting-up our tripods when we heard a voice from the doorway.

“Well, you all really make yourself at home.” 

It was, of course, the 46th President of the United States. 

We jokingly begged forgiveness and promised all would be returned to normal. We just needed another 20 minutes and we would be out of his hair. 

“Ok, seems like a real pain in the ass.” He gave us a wink and left the room.

After we all took a collective breath, we finished our set-up in record time and were ready-to-go. President Biden re-entered the room with his team. He sat down for what was supposed to only be 10 minutes and spoke for 30. When we wrapped, he joked with us for another 15 minutes, asking if we wanted to have a drink before we left. We all laughed nervously but he said “I’m serious.” Then we packed up and didn’t break anything (we promise).

To this day, we are the only production team to ever set up a custom made studio in the home office of President Joe Biden. And the video we created was watched by 18 million people (yeah, we’re bragging a little).

So what did we learn from this that we apply to our future productions? A few things…

R-E-L-A-X: When filming with VIPs, you’re often victim to their schedule, and items change beyond your control. Keep focused on what you need to accomplish and make a plan to achieve it. Stress is contagious - don’t spread it!

You’ll Get What You Need: The talent’s team is often more restrictive and worried than the talent themselves. Strike a good rapport with the talent, and you’ll often be able to stretch more content than you’re offered. We were supposed to have 10 minutes, we got 30. 

Create a Good Experience: A main part of the producer’s job is to make the process seamless, even though there might be some stress behind the scenes. We pride ourselves in keeping our crews confident and the set enjoyable. 

So if your project involves a VIP - either a celebrity, politician, or maybe the CEO of a major company - we can work with your team to navigate a solution and make the project enjoyable for everyone. 

Just ask the President 😉