The Unqualified Culinary Critics

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Welcome to the Unqualified Culinary Critics, a podcast centered around food and cultural experiences. We want to not only share our own perspectives in life, but hope that these stories connect in some way to each one of you as well.

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Our next guest is a popular filmmaker, an associate professor for the Department of Film at UNLV, and a mentor of mine. Her films include The Track, Being Real, and she just finished directing her most recent project, Right in Bloom. Please welcome Brett Levner.

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Thank you for having me. Good to hear your voice again.

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Thank you so much for coming on. Would you like to share your background a little bit more about why you do filmmaking and teaching?

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Sure. Well, I got into filmmaking by chance. I had originally was studying pre-med in college just because I didn't really think filmmaking was an option in terms of a career. That wasn't really discussed in my high school. It was sort of like, I always loved movies. My mom actually always loved movies. She would take me growing up to the movies every Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Sundays we would go to the movies. And so I grew up loving movies, but never even considering that it could be a career potential until I went to college and I was, like I said, studying pre-med, and I was so kind of, like, disenchanted with the pre-med studies. I didn't love it. It wasn't really my thing. So I took a film appreciation class on the side just for fun, and during that class, the professor showed the film, The Graduate, and I really connected to that film because it was about, like, a college graduate kind of feeling lost and, like, not really sure what they want to do with their life and their parents kind of having something in mind for him and he kind of feeling like he wanted to kind of explore more. And so I really connected with that and I connected with the class itself, especially when they started to explore how film is a language and how, you know, the meaning behind a shot and it kind of opened my eyes to film being more than just kind of for entertainment purposes of being like a self expression, about self expression. And I loved that idea. So I was trying to transfer my major from pre-med to film, but at that time they didn't offer a major in film at the school I was at. So I actually went back home to New York and transferred transferred to NYU and became a film major in NYU Tisch and started my film studies. And that's what I've been doing ever since. That was in 1996. So almost like, what is that, 20 some odd years ago, or is that more? Yeah, more. Almost 30 years ago I've been studying and working in film.

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So you went into film and then we've talked in previous conversations that you worked as a production assistant, as a camera operator, and then you did some writing, directing, and editing for your films like the track and then being real. What got you into teaching?

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Well, I got into teaching again by chance. That was never my intention. So when I was an undergrad, when I transferred to NYU to study filmmaking, I graduated with a BFA in film production, and I went then to work, well, I was an intern at MTV in their documentaries division at the time. They had a department for docs, and I interned and then worked there for about three years, working my way up the ranks on different types of nonfiction shows like True Life, My Super Sweet Sixteen, there's a show called Sex in the 90s, Ultrasound, a lot of more documentary-based programming. My boss at the time, the VP of that department, Lauren Lazen, was an Oscar-nominated documentarian and she trained us and I had a really wonderful experience working with her and learning, you know, how to create documentary stories and work with subjects, how to do interviews, but also you had to like kind of, it was small, so and hands-on, so you learned how to shoot, how to edit, how to kind of, you know, do all the hands-on stuff. And then I went to graduate school because I wanted to continue kind of my studies and kind of be more focused on directing. So then I went to Columbia University, also in New York, and I studied directing for two years in their MFA program. And then after that, I went back into nonfiction and reality television production. And I was like kind of like all over the place. I was a field producer, I was a camera operator, I edited, I wrote for all different types of shows, even outside MTV. I kind of worked on shows for the first, for A&E called The First 48, about homicide detectives. I worked on home improvement shows for HGTV. I worked on Bridezilla's for the We Channel, shows on Animal Planet. I kind of was a freelance nonfiction reality producer, shooter, editor for several years, but, and I got to travel and that was fun around the country and meet different people and tell different stories and it was a good experience, but I was kind of seeking something more. I wanted something that would provide more stability so I could work on my own projects and it just by accident that I happened to come upon a post for a part-time teaching position just for the summer to teach editing just for like six weeks. And I was in between shows as a freelancer, which you know can happen. And I said, oh, well, that would be neat because I can like be in one place for six weeks and like stay home and, you know, teach and I knew how to edit. And it was for Final Cut at the time, Final Cut Pro. And I got the position at the, it was at the time I was living in San Francisco and I was at a university called the Academy of Art University. And I taught editing. I just fell in love with it. This idea of sharing my passion for filmmaking with other young people who maybe hadn't seen the types of films that I'm sharing with them. So it kind of brought me back to when I was first exposed to that film The Graduate by my professor. I got to share my favorite movies with them, teach them how to edit films, watch their projects, give feedback, and I was like, wow, I really like this. How do I get into this? And then it occurred to me, after doing some research, that in order to teach film production, you just need a master's, a master's of fine arts. There is no PhD. The MFA is the terminal degree to teach at the college college-level film production. So I had already had the qualification, and I had the professional experience. I just had to figure out how to apply for a full-time teaching position. And so I did some research, talked to my former professors, and many of my professors, like at Columbia and NYU, were filmmakers, and they were teaching as kind of a way to, as their main form of financial source of income, and then in the summers, making their projects. So I started applying. I put together my CV and my cover letter and started applying for positions around the Bay Area. That's where I was living at the time. It was very competitive in the Bay Area, so I expanded my search even further out. I got a interview at UNLV, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and I said, okay, well, let me go give it a shot. And I interviewed there, and that was probably 12 years ago now. I got an offer, and I said, well, let me go. It's a full-time position, tenure track, and that's a very good position in the film department. I had another offer at Columbia College in Chicago, but in the television department. And I really wanted to be in the film department. That was more, you know, my passion. And so I ended up taking the one at UNLV and thinking, I'll just stay for a couple years and get my feet wet in academia. But I ended up just like really loving the program and the community and this idea. I'm from the big cities. I'm from New York and I lived in LA and San Francisco, but this idea of a smaller city that you still have a lot of the cultural, you know, I love like the diversity here, the diversity of food. We're building our cultural stuff. We don't have an art museum necessarily the scale of the Met, but there's culturally and diversity we have, and that to me is important. But there's also, because we're a smaller, newer city, there's a need for people to... What I would say, if I went to Chicago, there'd be a lot of people like me, women filmmakers, you know, but here it's more rare. We're a smaller community. I felt like I could make more of an impact on the student body and share my experience with them and help build, you know, a sense of community, especially women filmmaking. I helped create an organization at school called Cinefems that supports women and minority in filmmaking. And, you know, like in New York, there'd be like hundreds of those types of clubs, but here it was the first of its kind and that was really neat to kind of provide that resource for our students and bring in guest speakers from the industry who are women and minorities and have them see like mentors, people they can look up to. So that's how I ended up teaching. And you know what, it was so it was by accident, but I really really am grateful because I love teaching and I love being able to then incorporate filmmaking, which was my other passion, into teaching and kind of bringing the two together.

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That's really good. I like the story. But I'm glad that you were able to help create that club because I'm glad that it's helping women and minorities out with trying to get into the film industry and succeed.

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Thank you. I appreciate that.

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So I want to talk a little bit, or we want to talk a little bit more about right and bloom. And I understand that last semester, I know that you had decided to do right and bloom and make that a class called shooting the indie feature film. Did I get that right? Or you can correct me?

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That's right.

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Okay, my research helped out. Okay. So I do have some questions. We actually have some questions prepared out as to just kind of like the behind the scenes or the whole like about Rite and Bloom in general but we don't want to reveal any spoilers because I understand that we're trying or you and the crew are trying to have it released sometime this year in the summer?

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In the summer, yes.

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Okay, all right. So okay, I'm gonna go first on the questions just to kind of get it out of the the way and then we're going to go to Sierra and Victoria's, whoever has their questions after. All right, so whose idea was it to make this film and then what inspired you to proceed to like make the script and then make it as a part of the class for the fall? The concept of Riot and Bloom came

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about because me and two other members of our faculty, two other female filmmakers, Rudy Bormond and Mei-Mei Luong, the three of us came together and decided we were going to collaborate and make a film together with three women as the team, me as the director, Rudy as the screenwriter, and Mei-Mei as the producer. And we wanted to tell a story about a female character and maybe a story that you wouldn't necessarily see in kind of like the studio system or the mainstream, but something that was more independent because we were going to make it low budget and we want to make it here in the community and we're going to raise the money ourselves. So we wrote a story with that in mind. Rudy and I had both experienced divorce and going through that, being a woman in your 40s, going through divorce, and we decided we're going to write a story kind of pertaining to that and using our own personal experiences as inspiration. And we wanted our main character to be a woman that we could relate to. That wasn't just something you would see that's out of reach or out of touch, but a character that could be very relatable, that looks like a real person, that deals with real issues, that doesn't live in this very... In the movies, you always see them living in a penthouse in New York City, and it seems like that's a great fantasy, but it's not always relatable. So we wanted to make something more in the realm of independent film that's character-based, the characters can be flawed, they don't have to look so shiny and beautiful all the time, but they can be real. So that was our goal. So then me and Rudy wrote the script together, and that took about a couple years, coming up with an idea and then collaborating, writing different drafts. And finally, we got a script together and we brought it to Maymay and Maymay was on board. At that point, we discussed it with the chair of our department, Dr. Addison, and she suggested we make it into like a class so that we could actually get the students' involvement, which all three of us love that idea. And to make it official, then the students can get credit and really be involved and get the most out of the experience. We actually devised it into a three-semester class. The first class being the pre-production, the second being the production, and the third being the editing and the post. We're currently now in the third semester part of that class. It's basically a year and a half process, and students have been involved throughout in the major roles. While we do have a mentorship for each, like a faculty member or alum will mentor a student like let's say in the camera department We had Ryan Galvin as our official DP who is a professional camera person but underneath him were all students and they were actually allowed and encouraged to Operate the camera to do the lighting we had professional sound person Mentoring or sound recordist so they can learn in the field, getting hands-on experience while also getting a credit that will go onto their professional resume and help them when they graduate and try to get work. So they're actually going to be, instead of having to work like I did, you know, most people, internship and work your way up the rank, they'll give them a jump start in their careers because they're going to have a professional feature film credit under their belts. So it's been a great experience. It takes a little bit longer when you're making a film that's also a teaching experience because the students have to learn. So we had to take that into consideration as well, you know, when we're scheduling. But I feel like it's just such a rewarding experience throughout. I wouldn't want to make it any other way. I love having the students' involvement. It just makes it, I don't know, more of a collaborative environment where people were all kind of like engaged together, all different walks of life, all different ages together making a product, and it's just a really, really rewarding fun experience. So right now we've shot the film over the fall. It was 23 days of shooting. We did it on the weekends so that a lot of our faculty and our mentors could keep their day jobs. Usually, we'd shoot continuously, but it's hard when you don't have a big budget because people need to take the high-paying gigs. So we shot on the weekends. I think it was seven or eight weekends, and then we completed shooting. Now we've begun the third part of the class, which is the post-production, and we just started the editing process. So we have 25 students in our class. Each student will be given four scenes to cut. We have a hundred scenes. So the students will be all credited as editors on the final project with the goal of completing the film and Submitting it to film festivals in late summer as well as having a local premiere for the cast and crew

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That's good. I'm glad that everybody is able to kind of get their voices heard. All right. So does anybody have any questions first? Anybody like to go first? Let's give it to you, Sierra.

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Okay, so I have two questions for you. Maybe a follow-up or two. We'll see. So I've kind of always been curious. Um, how do you sit down and kind of plan out like this is what I want the film to be about? Because I have a friend and she really wanted to get into screenwriting, but it's just kind of like, fascinating to me in a way how people can just sit down and be like, I know exactly what I want to write about, like, I see this. Was it that way for you? Was there writer's block? Like how, what was the timeline? What was that like?

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Yeah, definitely there's writer's block. I think that's a common theme with writers. But I think that one of the things is that writing is, you get trained in the art of writing so that when you do have blocks, you kind of have to learn how to push through. But there's elements to writing. Most important is like, what's your theme? What do you want to say? What's most important to you to say? And realizing that there's no right or wrong. For me, in this part of my life, I wanted to tell a story that was important to me, a movie that I would want to watch. You can't please everybody. And that's okay, because filmmaking is art, and it's a self-expression. And I can only speak to my own personal experiences and what I want to say, and then hopefully I can connect to an audience that has those common interests. It's not like when you're making a big superhero movie, which maybe it's for a broader audience. So for me, I was more interested in a niche story that was just specifically probably going to attract women audience members in the same age range, Generation X, talking about that part of our life that we're in now and the challenges of when you're in your 40s, with children and maybe marriages and divorce and reflecting back on your past and career and fertility issues and relationships with parents who are getting older, all those themes coming together. So knowing that I wanted to tell that type of story and then finding a collaborator who also was interested in that type of a story. But then you sit down, there actually is a formula when you write a screenplay that would help you. There's certain guideposts that you have to hit so it's not so overwhelming. You know you need a main character, so you figure out who's your main character, then you figure out what do they want. Usually, in any movie, there's a goal, they're trying to accomplish something. And then you have some obstacles that get in the way of them accomplishing that goal. Sometimes it takes the form of an antagonist, or sometimes it's just a bunch of obstacles that get in the way, and you figure out what are those obstacles. And then you figure out what do they accomplish, do you want them to accomplish that goal or not accomplish that goal. So there's like these guideposts that you try to hit, and you sit down, and usually for me and for most writers that I know, they like to do an outlining process. So like that's what we did. Me and Rudy, we sat down and we wrote an outline and it started first with a bunch of index cards, like seeing ideas that we wanted to do that we loved. Like you know this idea of you know our main character at one point you know when she's going through her divorce feeling so lost. Like we had this idea that she would go and try to seek help at a local church and then just kind of becoming completely like, you know, feeling so kind of like that she can't find her way that she decides to get baptized and this idea of her and this like baptismal kiddie pool, like submerging her body into it, like kind of trying to seek answers to get reborn. So that was an image that we had. And so we wrote that down as a potential scene that goes on to an index card. And then you have a bunch of other scene ideas and then but always going back to this idea that stories are usually in film especially our three acts you have a beginning middle and end and where does that you know scene fit into that structure you know so it's not like you're just writing from some of what you're writing from your gut but there's also like you know there people go to screen go to go to get their degree in screenwriting you have to learn the kind of protocol of how to write and there is a guidelines and there's formulas to help you so you don't feel so lost. But I think that once you've got that figured out and that's all learnable and teachable but more it's about figuring out what do you want to say and what's your like your theme, your crux, the heart of your film have to be about. And there is no right or wrong it's sort of what do you, what's important to you, and you have to be able to sit with that for a long time because it takes years to make a film. So if you don't feel passionate about what you're trying to say, you probably shouldn't make that film. You know, you've got to find the one that you're able to stick with for several years and make sure you can get that out. But if for someone who's like, you know, starting out and wanting to write, I would say start writing a short film first. That's much more doable and easier, like a 10-minute short film versus a feature film, which is 90 to 120 minutes. That's a good place to start because it has the same structure, but just basically in a condensed way. Act one, act two, act three, beginning, middle, and end, but all has the same thing with a character, a protagonist, main character going through some kind of a journey, some kind of an arc, starting out one place, ending up someplace else, you know, wanting to accomplish something, but maybe they'll get their dream answered or maybe they won't. So, and there's a lot of books on the screenplay writing process, you know, so to yield... Little doggy.

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I'm so sorry.

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He agreed! He liked that.

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He did. He does. You know, there's a lot of screenwriting books out there to use to get the structure down. But most importantly, that's all easy to get to, but the most important thing is to figure out what do you want to say and to just not stop yourself and self-doubt and say, no, this is stupid. It's not stupid if it's something that you believe in. So I think that's where writer's block comes in, is because you start self-doubt, you start doubting yourself and stopping yourself. And there is no right or wrong thing to say. It's just what's important to you in that moment in time. And maybe this film, like in 10 years from now, I'll be older, you know, maybe it won't be as important to me. But at this time period, you know, I was going through this and I like telling personal stories. So like, it was important for me to tell this story now. And then, you know, 10 years from now, I'll tell a different story.

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So that's what I would say. And I think that stuff like that is important to not even for everybody else, but even for yourself, how you said that maybe in 10 years, it's just not going to be as important. I think that sometimes people just need that, but you look back and you're like, oh, wow, that was a decent time in my life. Like that was a crazy time. That was a bad time. Like things like that. Yeah. Um, So it's a different industry, but it's still an industry nonetheless. I am really interested in working in the music industry. But like I mentioned earlier, my friend, she wants to work more in the film industry, and I have another friend who is really interested in film. What would you say to, I'd say more specifically women especially, because I know that the film industry is very, like, for lack of a better word, unwelcoming. And I feel like that maybe for, well, that's worse for women as well. What would you say, like tips, advice

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for somebody who wants to get their foot in the door?

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I would say one of the resources, if you are a woman in film or in the arts and you want to get your foot in the door is to look for a mentor in your community. So for example, like here in Las Vegas, we have the Nevada Women's Film Festival. I'm on the board of that. And every year we have a festival where we screen films by women or about women's stories. And you could volunteer for that festival for that time period. It's a great way to network and meet other like-minded people. There's also usually organizations like Women in Film chapters throughout the country that you could go and meet, and network, and meet like-minded people at different stages of their career. People like yourself who are maybe starting out, but also people who are more senior who might be able to give you more advice. I think also, you know, trying to, I mean, most of this is, you know, people look at, look at people that you admire who are in the industry and then like do some research and see how did they start out. And so there's a way to kind of like, you could try to figure out their path and then see if you can kind of do a parallel path. You know, there's a lot of different ways in the arts to get, there's no one way to accomplish the end goal of being a working artist, but there's a lot of different pathways. But if you look and study some of the people that you admire, then that could help you kind of figure out what your path needs to be. Because I can't speak to music as well, I can speak to film though. So let's say you want to be a documentary filmmaker, that's a different path than if you wanted to be a filmmaker who works in the studio system versus a filmmaker who makes independent films versus a filmmaker who makes commercials or corporate video or wedding videos. There's such a range and I think that's good, but to expose yourself, go and again, do volunteer and or things like internships, mentorships, apprenticeships. Expose yourself to opportunities in the industry by working for free. Like for example, you could be an intern on a production locally by contacting your local film office seeing what productions are in town, and they're always looking to hire interns. Some are paid, some are not. Or the entry level for a film is usually called a production assistant. And that is a paid position, working on a shoot, which can only be a few weeks. But through that experience, you start to figure out, oh, you know, this is interesting to me, or I don't like this. Or I'd rather be not on set, but in the production office, or I'm more interested in being behind the scenes, as opposed to being, you know, directing with the actors. I'd rather be maybe in the accounting part of filmmaking or the marketing part of filmmaking. Or maybe you do love writing, as opposed to, you know, being on set working with actors, and that's not your thing, or you love cameras, or you love editing. What I would say is that one thing in the arts that's throughout, that in order to make a living doing the craft of filmmaking, you usually have to do two things simultaneously in the beginning. You need a job that's going to pay your bills. So I usually say have a technical skill like editing or camera or sound that you can pay your bills and still be working in the industry as you're like maybe writing, directing, producing that passion project on the side. One day, hopefully the two come together, but there's usually a period of 10 years where you're starting out and until you can kind of support yourself just doing the thing that you know that craft that you love and maybe it never will cross Like for me, I still am a teacher first and foremost and then I make film in conjunction with that But I had to find two career paths and then kind of merge them And I find that's a lot of people in the arts unless you're independently wealthy, you usually need a source of income. And if you can't really get a directing job right out the bat, you need to put in years of work. And so I always say try to find that technical skill that you can do and still be amongst people in your industry learning and networking and collaborating while you are on the side doing that documentary that you love.

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Thank you for that. I appreciate that.

0:28:28
And you answering both my questions.

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Oh good. Good, it's my job.

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Right?

0:28:36
On your day off you get to teach even more.

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I like it though.

0:28:40
Yeah.

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Alright, and I can pass it to Victoria if you've got any questions.

0:28:44
Yes, I do. So it seems like you wear many hats, you do a lot of different types of work, at least like within film. I was wondering, is there any like position that you like more than the rest? Like what's your like, what do you think is like your favorite thing to do when it comes to creating

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films?

0:29:08
I think that my favorite thing is always directing. And that for me, that's working with the actors. I love working with actors. I love that experience of talking about a character and kind of playing and talking about the character goals and what they want and kind of rehearsing with the actors and finding, just making the scene stronger through the collaborative process of working with the actors and figuring out what does this character really want in this particular scene. To me, that's so rewarding. I love that. I love that as a director, you're trying to, it's your job to really watch and protect your actors and they can't see their performance, so you have to have those eyes where you're observing it and you're telling them what feels authentic, what feels inauthentic, and helping them and guiding them to that performance. So for me, it's always been that, directing, but specifically, like, not, I love working, the camera also intrigues me, but to me more, so it's the experience of working with your actors, how to make them feel comfortable on set, because they're exposing themselves, they're being vulnerable and doing these roles and taking a chance, and you become sort of like a, I think of myself as like a maternal figure to them, comforting them, making them feel, you know, like they're safe, and shepherding them, working with them through this experience, because they're kind of giving their all for you. And then in exchange, I feel like it's our job to make them look or find their best performance so that in the end, they can have that. So that's, and that is, was sort of my, when I went to graduate school, that's what I really did focus on. Columbia Film Program is really known for their emphasis on working with the actors and so I really got that through that program and through the professors I worked with there and I was very thankful for that. I have another question. So you had said that since you're working with students on these films, it kind of prolongs the process. I was wondering if there's any, like, if you ever have any issues with students that you wouldn't necessarily see in a professional setting? Yeah, that's a good question. Basically, you're working with students who don't really have the experience yet, but they have the passion, you know, for learning. That's why they're there. And everyone's in a different department based on their preference of where they want to be. But for example, we had a situation with one of our wardrobe people, or one of our students who was in charge of costumes for our actors. They had never worked on a feature film before. For them, it was like one of them came to us and said, I'm having a really hard time working with the actors. Because we're giving them the costumes we pick, but some of them don't want to wear that particular costume, or they want to change it the last minute, or this or that, and they thought they're being difficult. And what I realized is that they had never worked with actors. They've worked more textbook-wise. And I'm like, well, part of the process is working with the actor, and you can't really just tell them what to wear. It is a collaboration, a negotiation. They have to feel comfortable because it's their character. They're bringing that to life. So they're not going to always just say, sure, I'm going to wear that. It's building a relationship and a rapport and discussing the character and what your point of view is. Why do you want them in that costume? What are you trying to say in that scene at that moment? And why do they not want to wear it? Is it not comfortable for them in that moment to maybe... In the end, the actor, unfortunately, is always right. Unfortunately or fortunately. And that part, I think she missed that part that you can't learn in a textbook, you can only learn on set in the real world. And this person, this student did learn it and was very thankful in the end. And it was fine in the end, but you kind of, they don't discuss that in the textbook. It's like you have to be on set and you realize, you know, even the most renowned, accomplished costume designers get pushback from their actors about certain costumes. And you have to figure out how do you work with people? That is part of the job. Filmmaking is working with people. It's not a solo thing. It's collaborative. So how do you not take things personally? How do you try to get your view across? But ultimately if your actor is not comfortable in a costume you got to adjust for them so that was one example of you know a student learning what the real world is like and We had our mentor our Emmy nominated costume designer professor Diana Eden on set to confirm that who's been working for decades in Los Angeles and film and television say the exact same thing. As much as experienced as she was, still an actor might push back and not want to wear something. And you have to find out why and come to some kind of conclusion or compromise for the good of the film. And that's what it is. We're all compromising. And I think if you don't know how to... What do they say? It's like being in a storm, and if you're that reed that can't bend in the storm, and you just break off, you know, that's not going to work. That we're all, we need to compromise and work together, and filmmaking is such a collaborative experience, and I think that's what a lot of this is about, of the students learning. never really thought about filmmaking being that big of a collaboration. I do have another question. My last question is you said that this film's kind of that this film's a love letter to Vegas so I was wondering what familiar places did you film at that like the audience might know? Sure that's a good question. Um this is interesting because I have only moved here you know I'm not I'm not from Vegas but I've been here now about 12 years. And I've really come to love Vegas. And I was one of those people that came thinking, oh, there's the Strip, and that's it. Of course, that's not true. There's so much more. But I think the perception is that there's only the Strip. But that's why I've always, even in my last film, The Track, I've wanted to showcase other parts of Vegas for our audiences to see how diverse and varied it is from the Red Rock Park to Fremont Street to Boulder City and so on. In this film, we shot in Henderson, showing the suburban area. We actually, most of the film, or a lot of the film takes place in a coffee shop that's supposed to be like a 90s inspired coffee shop. And we ended up filming on Water Street in Old Henderson at Public Works Coffee, which was a great, they were so kind and wonderful and let us film there for the entire, I think it was a three-day weekend. And it was just a great, and that kind of part of town is up and coming and They were they were really welcoming and wonderful We've shot on the west side of town But I would say mostly we were shooting in UNLV area in Henderson and Boulder City Ultimately though we will go and do some more pickup shots because I'd like to do an opening montage montage, kind of like showing some of my, sort of like if you've ever seen the Woody Allen film Manhattan, was sort of like an homage to his love of the city of Manhattan. And I love to do like an homage to Las Vegas and kind of showcase through some still photography some of the beautiful vantage points of Las Vegas as a way to open the film. Yeah, I think doing a montage like that would be pretty nice. Alright, well those were my questions. I don't know if anybody else has anything more to say.

0:37:19
I think that was all the questions that I had. At least for right now. Mine too. Yeah, if I have any questions, I'll save it for later. So, Brett, you mentioned that we did, or the film took place mainly in a coffee shop. So I actually was there on two of the three days that Right in Bloom was filmed. So I was there at the public works coffee place. And that was like my first time experiencing what it's like to work on a film set. Cause like, I mean, I've been able to work in films in the past, but they're mostly remote. But when I did Right in Bloom, I was a craft services assistant But they also let me work in the art department to excuse me you and the production crew So I'm not going what Brett is saying that it is a collaborative process because when you're doing set design Which is what I did besides the craft services You're you want to collaborate with everybody when it comes to like the main dining tables and just putting like all kinds of I guess rock posters like tiny ones and then you just want to make things look really nice and yeah I agree that it is really a collaborative process. So getting back to craft services, if anybody doesn't know what craft services

0:38:43
is I'll just quickly explain it. It's like when you have a crew, and usually a typical work day could be 10 hours. We were non-union, but union rules are that you have to feed a meal every six hours. So if you go over, you know, so if you started at like, I don't know, 6am, you'd have to do a lunch at like 12. And then if you go to if you go to six again, because you go overtime, you'd provide another meal. So it's providing meals and it's also providing snacks, water, hydration, because you know Vegas gets so

0:39:21
hot, providing that sort of stuff throughout the shoot. Yeah, because when I assisted Josh, he did craft services and he handled everything with the food and I was just I was amazed that when everybody's getting their food like you and production and the actors, I was just like amazed that everybody's more at ease because it just seems to me that they left the stress and the seriousness behind in the main area where filming is taking place. They just calm down in the dining area. And to me, I feel that this is a good example of the power of food bringing people together regardless of the situation. So would you like

0:39:57
to emphasize more on why it's important to always have food on set? Yeah, that's actually, it's a funny thing, but I mean, when you are working, well, I do believe what you said is really right on the mark about, you know, food is communal. Again, like filmmaking is like a family. We come together, a group of people, and you know, sometimes there was 30, 40, 50 people on set, including actors, crew, extras, and how you treat your crew determines how they're going to feel. And if they don't feel appreciated, they're not going to do a good job. It's not going to create a good atmosphere. And part of that is if you take care of your crew, you feed them and treat them like hospitable, like you would. I mean, it's part of, it's actually like, you know, if they're working the entire day and they only have half hour or an hour food break, they need to feel, they need to be fueled and food is fuel. And so we also take into consideration, it's a big job to do craft service, you have to take into consideration everyone's food allergies, food issues, and have everything prepared and ready for them. We have specific times when we take our breaks and it has to, you know, the food has to be ready to go so that we don't go over the break or else that would impact the rest of the shooting day. And we only have limited times in locations. So the coordination of it is a lot. And if we're on a, like on a location, you can't warm the food there. It has to be warmed and then transported. So it's a big issue. And, um, you know, a lot of money, the bulk of the budget went to food catering for our shoot. And, um, it's just an essential part of, if you think about it, if you let everyone go out and try to get their food and come back, the amount of time that would take and the coordination would be a disaster. So catering and craft service is a huge part of filmmaking. And when you have good food, it just creates an atmosphere of happiness amongst the crew. They just feel good. They feel taken care of. They're fueled. And it's not just having a bunch of sweets, but healthy options as well. And I was very surprised because we were shooting in the fall, but we were shooting like September through December. And the amount of water that we went through in the first few months because of the heat out here, and this is not even during the summer, I was amazed. Like thousands of dollars worth of water we went through to hydrate our crew. And I just realized how important that is and having coolers and ice and constantly refilling them. It's actually like a medical issue. You have to be able to hydrate your crew in Las Vegas. And that's such an important part and keep them shielded from the sun at certain parts of time. So when you're going to have lunch, where can you have them sit and be comfortable? It takes a lot of coordination. So I have a great appreciation for the craft service department. And it is a department, and people get paid well to do craft service on film. I will say that we had a very good, lovely crew, sorry, a student who actually had gone to culinary school, and he's the one that oversaw our craft service, Josh. And he did a great job. But the amount of work that it took to prepare food from scratch for 40 people, it's a lot. And transport it and keep it warm and take into mind all the vegetarians, the vegans, the gluten-free, the nut allergies. It's a whole entity in and of itself.

0:43:31
Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, I was amazed. And I give him the credit to him and the PAs everybody that was involved with doing craft services and actually I'm just amazed at the whole professionalism that everybody and all productions gave in the shoot and the production of the days that I was there so it was pretty neat to see that. Thank you yeah thanks

0:43:55
for saying that because I agree like we really had a nice crew like our crew and it doesn't always happen but we really everyone just really came together. We really didn't have any major issues or attitudes or like drama. It was just everyone I felt like was really excited to be there and there was no one who was really entitled. It was like everyone wanted to help and I just felt that was, I love that type of environment and that's, I try to create that and, but it takes, it takes work to create that because people need to feel comfortable. It's like when they come to your house, you have to make sure to make them feel comfortable. Do they feel welcomed? Do they feel appreciated? Do they have enough to drink? Do they have enough to eat? Do they feel like you're not over, that you value them, like you're giving them the freedom to do their work where you're not over their shoulder. I try to do that even with the students to give them, you know, responsibilities and let them go with it and not feel like, you know, they're just a student, but they're part of the project. So I appreciate that, you saying that, because that is always my goal and my hope to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable so that they then can learn, they can collaborate, they can be part of something. And I always call it a film family, because that's what we ultimately are. And at the end of a shoot, you usually mourn the loss of that, because when a shoot ends, the little family you made, you know, kind of goes their separate ways. And that's a common feeling when you work in film, like going from shoot to shoot. And sometimes you get to work with those people again, which is cool. But it is it is an interesting experience.

0:45:34
Yeah, absolutely. I agree. That does sound really interesting as well because I feel like a lot of people who get into the industry and want that kind of like teaching moment and how you call it a family, like they don't really get to experience that a lot of the time. So I think it's really nice and generous that you actually take the time and make people feel like they're actually part of something instead of just, oh, you do that, you move that there, you go get that, that kind of thing.

0:46:07
Thank you for saying that. Yeah, that's very nice of you to see that. And you know why maybe I'm like that is because when I was starting out at MTV, I really felt like I was part of a family there. I remember my mentors and the producers I worked with when I was there, that they really took me under their wings and they made me feel again like part of a family like we ate you know we were making a show we ate together all of us the PAs the producers you know all the levels came together and so maybe maybe that's sort of what I'm trying to recreate so I appreciate you saying that. Yeah yeah it's been um interesting you know hearing about all these types of experiences you've had and you know, you coming on here and telling us about your film and you know unfortunately we've come to an end of this episode. Hopefully we can have you back soon. Hopefully once your film, Rite of Bloom, does release, do you guys have a release date yet? Not yet, but we're kind of gearing towards August. All right. Is there anywhere that our listeners can follow you so they can check out and be updated on your film? Yes, we have an Instagram account. It is let me get make sure I get it right. Right and bloom. We also have a website ryanbloom.com. And then our Instagram is Ryan bloom film.

0:47:30
All right. Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for coming in and talking with us. You know, it's been such a pleasure to have you on this episode. And so if you're listening to this, make sure you check out rightinbloom.com and all the social media that Brett just gave us. And don't forget to also go to to follow our social media. So on Twitter, we are unqculcrit and on Instagram, unqualified culinary critics. Thank you guys again so much for listening. Thank you to Brett once again. I can't say thank you enough because this has been so much fun and it's

0:48:10
been so interesting listening to everything you've had to say. Oh, thank you guys. You guys are wonderful interviewers and you too made me feel like part of the family. So thank you for creating such a warm environment and it was very easy to talk to you all. Thank you. Always wonderful to hear on our end as well. to talk to you all. Thank you. Always wonderful to hear on our end as well.

0:48:30
And yeah, thanks to everybody who listened and tuned in. Have a wonderful day.

Transcribed with Cockatoo