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Joining us on this episode of Cinematic Heartland is Elliott Bales who is currently based in Virginia but has appeared extensively on stage and screen in Iowa. He talks about pursuing his acting career full-time after a career in the military, working on the film Remote, producing audio books, getting an agent, and being a member of SAG-AFTRA. What has he learned in his theater work that has helped him in film and vice versa?

Colorado based actor Michael Ridley sits down with Kevin on this episode of Cinematic Heartland: A Filmmaking Podcast. Michael is known on the Iowa film scene by working in such projects as Remote and Knee High which we talk about in depth. He was fortunate enough to be able to work on the set of Jurassic World and he passes along that experience to us.

Demian Alan Mancino joins Kevin and Michael on today’s episode of Cinematic Heartland: A Filmmaking podcast for a fun filmmaking conversation. He was born and raised in New York, has lived in 43 states, and currently resides in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He tells us about his mixed martial arts background, how he got into acting, working on You Should Have Killed Me, and collaborating with the Cintree Films team on multiple projects. We also talk about his experience directing the film Rosie’s Necklace.

Jude Rawlins of Bella Luna Productions sits down with us to talk all things films and filmmaking. He tells us his story from how he came to settle in Marshalltown, Iowa to making the feature film Little Johnny Jewel to his film Dream Time to filming in New York for his film Mania. He has found that filming in Iowa is special in the fact that you can find anything you need almost instantaneously. On top of that, he has been able to work with his dream casts because there are so many talented actors here. He names his filmmaker influences, favorite films at this time, and gives his advice to other Heartland filmmakers out there.

Today's show features our first roundtable discussion and the topic at hand is film festivals. We welcome Eric Dean Freese of The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, Greg Gale of The Flatwater Film Festival, Bill Cooper of The Twin Cities Film Festival, and Tadd Good of The Snake Alley Festival of Film. They give us tips on what can improve your chances as a filmmaker to get accepted into film festivals and things to do and not do when you attend film festivals. We take a look under the hood of what makes quality, well-run festivals work. They also share some of the horror stories and behind-the-scenes of running your own festival as well as a whole lot more. A definite must listen for filmmakers venturing out onto the festival circuit. This roundtable will also be released on YouTube very soon.

Michael James Minard returns to the Cinematic Heartland podcast to revisit the very important topic that so many filmmakers and non-filmmakers struggle with... imposter syndrome. We have talked about this on the show before but Michael brings another filmmaker's perspective. He tells us how it has affected him, his work, and what he has done to combat it.

Joining us today are filmmakers Bernd Wittneben and Jörg Rochlitzer, who are both originally from Germany but now reside in Iowa. We go in depth about their feature film, Reveille, how they gathered some of the items used in the movie, and how they set out to differentiate it from other traditional war movies. Bernd explains to us why he prefers making feature films over short films and Jörg talks about his love of old cameras and films and why he was invited to Paramount Studios in California. They also tell us about their production company, Film Farm Iowa.

The multi-talented Iowa based filmmaker, JoJo Munkee, joins us on the show today. Most filmmakers in the Iowa film scene know or have heard of JoJo but you may learn something new about her as our topics range from belly dancing to sword balancing to Batman to wearing goat legs. How did she get involved with the Snake Alley Festival of Film and how did she end up leading the screenplay table reads which take place there. She gives us her advice on successful networking, and we talk about her love of improv.

Nebraska based filmmaker, Maverick Knox, sits down with us on this episode of Cinematic Heartland. He tells us about attending film school in Arkansas, his film projects, his production studio, and what he does as an adjunct professor at Metropolitan Community College. Maverick is an experienced DIT. He tells us what that is and what the job entails. What does he see are the benefits of being a Midwestern filmmaker?

The filmmaking team of Bauston Van Sickle, Wayne D. Barrett, and Lonnie Appleby who are behind the new feature film, Bits and Pieces, join us today on Cinematic Heartland. They walk us through their journeys from what got them interested in filmmaking to the production and animation programs at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) to what they learned during the production of Bits and Pieces. Epic conversation.

Iowa filmmakers Matthew Tribble and Marc Bauer sit down with Kevin and Mike on this episode of Cinematic Heartland: A Filmmaking Podcast. They pass along their experiences in film school and what they feel are the benefits and drawbacks of attending film school. They also tell us about their short film projects leading up to their soon-to-be-released first feature film, Remote. What advice do they have for other filmmakers looking to do a feature film?

Cassy Nixon returns to Cinematic Heartland: A Filmmaking Podcast to let us know how the Face of Horror competition went and she gives us updates on her projects, The Self Care Scaries and The Camping Trip, as well as her alter ego… Irene Dangles. She also offers her advice for any filmmakers looking to get into the horror genre and we talk about makeup artists in depth.

We have a filmmaker full house on this edition of Cinematic Heartland: A Filmmaking Podcast. Mike was under the weather for the recording of this show, but I welcome J Welin, George Buehler, Dashawn M. Kelly, and Jimmy Miller who join the podcast from the state of Kentucky. This was a wild but fun conversation. They give us tips on working as a group as well as welcoming people into your circle. We also talk about their early projects, interactions with law enforcement on set, the Louisville, Kentucky film scene, radical journalism, and much more.

Michael Finney joins us on this episode of Cinematic Heartland. We talk about his music background, voiceover work, and his documentaries Exploring Our National Parks as well as Chicago 1893 which is available on Amazon. We discuss his upcoming projects and give a shoutout to the Indiana Filmmakers Network.

Nebraska based fellow musician / filmmaker Brett Droege joins us on this episode. We branch out a bit from filmmaking to talk music, music videos, writing horror books, as well as writing childrens books. He tells what his process is in preparing for and shooting a music video and he fills us in about his first full length heavy metal project Rico’s Pass.

Filmmaker Marissa Vonn sits down with us on this episode of Cinematic Heartland: A Filmmaking Podcast. Marissa is currently living in Los Angeles, but she is an Iowa native and quite frequently returns to the state to work on her films. Mike and I have heard so many great things about Marissa, but this is the first time that we have had the opportunity to sit down and chat about filmmaking with her and we had an absolute blast. She tells us about her feature film Knee High, working with Deft Productions, why she comes back to Iowa to film, what makes an authentic character in a story, and how she turned her passion into a career. What tips does she have for filmmakers trying to get their project done on a low or no budget?

Lea Donovan joins us today to discuss obtaining rights to material and clearing intellectual properties (IP) for creative projects, using archive footage, sponsorships, and using products in your films. She tells us about clearing 3rd party IP for the Apple TV series Bad Sisters and what that means exactly. How are the choices made in the use of archive footage or others’ IP such as logos, film clips, music, and artwork as much a creative decision as how a shot is framed? How do you get into this line of work? Lea gives us some of her advice.

Dillon Jacobson, who is currently a student at the University of Iowa in their Cinematic Arts program, joins us this episode to talk about embarking upon his filmmaking journey. He tells us about his past projects starting with one film titled Psychics Class which was produced for the short film category of the Iowa High School Speech Association competition and his follow up film called Following which was also for the IHSSA competition. He has worked on several 48-hour film projects, a feature film called Reveille which was shot in Missouri, and is scheduled to work on a horror film in December. On top of that, we discuss sound design and shooting films on iPhones.

Mike and I welcome Iowa filmmaker Rob Merritt to this episode of Cinematic Heartland. From stage to screen, in front of the camera and behind, Rob has brought his talent to a multitude of different projects. He tells us about his experiences while studying acting at the University of Iowa, his viral parody video, This Year is a Dumpster Fire, which was a result of a weekly film challenge during the pandemic, and his biggest and most important role… being a dad. We talk about working with other filmmakers including our upcoming collaboration on the feature film Until the Music Fades, how to prepare for a role, and Rob also shares his advice for other Heartland filmmakers which involves quoting Shia LaBeouf.

Minnesota native, Zach Hammill sits down with us on this episode of Cinematic Heartland: A Filmmaking Podcast to discuss his experience at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, his screenwriting process, how he got into film editing, and other services he offers. He tells us about embarking upon his first feature film project which will be filmed in Minnesota. Zach was also a recipient of an IFP McKnight Artist Fellowship for screenwriting in 2006.