Why do incredibly talented commercial filmmakers still lose jobs, clients, and momentum? In this episode, Lisamarie Shires, a commercial Executive Producer who’s worked on both sides of the table breaks down what actually determines who clients trust, hire, and stick with.

We talk about:

• Why great work isn’t enough to win commercial jobs
• The business signals clients look for (and filmmakers miss)
• How confidence, leadership, and communication affect budgets
• What experienced creatives misunderstand about “positioning”
• The unspoken rules no one teaches in film school

Lisamarie Shires is a commercial executive producer, business coach, and consultant with over 17 years of experience across every facet of the commercial production industry. Having worked on both sides of the table as a production company owner, freelance EP, agency producer, and brand-side executive, Lisamarie has produced campaigns across 6 continents for global agencies and brands with budgets reaching 7 figures. Her unique career trajectory began unconventionally - starting with an economics degree and MBA before transitioning into photography, then producing, and eventually executive producing. She has worked with major brands including Nike, Under Armour, Toyota, Chase, Microsoft, and many others, developing expertise in managing complex multi-million dollar productions and navigating the intricate client relationships that define commercial success. In 2020, she pivoted to combine her production expertise with formal coaching certification, now serving as a "fractional EP" and business mentor for established commercial filmmakers and photographers with 7-15 years of experience. Her coaching practice focuses on helping creatives develop the business acumen, positioning strategies, and client management skills typically not taught in film school, emphasizing the importance of confidence, leadership, and authentic relationship-building in an increasingly competitive market.

Connect with Lisamarie

• Website https://lisamarieshires.com/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lisamarieshires
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisashires/

Produced With Podcast

• Watch Episodes & Connect ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/producedwith⁠⁠
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This Podcast is brought to you by Saturation.io - streamlining production budgeting, payments, and actualization.

Connect with Saturation

• Website: https://saturation.io/
• Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/saturation.io/ ⁠
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Produced by Eugene Wade and Stephen Gray

Edited by Stephen Gray

Hosted by Jens Jacob

Hollywood technology strategist Leon Silverman (Chair of the MovieLabs Industry Forum) breaks down the MovieLabs 2030 Vision that’s quietly reshaping how films and shows get made, and what it means for the future of production. Leon Silverman is a Hollywood technology strategist and venture partner who has spent his career at the intersection of creativity and technology, shaping how emerging tech transforms content creation workflows. As Principal of Strategic Perspective Consulting and Chair of the MovieLabs Industry Forum, he leads cross-industry alignment on the MovieLabs 2030 Vision driving collaboration between major studios including Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., and Paramount alongside tech giants like Amazon Web Services, Adobe, and Dolby. A founder of the Hollywood Professional Association with senior roles at Disney Studios, Netflix, and LaserPacific, Silverman now serves as Venture Partner at Hallstone Ventures while advising the joint venture technology laboratory of Hollywood's major studios, helping the industry embrace emerging technologies that empower storytellers and the creative community.

Connect with Leon

• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonsilverman/
• MovieLabs https://movielabs.com/
• IMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2237344/

Produced With Podcast

• Watch Episodes & Connect ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/producedwith⁠⁠
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This Podcast is brought to you by Saturation.io - streamlining production budgeting, payments, and actualization.

Connect with Saturation

• Website: https://saturation.io/
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Produced by Eugene Wade

Edited by Stephen Gray

Hosted by Jens Jacob

Reese Hopper is a freelance producer, author, and business educator who helps creative professionals build sustainable freelance careers through transparent content creation and practical business guidance. Try Saturation free: https://saturation.io/?ref=RXS

Starting his content journey in 2018, he developed his content creator voice through five years of consistent blogging (including an ambitious 465 blogs in 465 days from late 2020) before achieving viral success with his "Run the Numbers" budget breakdown videos in 2023. These transparent looks at production costs have helped democratize industry knowledge, shattering limiting beliefs about freelance pricing and project budgets. His book "What Gives You the Right to Freelance?" emerged from years of daily writing, advocating his philosophy that "everyone should freelance in some capacity" to develop entrepreneurial skills and financial independence. As a producer, Reese has worked on a diverse range of commercial projects, social media campaigns, and lifestyle shoots, collaborating on high-profile music videos including for The Chainsmokers. His production experience spans budgets from $10K social campaigns to $150K+ commercial productions, working directly with brands doing $1-10M in annual revenue through his systematic approach to client relationships and creative development.

Connect with Reese

• Website https://www.reesehopper.com/
• ‘What Gives You the Right to Freelance’ Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D726BD5M
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reesehopper.co/
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jreesehopper/
• Reese’s Links https://www.reesehopper.com/links

Produced With Podcast

• Watch Episodes & Connect ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/producedwith⁠⁠
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This Podcast is brought to you by Saturation.io - streamlining production budgeting, payments, and actualization.

Connect with Saturation

• Website: https://saturation.io/
• Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/saturation.io/ ⁠
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• X: ⁠https://twitter.com/saturation_io⁠
• Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/saturation.io⁠
• TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@saturation.io⁠

Produced by Eugene Wade

Edited by Stephen Gray

Hosted by Jens Jacob

Emmy-winning founder Joel Pilger breaks down why most creative studios fail and what it really takes to build one that lasts. Joel is an Emmy-winning studio founder who built and scaled Impossible Pictures into a multi-million-dollar operation over 20 years, working with clients like Discovery, Ford, IBM, National Geographic, and Starbucks before successfully exiting in 2014. Unlike consultants who've only worked within studios, Joel actually ran one navigating everything from seven-figure budgets and payroll pressures to award-winning creative campaigns. Today, he leads Forum™, an exclusive community of 150 top studio and production company founders including BIEN, Deep Sky, Sarofsky, Method N Madness, and Secret Powers, helping creative entrepreneurs master the business fundamentals needed to build profitable, sustainable operations while maintaining their creative vision and industry impact.Connect with Joel

• Website: https://www.joelpilger.com/
• Forum (private network for leading studios) https://www.joelpilger.com/engage/forum
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelpilger/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelpilger/

Produced With Podcast

• Watch Episodes & Connect ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/producedwith⁠⁠
• Try Saturation 14-Days Free: ⁠⁠https://saturation.io/join?ref=producedwith&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social⁠⁠

This Podcast is brought to you by Saturation.io - streamlining production budgeting, payments, and actualization.

Connect with Saturation

• Website: https://saturation.io/
• Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/saturation.io/ ⁠
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• TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@saturation.io⁠

Produced by Eugene Wade

Edited by Stephen Gray

Hosted by Jens Jacob

Ross Girard is Chief Operating Officer of Campfire Studios, an Emmy Award-winning film and television production company creating premium documentaries and scripted content for Netflix, Hulu, Max, and other major platforms. With over 15 years in entertainment, Ross has built his career from music video PA to executive producer, overseeing physical production for high-profile projects including the Emmy-nominated Netflix series "Special," "The Menendez Brothers," "The Money Game," and "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish." He worked his way up through commercials and music videos with artists like Usher, Daft Punk, and The Strokes before transitioning to long-form content. Known for his systematic approach to documentary budgeting using detailed assumptions documents and his philosophy that challenges are part of the creative process — the key is meeting them with clarity, collaboration, and a focus on the story. Ross specializes in managing the unpredictable nature of documentary production while maintaining creative vision within financial constraints. Under his operational leadership, Campfire has grown from four employees to 25 in-house staff members, producing nearly 100 hours of documentary content and establishing itself as a trusted partner for networks seeking character-driven storytelling with premium production values. Campfire Studios has earned multiple Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary for "WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn" and Outstanding Investigative Documentary for "Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food".Connect with RossIMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3032590/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rossgirard/ https://www.instagram.com/campfirefilmtv/ https://www.campfire.us/ Produced With PodcastListen / Subscribe to The Show https://linktr.ee/producedwithConnect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/producedwith/Try Saturation free for 14 days: https://saturation.io/join?ref=organic-youtube&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social

PJ Accetturo is a viral AI filmmaker and CEO of Genre.ai who has generated well over 275M+ views across his content, earning features in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, BBC. He spent over a decade as a commercial director creating content for global brands like Toyota, Red Bull, and major sports franchises. In 2019, he grew a YouTube channel from 0 to 1M subscribers in 6 months, then raised millions to produce his original animated series "Ghosts of Ruin," collaborating with an Oscar-nominated director, Emmy-winning showrunner, Hans Zimmer's music team, and A-list voice cast including Rosario Dawson and Justin Long. Now pioneering AI-powered workflows with ethical data training, PJ is revolutionizing media production with recent AI content - getting 122M views in just 2 days (in his underwear).

Links

X: https://x.com/PJaccetturo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pjacefilms

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pjacefilms/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pj-accetturo-b3b693129/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10443501/

Company https://genre.ai/
Greg Isenberg - How PJ Ace uses Google Veo3 to create viral videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWkhUd-LWTs

Noam Kroll is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, director, cinematographer, and colorist who has built a multifaceted career spanning independent filmmaking, commercial work, and digital entrepreneurship. Through his production company, Noam has contributed to numerous feature films, shorts, broadcast content, and commercials while developing passion projects using unconventional micro-budget approaches.

His filmmaking philosophy centers on the belief that exceptional content can be created without massive budgets by harnessing available tools and technical knowledge, advocating that “great films at their core are simply great stories.” Kroll is recognized for his hands-on approach, often serving as director, DP, and editor on his own projects, and has documented his zero-budget filmmaking experiments that opened doors to larger productions.

Noam has built a substantial online presence through his blog (reaching millions), the Show Don’t Tell podcast, and Cinecolor (his largest revenue stream) selling post-production tools and effects. His diversified business model spans freelance production, digital products, independent film distribution, and content creation, positioning him as both a working filmmaker and educator who bridges the gap between traditional filmmaking and modern creative entrepreneurship.Connect with Noam

• Website https://noamkroll.com/
• Show Don’t Tell Podcast https://noamkroll.com/category/podcast/
• Cinecolor https://cinecolor.io/
• IMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1165743/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/noamkroll/
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/Noamkroll

Produced With Podcast

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This Podcast is brought to you by Saturation.io - streamlining production budgeting, payments, and actualization.

Connect with Saturation

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Produced by Eugene Wade

Edited by Stephen Gray

Hosted by Jens Jacob

Simon Tam, Co-founder & CTO of Saturation.io, joins Jens Jacob to talk startups. With 20+ years in tech at Microsoft, Yahoo, and Splunk, Simon reveals what it takes to scale teams, survive partnerships in startup, and build conviction around an idea. His latest startup, Saturation.io - a platform revolutionizing film production expense management, made Top 10 status in Ahrefs' Trending SaaS Startups for 2025.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why the last 20% is what separates good from greatHow to navigate co-founder conflict without killing the company
• Lessons from Microsoft and a startup exit to Yahoo
• Why conviction matters more than money in early-stage startups
• How AI, storytelling, and craft shape the future of filmmaking tech

Connect with Simon

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-tam-7a993213/

Produced With Podcast

• Watch Episodes & Connect ⁠https://linktr.ee/producedwith⁠
• Try Saturation 14-Days Free: ⁠https://saturation.io/join?ref=producedwith&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social⁠

This Podcast is brought to you by Saturation.io - streamlining production budgeting, payments, and actualization.

Connect with Saturation

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saturation.io/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saturation_io
• LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/saturation
• X: https://twitter.com/saturation_io
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saturation.io
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@saturation.io

Produced by Eugene Wade

Edited by Stephen Gray

Hosted by Jens Jacob