Ron Dawson – ProVideo Coalition

Crossing the 180 Season Finale: Solving Gender Disparity in Hollywood

Ron Dawson — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:56:56 +0000

In the season finale of “Crossing the 180,” Ron brings out of “mothballs,” clips for his previous critically acclaimed podcast, “Radio Film School.” In these clips, Ron speaks with seasoned film and Television producer Yolanda T. Cochran as well as “The Other 50%: Herstory” podcast host and Hollywood veteran, Julie Harris Walker. You’ll also hear soundbites from other luminaries in the worlds of Hollywood and tech. Altogether, this is a funny, provocative, and inspiring look at addressing the issue of gender disparity in Hollywood.

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” and end-credits music “I Don’t Think,” both by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

[Feature image by Johannes Blenke on Unsplash]

Crossing the 180 with Filmmakers Academy and Hurlbut Visuals CEO Lydia Hurlbut

Ron Dawson — Wed, 25 May 2022 16:00:57 +0000

Today on Crossing the 180, Ron has an in-depth discussion with Lydia Hurlbut, CEO of Hurlbut Visuals and Filmmakers Academy. Ron and Lydia’s friendship goes back over ten years. In this episode, they cover a wide gamut of topics: entrepreneurship in filmmaking; whether or not film schools are still needed; the streamers; the binge vs. drip model of content distribution; and more. This is a juicy one!

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

Crossing the 180 with “Ferguson Rises” Documentary Filmmaker Mobolaji Olambiwonnu

Ron Dawson — Wed, 11 May 2022 16:00:35 +0000

Mobolajia Olambiwonuu is a Nigerian immigrant who struggled with what it meant to be Black in America when he was literally an African American. His outlook on race in America helped to formulate his work both as a professor at film school and a documentary filmmaker. He is the filmmaker behind the documentary “Ferguson Rises.”

It’s a look at how the lives of Michael Brown’s family, particularly his father, were turned upside down after Michael’s killing by Ferguson, MO police officer Darren Wilson. It’s a film that looks at how a community finds purpose in pain, and it’s executive produced by the likes of actor David Oyelowo, the rapper Rza, Academy Award-winning producer TJ Martin, and others. Mobolaji and I have a great conversation about his work, his thoughts on other prominent black filmmakers, how differently he saw himself as an African immigrant in America relative to Black people born here, and how he overcame challenges to make this documentary.

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

The Art of the Frame podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and many more platforms. If you like the podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes.

Cross the 180 with SXSW Doc Filmmaker Joële Walinga

Ron Dawson — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 16:00:51 +0000

On this week’s episode of Crossing the 180, I speak with a special kind of doc filmmaker. Joële Walinga had an entry at this year’s SXSW that one show organizer said was their favorite. The name of the film is “Self-portrait,” and it’s a documentary is unlike any you’ve seen. It’s just over an hour of surveillance camera footage from around the world. Here’s the SXSW description: “A tapestry of footage collected from surveillance cameras over the last four years, Self-Portrait moves from moment to moment around the world, beginning with the frozen storminess of winter, to the melt of spring, the lush heat of summer, and finally the decay and cooling of autumn: the dawn of winter. The film shows a candid peek at humanity as it has chosen to document itself – all of these cameras set up for primarily capitalistic, “property”-protecting purposes, but yielding a beauty and a truth – an incidental portrait.

My conversation with Joële is one of those evocative conversations that cover a whole range of topics that intrigue the inner artists: parental relationships, faith, curiosity, passion, etc. You’ll be as intrigued with this conversation as you will with Joële’s interview.

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Sony Ci Media Cloud. Learn more about Ci and book your free demo at sonymcs.com.

Crossing the 180 with Women N Media Executive Director and Film Historian Tema Staig

Ron Dawson — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 16:00:20 +0000

Today on Crossing the 180 Ron speaks with Tema Staig, founder and executive director of Women N Media, a film historian, production designer, and teacher. They discuss the history of film, the changing gender dynamics in Hollywood, and in the special post-credits bonus segment, they get into that now infamous Slap Heard ‘Round the World when Will Smith slapped the sh*t out of Chris Rock.

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Sony Ci Media Cloud. Learn more about Ci and book your free demo at sonymcs.com.

Crossing the 180 with Comedian, Writer, and Director Chris Spencer

Ron Dawson — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 16:00:41 +0000

We interrupt the worldwide fixation on the “slap heard ‘round the world” to bring you a brighter, more jovial look at “Black Hollywood.” Today on the show we have the one, the only, Chris Spencer. If you don’t know that name, trust me, you’ve seen his work. Chris is a prolific writer and comedian best known for co-creating “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” But he’s also written for the Emmy’s, written and acted alongside the Wayans, does stand up at the top comedy clubs in the country, and co-hosts with his wife Vanessa Rodriguez, “Date Night with Chris and Vanessa” on Kevin Hart’s SiriusXM “Laugh Out Loud” channel.

Chris is a man who literally knows everyone in “Black Hollywood” (Barack Obama’s people called Chris when they wanted Will Smith’s phone number). He recently finished directing his first feature film, “Back on the Strip,” and it’s chock-full of names like Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, JB Smoove, Faizon Love, Wesley Snipes, and Bill Bellamy, to name a few.

In this funny and informative interview, Chris shares about his experiences as a writer and comedian breaking into the business, what it was like directing his first feature, some of the challenges in post-production when you and the editor don’t see eye-to-eye, and why he turned down Kevin Hart’s offer to be Creative Director of Kevin’s enterprise.

I know I say this every time, but you REALLY don’t want to miss this one!

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

Crossing the 180 with Story Producer Marissa Messiano

Ron Dawson — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 16:00:22 +0000

In all the years I’ve interviewed filmmakers, there’s one role I’ve yet to interview—a story producer! Well, this week I check that off the list. From her work on a pilot documentary series for VICE, to her work on reality TV shows like “Dancing with the Stars,” Marissa Messiano has a wide range of experiences. In this episode, you’ll learn exactly how a story producer works with the editor to bring a documentary or reality TV show to life. (And her “Sound of Music” story alone is worth the price of admission.)

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

This episode of the Crossing the 180 podcast is brought to you by Sony Ci Media Cloud. Learn more about Ci and book your free demo at sonymcs.com.

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The Art of the Frame podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Anchor and many more platforms. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!

Crossing the 180 with Kristen Souders, Senior Director of Brand at Hitachi Vantara

Ron Dawson — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 17:00:37 +0000

Today you’re getting a special treat on this episode of Crossing the 180. I have on the show my long-time friend and colleague Kristen Souders. I first met Kristen in the mid naughts, when we were both wedding filmmakers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kristen founded and ran a very successful studio called Bliss Video Productions. At the time, she had risen to prominence as a personal event filmmaker known for shooting celebrity weddings and events. As someone who has a keen eye on branding and succeeds at whatever she does, I’ve interviewed her a number of times over the years, and each one is filled with inspiring insights.

In today’s episode, she shares how her career progressed from high-end wedding filmmaker to the stars, to Senior Director for Creative Brand and Global Events at an international conglomerate like Hitachi Vantara.

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

Crossing the 180 with Netflix and CNN Documentary Filmmaker Salima Karoma

Ron Dawson — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 17:00:02 +0000

In this week’s episode of Crossing the 180, Ron interviews documentary filmmaker Salima Karoma. From her success with her first feature documentary “Bad Rap,” to her CNN documentary “Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street,” Salima shares how her career as a doc filmmaker has had such great success. If you’re a doc filmmaker, you will be inspired.

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.

Crossing the 180 with Director Jen McGowan

Ron Dawson — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 17:00:18 +0000

Jen McGowan has had the good fortune to be a director of both feature films and television. From breakout indie hits at festivals like SXSW, to mainstream TV shows like Jordan Peele’s “The Twilight Zone” or “Star Trek: Discovery,” Jen has insights into both aspects of the directing biz. In this episode of the show, Ron has a long and in-depth conversation with her about how she got into the biz, working with a spouse, her processes, what her habits are to stay in shape (physically and creatively), and the state of working in the biz in this current environment. If you want to be a director in this business, this is a must-listen.

Crossing the 180 theme music “Gettin’ Paid, Part II” by Alec’s Band (CC BY) and curated from FreeMusicArchive.org.