DNA SHOW Podcast

Outdoor School Movie With Tinker Hatfield ( Ime N. Etuk ) EP 30

• DNA SHOW • Season 1 • Episode 30

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Outdoor School Movie With Tinker Hatfield | Ime N. Etuk EP 30

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SPEAKER_07

I'm telling two stories. There's a story in front of the camera about this 12-year-old in 1994 Portland, Oregon, living under a tree in Irving Park. But he's also a student at Beaumont has a special pair of Neon Deion Sanders patent leather Nike shoes that are like the uh the blanket, right? That they cover the poverty of his shame or the shame of his poverty, right? He's about to go to camp and be impacted by mentors who are gonna make him realize there's a childhood that he didn't know he could have.

SPEAKER_01

And then taking aback.

SPEAKER_03

Bro, I've been working all these years to get the shame. I gotta recur them.

SPEAKER_07

You don't need all of that in the same way because there's apps on your phone to go in and look like it's snowing. Or we're out. So we're in Maui right now of a sudden to put sunglasses on us. That's true. And then different smiles. My first film in the director's guild, and the last one was DJ Training, it was training day. Okay. First day meeting Denzel. Uh, and we're filming one of the first scenes in the film at the diner. Okay. Right with Jake, character, you know, Ethan and Denzel. And so Denzel's walking just like, you know, so I'm just kind of like, I'm gonna say, What's up? I'm like, you know, like, hey, good morning, Mr. Washington. And he says, nothing. You know, and we're training people behind the scenes, so there's a deeper purpose to this. It's not just making a film. We're actually helping change the industry by putting more melanin behind the camera as well. We did have a house that caught fire and burned down while we were filming. Wait, y'all cut it off? Our premiere on April 17th was 60 years to the day that outdoor school started. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah, folks trying to sell it like it's like, nah, it's like a risk. It's like a like betting on a racehorse. You might win big. Yeah. But you might not win at all. Like my name is Ime Atuck and uh filmmaker right here in Portland, Oregon. Uh got a film called Outdoor School coming out uh soon to a theater near you. And uh man, we got some sneakers and a whole element of uh sneaker culture in this film. So excited to talk about that.

SPEAKER_02

So there's been not there's not too many like sneaker movies in general, right? There's iconic moments from movies and TV shows that involve sneakers, but it's not based like around the shoes. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, facts. So like this is always cool to see anything that's like this when it comes to movies related to sneakers as a sneaker head, and then the story being like something that happened here. So it's always it's gonna be fun to like unpack it all. And I got to go on set and check. When was this was like over three and a half four years, 22? Yeah, like four or four years ago. We just coming out of mask. Okay, so before we get deeper into the story and talk about that, and you know, obviously, like you had Tinker on and he was a part of the film, but we gotta go farther back to your OG roots because we gotta learn a little bit more about you before we get into the film. So, you know, that's how that's how you got there. So take me back to OG days when it comes to family, lifestyle, dynamic, uh, what you knew about finances and being able to afford sneakers, clothes, the things, or was it stuff that you cared about in grade school, middle school era? Like, where was that whole picture painting, like paint that for me for middle school?

SPEAKER_07

Wow, when you say that you take me back to a moment in time where I wanted a pair of Jordans. What were they? Um classic, like well, first let me tell you about my family. Okay. Right? So from Nigeria. Okay. So, you know, typical immigrant story.

SPEAKER_02

So parents came?

SPEAKER_07

Parents came. Okay. Dad came first, mom was stuck in Nigeria with my older sister. There was a civil war going on. Right.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so they was together before they came here.

SPEAKER_07

Was together before they came here. Came, you know, have an older sister, then I was born, right? Portland, Oregon. Came up, you know, going to school at, you know, lived in northeast Portland, Deacom Street. Uh went to Trinity Lutheran School. Okay. And of course, like other kids, I wanted my Jordans. You know what I'm saying? It's like the white, black with the with the black swoosh, right? And my dad, you know, he's trying to understand why I want to spend all this money on shoes. Now, granted, he's got nice shoes he spends money on. I'm like, please, Dad, I just need these Jordans. And he's like, nah. You know, basically, it's more like, you mean? The shoes you have, you will ruin in three months. Right? Because I'm like, why you spend money on shoes and I can't. He's like, no worries, he got me. So he comes home with a pair of Stadius. Okay. The fake Jordans. Where the swoosh don't go up like Nike, they go down. Right? We're talking payless. Back then was volume shoe source on Union, which is now MLK, right? And you know, it's like pro wings.

SPEAKER_02

It's like he The Payless was uh the same one that used that was the OG, because that was the one I think I used to go.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, it was payless, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Across from the lumber spot. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07

And before that was volume shoe source. Yep, yeah. So you get your pro wings, yeah, yeah, yeah. Pro wings, and so it was like, you know, and I'm heartbroken because you don't want to show up with these, you know, fake Jordans to school, but it's what I, you know. So I remember like wanting those, right? Um, but having parents who just like, why would we spend money on shoes? It doesn't make sense. Like you're just gonna ruin them anyway. So I remember when I actually had enough money to buy my own pair of shoes. Okay. So like $110 Nike store downtown. Went and and, you know, it was working at Hannah Car wash, spent my own money for it. Yeah, high school. Man, I was I was so happy, and then I was sick. That cost so much.

SPEAKER_01

So I ended up taking them back.

SPEAKER_03

Bro, I've been working all these years to get the shoes. I gotta return them.

SPEAKER_07

It was just like, yeah, yeah. I mean, I still ended up, you know, like have my favorites Air Max on a pair of Air Revolutions I wanted. Okay. So bad and it was too expensive, but then they had them on sale at the Nike store on MLK. And then like the big size would be cheaper. So, you know, it wasn't quite a 14. You know, back then, like, you know, you can get cheaper shoes if you have a bigger foot, because who's wearing those? You know, but uh man, the stories. But yeah, so the moral of the story, yeah. I totally I wanted to have some shoes. Parents wasn't buying them. So I got old enough, I was like, I want to get some. First pair, it was too much for me. Well, I got them, so here's here's a story if I'm being real honest. Right.

SPEAKER_03

Well, hopefully we get that throughout the whole time. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07

So I bought these shoes. I remember going to see a movie, and it was at McDonald's, and somebody spilled ketchup on them. No. And that was what broke me. I was just like, you know, I spent all this money. It was just like, you know, like I didn't want to have that. Because it wasn't like I had a bunch of shoes. Like, that was, you know, I got those shoes. Like, I'm on top of the world. Right. I was like, how could I take them back?

SPEAKER_02

That is crazy.

SPEAKER_07

So um, yeah, I think I told him the aerosol was popped, or you know, I was some crazy story.

SPEAKER_02

Get my money back. So you got some wears out of them for sure. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07

No, for that day, I was on top of the world. I love it. So now I knew what it felt like to be one of the kids that had like it. But it's a it's a responsibility. For sure. Like it's a weight that comes with it, right? Because it's like, and I felt some kind of weight. My other shoes with the pro wings, if I got a little ketchup on there, I probably wouldn't have been like, you know, tripping too much. Yeah. But man, when that little packet, I mean, I remember everybody, I'm not gonna name all the names, but it was like, I remember it well. Like, it's like I know like I remember it was. It was like, and it was the ones that had a little bit of that suede on them. Oh man. So so yeah. But yeah, so that's I think when I understood the weight that came with. I mean, it's different because I didn't have parents who were just bottlers and bottom for me. So like when you give it your own money, it's different. I mean, that probably was a good setup for life because it gave me an appreciation and a work ethic for understanding. Like when you make the money, you get to choose what you spend it on. But it also comes the, you know, the responsibility of the consequence. You care more, you know?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Wait, so what high school did you go to?

SPEAKER_07

Uh Portland Lutheran High School. Okay. Beginning and then Jefferson High School. Okay, and then you went to jail. Yeah, yeah. Okay, go generals. Yeah, yeah. Oh, you sent me up.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, yeah, yeah. I was like, Generals.

SPEAKER_07

That was a setup. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I thought you would say, uh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Sorry.

SPEAKER_02

I don't hold anything against you. Nah, we're we're all in the same hood. Everything's good over there. Um this time now, you you got some money. You said you was working at the car wash?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, working at the car wash.

SPEAKER_02

Were you into like film and all the stuff going on during that time, or was it kind of it came later?

SPEAKER_07

And in high school, man, I was at Jefferson High School. Okay. Uh Lenny Edwards was the uh, you know, over the television program. And back then, man, he just put a camera in your hands and had us working at a high level. I didn't realize then that the program we had was a pre-professional program. We were doing things people weren't doing in college. So, like, we had a television show weekly, right? But he'd come to your house, teachers can't do this now. He comes scoop me, you know, 7 a.m. Actually, no, 7, like 6, something a.m. Knock on the door, you coming out because you had to learn everything from like how to unwrap the cables, how to run sound, how to run camera, and how to be a host on front of the in front of the camera. Right. And so that's where I learned it. And really, it was like being a part of a show, it was JTV News where the whole school would be watching it. The same thing was third period. So everyone's watching it on the TV screen in class. That's dope. So imagine like coming out the studio and everybody just like having that same energy from the same shared experience. I mean, not just from the show, but we did music videos. No, it was live. We did skits, yeah, live.

SPEAKER_02

So that would you would be like prepping from second period going to third period.

SPEAKER_07

Prepping all the way all the way live, yeah. And then we record it. Some stuff you pre-record, okay, but it really was like we learned how to work like you would later on in the news. So when I left and I ended up going to Portland State for a year and a half, then went to Clark Atlanta. I got down to Clark Atlanta and they were handing me a book. I'm like, oh, cool, but what's up on the camera? Right. They're like, oh, do the book first, and then you get to the camera. And I'm like, but in high school we had cameras, the music videos, I was hosting a show. That's true. Like, you know, we did this.

SPEAKER_02

That's the tough part, like what current day creators too is like. You also have access to the videos, the podcasts, and all the other stuff too, right? But you just gotta get the camera, the phone, the mics, whatever in your hand, and just go and create. Like, you can hear all the stuff from us and you can know all the tips and see all the tutorials. But like, if you don't do it, like it don't work. Like, it's as simple as that, especially when it comes to this, because you can instantly see the results, like from a single this video session to the next video session, and you just like tweaking something, move the light up a little bit, move something over, change your settings, like switch the ISO, whatever it may be. Like, it's so wild. Because I just always tell young creators, like, just go do it, like stop overthinking it. You know enough. Like, you're gonna be better next year than you are this year, so who cares?

SPEAKER_07

Like, yeah, yeah, you'll be fine. Yeah, and repetition is the mother of all skill. Yeah, more reps you get in, the better you get. I mean, I think about when I I mean, I meant knowing you for a bit, but when you first was getting in the video game, you'd have questions and be like, Hey, Ime, what about this? And what stood out is every time I gave you a little piece of something, you would just take it and run with it and come back and be like, I tried that, here's what I learned, I tried that, here's what I learned. And it was just like, and I just saw you level up, level up, level up. And uh, I mean, I love to see it. You know, now I'm asking you questions about stuff like hey, because now you have this, like you went deep and then started going wide, you know, covering all these different topics.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, no, I appreciate you being there for me, answering those questions. Cause I know in the same scenario, like a lot of people can come and ask you all these questions, they see you having success, doing things, whatever, and then like they don't follow up and do nothing. And then I'm like, that's disrespectful for the person that you just came and asked all them questions for. You're wasting their time. Yeah, like you know what I'm saying? Like, I get it if stuff happens in life and everything, but like at least say that you tried and show me that you tried or something. Cause like now you're giving your effort, all the stuff that you learned over the years and putting it into me, and I'm like, I gotta take it or run away and take it to the next level. That's the only option. Like, what am I what else would I do with it? Like, yeah, but it's a different skill, right?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, it's like you can want something, bad, yeah, but wanting it doesn't get you that thing. You know, you can have all the ideas, you know, I can idea it. I can think about, you know, I like like everybody has a thing at night. Like I I like, I might look at traveler cars or certain things just for fun, right? Maybe I'm never gonna buy them. I might be looking at one I already own, but it's just like you never have, but if you look at it and if that's as far as you get, and you never think about like what it takes to get there, you know, for a lot of people that's all it is. It's less like, you know, they say, I forget the percentage, but a lot of people, once you buy the book you were thinking about getting, you have a sense of like completion and wholeness. So it's like, okay, I'm good. Without every opening it to read, like I got that book. Right. But reading it is what's gonna actually get you to that next level. And so I think it's just a different understanding. A lot of times, you know, things may seem out of reach for someone, may not seem tangible in a real way. Just like, oh no. And then there's the whole belief thing too. You can talk it, but not really believe you can do it. And so a lot of people need that other thing. It's like, nah, you can really do this. They're looking at you like you have some magic thing going on, right? You know, or somebody who's done something, it's like, nah. And people, even though you hear from someone, you don't always believe it. I think about the people used to tell me early in my career, hey man, hit me up. And I would work with them on set and be like, okay, cool. But I wouldn't, I didn't really believe them, you know, and then maybe they go off and win some Academy Award or some big thing, and I think, oh, if I hit them up now, they're gonna think it's because of that. Right, right, right. But I'm like, oh, even though when they said it, I didn't really hear it. And I find myself telling people before, like, hey man, hit me up. I'll, you know, because I care about you as an individual. Not about what you've done, but then I see them be in the same place I was, you know, be like, okay, okay, they're never gonna hit me up. So I tell them, no, you can freaking for real hit me. Like I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna give you permission. Yeah. Because I'm telling you twice, because I people told me, and I was like, oh, you just saying that. Yeah. But no, like when you tell somebody, you're not just saying that, you saw something in them that you value, you know. But a lot of times people don't receive it that way. So you almost got to remind, like, nah, for real. Yeah. You hit me up. I see you trying to do something. I'm trying to help you not just take this information and do nothing with it. That's right.

SPEAKER_02

I like that. So, how did you build the confidence in yourself with your you know, efforts in film and everything that you were doing to say, like, this is what I want to do. Now I know I'm locked into doing this thing. And I'm like, no, I'm about to be really good at this and I'm about to take it to the next level. Have you been posting, staying consistent, trying all the strategies that you've heard online and still not making the consistent money that you need? It's not because you're not working hard enough, it's because someone hasn't helped you build a plan that works for your specific situation. You know that Sunday night feeling when you close the tabs and you're like, I feel like I'm further behind than when I started. It's like everyone else is building something real, and for some reason, I'm the problem. I can't get to where I want to be. Don't worry, you're not. I've helped people go from zero side income to multi-six figures, from no audience to 600,000 followers, and from complete beginner to sold-out product using the same repeatable frameworks that every one of my members gets access to. In my private investors club, you get access to the consistent cash flow system, a structured video training, weekly live QA calls with me personally, and a real community that holds each other accountable. The goal is simple: your first consistent $1,000 a month. I cap this VIP group at 50 members and not for scarcity, but to actually make sure I give you guys the exact attention that you need. And if you show up for the first four calls and don't make any measurable improvements in the first 30 days, I'll work with you one-on-one until you do or give you a full refund. This founding member's price locks in for life and will go up after the cohort closes. Click the link in my bio to join the VIP group in the investors club, and I'll see you guys on the inside.

SPEAKER_07

It was a process. I mean, for me, I was more the journalism route. Okay. Um, I mean, I had love for film, but I didn't know how to work in film. And mind you, this is like what 90s? Oh, yeah, this is the night. Yeah, mid-90s. Yeah, so there's again, no YouTube, nothing. And I was journalism route, like I was full journalism working ABC News, uh, World News Tonight, working the Olympics with this program at Clark Atlanta. So I was like quick out the gate. Okay. You know, like had an internship, late teens, like was ahead of the curve. But the Olympics. That's perfect time. So it was like, yeah, it was saw the city change. Yeah. I'm out there, you know, on this RF camera team, you know, um, it's different. Like just a whole new world. But journalism. Right. Because I'm like, how do you work in film and get paid? Journalism, I get it. You got ABC News and Peter Jennings and CNN, like all that things.

SPEAKER_02

Definitely heavy TV, TV TV, and social media. No, it wasn't social media wasn't even a reality TV wasn't even around like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, yeah, that that makes a lot of sense. So, literally, in that that founding time of the shift of television, the way it's perceived, the type of content that's created, a lot of stuff was happening during that time in the 90s. And there was a lot of stuff booming during that.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it was and then that was a great time. I got into a program with the Directors Guild. Okay. Uh Directors Guild of America, producer training plan, assistant director training program. Okay. So you learn how to be an assistant director. A competitive program, you know, a thousand plus apply, they're gonna take like 14 people. I didn't even know how competitive it was when I applied, but got into that program, that movement from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Okay. And I started working on film sets as a DGA trainee. Okay, so what's that? So that's like you work like an assistant director. It's a position, so you know, if you're not in the union, you can't do certain jobs, but as a trainee, you can do everything an assistant director does. You're learning scheduling, learning all the legal paperwork, contracts, all the stuff that goes along with running a set, scheduling a set, you know, and doing all the things that support production. Okay. And so you go like, you know, 30 days on the Seventh Heavens, and you know, funny shows like Jag, which became NCIS, are still going on, and so but you're learning how to so you were working on those ones? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, and then just from then to now, the amount of people, because you know, and then obviously, especially as of late, but like from then to now, the amount of people that were working on these sets, was it more then? Is it more now? Is it less? Like, have they integrated AI where it's cutting more people that's working on the sets because of it? Like, what are you seeing in that trend of the amount of people actually doing these jobs?

SPEAKER_07

Um, the big shows are still a lot of people. Well, let's talk about how AI is impacting. Yeah, right. I mean, AI definitely because I'm interested about that. Yeah, in in post-production, okay, right? Because before, if we wanted to film something, you know. Well, before, like big Marvel type movies that are using heavy effects, you had to have a lot of people. Everything behind us would be a green screen, and and they're just the worlds are being created later on. You have to know where they are to understand how the cast interacts with those worlds. But you know, you see things behind the scenes, people had dots all over them to track their movement.

SPEAKER_02

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_07

But now you don't need all of that in the same way because there's apps on your phone to look like it's snowing, or we're outside. We're in Maui right now, all of a sudden to put sunglasses on us and and different smiles. And so that has changed as far as like smaller productions. If they have the know-how, they can produce a world that mirrors something like that. But a lot of productions that shoot practically, you just show up at a location or a house, or or you're on stage if you have more resources in your building, like the the rooms, those are still similar size. Okay. So that hasn't really affected that I've seen. Um, but also there's less overall production because people are experimenting in different ways, and there's a lot of things, you know, you hear about verticals, these like short. So I think things that cost less are also uh gaining more momentum. The opportunities that have the kind of career that I had, for instance, where I could, you know, finish the program, my first film in the director's guild, and last one was DJ Training, was Training Day. Okay. You know, that was a crazy experience. You're on that for many months.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that the whole movie was shot in LA?

SPEAKER_07

Whole movie shot in LA.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So South Central in the jungle. That was like the one that you would say took your career to the next level, be able to have that on your under your belt.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, and different understanding of like the politics, yeah, of how like when you have like a Denzel and the studio and all these different power players, and I was with a group of ADs that were all black, and that was rare too. And it was like, yeah, we here for D. Like, you know, like sometimes you know, you as an assistant director on a TV show, you may be hired by the producers, you're kind of protecting that asset, but on a show like that, it's like, nah, you know, we here, that's who brought us on. And so that's where our allegiance goes. And so when the politics comes, it's like, okay, that's what we rock with, you know. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

How is that uh whole experience like coming to set the first day?

SPEAKER_07

Man, it was just like the first day, it's funny because you know, you hear stories about different actors and how they could be different ways, and so I'm like, first day meeting Denzel. Uh, and we're filming one of the first scenes in the film at the diner. Okay. Right with with Jake, his character, you know, Ethan and Denzel. And so Denzel's walking, just like, you know, so I'm just kind of like, I'm gonna say, What's up? I'm like, you know, like, hey, good morning, Mr. Washington. And he says nothing. Just walks down. I'm just like, oh. This is like day one, it's gonna be like 70 days. It's like, you know, we're gonna be together for months. I'm thinking I done messed it up already. But what I did know, he was already, he was Alonzo. He was in character. Uh uh. He was coming to set as Alonzo. Right. So, you know, I mean it was cool, but after that was like, imagine the first day I'm on job, I'm all new, yeah, everybody's on there, you know. Just like, hey, I'm morning, Mr. Washington. Just I'm just like, oh. So I mean. Learned a lot from him later. He just had an amazing presence. He's such a big presence. But also, there's times like we're on stage and be like, hey man, you know, time to call him in. You know, I'd run the cast, you know, get the cast and went to go get him. He was just like sitting there. He could also just show up quietly and just show up. So he just had this kind of like presence about him. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It's like uh like you know, he's like the quarterback of the team at in that moment, essentially, where it's like they set the tone and they make other players better around them. Hands down. And they come in, you know, like they talk about Tom Brady or whoever, right? And then it lifts all the other ships, you know, with the tide and everything. I feel like it would be dope to be experienced from that, to learn that and be on the other side, and then now you can be in that position when you come to your world to then be the quarterback and do other stuff and see it from both angles. So some people don't get to experience like the highest level of something, or the top whatever people or in the room or working on something or whatever. So they try to like curate this environment that's off of something. I don't know if it's the standard or you would call it, but just you know, the the baseline to greatness essentially, right? And some people have never experienced it, they never won a championship, they never done those things, so it's hard for them to like create that world, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, no, I do, and I think they never won a championship, you don't know how to win one, but then at the same time, how do you get there? So you have to experience it from other people that have to then go get yours, and then you know, it's like a and you have to kind of dissect how they really got there.

SPEAKER_07

I think that you know, people look at someone who has a certain level of success. People see you like, man, you got hundreds of thousands of subscribers, it's that and the other, and what's the secret sauce? And the thing is that if you're around you, it's humility, right? It's integrity. Yeah, like these are that's the secret sauce. People often come and I think you meet the gatekeepers, the people who were like before the main person. Right. And they're gonna tell you something, but that's not really that person. Yeah. I remember doing this Russell Wilson commercial back this year that they won, and it was like agents, everybody was like, hey, we going from the practice facility to the stadium. And it was like, okay, so from his trailer, like, is he doing a limo, like all this stuff? And about how it's gonna have this RV be down at the stadium so you get dressed in, there's all this stuff. And I realized there's people talking to other people. And they hadn't, they were trying to figure out we trying to get the answer and they're talking to agents, and so I just asked him, like, I just met him that day, like, hey Russell Mash, hey man, we're trying to figure this out. So we're doing like a limo to take you over there and the RV. He was like, Bro, I got my own car. Right. He said, and I got a parking space where he plays. I said, Well, how about getting dressed? He said, bro, it's the locker room, I'm a football player, right? So he's about to spend thousands of dollars because someone else on his behalf, right? And that's I think a lot of times that people are coming across those people, but often you meet the people who are actually doing that thing that helps bring the greatness, realize they're pretty down to earth because they're focused on what they're focused on. Right. And they don't come with all that hoopla. You know, they're really just like they're about the business, you know. And I think that's what most people miss. And so when you people meet folks like that, you know, they think that they're doing all this like, no, they're just hard working most of the time, and they they and and what they say is what they do, their word is bond, and that's what gets you there. Right, you know. No, that makes complete sense.

SPEAKER_02

And also with that, you can have the other side, the people that like get big, and then with the gatekeeping, right? Or like the big head or whatever you want to call them, and then it's just like so hard to work with. You're like, I don't want to do this anymore, and then you have to curate your world to get in the position to work with those type of people. So sometimes when people, especially this is essentially like independent contractor work, right? You have the choice, but then sometimes you might feel like you're forced, depending on like whatever's happening in life, financial situation, whatever, right? You might have to take on a project you don't really want to take on, but you kind of do, like, I'm sure you probably have done that over the years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? We're like, I still gotta get this bag, I gotta take care of my family, you know what I'm saying? Uh how would you say is a way to navigate putting yourself in the best position to not have to be forced by somebody else's hand? Yeah, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah, that that's good. I think building your tribe. Okay. Right. I mean, now I feel blessed to mostly just work with people that I could call friends, you know. Like I try to not work with someone I couldn't enjoy having a meal with. Right. You know, but there are times for sure it was like, you know, you need the bag, you got a kid, whatever it is I've been there where you take that job, you know. But if you have people that you're invested in in there and you like individually, especially in this film game, because sometimes you may be doing a job that's not a lot of money. So it may be long hours, it may not be pleasant, but if you're like the experience will be good, that means a lot to people, you know, and that helps set up other experiences, you know. Uh, in outdoor school, you know, it was a I mean a smaller budget by big film standards. I mean, it was big by tiny film standards, you know, it was over a million dollars, so it wasn't like a tiny. But also it was like a lot of people I had working on that film when people I work with on the jobs that are, you know, what we spend on that whole film was we were spending a week on these other jobs or more, right? So I'm like, hey, it's not gonna be the same pay you usually would get, but it's gonna be dope. It's gonna be a good time. You know it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be a project that's gonna come to fruition and be well reviewed, it's gonna be seen, you know, and we're training people behind the scenes, so there's a deeper purpose to this. It's not just making a film. We're actually helping change the industry by putting more melanin behind the camera as well. And so, like, that was part of the cell. And people are like, oh yeah, people bought into that. So I think part of that comes from me building that tribe before and having relationships with people. So I'm like, hey, I know you usually do this over there, but come bring that high-end skill set over here, you know. And then you do that thing, and there's a chance that now that you've done that, it it other opportunities can come in the future.

SPEAKER_02

Um yeah, I like that. So this was your first individual one that you put together by yourself?

SPEAKER_07

The first one that I really like from the the beginning, you know, as far as like being part of the writing. I mean, I've directed other projects before that um other people had, you know, that they brought me to, and I may have reshaped or retweaked, but this one, the first one that's like, okay, from the initial idea, heard it, like I gotta do something. Pen to paper, worked on it, brought collaborators in, went and did the fundraising. That was a different one. Actually, okay, I gotta get to the city. That was your first time? First time. Okay. Like, you know, finding investors, you know, and figuring out how that whole world works, which is a whole different thing, and realize like there's no magic. And again, I'm I'm trying to find the magic key. Like, yo, how do I get somebody to give me, you know, 10, 50, 100? And what are the words that you say and realize like it comes down to like talking to people, understanding what you're talking about, having to believe in you, uh, your word being bond, right? They gotta trust you, your track record, right? The integrity piece. It all comes back to those things. That's what they're judging. So, like, film is not necessarily like a rock solid investment. You know, a lot of times, you know, they folks trying to sell it like it's like, nah, it's it's like a risk. It's like a like betting on a racehorse. You might win big, yeah, but you might not win at all.

SPEAKER_01

Like, you know, you better love that horse. You know, right, right, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02

It's in a mutual fun. Before we talk to the business side of the film, let's talk about the film. Okay, okay. Let's go there first. Because you know, I'm always looking at the business side. I'm trying to figure out what's going on. No, no, I know. And then I can turn up my, you know, I'm talking about. Yeah. But the film. So you called me and said, hey, we're shooting this film, gotta have you come out, check it out, see what's up, be on set. Originally, I was on set with you from a different TV show, some years before that, when I was first getting started on YouTube, and I learned a lot. I appreciated that because just one day on set taught me so much, just on the attention to detail, all this stuff. And I saw the same thing when I went from that TV show to then going to the film and watching you guys film that uh as well for you guys' film. Um what was uh the biggest takeaway you think you had from the entire film coming together and seeing its impact on especially the young kids in the movie and older with Tinker and everything? I just want to know what you learned the most from it. Like what you got when the whole thing was over, like what did you take away from it that you saw like this helped these people, this impacted these people in this way, created opportunities, it did this for me. Like, what are you where was that big takeaway you had?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, that's a unique question. Because usually people asking questions about like the film and story, but so much what drove me is the question you're asking. It was about even funding it. You know, I was going to investors, like, yo, I'm I'm telling two stories. There's a story in front of the camera about this 12-year-old in 1994 Portland, Oregon, living under a tree in Irving Park. But he's also a student at Beaumont has a special pair of Neon Deion Sanders patent leather Nike shoes that are like the uh the blanket, right? That they cover the poverty of the shame or the shame of his poverty, right? He's about to go to camp and be impacted by mentors who are gonna make him realize there's a childhood that he didn't know he could have, right? Before he goes back to his previous world. So there's like, there's that story, but behind the camera is like the the ability to give people a chance I got as a DJ trainee with the program I shared with you. Like that was hard to get in. I was like 14 out of over a thousand applicants, not even 3% of the people get in that program. But to be able to bring something like that to the place I grew up without the barriers of a test and all those other things to get in, and just people want to have the willingness to learn. And like over 30 people did. And they got connected to people in the industry who were masters at their craft, and that's a big part of it. Because it's not just a skill, right? A lot of you can learn a skill in a vacuum. It's like camera when you're until you go out there and do it, like that's where you really learn. And then next, you need connections to people. That's how my career got advanced. I was on these shows where I connected with people who are already doing it at a high level. And so the fact that outdoor school was able to put people in a position where you not just learned it, but you learned it with people who do it for a living. Like that was like the most fulfilling thing. And like that made a film a success on so many different levels. And so, and the the takeaways, like, you know, Tinker who you interviewed when you came to set, like, of course, he came on as an exec producer, but you know, young Melv was in his house as a kid when he gave him the shoes. He didn't necessarily realize he was houseless, right? You know, at the time, but it's like, so now just these connections and all this stuff in and around Northeast Portland. And so I think just, you know, and when we came back and had our uh Portland premiere at the Hollywood Theater and then sold out another one a few days later, like that was exciting because it's like this is Northeast Portland, this is where we grew up, and and that that is a takeaway that continues to be fulfilling. And the kids who were in it, it was their first time on school. From Northeast Portland. From Northeast Portland, right? From King School. They shine, and now that becomes something kids who went to school with them can look at and say, yo, that could be me. Not not looking at on TV, but like, oh yo, man, that's Carter and Zion. I know them. I I could be them, you know.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I remember vividly, like you said it's Melvin, right? Yeah. Yeah. I remember vividly Melvin telling me the story while he was like behind the scenes talking about like that's me as a kid, but I'm seeing myself like through this. Like, it's crazy to see that being recreated in that storyline and just the excitement of all of it that he was having in particular. Like, that was one of the biggest things that I saw. I was like, bro, this is so dope. Like coming through all this and then be able to be the part of it, yeah, and then hear your story being told and everything. Like, that's stuff that people always hear about and talk about, but they never actually get the experience, and then he's like living it in that moment and watching it get recreated. Like it was just dope to see in production.

SPEAKER_07

It was powerful for me as a director, you know, working with a young actor, I've worked with a lot of young actors, but to be able to not me try to give him the reality that his character is living in, to have the person who actually lived it. To be like, yo, when I was under this tree in Irving Park at night and it was raining, but I wasn't getting wet, and I'm cleaning my neon Deion Sanders patent leather shoes so I could be clean the next day at school, he's telling them what he really felt like. And that's not something you get as a director, you know. I mean, you work with the actor and you you give them the best that you can to help them get there in an organic way, but just to have the person who lived it, you know, on set with me, uh, who's also a professional like Broadway actor. Like, so, you know, and and an and an acting coach, it's just like, you know, it aligns perfectly.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. What was uh one of the probably funniest scenes you think you guys had filming on the back end? Funniest. Like, yeah, fun like funnest. Oh, fun. Yeah, um Tug of War. The Tug of War was fun.

SPEAKER_07

Kids, you know, out there, it got dirty, it was like real tug of war. You know, like do it again, yeah. And then that was just like a fun scene. It's like, you know, working hard, you know, trying not to wear anybody out, but tug of war was fun. Okay. Whether it was hot, but wasn't too hot. So that was a fun scene.

SPEAKER_02

And then what was one of the hardest scenes to shoot or that you thought of that was kind of tough to produce or whatever?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, well, there were heavy scenes. I mean, logistically, there were challenges just because like some of the places we were filming, you know, we're at like, you know, anytime you you know you film down like by sand, or like it's always a challenge. We're under under this big tree. Um the tree we're in, we're in Pier Park. Okay. The real tree was in Irving. So back in the day, Irving Park, trees were overgrown, but now it's million-dollar houses and they don't do that no more. So we had to find a tree that looked like old school Portland. So we went out to Pier Park, and I knew we found the right tree when they were like, Y'all can film that, but you can't bring any of your carts nowhere near it because the roots, you know, are and that's like in production, you know, like Sunday, you know, when you come up against some uh some resistance, like, okay, we on the right path. Now it feels like we're making a movie because there's always resistance. Like too. You're trying to make a film. So that you know that that posed some challenges. Um we did have a house that caught fire and burned down while we were filming. Wait, y'all caught it on fire? We didn't really catch it on fire. So the film takes place in 1994. Okay. And you know, trying to find an older house? Yeah, so you we found a perfect house. Okay. Location manager's like, I'm like, yo, this is it. Like these walls out, this is perfect. But the house hadn't really been touched a lot since then. Well, it had been touched, but the person that owned it maybe did a bunch of like unpermitted rewiring.

SPEAKER_02

So it was our way, man.

SPEAKER_07

And we weren't even like plugging, we used an LED, we weren't even using, but it just like the time just hit. And there was a scene I remember we're filming. It was this one scene where it's like, you know, the dad, he's trying to get back in the good graces of mom, and it's just a comical scene. I'm like, yo, the next scene, same setup. Leave the camera in the same place, send them and change them. Like, I got this whole cinematic idea of how the transition's gonna happen. And then it was just like, yo, no, yep, some something's on fire. I mean, the house was up, the roof was on fire. What? And to call the fire, I mean, the fire, it was wild, man. And then when the fire trucks came, they like shut down the street. And I was like, why so many firemen? But they don't get a lot of real fire, so when they have a real fire, they bring other people out to train on it. And so I was like, I mean, they know, but it was, you know, folks was panicking. Yeah. Uh it's funny because I was mic'd for this behind the scenes uh doc we were doing. And the guy was telling me, Ema, you was just like, you know, you were so calm. Like, you know. But I was just like, you know, I think sometimes people who've been through more in their life, when something like that comes up, I mean, one, I'm like, yo, I'm insured. Right. We got insurance. Right. I had times in my life when I was driving the old 1970 Crash of Newport and I had fake insurance. I remember getting pulled over on 15th and Decom. So I was like, oh yeah, no, you know, well, my father's out of town for the weekend. You know, I had a whole little, might have no insurance, have a you know, you didn't have some things in your life, all of a sudden I was like, yeah, man, this is burned down, man, bro. We got to get insurance. So, you know, it was wild and it was still challenging, but you know, sometimes when you've been through something in life, you're able to uh look at things and just kind of like silver lining comes faster. I'm like, I I know, you know, I got a family in another country that's can be smarter than me and work harder, doesn't have the same opportunity, so it gives you perspective. So I'm like, shoot, you know, we got insurance. Actually, a lot of films with no insurance.

SPEAKER_02

So how's the uh rollout process gone? I know we talked about it before. I know you y'all did something in Miami, right?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah. So we premiered at ABFF in Miami.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, because I remember we talked about it, but then we haven't even caught up about all that. That was the first thing. And then what's happened? We'll talk about it in order to be able to do it.

SPEAKER_07

Sold out well reviewed, went to Martha's Vineyard. Okay. Man, if you ever get a chance to go to Martha's Vineyard, okay, uh, go in the summertime. You know, August, it's it's it's amazing. And it's super expensive, so book early, but everybody's there. Okay. You just pop up and you know, Dave Chappelle might hop on the we just everybody's there. Okay. Um, won some awards, went to uh uh upstate New York, Black Renaissance, got best narrative, went to Sidewalk and Hawaii, San Francisco, been a lot of places, won a lot of awards, very thankful, very blessed. Uh came back to Portland first time in April on the 22nd, Panorama Film Festival. Okay. Uh great just home.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we were trying to go, and I'm my freaking parents hit me about it, and then I'm like, oh, I can't go, I'm gone. And I was like, I was trying to get a ticket to go, and then I yeah.

SPEAKER_07

No, and that one, and then it sold out so fast we had a second screening. Yeah, that sold out. But now we're gonna go to Beaverton and we're kicking off kind of like this Oregon tour. So we're gonna hit Beaverton, that's you know, um Ashland, Newport, okay, Ben, and basically, because outdoor school, man, for 60 years, you know, kids have been going to outdoor school. Right. I went to outdoor school. See? And you went to you said it was it?

SPEAKER_02

Uh that's what I was like, I remember it was on Sandy River. Yeah, man. So I think you went to Collins, the same one Ben went to.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, that's the one's right on Sandy River. And we shot at Oxbow next door. Okay. This is Collins' book with Sand River, right? And so our premiere on April 17th was 60 years to the day that outdoor school started. That's crazy. And we didn't do that. The whole film, I'm like, nah, but I'm like, the hands greater than ours. Like, we couldn't have done that, right? And then uh the next one, the 22nd, was like Earth Day. So just, but we want to take it to the people, right? And everywhere we go, we partner with different nonprofit organizations who were helping people who are in the same situations that Vin's family overcame. So, you know, pair, they did with houseless youth and they do amazing work. So the first screening, like we partnered with them, gave them some of the proceeds. Second screening partner with Bradley Angle, first women's shelter on the West Coast, right? Gave them proceeds, give them, you know, some shine. And we're doing that as we go through Oregon. So that way, you know, different organizations, we can lift them up. They help get people there and give them some of the proceeds, kind of showing how you can take your art and help do good in the world, you know, while, you know, taking your film. Also, indie film, the game changed. Like back in the day, you know, when the film started, it was like, are we gonna make this film, go to Netflix, get the deal, and now like the whole indie landscape is shifted. And so to not, or to get the deal that we want to get, right? We got deals on the table, but the deals now are not as as good as they maybe were a few years ago. Okay. Because people don't want to put the work in, you know. Like, I mean, that's just across the board. There are jobs I used to have doing tourism videos and they were paying a certain amount of money, now they just get influencers and pay them less and they because they're gonna get the same exposure. So now for a film, it's like, okay, I need to go on this tour so we can show people this film, gather the email addresses. And so now when the film is available and they go to Apple TV and and pre- you know, pre-order or Amazon, and those numbers go up. Now when we go back to people like, oh, okay, now we want to talk to you different because we see that you have done the work of building the audience. And that's what the work is now. It's not just making a great film, you gotta build an audience. Gotta go on that tour. Yeah, you gotta go on the tour, get get the people that, you know, and and now now we're in your world, right? Because it's the number of people they're gonna ask you now, like, okay, even before somebody sponsors your event, how many impressions you got, how many. So now, because of the film, it's like, and then understand how to convert them. And so that's a whole new game, but so that's where we are now in the process. Well, you got any questions for me? I can answer them right now.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, I got yeah, yeah, what you got questions for you. We can do it right now. What we got?

SPEAKER_07

Well, so one of the things I'm gonna do is um when we put the film out for pre-sales, think about doing something where people are actually gonna get a chance to, you know, buy the film, it's like 20 bucks, whatever, but have a chance to win a special pair of shoes.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_07

Right. Special pair.

SPEAKER_02

Definitely.

SPEAKER_07

So that's what I'm going to like, you know. I mean, I need your help actually. Yeah. I was at Tinker's house last couple weeks ago, chatting up because he's helping, you know, with the sponsor of the tourist coming up, and I'm like, we need you would know more than I would know. Like, I'm like, yo, give me a special pair of shoes, what shoes those would be. So maybe I get you to come to his house and they're like, hey, let us look. See what the options are. Yeah, yeah, because you'll know I might be like that, he might be like these, but you might be like, This is what the lines Then now we can get, you know, because our sneakerheads is like for 20 bucks. First, you're still gonna get the movie. But if you have a chance to win these pair of shoes that are like the you know, the special shoes that whatever, you know, signed or you know, then now, so that's a new game, right? Now I'm bringing in these different worlds and people can get the special pair of shoes. I mean, already have a pair of shoes, like some some ACGs that he just you know designed. It was in the film, I had them signed, but now it's like, you know. And then they reissued since we we premiered Miami. It's the crazy part. We there, and I see somebody with the shoes on. I'm like, yo, he's like, Yeah, they just reissued these.

SPEAKER_02

So I was just like, yeah. Okay, no, that would be a that would be a good idea. Great way to get people on. Definitely you already got email capture and everything going right now?

SPEAKER_07

Email capture, no, I'm doing like old school we like you know, people. I mean, for the website, getting that way. So there's no like opt-in pages right now that people can get on? There are like when people go to outdoorschoolmovie.com, okay, you can like get on the on the email on the on the list. Yeah, or just get on the list. For the newsletter or the newsletter, yeah. And and then for that, that's something you maybe help me roll out is we kind of say, okay, like, and maybe that's how we capture it, you know, because it was just gonna be like, you know, A, you buy it and you have to show that you bought it, and that'll be a thing when the film comes out, so we can, you know, because all of a sudden, if we get X amount of a thousand people to buy the movie because they get the special pair of shoes, or maybe it's a couple things, you know. I'm still working on, you know, I was trying to get uh a special shoe designed for outdoor school, but that was a whole it was a lot of red tape.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's a lot of red. I was like, he's like, I can't just I can't just, you know, I but I did ask if it was back in the day, it'd probably have been a lot easier than current time. Yeah, and so that's something, you know. But even if you found something cool or like stuff from those moments and eras, or if you did like a bundle thing and it's like, hey, we pick out if there was like a specific number that related to something, and it's like all right, we're gonna do five pairs, six pairs, two pairs, three pairs, whatever it is, right? I don't know, that aligns with something. That way you got more people that get a chance to win.

SPEAKER_07

Well, that's the thing too. I and we I mean the first idea was like just get it like a one-off shoe design. I was like, well, maybe you don't make it, you just put it on the shirt and it's a design by you know, by Tinker or by, you know, whoever, you know, or or you know, there's different ways to go about it, but that's like if you had man, if you had Tinker design like like sketched up, yeah, like some sketch style drawings, uh-huh, and it was only available through the site, like on t-shirts and hoodies and stuff, yeah, that would be fire.

SPEAKER_02

Because it's like unique to that. Yeah. Specifically, like artwork for the movie assistance. Okay, so you give me, that's the thing, man. Like if he like drew up like the outdoor school logo and like put a signature on there and like doodled all around and that's like what he's known for, right? Yeah, yeah. So like if he created just like these sketches, now you can like recreate those by putting them on like t-shirts, hoodies, and everything. That would be something I would be like, this is fire. Like, this is like movie merch.

SPEAKER_07

So you know, so you give it you give me the game right now. Because literally, man, I was there. I was asking him, just like, hey, like, if you were gonna design out just go, how would you go about it? And he used to, you know, you know, he asked like an artist, they go into the world, he's like, okay, well, he started thinking about like you know, like what you need, and like, you know, started talking language that you know more than I do about like the firmness and the you know, all the different things about, you know, and I was kind of like, oh, and I was like, yeah, that's uh but that may be it, because that's something that you know we don't actually have to create an actual version of it, you know, and now you just kind of confirm that it could just be a sketch or something that lives in that world.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I think, yeah, if you have like all that, it just helps you multiply what you're already planning on doing because now it's like coming down to the sketch, and then you take that, you're running screen prints, doing stuff, and you put it on other products uh as well that you can then push and then which you know just generates more revenue opportunities and everything and gets the word out and people start wearing it and they see in it, and then you see catching it on blogs and stuff like that. Because same thing, like I can send it to the blogs and start hitting them up and say, hey, like they got this new stuff, and then once it's aligned with Tinker and everything, that just goes. Okay, is this a free consult, or is this like this for the world, everybody here? No, that's just that's just one idea. We can always talk about many more, but yeah um, yeah. No, I think I think it's exciting to see like how this is all done and put together. You know, I'm working on my own little TV show right now. I'm excited, man.

SPEAKER_07

When you told me about bringing you on the show, I almost I think I forgot that, man, that you can't remember. I think it was I think it was Grim. Might have been. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like a second. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm oh now I remember too. And you can't, yeah, man. Yeah. Or it could have been Shrill. I forget about the way it was.

SPEAKER_02

No, Shrill. I was on that one.

SPEAKER_07

Okay, Shrill. I went to that one.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, I thought they got another receipt. It's still going.

SPEAKER_07

So Shrill, you know, you did that some years ago, right? But it's on Hulu. And here's the game, too. Now, Shrill is on Netflix a whole new audience. Yeah. So people like, yo, what is this? Shrill's on, yo, this new thing on it. And I'm just like, yeah, but if you didn't have Hulu, and that's what's happening now, like the show at Bass Reeves, you know, Paramount Plus, David O'Yealevo, you know, it was big on Paramount Plus. Now it's coming to Netflix, it's like a whole new life. Right. And so, which is good for the people who are, you know, they get residuals and that kind of. So, you know, but it but it's also like it may start somewhere and end up somewhere and get a whole new life. And that's the thing about like, you know, content, you know, with films. It's like you don't know like how you. So I remember watching the uh karate kid on Netflix, but it was on YouTube for like two years. Really? Yeah, I don't I don't watch stuff on YouTube I didn't know. Then it came, but I'm on Netflix, I for you know, so now it's like, you know, you may start one place like Shrill. I was talking to producer David Crest. He's like, everybody's hitting him up, like, oh my gosh, this show. And he's like, okay, cool. Like, you know, produce that. Yeah, we I remember we should just we were doing that during COVID. We used to have to get a COVID test every two days.

SPEAKER_02

Oh scratching your brain back there, boy. I hated that.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So okay, so right now, people can click on the link, go to the website, yeah, see things about the movie, and then they can opt into like the newsletter and the updates. Are they able to purchase the movie now? No.

SPEAKER_07

Okay. It's not for sale yet. Okay. Right now we're still on tour. Okay, so once the tour is complete, yeah. When the tour is complete, and then we'll figure out which distributor we're going with. There's a few deals on the table right now. Um, but we're working out that partnership. And so once we figure that out, and then it'll be available.

SPEAKER_02

Because they kind of set the parameters of what you can do for selling it once you get that.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, exactly. And and we and there's certain things like you know, you can carve out, like right now, I've you know, people I've talked to, they're all down with me carving out like non-theatrical. So basically I can do these community screenings. Okay. Because it's not available virtually. Like I couldn't be like, hey, if if you and we in Salem and put it up online so you can just watch, even though you can geotag stuff, because that may interfere with some other screenings, you know, because there's all these different rights. They gotta be able to do like when they go to the airplane, airlines. So right now I kind of have these rights.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Those are all different rights, international rights. And so right now, you know, I've talked, even though we haven't signed a deal, the different people we're talking to, you know, the the person representing us, he's like, Yeah, they're cool with you doing these one-off screenings, you know, because I want to be able to do that to kind of get the word out. Get some more momentum, get momentum, and then we gotta do Los Angeles. And then now this story originated on the moth. They do live storytelling, it was a short eight-minute story. It was a New York Times bestseller, occasional magic. They like the film so much they put it in their next book, How to Tell a Story, also New York Times bestseller, but they changed the name from Outdoor Camp to Outdoor School. So it has the same name as the film. And so they're big supporters. They got a million people weekly listening to the moth. And so now just aligning. And in that, and so that's a lot of it was timing too, right? It's kind of like I know we can do a thing where it's like there's outdoor school folks here, there's sneaker culture, there's the moth, but leveraging it so it hits at the right time. So when we do our New York screening, LA screening, and then you can get it online, we can make it explode so you get as many people as possible. Like, let's go get this film. And so you have sneakerheads who will be like, it's a dope film, but also be like, Yeah, I want these special sneakers that you're gonna help us identify. Right? Yeah, yeah, 20 bucks to get sneakers worth, you know, whatever, you know. Um, and so now that's kind of the new game. And so now you get all the people. So now you go back to the same people who before were kind of like, maybe we don't know about this film. And now they're like, oh, you made some noise on your own. Okay. Because marketing is a huge part of film, and that's what a lot of people don't realize that for a film like Barbie, you know, to make a billion dollars or whatever, it costs $100 million to make it. Yeah, $100 million to make it, $300 million to market it. You know, and Nora, they're like, oh, small film, $20 million for the Oscar campaign, not the regular campaign, just the Oscar campaign. So films, they spend more in marketing than they do in making the film, right? And that's kind of going more to like the way that advertising traditionally was. You know, I used to see these pizza commercials regionally for this sort uh this outfit, and it was like it's been, you know, a little bit on the commercial, but they're buying hundreds of thousands of dollars of ads to promote them. And that's what film is too. And then film, you know, when you go see that film that costs a hundred million dollars to make and you spend 20 bucks at that theater, tangles to the theater, tangles back to the film. So if it costs 100 to make, you gotta make 200 just to break even. Gotcha. And then you add all it. So it's like it's a you know, marketing is a big thing. So now this is our organic marketing where we're gonna take it around to the people and make sure that also we're having a pay it forward campaign. So people can't afford tickets, we're getting them pre-bought for you. So if we go to areas that don't have as much resources, hey, these kids just click on that, get your free ticket. Like we don't someone else get someone else to pay for that so we can get people to the film. Right. You know, because really access is a big thing too, and making sure that the film is accessible while we're lifting up different organizations, so whether it's for like uh school or if we got, you know, we go into an area where they're under resourced, we want to be able to come there and still let people see the film. And um, and and that campaign is helping us do that. So if there's not resources, people can you know tap into the free tickets.

SPEAKER_02

I like that. So there's gonna be one in Beaver 10 on what day? Uh July 15th. July 15th.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, so and then that's at the Reese. So we go to the ReeseR.org, it's on the front page, or you go to outdoorschoolmovie.com or you know, at outdoor schoolmovie on Instagram, you know, we're there. And then you got Ashland after that? Yeah, then we've got a handful. Corvallis, Ashland, Eugene, um, Ben. So they're all kind of getting landed. Throughout the summer.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Throughout the summer.

SPEAKER_02

And then I'll push you to when's the film festival later in the year? August, September? Which one?

SPEAKER_07

In New York, you said? In LA? Yeah, that's gonna be like in the fall. Fall time? Yeah. I don't have exact dates yet. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Let me know what that is, because I I'm out there for Fashion Week in New York. That's like early September.

SPEAKER_07

Okay, so we're trying to figure out there's some work.

SPEAKER_02

I think there's something around that scene.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah, and there's some organizations that we're trying to um well actually we're out there for the Woodstock Film Fest. We're trying to uh partner with the Moth, and then we may do some fundraisers on the East Coast, collabing with some organizations we're talking to. But they're organizations by, you know, organizations connected to different actors, so it's kind of like their schedule, so we're trying to coordinate some of that as well. We got a uh a guy we're working with on that that kind of helps us with activations.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um well, is there anything else you want to cover before we go?

SPEAKER_07

Um excited to see your show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I was trying to see the movie, I didn't even see it yet.

SPEAKER_07

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're gonna be on the 15th? You coming?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Of course, I'm not saying you're gonna be there. You could do it in Q ⁇ A.

SPEAKER_03

I was like, I think I'm still there.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, no, yeah, of course you're gonna be there. Um it's gonna be fun. You get a chance to see it. Uh yeah, no, man. Um excited to, you know, share this space. Uh excited to watch you grow in all the different ways, and you know, that you, you know, now you've you've taken another hobby and turned it into a full-time job. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02

No, the light keeps tweaking back. Okay, okay. It's like, get out of here. Yeah, no. Uh I appreciate you helping me throughout the years um from me coming in. Where do we meet at? Some coffee shop or the city.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, I think it was probably because I remember like doing something with your dad.

SPEAKER_02

Like, he was starting to cut. Remember, your dad was starting to do final cut. That was like when I was coming out of high school or something like that. And I was trying to do like that TV show thing. Yeah. All right, this is what we're gonna do. And then it just wasn't really working that way. But you know, I I still stuck with it.

SPEAKER_03

I made some progress. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

And then you brought the worlds together, shoes, and now you're doing real estate, deals, and yeah, it's it's been uh it's been fun doing all this and creating and documenting and learning from it.

SPEAKER_02

And uh always be having you in the back of my mind. Whenever I'm setting up new areas and stuff, I always think about going to the sets and uh seeing what you guys have taught me and everything. So I appreciate it. And it's as you can see, it has helped me a lot over the years, and I'll be able to take that and translate it and help other people with the same information that I learned from you.

SPEAKER_07

Now what you're doing, that's what I love when I click on your channel. I just love that you're giving people the game. And the big thing for me is just like I want to demystify filmmaking, entertainment, you know. I came into it wide-eyed and thought these people are magical. But it's like, nah, it's like y'all could do it too. Yeah, and I love that you're demystifying and just giving people like the nuts and bolts, like I could do it. It takes work, but here's how you do it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I think people just overcomplicate so much, and there is like a clear blueprint of how things work and are successful or seen, perceived as like good quality or whatever. And it's like if you just follow those and you just put your own flavor to it, you're typically good. But a lot of people just be overthinking it or saying what they don't have. That's the biggest thing. Yeah, I don't have this, I don't have those, I don't have that type of camera, I don't got that type of light, I don't got these, or whatever. And I'm like, I don't I'm I don't have these shoes right now. And I'm like, but talk about the shoes that you do have, like, let's talk about the stuff that you can work with, and that's a big issue. A lot I see a lot of people have. Yeah, I don't got this, I don't got that.

SPEAKER_07

It's a scarcity versus abundance mindset, you know, and it plagues a lot of people because the thing that you speak is powerful, becomes true. You know, and then you focus on what you don't have, and then you uh it's like you're moving your own cheese. You you're not gonna get to it, you know?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you keep chasing the money, you ain't never gonna catch it. Yeah. That's it, man. Let it come to you. But okay, um, social medias, anything you want to shout out?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, um like my my Instagram, whatever, yours, outdoor school.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Um at Outdoor School Movie, um, at I-M-E-E-T-U-K, um, at Speak Lion, uh the nonprofit that I'm the executive director of, trying to get more diversity behind the camera. Um yeah, link in there, outdoorschoolmovie.com, lionspeaks.org. Um, yeah, tap in, um, be a part of the movement of this film, of what it is, and uh, yeah, and just you know, enjoy life and walk in your purpose. That's right.

SPEAKER_02

That's right. Well, I appreciate you um for letting me come and do this interview and and talk with you. I know we always catch up every now and then every year or two years, and reconnect, but this is always great. I'm excited about this one. So um, you've been doing amazing. You set a great example for the community. I gotta make sure I give you your flowers as well. Again, you've helped me so much. And I'm sure I I don't even know all the other people you helped, but I know for a fact if you helped me, I know you helped a lot of other people and have success and just seeing the space and being here and what you guys are about and what's going on. Like, these are things that I aspire to still get to and grow to. So I just love being in environments like this. I appreciate all of it. Like it's dope.

SPEAKER_07

Nah, thank you. Um I'm just walking in the path that was laid before me. You know, I I had mentorship and meant the world to me. And um, you know, I'm just trying to, you know, do the part that I can to help the next generation get there further and faster. Uh, really in gratitude of being able to be here. You know, I'm not here by myself. You know, I believe that I'm I'm I'm here for for a reason and a purpose. And, you know, I'll praise the most high because I couldn't even be here without breath and ability uh to move. And so I'm just, you know, I'm grateful, man. And I think of all the people that sold into me in different ways by what they said, you know, what I was able to watch and learn from. And I just feel like a responsibility to pass that game on. Yeah. You know, because uh I got it. And some of us get it differently, and some of us don't get it. You know, so those of us that have a little bit of the knowledge, or maybe we somebody gave us something that gave us enough confidence to try it out, we had the opportunity to help, you know, someone else who might have raw talent, and they just don't have that that piece of it. You know, that's what I love about watching the things that you post. It's like, oh, somebody can watch that and be like, I see myself there. Yeah, I could do that, you know, and I think that the more we do that and share information, the stronger we are as a as a community, you know, and our little piece of trying to make the world better than we found it. I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_02

All right, we're out of here. Make sure you guys get uh five-star reviews on the podcast. Check out all the links down below. I'll have all his stuff, the websites, the social media platforms. Stay tuned for that. We'll have some announcements. I'm gonna be there for the QA at the screening, at the Reese, which is coming up soon. So I gotta make sure I hurry up and get this video out. Amen. And then um, yeah, besides that, I hope you guys have a good day, and I'll see you guys in the next one.