In this episode, I sit down with filmmaker and storyteller Mark Stebnicki to talk about what makes stories resonate, and how to get authentic moments on camera. A section of our convo dives into music and how to use that POWERFUL tool to enhance the story.

If you enjoy conversations about filmmaking, documentaries, and meaningful storytelling, this episode is for you.

Follow Mark's work:

➤ https://www.youtube.com/@ncfarmbureau/videos

Follow the podcast for more conversations like this:

➤ https://www.instagram.com/successisamythpod/?igsh=MThhNXJmcWVvazB0aQ%3D%3D#

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

2:19 What does the word story mean to you

6:00 Getting folks to open up on camera

9:48 New ways to tell the same story

17:07 Music is POWERFUL

24:12 Getting more out of a music track

26:12 More than just a video guy

28:29 Show your audience REAL struggles

32:59 Different story than what we were expecting

36:16 What makes a story stick with you after it’s over

38:29 Get back to basics

44:19 GEAR TALK

49:10 What’s a story you want to tell?

Stories make others feel seen.

My favorite moments from the conversation with Talmage:

➤ Stories are simple

➤ The "One Way" framework (you're one way, then you change, now you're different)

➤ Take the INTERESTING stuff out of a story if it's a red herring

➤ Vulnerability is terrifying

➤ Love the daily practice of writing down one story worthy moment in your day

➤ Audiences have an incredible BS reader

Follow Talmage:

➤ https://www.instagram.com/talmagethayne?igsh=N3VyY2Z6bWFqamQ0

➤ https://www.instagram.com/filmlaab.podcasts?igsh=M3gzaGVpNXFkODVh

Follow Jacob:

➤ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-christensen-b0701027b/

➤ https://www.instagram.com/filmdudejacob/?igsh=MW15NHFhMTJudmZzdQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr#

Follow the podcast for more conversations like this:

➤ https://www.instagram.com/successisamythpod/?igsh=MThhNXJmcWVvazB0aQ%3D%3D#

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro + Story Bite

2:08 Helping others tell their story

9:22 Why people struggle to tell their story

13:34 The cost of not telling stories

18:33 Don't break your characters' spine

21:48 What is removed from the story

26:48 Make me CARE

32:10 What makes a story stick long after it's over?

35:37 What to do when the project goes sideways

37:43 Address the elephant in the room

40:58 Favorite stories

Storytelling is about saying what people feel but can’t say themselves.

My favorite moments from the conversation with Adam:

➤ Story is IMPACT

➤ Cut the GOOD stuff to have a GREAT story

➤ LISTEN to your interviewee instead of just waiting to ask the next question

➤ Creating because YOU want to is a better metric than likes, comments, vanity metrics

➤ A great story makes me QUESTION further

➤ Great interview moments come from conversation, not rigid scriptingFollow Adam:

➤ https://www.instagram.com/adamwest_cc?igsh=bGV4cGZmMGdrcGg=

➤ https://www.instagram.com/adamwest_media?igsh=ZWJ3dDFsOXljajdsFollow Jacob:

➤ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-christensen-b0701027b/

➤ https://www.instagram.com/filmdudejacob/?igsh=MW15NHFhMTJudmZzdQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr#Follow the podcast for more conversations like this:

➤ https://www.instagram.com/successisamythpod/?igsh=MThhNXJmcWVvazB0aQ%3D%3D#

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro + Story Bite

1:51 Story is IMPACT

4:36 How to pull the story out of people

10:29 If it doesn't add to the story, CUT it

14:39 Get EMOTION out of people

17:00 Are we attention seekers?

20:41 Imperfect content

24:34 Creating out of DESIRE

26:17 Cracker Barrel / Jaguar rebrand

32:25 Honoring new and old audiences

33:32 Actually benefiting my brand

37:58 What makes a story stick with you long after it's over?

40:45 Books vs movies story

43:02 Make me question further

46:01 The HARDEST stuff to cut

50:54 Why we STRUGGLE to tell our story

55:01 How story impacts TECHNICAL decisions

59:51 HUMANIZE your subjects