Jim Cummings is the writer/director of Thunder Road, a single take 12-minute short that won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize this year. This week, we ask Jim questions about long takes. When to use them? How to create them? And why they are a powerful tool.

With his first camera he documented his neighborhood and shot videos of his brother playing basketball eventually making his way to music videos. With his company Dream Chaser films, he now works with local Bay Area artists like E-40 and Lil' Dicky

This week we have yet another fantastic guest on the show with commercial and film editor Arielle Zakowski!

After ten years as screenwriters, the Thornton Bros. decided to raise money on IndieGogo and shoot a feature themselves. This week we explore the ins and outs of IndieGogo, the Hollywood system, and the frustrating hamster wheel of a life in filmmaking.

This week Alrik talks how he feels like his filmmaking life is passing him by, but is it really? Timothy talks about how he feels that he missed some key opportunities in the past and talks about how Chris Columbus got his first job.

After a tweet about remaking Quantum Leap, Timothy seriously considers making a fan film. Alrik talks about the relative success of Strange Thing to Brother and the curiosity around uncompromising directors like Michael Cimino.

How do you solve your story problems, what's your favorite film tool and do you feel special? This week we talk through a trio of subjects, discuss Stranger Things and get some editing tips from a editor who's films you've probably seen!

Remember that guy that gave up? Neither does anybody else. This week we talk about why no one should give up. Also, we dig into Ben Hur, Timothy's next project and The Underground Filmmaker's Club.

This week we talk about what options there are for making money with your short films. Is there a viable way to make the budget back or will your short film just end up being a calling card.

What happens after you find "success"? Kyle McCauley's short film "James" landed him an agent, but that's just the start of his journey. What happens after you get into the room?

Timothy just got back from producing a big budget commercial in Barcelona, but what did he do all day? This week we talk about the different types of producers, what we thought producers did before we were in the industry.

Either you believe whole heartedly in story structure or rebel against what can sometimes feel like a formula. This week Timothy and Alrik break down some different plot types and discuss their beliefs about what makes a good story.

This week Timothy and Alrik talk about how they go about budgeting their short films and offer some advice on how to get started.

As an indie filmmaker, you're walking a fine line of doing everything by the books and having to bend or break the rules. When should you cut corners, and when should you not. Alrik tells us stories from his recent shoot.

This week Saila Kariat, the director of The Valley talks to us about the long journey to bring her film to life and gives us an insider's view on fundraising and working with investors!!!

This is part two of our first year anniversary as we answer listener questions.

This is part one of two as we celebrate the end of our first year as a podcast. In this episode we talk about the past 51 episodes and the biggest lessons we've learned.

This week Timothy and Alrik talk about voice over, trying to find a director as an agency producer, indie filmmakers directing big franchises and collaborating with artists.

What's the relationship between discipline and art? And what's the deal with Shane Carruth?

Timothy is back on Making Movies is Hard! Alrik and Timothy catch up on the last few weeks and talk a deal Timothy was offered from Crypt TV and how that all went down.

This week Colin Levy is back to co-host a second episode while Timothy is in Japan. This week Alrik and Colin talk about a smattering of filmmaking topics including, outlines, pitching and storytelling.

Colin Levy is back! Timothy is on vacation, so Colin takes his place and talks with Alrik about his 3-year project codenamed "Shipnet" and the different ways a filmmaker can approach his or her first feature film project.

After his films played at 50 film festivals and won a handful of awards, Hassan made the move to Los Angeles to pursue a directing career.

This week Timothy and Alrik welcome North Carolina Filmmaker Evan Kidd to the show to talk about his independent filmmaking experience and how he made his first feature narrative, 'Son of Clowns'.

You might not always (or ever) get the results you want with your film. How do you survive?

What's it feel like to premiere your film on-line and at a film festival? Find out with the premiere of Alrik's short film "Brother"

Many filmmakers think there's an easy path to making it big. This week, we discuss winning the filmmaking lottery. Is it really as simple as entering contests and festivals, getting noticed, and starting your career?

This week Timothy and Alrik talk about the balance between the artistic and business side of being a filmmaker.

We talk with special guest Lisa Donato about starting her career in LA and why she decided to move to Austin, TX. Plus lots of talk about diversity and patriarchal society.

This week we discuss the new Ghostbusters remake and what we think, we get some directing advice from William Friedkin from Marc Maron's WTF podcast and give our thoughts, and we discuss how we use playback and why we think it's important.

This week we talk about what makes a good Kickstarter campaign

This week we talk about Timothy's latest commercial, comparing yourself to your peers, and we give our thoughts on a listener's short film

We're breaking format this week to talk about a few smaller topics. First is where to put the camera. Then we have a clip from Roger Deakins about lenses. And finally, we theorize on how Quentin Tarantino gets such great performances from his actors.

When you start out as a filmmaker you don't instantly have the opportunity to get paid for the films you make. What sacrifices must you make (if any) to pursue a life of creativity? Timothy and Alrik give you their answers on this weeks episode of MMIH!

Ridley Scott, Spike Jonze, David Fincher all have commercial directing backgrounds. So does that mean we should all start with commercials?

This week Timothy talks about a tough experience dealing with his internal critic and talks to Alrik about how he's dealing with it. Alrik talks about his internal critic and how he works through it.

Filmmaking has become increasingly accessible and you can make a movie with very little equipment/crew. What is the best way to approach your first feature? DIY or raising money to hire a crew?

Marc Madrigal, the host of Story Punch Podcast, joins us to talk about what makes a great story

We answer a listener question: "How do you go about making your footage look cinematic?"

This week Timothy and Alrik bring in the new year with a discussion about what path they want to take as filmmakers in the new year.

This week Timothy and Alrik talk about what could be done to expand our film communities.

How do you present yourself as a filmmaker? Whether it's in meetings or at a party, how do you create the most opportunity for yourself? Alrik and Timothy share their experiences and offer advice.

This week Timothy and Alrik are joined by Colin Levy to have a gloves off conversation about Over My Dead Body. Colin does most of the talking and really pinpoints exactly how and why the short doesn't work.

Timothy and Alrik talk about how they know when a project is done. How do you decide to lock an edit or send out a script?

We talk to director Colin Levy about the success of his short films and get his thoughts on what makes certain films succeed on-line. We also learn about what happens to a filmmaker after getting millions of on-line views.

Timothy and Alrik discuss their point of views as filmmakers, why would anyone care what you have to say and where does that POV come from?

This week we premiered our short film Over My Dead Body and we talk about what the festival premiere was like and how the on-line release went.

 Show Notes / LinksTimothy talks about starting to be accepted as a commercial director. Alrik and Timothy try to answer a question from listener CameronACaves about approaching actors for roles involving nudity. Alrik talks about Brother and getting some positive feedback from his star @comediancapone Main Topic: Timothy and Alrik answer the question, 'What do you hope to happen after you've finished your first film?' Where do you see yourself as a filmmaker in five years? What are some more practical expectations and goals that you can set yourself as a filmmaker? Wrap up and an almost conclusion on what it means to set ourselves up for filmmaking success. Over My Dead Body has premiered on film shortage as one of their daily picks, give it a view and let us know what you think! http://filmshortage.com/dailyshortpicks/over-my-dead-body/ Spread the word on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/overmydeadshort Spread the word on Twitter with #overmydeadshort Most importantly, share and like and comment on the short, let us and the world know what you think!Thanks for listeningWhat Do You Think? We want to hear from you Do you disagree? Do you have an experience to share? Send us an email or leave a comment below!