Operation Undercover is the new series we’re producing over at Joke Productions.

Making it was a wild ride. The show was put together with police vest-cam and undercover footage, as well as our own documentary video. Our pilot episode was filmed in Pickens, South Carolina.

The crew was amazing to work with. Operation Undercover came together when long time Executive Producer Bo Kaprall brought us an initial concept with some incredible talent. It was amazing former undercover agent Lou Valoze. We pitched and re-pitched the project (and re-developed the concept with Bo and input from Lou) for several years.

Jedd Thomas of Vice fame (plus his Emmy and a basket of other awards) came on board as show-runner. He brought along some terrific crew members. Joke and I (Biagio) and Bo joined Jedd in Pickens. Together we were there to guide the production…and witness some amazing police work.

Lou Valoze – Living Legend, Former Undercover Agent

It is NOT an exaggeration to call Lou one of the most prolific undercover agents in American History. Yeah, his career is like that. In fact, you can check out South Magazine for an awesome article about Lou.

He’s one of the most decorated undercover agents in the country. He went undercover for long stretches at a time. Sometimes years. Facing lethal criminals. He squared off with the Chicago Mafia, some intense outlaw biker gangs. Oh, and domestic terrorists and international car theft rings. He’s no danger to life and death situations.

He personally helped take more than a thousand illegal weapons off of America’s streets.

Operation Undercover Sneak Peek

Have a look at this preview clip from the Operation Undercover pilot episode:

And if you’d like a little more, here’s a cool teaser. This clip features Chief of Police Randal Beach from Pickens. Gives you an idea of all the things that go through your mind when you’re waiting to pull off a final sting:

Operation Undercover Airs Soon..

Catch it on Investigation Discovery and MAX November 28th at 11pm | 10c. Hope to see you there!

The post Operation Undercover with Lou Valoze from Joke Productions appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

We’re stoked to let you know that Realscreen Magazine ran a big feature on Joke Productions. First of all, it covers our very beginning in the industry. Additionally, it discusses what we’re up to now, and how we survive in a pretty competitive industry.

For those who don’t know, Realscreen is a live event for the unscripted film and television industry. Both new producers and experienced professionals can attend. (Although it is pretty pricey.) Pros give talks. The industry as a whole connects.

Additionally, Realscreen Magazine is a monthly publication that covers news and events in the world of documentary, reality TV, and unscripted entertainment.

On Twitter? Without a doubt, the Realscreen account tweets all the unscripted industry news you could hope for. While you’re there, follow us, too!

Just Being Honest

The interviewer allowed us to be a little irreverent and very blunt about our history. It’s been a long road to running a successful production company. Plus, Joke married Biagio years ago. Working with your spouse is a wild ride indeed. We spill it all in this article!

• Why is it called, “Joke Productions?”
• How did we get networks to trust us?
• What’s it like being a small company in a big industry?
• How we’ve managed to work in so many different genres
• Some inside info on Unmasking a Killer, our latest series, and its follow up

In other words…it’s a pretty in-depth article! Overall, we’re very proud to be featured in the same pages as many of the companies we’ve admired over the years.

Check Out the Realscreen Article…

Here’s a little teaser for you:

Biagio: We met the third day of school as undergrads at UCLA. In that first conversation, Joke said, ‘I’m convinced the only way to make it in this business is to produce your own projects.’ I immediately fell in love with her, and envisioned us working together one day. Joke took a little more convincing. But now we’ve been married for 17 years, running Joke Productions together for many of those, so I guess my instinct was right.

Additionally, one from Joke…

Joke: We get the creative fulfillment of only making shows we’re passionate about. Our development strategy has always been to develop what excites us, and let the cards fall where they may. It’s a great way to produce television you’re proud to show, but not necessarily the best strategy for selling mass amounts of series.

Check out the full article here: Small Companies, Big Ideas: Joke Productions

The post Joke Productions Featured in Realscreen Magazine appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Have a listen to the preview episode. We’d love it if you’d then consider subscribing, and leaving us a five star rating and review in iTunes.

Many of you know we run the podcast Producing Unscripted. It’s an industry podcast aimed at helping new producers break in the business. It also provides a way for new producers to team up with us.

Even so, we’ve always said we’re “part-time podcasters” and “full-time producers.”

But when CNN and HLN ask you to host a podcast? Well, heck yeah we’re in. And we can’t wait to share the Unmasking a Killer podcast with you.

Unmasking a Killer Podcast

It was important to CNN and HLN that the podcast work as a companion to the TV series. However, the episodes also had to stand on their own.

Additionally, making this podcast was very different than making Producing Unscripted. The material is dense, heavy, and emotional. At the same time, the podcast needs to be engaging. It’s a tall order. We gave it our all, and hope you love it.

Joke took lead on producing the creative and booking guests. CNN provided a podcast producer, Stacie Parra, as well. She oversaw all logistics, recorded, and personally edited the episodes.

While our other podcast is recorded on an iPhone, this was made at a professional audio studio. Not gonna lie – we felt the pressure. It’s very different sitting on the “talent” side when someone else is covering studio costs. Luckily, we know that pressure is a privilege. We kept reminding each other of that!

In addition, guests were scattered around the country. CNN booked audio facilities in their area. The guests then called in to us, while recording on their end. In a few cases, facilities weren’t available. When that happened, guests simply called in, and the studio recorded their phone’s audio.

It can feel a little awkward not seeing the person you’re talking to. You know, kind of like being on a conference call. But Stacie has done a great job editing everything together.

Podcast Content

The Unmasking a Killer Podcast features brand new material not in the TV series. For instance:

• Brand new, never-heard analysis from Detective Sgt. Ken Clarke of Sacramento Sheriff’s Department
• Extensive insights from Paul Holes, Contra Costa DA investigator whose been on the case for over 20 years
• Carol Daly, now retired, one of the first female detectives for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department
• Jane Carson, a Golden State Killer victim
• And more

From the CNN press release:

Unmasking A Killer the podcast is hosted by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina of Joke Productions and features never-before-heard analysis…The HLN television series Unmasking A Killer premieres Sunday, March 18 at 9pm ET/PT and is executive produced by Joke Productions. The five-part docuseries profiles the terrifying real-life story of the Golden State Killer – a man responsible for a staggering 51 attacks and 12 murders in California. Investigators have searched for the sadistic criminal for forty years and with recent evidence suggesting he may still be alive, in 2016 the FBI Sacramento announced a national campaign and $50,000 reward to identify the perpetrator.

Weekly episodes of the podcast will become available at midnight the day of HLN’s linear premieres on CNN.com/podcast, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio and iHeartRadio. The first episode debuts Sunday, March 18.

A Collaboration

One of our very first guests is Todd Lindsey, who pitched this case to us. We loved working with Todd, who became supervising producer on the series. You can hear about the process of developing, pitching, and selling this project in this Producing Unscripted podcast episode.

You can also play Todd’s episode right here:

How to Find the Unmasking a Killer Podcast

You can already check out the bonus, eight-minute “preview episode” for the podcast and subscribe on iTunes here.

Please give the Unmasking a Killer Podcast a listen, subscribe, and consider leaving us a five star rating and review.

The post Unmasking a Killer Podcast appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Unmasking a Killer Trailer

Here’s a trailer CNN and HLN put together (streaming from CNN, please allow it to load.)

Background

This haunting crime spree began with a series of rapes in Sacramento. There, the offender was known as the East Area Rapist. Later, in southern California, a string of assaults and murders were attributed to The Original Night Stalker. However, DNA advances eventually proved that these two crime sprees came from the same person – now called the Golden State Killer.

Unmasking a Killer – A Decade in the Making

Todd Lindsey is a true crime producer we’ve worked with on several shows, including Three Days to Live for Oxygen.

Over ten years ago, Todd first discovered the case that would become this series. During a late-night internet search, he stumbled on a terrifying audio recording believed to be the killer. (It’s the heavy breathing you hear in the beginning of the trailer above.)

Todd first brought the case to public attention with a one-hour special he made for E! True Hollywood Story.

Later, Todd introduced the case to crime writer Michelle McNamara. She coined the offender’s new moniker: The Golden State Killer. (Michelle worked the case until her untimely death in 2016.)

After a decade tracking the case, Todd pitched it to us. We were immediately hooked. For the last two years, we’ve been working on this project with Todd. We’re extremely proud of how it turned out, and hope it can play a small part in catching the Golden State Killer.

You can learn about our process to develop, pitch, and sell Unmasking a Killer in this Producing Unscripted podcast ep.

You can also play Todd’s episode right here:

Style and Structure

We wanted to make an elevated documentary series. As such, we avoided reenactments and instead went for stylized b-roll. Our cinematographer, Eve Cohen rented vintage lenses for many of the shots. These include the stylized b-roll of the 1970s police car in the above trailer.

Eve also shot most of our interviews. She worked to give them a dramatic, yet realistic grit. We didn’t want to use a backdrop, so we tried to do sit-downs with people in their natural surroundings whenever possible..

From a story perspective, CNN and HLN wanted to avoid a linear retelling of the story. So we came up with a unique structure that covers the full case in every episode, but deep-dives on specific details each week. We believe it gives the most in-depth look at the Golden State Killer ever produced.

Unmasking a Killer Podcast

We’re also proud to announce that CNN and HLN have asked the two of us to host a companion podcast. New podcast episodes will appear after the TV series airs each week. Here’s what CNN has to say about it:

Unmasking A Killer the podcast is hosted by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina of Joke Productions and features never-before-heard analysis…The HLN television series Unmasking A Killer premieres Sunday, March 18 at 9pm ET/PT and is executive produced by Joke Productions. The five-part docuseries profiles the terrifying real-life story of the Golden State Killer – a man responsible for a staggering 51 attacks and 12 murders in California. Investigators have searched for the sadistic criminal for forty years and with recent evidence suggesting he may still be alive, in 2016 the FBI Sacramento announced a national campaign and $50,000 reward to identify the perpetrator.

Weekly episodes of the podcast will become available at midnight the day of HLN’s linear premieres on CNN.com/podcast, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio and iHeartRadio. The first episode debuts Sunday, March 18.

You can already check out the trailer for the podcast and subscribe on iTunes here. While a companion to the TV series, each podcast episode will stand on its own. One of our very first guests is Todd Lindsey.

Unmasking a Killer Press Release

From the official CNN Press Release:

Through five one-hour episodes, Unmasking A Killer takes an in-depth look at the manhunt, patterns, escape methods and mind games of the Golden State Killer, raising a key to catching the criminal – potentially linking him to another series of unsolved crimes. Interviews with investigators, law enforcement and victims, who have never spoken out publicly, offer information to help solve the mystery of a man who has managed to fly successfully under the radar for decades.

From executive producers Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina of Joke Productions, Unmasking A Killer is their first HLN production. “This series is unique in that it presents a call to action. The goal has always been for this series to shake loose new tips that will bring the Golden State Killer to justice. HLN offers us the best platform to do so,” said Joke Fincioen.

The post Unmasking a Killer for CNN and HLN from Joke and Biagio appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

On this site, we like to talk about the nuts and bolts of making TV and Film. In today’s post we’ll share a bit about our process on this show.

Also, we want to give props to our DV Rebel inspiration Stu Maschwitz, as well as to Film Riot superstar Ryan Connolly. Read on to see why we often look to those two for inspiration.

The show premieres Sunday, March 5, at 9pm/8pm central on Oxygen. We’ll be live tweeting from @JokeAndBiagio – hope to see you then.

Three Days to Live Trailer

Streaming from Oxygen. Please give it a moment to load:

Our eternal gratitude goes to the families, victims, and law enforcement officials who trusted us to tell their stories.

The two of us, and our company Joke Productions, are thrilled to be leading the charge in the recent Oxygen rebrand. We couldn’t be more proud that Three Days to Live is the first to air under the network’s new direction.

True Crime: Low-Budget Filmmaking Meets Documentary

From a personal perspective, there may be no more emotional genre to produce than true crime. At every turn, you must remember that you’re telling true stories of real people. It’s a fine line of crafting a show that is compelling, while at the same time honoring the gravity of the stories told.

Reenactments

A mainstay of the genre has become the filming of reenactments. It’s tricky. Reenactments can sometimes feel false. You also have to be careful not to sensationalize the true moments you’re working to portray. Budgets are tiny, and you shoot a huge number of scenes to cover the length of the show.

In short, the reenactment portion requires heavy doses of indie film spirit.

DV Rebels

We’ve always been huge fans of Stu Maschwitz, who we talked about extensively on our podcast. His original book, The DV Rebel’s Guide, is a manifesto on making high quality action films on low budgets.

It’s a bible for making things look high-end when resources are tight, and doing so safely. Most importantly, it speaks to the mindset of powering through when common sense says what you want to shoot just isn’t possible.

In a lot of ways, it’s the perfect book for anyone getting into the true crime genre. From police chases to faking crowd scenes, to using VFX in innovative ways to enhance your production, the book is an inspiration for us to this day.

On this show, we used just about every trick in Stu’s book.

A Film Riot

Another place we found inspiration in thinking about the series was the Film Riot YouTube channel, run by talented filmmaker Ryan Connolly. Think it’s odd to look at a comedic channel on YouTube for dramatic inspiration? Think again.

Every episode Ryan and his team are finding new, smart ways to innovate what can be produced on tiny budgets. It’s a reminder to pros and amateurs alike that where there is a will, there is a way.

In particular, Ryan did a series with DJI on using their camera stabilizers called DJI Film School. We believed this show could benefit from long sweeping takes, especially in chase scenes. So we picked up a a Ronin-M, on which we flew a Sony Alpha a7SII. It worked flawlessly, and lead to some great footage.

We loved it so much that we’ve since picked up a full-size Ronin for our next series (top secret…stay tuned.) For that upcoming show, we’ll be flying a Canon C-300 on the Ronin.

So thank you for your video series, Ryan. We’re loving the Ronin.

Interviews

In the case of Three Days to Live, the story is driven by interviews with law enforcement, family members, and victims. These brave people opened up to share their experiences.

It was raw and emotional.

We didn’t want to distract from their storytelling, and in this case went with a simple black backdrop and graded the interviews to black and white. Both we and the network felt it helped focus the viewer on the incredible stories our subjects shared.

Narration

It was important to keep the show grounded, and choosing a voice over artist to narrate was crucial to that effort. We were so pleased when SuChin Pak came on board to voice the show. Originally an MTV news correspondent, SuChin’s voice-over helped tell the stories in an engaging and respectful manner.

Three Days to Live Premieres Tonight!

Three Days to Live premieres Sunday, March 5, at 9pm/8pm central on Oxygen. Tune in live or set your DVR’s. We’ll be live tweeting from @JokeAndBiagio – so follow us and hope to see you Sunday!

The post Three Days to Live: Making True Crime Shows appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Those of you who’ve been listening to our podcast know that…thankfully…we’ve been very busy!

We’re excited to let you know that we are going to stay busy. We already have two new television series lined up for 2017.

True Crime at Oxygen

Three Days To Live, a true crime series we’re making for Oxygen, is one of the most ambitious projects we’ve ever undertaken. While we can’t say too much yet, we can tell you that we used every DV Rebel trick in the book to make the show look big and expensive.

In a lot of ways, the show was a dream come true.

From a documentary perspective, we had incredible access to police officers and families involved with the cases. Their stories were compelling and emotional. We’re so grateful that they trusted us to capture them in such an honest way.

From an indie film angle, the show was also amazing to make. With a mix of high-end cameras and souped-up DSLRs, a Ronin-M, and some mini-jibs and sliders, we worked hard to bring a blockbuster look to a tiny budget.

A Secret Show We Can’t Share Yet

And…in other news…HOLY COW. We have another very exciting series that we can’t tell you anything about.

All we can say is that it’s been over a decade in the making, and we’re getting to produce it for a very prestigious network.

What do you MEAN you won’t tell me?

Okay, it’s KILLING us not to tell you more. But we’ll share when we can.

Promise!

In the meantime, thanks to all of you who’ve reached out with kind words, tweets, and facebook posts. We miss you all and look forward to connecting again soon!

In the mean time, be sure to follow us on Twitter for all the latest!

The post We’re Making Two New TV Series In 2017 – Hope To See You There! appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

She Made Me Do It Again

Big thanks to the whole team for working so hard on season 2. You all took She Made Me Do It to a new level.

Season 2 of She Made Me Do It premieres Saturday, May 7th, at 9pm/8pm central on Oxygen. Please watch and tweet us with the hashtag #SheMadeMeDoIt

Stay tuned for some behind-the-scenes posts about the tools and techniques we used to bring the show to life.

Here’s the trailer (it’s streaming from Oxygen, so give it a second to load. Enjoy!)

The post She Made Me Do It Season 2 on Oxygen appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Let’s work together!

• Do you consider yourself a technically-minded problem solver?
• Are you fluent with Adobe CC?
• Are you Los Angeles based?
• Do you have a pleasant personality?
• Are you interested in using beta-builds of Adobe Premiere and reporting bugs and feature requests directly to Adobe to help shape the future of Premiere?

Then we want to hear from you…

Unique Lead Assistant Editor Position

Our production company Joke Productions is seeking a lead assistant editor excited about a job with a wide-range of duties.

Pay is commensurate with experience.

Job Description

Looking for lead A.E. with a strong technical background as well as experience delivering shows to networks. We are a friendly work environment, and want a lead A.E. who can work hard but stay cordial. Bad attitudes need not apply.

Must be proficient with the Adobe Creative Suite, primarily Premiere, After Effects, Prelude, and Media Encoder.

Must be willing to work with advanced BETA versions of Adobe Premiere under NDA and report bugs/request new features by interfacing directly with Adobe.

Need to be comfortable within an NFS shared editing environment, working with both solid state and spinning disk servers.

Must have experience with LTO, basic terminal commands, server maintenance, and an understanding of Media Cache Databases and the maintenance thereof.

Must be able (or willing to learn) to setup and maintain render farms.

Must be comfortable with GFX/VFX compositing within After Effects and know how those elements translate within Premiere.

Must be able to delegate wisely and manage a team of Assistant Editors/Post P.A.s

Job duties entail both supervising and carrying out the ingest of dailies, grouping within Premiere (sometimes up to 10 cameras), organizing editorial projects for Story Editors and Editors, outputs for network, project transfer/organization/maintenance.

You will be working closely with Editors, Story Producers, and Executives, fielding requests, and troubleshooting system/project issues.

You will be responsible for installing, maintaining and updating a wide variety of applications including, but not limited to, Cinema 4d, Vray, Plural Eyes, An(i)ma 3d packages, the Adobe Creative Suite.

You will be working alongside a Post Supervisor, assisting with delivery and therefore must have command of the delivery process i.e. providing DaVinci Resolve colorist with appropriate materials, OMF/AAFs, channelized outputs, Chyron work, video limiters, understanding of scopes and broadcast-legal levels of luminance and chrominance etc.

We are looking for a Lead A.E. who wants to be “the tech person” and who can trouble shoot technical issues with equipment ranging from field laptops to servers.

Potential for longer term employment beyond initial 25 weeks. Pay commensurate with experience.

Upward Mobility

We love to promote from within, and would be happy to discuss your long-term career goals and see if we can help you achieve them at Joke Productions.

This job is currently slated to last 25 weeks. While it may be extended from there, we’re only asking for a 25 week commitment at this time.

Interested?

Please send an email with a short note, your resume, and any references to:

jobs@jokeproductions.com

Los Angeles-based talent only.

About Us

Joke and Biagio are married and make film and TV. Together they own and run Joke Productions, Inc.

The post Now Hiring: Lead Assistant Editor Fluent with Adobe Premiere in Los Angeles appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

We are so excited about this show in particular, as Oxygen has been extremely supportive in allowing us to try things, both stylistically and creatively. They’ve been incredible partners, and we can’t wait for you to see Snapped: She Made Me Do It.

She Made Me Do It Trailer

Loading from Oxygen. Please give it a second to buffer:

E! Online Announces Snapped: She Made Me Do It

For a great write up about the show, check out the announcement at E! Online for Snapped: She Made Me Do It.

She Made Me Do It Press Release

OXYGEN MEDIA EXPLORES THE FEMME FATALE WITH “SNAPPED: SHE MADE ME DO IT” TWO- PART PREMIERE BEGINNING SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 AT 10PM ET/PT

Series To Air In Regular Timeslot Beginning on Wednesday, September 9 at 10PM ET

NEW YORK, NY – July 27, 2015 – Oxygen Media continues to expand its true crime original programming with the premiere of “Snapped: She Made Me Do It” on Sunday, September 6 at 10pm ET/PT. Following the premiere, episode two will air in its regularly scheduled timeslot on Wednesday, September 9 at 10pm ET/PT. Through witness testimonies, expert interviews and dramatic reenactments, each episode explores various criminal cases all sharing a common theme – a woman is credited with being the chief mastermind behind-the-scenes. From a romantic reconciliation dinner that ends in homicide to a star athlete who is discovered lifeless with mysterious wounds, viewers will follow the investigations of alleged perpetrators who claim “She Made Me Do It,” hear both sides of the story and ultimately discover the jury’s verdict.

“In line with the network’s commitment to generate programming that resonates with dynamic and diverse women, ‘Snapped’ remains Oxygen’s ultimate guilty pleasure delivering non-stop twist and turns,” said Rod Aissa, Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Development, Oxygen Media. “‘Snapped: She Made Me Do It’ is the perfect addition to Oxygen’s true crime programing slate and will offer viewers unprecedented access to true stories surrounding the femme fatale.”

In the premiere episode, a husband is found dead and his cousin-in-law is identified as the killer. Did the deceased’s sultry wife convince the murderer to strike or was she just an innocent bystander? For a sneak peek of “Snapped: She Made Me Do It,” please visit: http://bit.ly/1MSjaPk

Leading up to the premiere of “Snapped: She Made Me Do It,” tune in to a new episode of “Snapped” at 9pm ET/PT when years after a deadly home invasion, a Texas woman faces new questions about the death of her mother.

For more “Snapped She Made Me Do It” and “Snapped” visit the Facebook page or join the conversation by using #Snapped on twitter.

“Snapped: She Made Me Do It” is produced by Joke Productions with Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina serving as Executive Producers.

About Joke Productions
Co-founded by wife-and-husband team Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina, the married duo have guided Joke Productions from start-up to established, full service production company. As both award-winning documentarians and seasoned large-scale reality TV producers, Joke and Biagio aim to bring their unique, hands-on blend of vérité, storytelling, visuals, and computer generated imagery to the wide variety of projects they undertake. Past credits include MTV’s Caged, A&E’s Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne, LMN’s Ghost Inside My Child, IFC’s Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings, VH1’s Scream Queens, and MTV’s True Life Presents: Secrets, Lies, and Sex. Joke and Biagio also served as Co-Executive Producers and show runners on The CW’s Beauty and the Geek and NBC’s Science of Love. Their award-winning documentary Dying to do Letterman played theatrically in the U.S. and is currently distributed by Oscilloscope.

About Oxygen Media
Oxygen Media is a multiplatform entertainment brand that targets young, multicultural women. The network’s relevant and engaging content reflects how real women with real stories see the world – vibrant, optimistic and bold. Oxygen is the destination where women can come together across multiple platforms to have fun and encourage each other through their individual and collective journeys. The growing network’s unscripted original programming includes “Sisterhood of Hip Hop,” “The Prancing Elites Project,” “Like A Boss,” “Create Your Day Job” and the popular “Preachers” franchise. Available in over 77 million homes, Oxygen is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Watch Oxygen anywhere: On Demand, online or across mobile and connected TVs.

The post Snapped: She Made Me Do It – Our New Crime Series On Oxygen appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Let’s work together!

• Do you consider yourself a storyteller first and aspiring editor second?
• Are you fluent with Adobe CC?
• Are you Los Angeles based?
• Do you have a pleasant personality?

Then we want to hear from you…

Unique Assistant/Entry Level Editor Position

Our production company Joke Productions is seeking an aspiring editor with:

• Great creative instincts
• The ability to choose and edit to music
• Basic graphic and sound mix abilities
• The desire to learn and grow in the unscripted and alternative television business

You’ll be cutting string outs and rough cuts of pitch tapes, which you’ll eventually help finish alongside an experienced editor.

Pitch reels will cover a range of genres including drama, comedy, action, thriller, competition, and more. Applicants must be willing to develop a large editing vocabulary.

This job requires an indie, “get it done” attitude, the willingness to experiment, and the ability to look at reference material in order to match a wide variety of editing styles.

You’ll be working hand in hand with the company owners who will give you notes, guide the creative, and provide scripts/outlines.

Pay is commensurate with experience, however, this is an entry-level position.

We’re looking for people eager to learn the business and take their skills to the next level. If you’re an editor on the level of Walter Murch, we can’t afford you.

This is a great opportunity for someone with a variety of creative post experience who is looking to break into documentary series, reality TV, and alternative television.

Upward Mobility

We love to promote from within, and this path may lead to full time work on one of our series.

This job is currently slated to last six weeks. While it may be extended from there, we’re only asking for a six week commitment at this time.

If you want to work side by side with the two of us (Joke and Biagio) on a brand new slate of television development, let’s talk…

Interested?

Please send an email with a short note, your resume, any references, and a link to your reel to:

jobs@jokeproductions.com

Los Angeles-based talent preferred.

About Us

Joke and Biagio are married and make film and TV. Together they own and run Joke Productions, Inc.

The post Now Hiring: Entry Level Editor for Television Development appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Unique D.P./Director Position

Our production company Joke Productions is hiring for an upcoming television series. Show will include cinematic recreations and stylistically lit interviews.

We’re looking for cinematographers who like to experiment, are willing to create a fresh look on a tight schedule, and aren’t afraid to work with a small crew.

This job requires an indie, “get it done” attitude.

Additionally, we’d like to meet with D.P.’s who are comfortable directing actors in non-dialogue driven scenes.

You’ll also be working with our in-house VFX artist to ensure some shots can be enhanced with CG elements.

The variety of material you’ll shoot should provide you with a diverse range of new shots for your reel.

If you want to work side by side with the two of us on a brand new show airing later this year on a major cable network, let’s talk…

The Look

We don’t want to make just another “recreation show.”

Please be willing to brainstorm and have fun. You’ll pitch creative camera angles and unique approaches to scene coverage.

While the budget is not huge, our company is known for solving problems with creativity. We’d like a D.P./Director who shares that mentality.

Cameras

A-cam will be a Canon C-300 with a variety of lenses.

Several DSLR’s, GoPros, and other crash cams are available for unique angles.

Location

Los Angeles based to begin, then traveling the country.

Pay

Pay is commensurate with experience.

If you’re a shooter on the level of Larry Fong, we can’t afford you.

That said, this is not a “fresh out of film school” position. We’re budgeted for an experienced DP.

Interested?

Please send an email with a short note, your resume, any references, and a link to your reel to:

jobs@jokeproductions.com

Los Angeles-based talent preferred.

About Us

Joke and Biagio are married and make film and TV. Together they own and run Joke Productions, Inc.

The post Now Hiring Creative Cinematographers for TV Series appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

We set out to make it the ultimate free resource about pitching reality TV anywhere on the web.

Our TV Shows and YOU

As many of you know, we work extensively in Unscripted Television, and have made over 100 hours of TV at our reality TV production company Joke Productions.

And we’re big defenders of new talent.

Awhile back we started accepting pitches for documentary series, reality TV shows, and factual programming from those of you who read our blog.

We’ve Put Three Projects On TV With You

So far, Ghost Inside My Child, MTV’s True Life Presents: Secrets, Lies, and Sex, and MTV’s Caged have come from this outreach.

Along the way, we started Producing Unscripted.

It’s our blog and podcast aimed at helping those pitching us learn the right way to create, pitch, sell, and make reality TV shows and documentary series.

We even started a free members-only portal to make pitching to us easier.

So yes, we really do want to work with you!

How to Pitch a Reality Show

One of the problems we kept running up against is that there is some bad web advice out there. There are sites that will tell you how to pitch reality shows…but many of them get it wrong. Without bad-mouthing them, we’ll just say that we believe these posts mean well, but were put out by people who haven’t sold or made a lot of TV shows.

Because of these sites, we’ve received a slew of shows through our portal that are pitched wrong. We can tell, because they’re all pitched wrong in the same way.

Our solution: write a 10,000 word, free guide that dispelled myths and helped people focus their pitching resources.

So if you’re interested in making reality TV in any way, shape, or form, or have ever wondered what it takes to pitch reality shows, please check out “How to Pitch a Reality Show”.

The post Pitching Reality Shows: Ultimate Guide appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

It’s outside the box. A passion project by a talented filmmaker. And no one in Hollywood will make it.

Rene by Mattson Tomlin

He’s found himself in the middle of the woods, filming Rene, a project he wants to finish and get out to the world.

Many filmmakers launch on Kickstarter and ask for the moon and stars, but have nothing to prove they have the ability to get their film done.

Mattson, however, has already shot some great looking footage for Rene.

His campaign feels like it’s coming from an accomplished filmmaker asking people to meet him halfway, rather than a wide-eyed dreamer begging for change.

We were turned on to the project by the fabulous Jeanne V. Bowerman, who you need to follow on Twitter immediately. As usual, Jeanne’s taste is top-notch.

Have a look at the Kickstarter campaign for Rene:

No Strangers to Kickstarter

As many know, thanks to a lot of you reading this, we ran a successful Kickstarter campaign a few years ago for our film Dying to do Letterman.

We always felt that part of our success was in showing people we were willing to put our money where our mouth was. Mattson is doing the same with Rene.

In fact, he checks off a lot of the items we discussed in this recent podcast on the Film Festival Secrets website.

We were happy to back this project. You can do the same at the Rene Kickstarter Project Page.

You might also enjoy this list of tips we put together from running our own Kickstarter campaign: Kickstarter Success.

The post Rene: Featured Kickstarter Project appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

TV Guide Listing for Ghost Inside My Child with where to find it on your cable provider.

From One of You

As we talked about on our last podcast episode, this show came from one of you, Suzanne Stratford in Cleveland, Ohio.

We’re so proud to have been able to get Suzanne her first producer credit, and working with her has been great.

Remember, if you’d like to team up with us and pitch us your show concepts, you can learn to pitch us reality TV shows and documentary series here.

And be sure to tune in tonight to season 2 of Ghost Inside My Child at 9pm, 8 central!

The post Season 2 of Ghost Inside My Child – Tonight on LMN appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

So once again, we look to fill the below position with someone eager and excited to work in unscripted television. If appropriate, please submit for this job or share with those who might be interested.

The position:

Los Angeles Based.

Assistant to company owners at Joke Productions, Inc. (Joke and Biagio.)

One year commitment.  

Position is the ultimate unscripted television producing bootcamp.  Great jumping off point for a career in development, production, or post production.

Ideal candidate should possess: 

• legitimate interest in working in unscripted entertainment (reality TV, documentary series, doc specials and documentary features)
• potential to grow into a “jack of all filmmaking trades.”
• personality to handle occasional high-pressure situations
• demeanor to work with many different personality types
• ability to anticipate needs and react accordingly
• a passion for great storytelling and an eagerness to develop storytelling skills
• ability to learn new skills quickly
• pleasant personality
• can-do attitude
• punctuality

Mostly office based, some field work.  

Duties include general office tasks, coordinating development of projects as well as limited production and post production assignments. Must have a basic knowledge of (or be willing to learn) camera, lighting and sound equipment and must be willing to load and unload heavy gear from time to time.

Great Variety

A wide variety of responsibilities keeps the position both interesting and demanding. Day-to-day the job covers the gamut from answering phones, making coffee runs and maintaining gear to setting up and shooting simple interviews, logging footage, and tracking/updating the development slate.

Applicants must be familiar with or willing to learn:

• Microsoft Office
• Adobe Premiere/Photoshop
• FileMaker Pro
• Google Docs and Apps
• Basic camera, lighting and sound equipment skills

Additionally, applicants should be willing to pick up entry-level skills from on-the-job training in:

• Skype
• WordPress
• Social Media
• New and evolving software programs

Responsibilities can be broken down into three main categories: development, production, and office management.

Development duties include tracking/updating the development slate and corresponding with those who pitch shows.

Production duties include maintaining gear, coordinating equipment/prop rentals, and setting up in-office shoots.

Office management duties include answering phones, scheduling, doing runs, communicating with vendors and building management, helping new employees get settled.

Motivated self-starters only.  Persons who need micromanaging need not apply.

Please email resume to: jobs AT jokeproductions DOT com

The post Now Hiring: Ultimate Entry Level Position for Reality TV appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Believe in Magic?

Oxygen has announced SISTER WITCHES, a new show we have in development with the network. While we can’t say more than what’s in the press release, we CAN tell you we’re super excited about the show.

ALSO, the show came from two of YOU. Intrigued? Learn how to pitch us your shows at Producing Unscripted.

Press Release:

Sister Witches (Working Title)

Set in Bethlehem, Pa., “Sister Witches” follows the lives of three unique sisters facing their 20s head on as they learn to harness their powers as witches and find their own way. Along with their larger-than-life mother, the sisters run the family business, a witchcraft and magic shop, where they help clients solve everyday problems including career, love and health using secrets spells, ancient rituals and magical potions. Even though they are invested in the shop, they struggle to balance their “mainstream” lives — Meghan, 24, is an occupational therapist in a trauma center; Sammi, 22, runs a successful jewelry line; and Jill, 20, is in college. Confronting adulthood is not easy, even if you are a witch, and these young women are on a journey of self-discovery with the help of their sisters and some magic.

Produced by Joke Productions with Biagio Messina and Joke Fincioen serving as executive producers.

The Hollywood Reporter covers Sister Witches
Variety on Sister Witches
The Wrap on Sister Witches

The post Sister Witches: Oxygen Announces Our New TV Project In Development appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Written by aspiring screenwriter Randall Girdner, it explores those sickening thoughts most of us have had at some point:

• Did someone steal my idea?
• Will someone steal my idea?

The post is an honest exploration of Randall’s situation, and includes a reply from John that is dead on in it’s accuracy and wisdom.

Ideas are Just That — Ideas

As most of you know, our main business is producing documentary and unscripted television.

We even set up a way for people to pitch reality TV, unscripted, and documentary concepts to us, and have 23 episodes and counting of a podcast dedicated to helping people do just that.

And a recurring theme in our podcast is … ideas are not enough.

One big idea is not enough.

A great idea is not enough.

Especially in unscripted television, where there is no script (at least, in the kind we make) — ideas are almost meaningless.

A Better Way to Protect Yourself

But there is a much better way to protect yourself than registering an idea or signing up for some online blah-blah whatever someone’s trying to sell you to protect your work today (in our humble, and certainly not legal, opinion.)

In fact, one way that trumps everything else.

It’s hard, and it takes a while, but it works.

Make yourself valuable.

What are we talking about? We discuss it all here, in episode 2 of our podcast:

Why Ideas Aren’t Enough.

Finally, in our 10,000 word guide about pitching factual entertainment, we get into all of this in great detail.

Check it out when you get a sec, and start figuring our how to make yourself more valuable than any single idea.

The post Did My Idea Get Stolen? Focus on This Instead… appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

It’s been an exciting week! We’ve finally been able to tell the world that our new show Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne will be premiering on A&E on Monday, January 13, at 10pm.

The press coverage has been kind of awesome, from the official Variety press coverage:

A&E Adds Magician Reality Series to Slate

To our surprise photo appearance in TV By the Numbers:

New Series ‘Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne’ to Premiere Monday, January 13 on A&E

And this hysterical article by Mike Vago that rips the concept of our show to shreds but makes us laugh so hard we have to share it. We love you, AV Club!

A&E Doing a Reality Show About Magic

So Much Love for our A&E Execs and Their Awesome PR and Marketing Departments

Every time you make a show and put this much love, sweat, and time into it, you hope that the network loves it as much as you do.

We couldn’t be more excited about how incredibly awesome A&E has been to work with.

Our day-to-day executives truly care about the show, and A&E’s PR and marketing departments have done a terrific job getting the word out. (Stay tuned — something REALLY SPECIAL is coming soon!)

From launching these clips of Andrew in action on the official Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne Facebook Page: (BTW, when we were there filming, were amazed by Andrew, and still amazed now. Seriously.)

To the Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne Duck Dynasty tie-in promos they let us produce:

To the Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne press kits they sent out which are just about the coolest thing ever:

Gotta love a rabbit with a mohawk!

Since we don’t have enough press kits for all of you, here’s the official release:

Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne Official Press Release

A&E LAUNCHES A NEW ORIGINAL SERIES

“DON’T TRUST ANDREW MAYNE”

PREMIERING MONDAY, JANUARY 13TH AT 10PM ET/PT

THIRTEEN HALF-HOUR EPISODE SERIES FEATURING NEXT-GENERATION ILLUSIONIST SHOWCASES REVENGE IN A MAGICAL LIGHT

New York, NY – DECEMBER 9, 2013 – A&E Network has pulled its newest series out of its hat. “Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne,” features the wildly innovative, mischief-loving magician Andrew Mayne, as he sets out to reinvent revenge.

His illusions are mind blowing, but what he loves most is helping people get even. From explosions, to disappearing cars and slight-of-hand, Andrew’s charm and wit leaves unsuspecting men and women in disbelief. “Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne” premieres Monday, January 13th at 10PM ET/PT with two back-to-back episodes.

Andrew Mayne has worked behind-the-scenes for some of the world’s top magicians, and now it’s his turn to show viewers what he’s got.

On his mission to help people teach a lesson to those who’ve wronged them, he sets his mark for mischief and uses in-your-face street magic and large scale “knock your socks off” illusions with each assignment. With one large illusion and five smaller illusions per episode, Andrew shows us why he is one of the most prolific magic creators of the last decade.

Mayne doles out some revenge and gives wrongdoers a taste of their own medicine. Cars “melt away”, iPhones wind up in a “pickle” and someone’s precious motorcycle gets shot out of the sky. With more than 400 tricks in his pocket, thousands of YouTube hits, and a dozen science-fiction, fantasy and thriller books under his belt, his fans, coined the ‘Mayniacs,’ have followed him and his unique brand of illusion across five continents.

“Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne” is produced by Joke Productions for A&E. Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina serve as executive producers for Joke Productions. Andrew Mayne and Mary Jaras also serve as executive producers on the series. Drew Tappon and Brad Holcman serve as executive producers for A&E Television Networks.

About A&E Network

Now reaching 100 million homes, A&E is the home to 100% original content that inspires and challenges audiences to BE ORIGINAL. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality, uniquely immersive entertainment ranging from the network’s original scripted series, including “Bates Motel,” “Longmire” and “Those Who Kill,” to signature non-fiction franchises, including “Duck Dynasty,” “Beyond Scared Straight” and “Storage Wars.” The A&E website is located at aetv.com.

Stay Tuned for More Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne Fun!

If you’re not already doing it, be sure to like the official A&E Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne Facebook Page, follow Andrew on twitter, and of course, follow us on twitter too!

See you January 13th at 10pm on A&E!

The post Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne New Photos, Video, and Press Release appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

For those who’ve been following, our new show Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne will premiere on Monday, January 13 at 10pm on A&E.

Here’s the official announcement in Variety.

Of course, we’re thrilled with this paragraph from the release:

“Show is produced by Joke Prods., with Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina exec producing. Mayne and Mary Jaras along with A&E’s Drew Tappon and Brad Holcman also exec produce the series.”

We LOVED making this show and will be talking about it a lot more in coming weeks both here and on our podcast.

Be sure to check out the official A&E Facebook page as well.

The post Our New Show Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne Announced in Variety appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Joke and Biagio with fellow executive producers Mary Jaras and Andrew Mayne on day 1 of our 9 week shoot. In case the title didn’t tip you off, Andrew also stars in our new A&E series Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne.

At Last – We Can Say Something

For months we’ve been hinting at our giant new series that we haven’t been able to talk about (though we constantly talk about not being able to talk about it on our podcast.)

Well, we can finally say what it is and where you can see it…though much will remain shrouded in mystery until our network executives turn us loose!

Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne

The show’s called Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne, starring our good friend, master magician, and twitter buddy Andrew Mayne.

We go way back with Andrew and his producing partner Mary Jaras, and have wanted to do a show together for a long time.

In fact, you can see Andrew pictured in this post from 2009.

(Whoah, have we really been blogging since then?)

And Mary actually did us a huge solid when she took on the Co-Executive Producer role on our MTV documentary series CAGED, helping us wrangle thousands of hours of footage into a single season of TV — one we could not have been prouder to make.

Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne is a major milestone in a relationship we’ve had with Andrew Mayne and Mary Jaras for quite a few years now, and we couldn’t be happier to be working together.

Promos Premiere Tonight on A&E

Promos for Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne start tonight on A&E.

Mean time, check out the official A&E Facebook page for Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne. If you’d give it a like, we’d really appreciate it!

Then take a second to follow Andrew on Twitter, and if you haven’t already, definitely subscribe to our podcast as we’ll have lots to say about this, the most challenging show we’ve ever made in our lives.

And probably the most fun!

Thrilled to Be on A&E

Major props to A&E and our executive team who are supporting this show in a big way. These are the same executives who also handled our BIO series Ghost Inside My Child.

To be on on the same network that’s putting out cutting edge shows like Bates Motel and Longmire is an honor.

Stay Tuned for More

Can’t wait for you to see our latest series. Stay tuned for all the behind the scenes action here on the blog.

Best,
Joke and Biagio

The four of us on our last day of our 9 week shoot, still smiling. Always a good sign!
Left to right: Mary, Andrew, Biagio, Joke.

The post Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne on A&E: Announcing Our New TV Series appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

We’ve funded the release of a film, built an audience for our new podcast, and, most importantly, met many, many amazing people.

One of them is Nicholas Brandt, or Super Nick, as we’re fond of calling him.

A screenwriter, film lover, and all around amazing dude (who KNOWS how to rock a viking helmet) he epitomizes what Social Media can and should be about — meeting great people and sharing support when you can.

Well, Super Nick co-wrote a new movie that honestly looks terrific.

With great actors like Jim Belushi and Jennifer Tilly, awesome looking performances from the entire cast, and a trailer that ROCKS we just couldn’t help but post about it. Enjoy the trailer:

The movie hits theaters September 27 — but for a limited time you can also rent it on iTunes premium at this link:

The Secret Lives of Dorks

Congrats Nick! Be sure to follow him on Twitter.

The post Who Doesn’t Love Big Dorks and Indie Spirit? appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

This Show Came From One Of You

Originally pitched to us by Suzanne Stratford from Cleveland, this show is another example of people just like you who’ve brought your show ideas our way.

(MTV’s CAGED was another example.)

Let’s Make a Show Together

If you’d like to pitch to us, make sure to check out our podcast, aimed at helping you sell shows with us.

In the meantime, be sure to set your DVR’s for Monday night at 10pm — The Ghost Inside My Child on BIO.

The post The Ghost Inside My Child: Our Series Returns on BIO appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

People like David P. Baker, a fiery filmmaker from Scotland who lives his indie lifestyle with a reckless abandon that leaves us slack-jawed.

More than that, David is fiercely loyal to the indie filmmaking community.

In fact, we didn’t even realize he was running his Kickstarter campaign, because he was too busy tweeting out our new podcast about making unscripted television.

In the process of thanking him we realized he has launched one of the most crazily ambitious Kickstarter campaigns we’ve ever heard of:

Shoot-Post-Release a Film Every Month!

How can you not root for a guy trying to do that?

Long Time Fans

We got to know David back in 2009 when we ran this three part series of interviews on making and distributing films from his POV:

• You Can Make and Distribute a Movie Yourself
• Make an Action Film for $8000
• Distribute Your Movie Yourself

David is the kind of guy Kickstarter was invented for, and that’s why we happily backed his latest project. You can do the same at his Kickstarter page.

The post Featured Kickstarter Project from David P. Baker appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

As you know, awhile back we started an experiment.

Despite warnings from our agents and lawyers, we started accepting show pitches from people willing to sign a submission agreement.

That experiment has paid off.

We credit our unorthodox outreach in helping put CAGED on MTV, GHOST INSIDE MY CHILD on BIO, and to finding our latest MTV True Life Presents: SECRETS, LIES, AND SEX, and most importantly, helping new producers and filmmakers break into the business.

But We Can Do Better For You

We often say things like “send us your show pitches” and “make great tape.”

Sure, easy for us to say. We’ve been doing it for a decade. But statements like that aren’t helpful to you.

So we’ve been working to make it easier for you to pitch shows to us.

Our New Podcast: Producing Unscripted

Over the last month, we’ve secretly been recording a new podcast called:

Producing Unscripted: Make Reality TV Shows and Documentary Series with Joke and Biagio.

The goal of the podcast is simple: to help you create, develop, pitch, and sell unscripted television and film.

Hopefully, by teaming up with us.

All Ready For You

The first five episodes are now available in iTunes.

We know you’re busy, so they run just 10 to 15 minutes each, and are jam packed with insider-tips from us to make it easy for you to succeed.

We’ve Heard Your Questions…

…and now you’ll get answers.

New episodes will be released every two weeks.

Be sure to subscribe now in iTunes, and stop by our new Producing Unscripted site with your questions and comments.

Let Us Be Your Day Job

Over the last 18 months we’ve taken three projects to air by teaming up with people just like you.

So why not you next?

All the best,

Joke and Biagio

Producing Unscripted Podcast

The post Joke and Biagio’s New Podcast: It’s All About You appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

We’ve been waiting for this for awhile.

Our macs feel slow and sluggish, and in our business, that is a bad thing.

We’ll probably be adding at least a few of these on our next show (which starts shooting in a couple months) so we’ll let you know how it goes.

What do you think?

Are you excited? Let down? Will you be getting one?

Would love to hear from you.

The post New Mac Pro Announced: What Do You Think? appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

And sometimes those movies are independent gems, made with a passion, love, and attention to detail that can only be truly appreciated when projected in a movie theater.

Thirty feet tall.

At least.

That’s they way we’d like to see Radio Free Albemuth.

The above video pretty much says it all. Five-star reviews, blockbuster special effects, and a filmmaking team working from the heart.

True, most indie films made these days end up going straight to VOD (even with the great cast boasted by this film.)

But we love the fact that this team is turning to Kickstarter to make sure the movie is seen as it’s meant to be–larger than life.

Already Proven Worthy

The movie’s done. Praiseworthy. Interesting.

So what if a “big distributor” won’t spend their time on it.

Let’s all ban together and help put a different kind of movie in the cineplex.

That’s what Kickstarter is for…supporting projects that dare to be different.

Money Where Their Mouth Is

The filmmakers are asking for your support, but they’ve also committed to matching whatever funds they raise on Kickstarter.

Not even Zach Braff made that promise.

Bring this Movie to the Big Screen

We’re proud backers ($25) and we hope you’ll join us in supporting Elizabeth Karr and the rest of the project team who were brave enough to take on such a daunting project.

Support getting Radio Free Albemuth to the big screen by clicking here.

The post Featured Kickstarter Project: Radio Free Albemuth Theatrical Release appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

As you can see from this sneak peek, we were given unprecedented access to their world and emotional lives.

Our cameras were allowed to capture their stories. We’re proud to have this project appear under the MTV True Life Presents banner.

Here’s the sneak peek video:

NOTE

Amazingly, this video has had over 180,000 views in 36 hours. It seems we’re occasionally choking MTV’s servers.

If you can’t see the above, here is a direct link to MTV’s page for MTV True Life Presents: Secrets, Lies, and Sex.

We are currently set to air later this month…stay tuned!
Hope to see you there.

Joke and Biagio

The post Our New Documentary on MTV – Secrets, Lies, and Sex appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

1. The selling side, when we’re out convincing networks to buy our shows, and…
2. The receiving side, when taking unscripted TV pitches from agents, producers, talent, and some of you.

In more than a few emails and tweets many of you have asked us for pitching advice. We thought about writing a post series detailing the finer points of the Hollywood pitch meeting.

However, Stephanie Palmer has already beat us to the punch (more like knocked us out) with her terrific blog Good In A Room.

If you want to sell your ideas to Hollywood, you owe it to yourself to visit Stephanie’s blog, check out her book, and sign up for her newsletter.

We’ve been selling shows for almost a decade, and we find Good In A Room informative…that should tell you something.

Before You Pitch To Us

If you’ve been around this blog, you know we’re open to hearing your unscripted TV pitches. But honestly, we wish everyone who did pitch to us would read these posts by Stephanie Palmer first:

• 
  

  How To Cure Pitch Meeting Anxiety

  We get it–many of you are trying to break in to Hollywood, and there can be a lot of emotion tied to that. It’s easy to get nervous in a big pitch meeting.

  But if your nerves get the best of you, you’ll scare us into thinking you’ll crumble under pressure, and that working with you could be a nightmare. Stephanie has some good tips to get you out of your head and into a better place for pitch success.

• 
  

  How To Answer The Question: “How Did You Come Up With This Idea?”

  Bringing us an unscripted TV idea?

  We want to know your connection to the world of the show. If you’re smart enough to take Stephanie’s advice from this post and apply it to your pitch meeting with us, you’re the kind of person we want to work with.

• 
  

  The Most Common Pitch Meeting Mistakes (That You Don’t Know You’re Making)

  Stephanie’s advice here is SO on the head it hurts to read it. Why? Not only do people make these mistakes all the time when pitching to us, but, when we were first starting out…we made them, too.

  Please read, digest, and follow this advice. Every word is dead on.

• 
  

  20 Things You Should Never Do In A Pitch Meeting

  We present this as an exclamation point to the post mentioned above. If you find yourself pitching to us, violating numbers 3, 8, 14, 17, and 20 will raise big fat red flags and we won’t want to work with you.

Scripted versus Unscripted: There Are Differences

Stephanie’s advice is mostly tailored to the scripted world. While much of it still works for those pitching unscripted TV shows to us, there are some differences we’d like to highlight.

Here are three posts from Good In A Room on which we offer a slightly different opinion should you find yourself telling us about a show you want us to consider.

• The Most Popular Pitching Formula in Hollywood (And 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use It)

  
  Here, Stephanie discusses the old “It’s Good Will Hunting meets House Party” pitch strategy so often made fun of in parodies of the Hollywood system. (But that ridiculous example is all mine.)

  While we agree with Stephanie’s reasons not to use this pitching approach in most situations, we don’t mind hearing it if you’re pitching to us.

  If you’ve discovered a terrific family, business, or world you have access to, and can lay it out for us as “It’s Duck Dynasty meets X” or “It’s Survivor meets Y” it will help us start a bigger conversation about what the show could be.

  In fact, we just sold a dozen episodes of a new TV show to a major cable network using the “It’s X meets Y” formula. (We’ll tell you which one when we’re allowed to talk about it…it’s airing later this year.)

  That’s not to say others in Hollywood won’t be turned off by this practice (we’re sure some will), or that it can’t make you look stupid (please don’t actually pitch us “It’s Good Will Hunting meets House Party.”) but we won’t hold it against you if you use this approach to pitch us.

• The Best Way To Use Visual Aids In Your Pitch… Don’t!

  
  While we one-hundred percent agree with Stephanie’s assertion that you could hurt yourself using visual aids in a scripted pitch, they are an absolute must when pitching us your unscripted TV idea.

  Ideally we want to see a beautiful video pitch that highlights the world and talent you are trying to sell. At a bare minimum photos of your cast, their world, and some flip-cam footage with decent audio is necessary to get us excited about the show you’re pitching.

• How To Pitch And Sell Your Reality TV Idea

  This is a really good post chock full of useful nuggets, but it takes things from a “writer-centric” point of view — it’s more for “idea people” than filmmakers or artists who want to play a bigger role in the show they are pitching.

  The fact of the matter is that unscripted TV budgets get tighter every day, and it’s very difficult to pay someone to just “walk away” from a project.

  That’s why we love teaming up with filmmakers and hands-on-producers who not only have unscripted TV ideas, but also have the skills and desire to work on the shows they sell.

  The young producers who pitched us what eventually became MTV’s CAGED (read their story here) made far more money working on the show than they ever would have made by simply taking a small producer’s fee to do nothing beyond introducing us to the concept.

  There are a lot of people out there pitching “reality TV ideas.” Far less of them are putting together great tape, finding interesting casts, and uncovering new worlds that should be on TV. Bringing us more than just an idea will make you–and your pitch–a lot more valuable to us.

Get Good In A Room

We can’t say enough good things about Stephanie Palmer and her blog Good In A Room. It’s one of those websites we wish existed when we were first getting in the business.

Check out what Stephanie has to say, then come back and pitch us some shows!

The post Are You Good In A Room? appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Let Us Capture the Planning of Your Wedding!

MTV is searching for Bridal Parties to star in a fun new docu-series that will document all planning and events leading up to the wedding day!

• Must be under the age of 26 and be part of a wedding taking place between November 2013 and February 2014.
• Currently planning engagement parties, showers, bachelorette parties, and other bridal events.

Email us if you or someone you know would be right for this show!

Please send name, age, phone number, some photos, location, and tell us about your bridal party and upcoming events.

Click Here to Email Us Now

The post Now Casting A New Bridal Party Show from Joke and Biagio appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

It’s an ingenious piece of indie film making gear made from spare bicycle parts that allows you to control your camera’s focus using bicycle brake handles.

It was invented by a filmmaker and former editor of ours, Brandon David Cole.

Brandon has started delivering the SnapFocus, and he shot some video of us trying out it around the office.

Changing How We Work

In the video, we both talk about why the SnapFocus is going to change the way we work in documentary and unscripted television.

Reality TV Producers Use The Canon C300 and SnapFocus from MidasMount on Vimeo.

If you’d like to learn more, visit the official SnapFocus page.

The post Doc Style Shooting with Shallow Depth of Field Now a Snap appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Especially since he has so many “Hollywood” connections. Should he really have access to the same platform many starving indies count on to get by?

Yes, he should.

First of all, Zach Braff is not Brad Pitt. It’s silly to assume “Hollywood” will just write him a check to do whatever he wants.

Think about it: you’re a studio and want a guaranteed return on your investment. Are you thinking, “Hey, let’s make a Zach Braff project?” (No offense Zach, we here at Joke Productions think you’re awesome.)

(And by the way, even big stars have trouble getting passion projects made. Rumor has it Sandra Bullock only did Speed 2 so the studio would let her make Hope Floats.)

Secondly, just because you’re a star doesn’t mean you have loads of cash. It’s been while since Scrubs.

Even if Zach is rolling in dough, should he risk his cash to make a project?

Maybe, to a point (by the way, my guess is he will put his own money in at some point.) But when all is said and done, he’ll have to sell his movie to someone if he has any hope of recouping his costs. Why not let his audience”pay in advance” via Kickstarter and alleviate some pressure?

Finally, if he’d gone to a traditional source for funding, he’d probably compromising some of his artistic vision from the outset. Their money, their rules…at least a little bit. Zach also says as much on his kickstarter page.

So why not go the Kicksatarter route, and, as filmmaker David Baker pointed out on Twitter, cut out the middle man:

@jokeandbiagio Anything that can make direct to fan the norm to the mainstream, I have no complaint’s with. And of course as you know

— CITY OF SIN WORLD (@davidpbaker) May 1, 2013

@jokeandbiagio its not just the money raising, its the direct fan gathering. marketers. Good to catch up with you guys too. Hope you

— CITY OF SIN WORLD (@davidpbaker) May 1, 2013

David also points out that the attention Kickstarter is now getting thanks to Zach Braff should only help those of us who want to create our own Kickstarter projects.

Having used Kickstarter ourselves to take our film Dying to do Letterman to DocuWeeks, I can tell you we felt no shame asking for support from all of you (and thanks for giving it!)

We’d put much of our own money into the film (far more than we raised on Kickstarter.) Even though we make a lot of TV for a living (and do okay) there’s only so far you can safely (and wisely) go in funding your own project.

As a final point, given Steven Soderbergh’s recent State of Cinema address (covered wonderfully over at No Film School) it’s getting nearly impossible for anything but big tentpole movies to get made under Hollywood’s aging megaplex model.

So Zach Braff, please continue to use Kickstarter to make cool projects. That’s my take.

What do you think?

The post Zach Braff Can Use Kickstarter All He Wants appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

“Since joining the list and taking your advice I have two pilots ordered at two different networks.”

Just what list is she talking about?

Our free newsletter, that has one goal — helping you break in to Hollywood. Since Wendy joined the list back in August, she’s been having a pretty good run! Two pilots at two different networks. Congrats, Wendy! We’re so happy to have played a small role in your success.

How about you?

What are you waiting for? Be like Wendy! Join our list, then use and abuse our advice for your own Hollywood aspirations :-)

Hope we can play some small part in your success, too.
Best,
Joke and Biagio

The post How to Sell Two TV Pilots in 8 Months appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Unique VFX Position with Tons of Variety

We have an upcoming television series that will include stylized, cinematic recreations.

Biagio personally did all the VFX in the pilot and is looking for someone to pick up where he left off, improving on what he did, taking all visuals to the next level.

This job requires a guerrilla, “get it done” approach as you’ll be creating many different kinds of shots (some from scratch) and taking them from beginning to end on your own.

The variety of material you’ll create should prove a rewarding and creative challenge, leaving you with a diverse range of new shots for your reel.

If you want to work side by side with the two of us on a brand new show airing later this summer on a major cable network, let’s talk…

Location

Los Angeles based, you’ll be working out of our offices near Universal City.

Pay

It’s a 7 week gig, $2000 a week. The job is slated to start in late May.

This may be more appealing to someone earlier in their career (especially considering the wide range of shots you’ll be creating…you should get a whole new reel out of this job) but anyone willing to put story first, collaborate with the two of us, work hard, and have fun is welcome.

Button Pushers Beware

We’re not looking for a “button pusher” who needs to be told what to do and how to do it. Your input and brainstorms are not only welcome, they are mandatory.

Remember: story teller first, VFX artist second.

We’ll be collaborating with you to come up with unique VFX shots to help tell each story…and then we’ll turn it over to you. It’s on you to make the magic, and hopefully have fun along the way.

The Job

We’re throwing a lot at you! Just SOME of what you’ll be doing:

• pulling keys and compositing green screen shots
• creating stylized cg environments
• creating 3d CG elements
• camera mapping stills to 3d geometry
• composing down and dirty matte paintings
• tracking shots and adding CG elements
• compositing final shots
• occasionally running out with a digital still or video camera to pick up odds and ends for your shots.

If you can model, that’s a plus, but deadlines are tight so we’ll more than likely purchase off the shelf models for anything complex.

To sum up…when it comes to the show’s VFX, you’ll be doing everything.

We know first hand the job is demanding…as mentioned, Biagio did it all for the pilot. It’s a fun, tough gig but not impossible.

Software

We’re providing Cinema 4d Studio with Net Render, After Effects CS6, Photoshop CS6, Syntheyes 2011, Turbulence FD, Video Copilot’s Element 3d, Magic Bullet Suite, Trapcode Suite, Poser Pro 2012. We ask that you stick to those packages as Biagio will likely help out on shots from time to time and these packages are his bread and butter.

If you’re an experienced 3d generalist in another package and willing to learn Cinema 4d we’d be happy to talk to you as well.

Final Shots: Good Enough is Great

This is not the kind of gig that’s going to be projected in an IMAX theater.

• artistry is essential
• moving quickly is essential
• perfection is NOT essential.

Conveying story and mood is much more important than strict photorealism or pushing one pixel around the screen all day.

Sample Shots

Serious candidates will be provided a link with shots from the pilot to get a better idea of what we’re talking about and a formal interview will follow.

Follow the directions below and we’ll reach out to those we think might be a good fit.

Wait, Who are We Again?

If you’re in the VFX world, you probably don’t know much about us. We do mostly documentary and unscripted TV. But, you might have heard of this guy:

#VFX work with good peeps:MT @jnbvfx: We’re hiring. Need VFX Artist with DV Rebel Attitude for new TV series. bit.ly/Vjh57Z

— Stu Maschwitz (@5tu) March 1, 2013

Yeah, we love Stu, too. We were born of the DV Rebel mentality. Hopefully that convinces you it’ll be a cool gig.

Interested?

Please send an email with a short note, your resume, any references, and a link to your reel to:

jobs@jokeproductions.com

Remember: This is an in-house, Los Angeles-based gig.

About Us

Joke and Biagio are married and make film and TV. Together they own and run Joke Productions, Inc.

The post We’re Hiring! Needed: Los Angeles Based In House VFX Artist appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Thrilled to be in “New and Noteworthy” right between BRAVE and BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.

If you haven’t already seen the movie, you now know where you can catch it :-)

See it on iTunes

Catch it on Amazon.

Hope you love watching it as much as we loved making it.

Best,
Joke and Biagio

The post Dying to Do Letterman Makes iTunes Front Page appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

It’s for a thought-provoking documentary called The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

We are proud backers of this film, and hope you’ll join us in supporting it. Have a look:

The post Featured Kickstarter Project: The Girl Who Knew Too Much appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

It’s about children who have unexplainable memories of dying in a past life.

As new parents ourselves, we were both fascinated and a little terrified of the subject matter.

Rather than approaching the show from the angle of “is this a real phenomenon” or adding a skeptic to investigate, we took THE GHOST INSIDE MY CHILD from the POV of the parents.

Think about it: What would you do if your child told you they missed their “other mom” from a past life? Or remembered intricate details of dying in plane crash in World War II that, upon researching, you learned to be absolutely true?

Have a peak at BIO’s promo for THE GHOST INSIDE MY CHILD, and be sure to tune in Friday night or set your DVRs!

By the way, this show idea was pitched to us by ONE OF YOU…an aspiring producer named Suzanne Stratford. She receives her first TV producer credit on this show.

Will our next show be with you? Learn how to pitch your unscripted TV ideas and reality shows to us.

The post Our New TV Special: The Ghost Inside My Child appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Soon, you’ll be able to see Steve Mazan’s amazing, literarily death-defying journey to chase his dream of performing on David Letterman’s stage. And right now, you can request a screening at the time, date, and theater of your choice, and even get paid for it.

Please help us bring Steve’s amazing story to theaters everywhere, and we hope to make a video promoting your screening soon!

Go to http://www.DyingToDoLetterman.com/tugg right now.

Thanks,
Joke and Biagio

The post TUGG Some Heartstrings With Dying to do Letterman appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

So, what are you waiting for?

The post Here’s Why You Should Make Your Movie or Chase Your Dream Today appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Thanks,

Joke and Biagio

The post Official Dying to do Letterman Trailer appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

In the mean time, here’s the official Dying to do Letterman trailer:

Thank you for all your support!

The post Oscilloscope Releases Dying to do Letterman appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

If that sounds a bit complicated, Nick over at Grey Scale Gorilla has a great post on camera mapping explaining how it all works in Cinema 4d.

Can’t afford Cinema 4d? There are also some great Blender tutorials, explaining how to pull off the technique in Blender which is a FREE 3d program (perfect price for indies.)

Camera Mapping at Work

We have an upcoming TV show that we used camera mapping in heavily. Here was an early test to see how far we could push the process:

Camera Mapping Test from Joke and Biagio on Vimeo.

And here’s another camera map test including some 3d rendered spheres and a little bit of video (the artwork is camera mapped):

Cinema 4d/Syntheyes Test from Joke and Biagio on Vimeo.

Great Example on Vimeo

I wanted to post this example I came across the other day on Vimeo — it’s really a terrific use of camera mapping, and proof that with a still camera and a little know you, you can create high-quality footage. The piece is called “Deserted” by Bernd Montag.

DESERTED – Camera Mapping with Cinema 4D from Bernd Montag on Vimeo.

Nice job, Bernd!

Considering how much easier it is to shoot a super high-res photo than high-res video, this is a great way to get some extremely high-res footage on the cheap.

Go get yourself Blender, shoot some photos, and give it a try!

The post Camera Mapping Gorgeous Motion Pictures from Still Photographs appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Clip-O-Mania

If you haven’t seen it already, Rian released the “clip-o-matic” tape he put together to help generate interest in his latest box-office hit LOOPER starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon- Levitt.

Have a peek:

Talk about a super-cool behind the scenes look at the birth of a film.

A Tried and True Technique

Clip reels like these are created for every kind of project you can imagine, and the good ones really do open doors.

In fact, a tape much like this helped us get our first agent in Hollywood many years ago (keep an eye out for it in a future post, I’ll dig it up.)

Pitch tapes (or clip-o-matics if you prefer) helped us sell every TV show we’ve ever made, including CAGED which just recently aired on MTV.

We even had a short clip reel in the early stages of our film Dying to do Letterman to show people it would actually be funny, and not just a depressing movie about the dreaded “C” word.

Great Tape is a Great Tool

When trying to get your vision across to a roomful of executives, no matter if it’s a documentary series, reality TV show, or, as Rian proves, a feature film, it’s tough to beat a great pitch reel that gives a sense of the final project’s potential.

Can You Make Great Tape?

If you’ve been around this blog, you know we’re all about the hands-on-producing approach to filmmaking: the ability to pick up a camera, get behind an edit bay, and actually make something, start to finish, on your own.

Rian’s clip-o-matic is AWESOME — a terrific piece of tape clearly backed up by his artistry and vision. Most importantly, it showed people exactly the kind of movie Mr. Johnson was trying to make.

But the LOOPER clip-o-matic is a piece of tape that many of you could put together on your own, right?

It’s wonderful, but technically, you could make something similar for your script or project, too. If you couldn’t do all the work yourself, surely you have a few talented friends who could help, right?

Sure, you might not have Joseph Gordon-Levitt to do the voice over, but you could just as easily have Brad Pitt star in your tape, too :-)

And you could read our post Steal This Editing Secret to Edit Film and Video Like a Pro to give yourself a head start. (Or get our newsletter for a bunch of tips to get you going.)

Another Tool to Help You Succeed in Hollywood

Many of you have asked how to make the leap from short films to features. Here’s yet another way to give yourself and your project a better chance of success.

So once you have your great script, no more excuses — give yourself an extra edge by making some great tape.

And if you have a pitch reel for unscripted television…don’t forget, we want to see it.

Kudos to Rian Johnson, on twitter as @rcjohnso for being cool enough to share his Looper clip-o-matic.

And you can follow us @jokeandbiagio or hit up our Facebook page.

The post Follow Rian Johnson’s Lead to Jumpstart Your Filmmaking Career appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

The many faces of our daughter, Halle Jo.

From the moment we announced our pregnancy, I was told by friends, business associates and the media how motherhood would change me.

I was frightened some magic hormone potion would get released in my body and I would no longer be me.

I’m here to tell you, I’m still me, I just have one more person I love in my life.

Biagio, Halle, and me — a new mom.

Now that I’m 5 weeks into motherhood, I feel more and more like the old me. But there is one change I’ve noticed … how I watch television. And as a TV producer, that’s been quite interesting.

Seeing TV Through Mommy Eyes

First off, Sons of Anarchy premiered while I was in labor and so I didn’t get to watch the episode until about 2 weeks later. Thank the TV gods – and let this be your SPOILER ALERT here —

—because when I saw Tig have to endure the murder and burning of his daughter in front of his very eyes, I was hit on an emotional level that TV has never hit me. I relate to TV characters easily, but with a newborn girl sleeping in the next room, that scene was almost too much to take.

Modern Family has never been funnier and more heartfelt to me, Parenthood went from funny and observational to being an emotional tearjerker and lots of other shows don’t warrant my time anymore.

I’ve also noticed the abundance of kids and babies in TV commercials, something that never quite stood out to me before.

Or maybe the TV knows we just had a baby, and it’s programming its advertising to us directly. If the internet can do it …

Producing TV?

Long story short, I’m still as excited about it as I’ve ever been. I’m excited to make TV like we’ve always made it … putting story first, aiming for comedy with heart, and portraying real people as the multi-dimensional individuals they are.

After all, our casts have always been our “kids,” we’ve always felt protective over them.

Making TV: just as easy as ever. Watching TV: well, that’s a whole new adventure.

The post Watching TV Through a Mother’s Eyes appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Just a quick update about a daring documentary project we’re supporting, Journey Through Fire.

They are now a lot easier to support, having launched a much more convenient-to-contribute to Indiegogo campaign.

As we wrote about in our last post, this is tough subject matter that director Rajan is aiming to deliver in an audience-friendly was as possible (no small feat.) Gotta’ love his indie spirit. Check out the campaign and help out if you can.

The post Journey Through Indiegogo Fire appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

True documentarians tackle tough subject matter.

Vijay Rajan is doing just that in an intimate, cinematic, and heart-wrenching portrayal of a young woman named Elisabeth in his feature documentary Journey Through Fire.

It’s an unflinching look at Elisabeth’s journey toward healing her fractured soul after surviving a shockingly abusive childhood.

Adding to the story’s richness is Vijay’s relationship with Elisabeth…it appears that the project will explore the ups and downs of their personal life as part of Elisabeth’s “Journey Through Fire.”

Journey Through Fire HD Preview Trailer from Siren Song Creations on Vimeo.

Says producer/director Rajan:

I want this film to be achingly real to the women who are undergoing or underwent the trials this film portrays — and also to the men who love those women. The film will only end in triumph if Elisabeth finds her way to hope and healing. It is a scary road with only one guarantee: honesty.

Fellow Filmmakers

We met Vijay and his assistant producers Oscar Arguello and Arianne Tavares at the Cinequest Film Festival during the premiere of our film Dying to do Letterman. They are very talented, driven people and it’s been our honor to keep in touch with them.

Get On Board the Moving Train

Journey Through Fire has recently received sponsorship from Moving Train, a non-profit organization that describes themselves as such:

Moving Train’s mission is to help documentary filmmakers tell compelling, socially relevant and entertaining stories that become catalysts for change. Through fiscal sponsorship and mentoring Moving Train will demystify and facilitate every stage of the film making process from fine tuning an idea through distribution.

We don’t know much about Moving Train, but you can learn more or even have your own film considered by Moving Train by submitting here.

Have a look at the Journey Through Fire trailer, and please consider making a donation to Journey Through Fire here. NOTE: When donating be sure to add the title of the film JOURNEY THROUGH FIRE in the Special Instructions section on the Paypal website, or the funds might not reach the filmmakers.

The post Journey Through Fire appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

But don’t take my word for it. J.J. Abrams has taken notice of the campaign by Brandon David Cole, getting himself a SnapFocus and sharing the simple, clean statement “love the project.”

Check out Brandon’s awesome Kickstarter video:

…and share with your friends. We support indies, especially those working hard to support other indies. Way to go, Brandon.

The post J.J. Abrams Loves New Indie Film Gear SnapFocus appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

The post The Wire: The Musical appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

A young man teams up with his aging neighborhood machinist to create an almost magical piece of filmmaking gear — inspired by bicycle parts.

The sequel to Hugo?

No, the true story of Brandon David Cole (indie filmmaker, editor, giant dreamer) and his new invention, the SnapFocus Follow Focus System.

It’s a revolutionary, intuitive tool for pulling focus on almost any camera you can imagine — including DSLR’s, fixed-lens cameras, and even the famous RED.

DSLR: Gift and Curse

SnapFocus Follow Focus rigged to a DSLR.

If you’re an indie filmmaker, you should already know about DSLR’s.

In case you’ve missed it, a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex if you want to be really geeky) is a high-quality still camera. Some DSLRs also shoot video.

Because of its very shallow depth-of-field (the ability to put objects in the extreme foreground or background way out of focus with an effect called bokeh) footage shot on a DSLR looks cinematic.

For many indies, the way to get that “film look” is to shoot on a DSLR.

DSLR Upside: looks amazing.

DSLR Downside: hard to focus your shots just right, especially if you’re going for a more “hand-held” look and your focal point is constantly changing.

In fact, for much of what we do at Joke Productions (doc-style shooting) we’ve never seriously considered shooting on a DSLR…until now.

SnapFocus: Breaking for Great Shots

Using two bicycle break handles, Brandon (and the numerous filmmakers who’ve tested SnapFocus) say that within a couple minutes you’re intuitively pulling focus using your “muscle memory” in a way that has never been possible until now.

According to the press release:

The SnapFocus allows filmmakers to pull focus and compose their shots while on the move, making handheld movie-quality images easy to achieve.

Brandon, founder of Midas Mount, designs all sorts of indie filmmaking gear inspired by bicycle parts. He was a pro flatland BMX rider as a teenager, and used to make BMX videos with his dad’s two-piece VHS camera.

Today, you can see his love of biking reflected in the design of other Midas Mount indie filmmaking gear. Look close…it’s not hard to spot.

Is that guy pulling focus with BMX brakes?

Proud Supporters of Brandon and SnapFocus Follow Focus

We’ve known Brandon for a while…he edited for us on Scream Queens and Caged, all the while working to launch his innovative Midas Mount brand of indie film gear. (We currently use his Midas Mount Skate Rail Slider.)

Today we proudly supported his Kickstarter campaign, picking up a SnapFocus for ourselves (that thing is crazy cool) and taking advantage of the $299 Kickstarter special that runs until June 4.

Right now, Brandon is ONLY SELLING THIS on Kickstarter, and while he believes greatly in the product, it’s going to take real success on his campaign to put this amazing equipment in the hands of the masses. For right now, there’s one way to get this…at the Kickstarter site.

(Be sure to look at the pictures at the bottom of the Kickstarter page that show exactly what you get when you pledge, as there’s LOTS of equipment configurations–make sure you get what you need.)

Check out Brandon’s awesome Kickstarter video:

Support Brandon with Just a Few Dollars

Even if you’re not in the market for a SnapFocus, you can still support Brandon and get great rewards like the indie film he directed, Bristol Boys.

We have a lot of faith in Brandon, and can’t wait until our SnapFocus gets here some time in December.

To us, Brandon epitomizes the indie spirit, and we hope you’ll support him, even if you only have $5 to spare.

Good luck Brandon…we’re sure you’ll hit your $20,000 goal in no time…but we’re betting on six figures!

The post Featured Kickstarter Project: SnapFocus appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Caged: 3 months later:

(loading from MTV – please give it a moment.)

It’s been a journey. Read more here: Our MTV Caged Blog
And if you like, follow us on our main twitter account, @jokeandbaigio or our Facebook page.

The post Caged Epilogue appeared first on Joke and Biagio.

Here’s what Robin Williams had to say about our film Dying to do Letterman:

The post Robin Williams Discusses Dying to do Letterman appeared first on Joke and Biagio.