Get Set!

What makes a great A.D.? Learn from literally one of the best LESLIE MERLIN!!

Leslie is DGA Award-nominated with over 20 years of experience in film production running sets. She's worked across a diverse portfolio of commercials, television, feature films, music videos and global brands and live productions. Adept at managing complex productions, schedules, budgets, and cross-functional teams while delivering high-quality content on time and on budget. And we get into how she excels at all of it on the pod.

We talk about how she honed her skills, what she looks for when building a team, how to be a calm leader on set, and the feast or famine dynamic of the industry while also maintaining a family.
We get into her path to becoming union, the differences between AD-ing for commercials, TV, and film, and how she unexpectedly landed on Modern Family for a decade.
*Spoiler Alert* It's because she's not only incredible at her job, but also an incredible person to work with.

This episode is absolutely packed with critical information that everyone on set should have an understanding of, regardless of whether you are aspiring to be an AD or not.

Follow Leslie on Social Media @merlin82
Check out her website for career updates: https://leslie-merlin.my.canva.site/leslie-merlin
Visit her IMDB page to see all the incredible productions she's been apart of.

ANNNDD... of course go to our ⁠⁠CREDIT⁠⁠ feature film link and follow (free), share (also free), and make a contribution. Get involved and support indie filmmakers and Women told stories this Women’s National History Month. ALL contributions are TAX DEDUCTIBLE thanks to our non-profit fiscal sponsor, AWD, the Alliance of Women Directors.

https://seedandspark.com/fund/credit-feature-film#story

Follow our progress on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, and subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ for exclusive After Hours episodes, production updates, templates, and more!!

Now... Go GET SET!!

xoxo
Your ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Old Girls⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,
Jessica Payne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jesschristeen11⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Monique Schwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @moniqueschwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Director of The Martha Carelli Story  starring Stauna Katic from Castle to be released on May 2nd on Lifetime, and an international holiday rom-com to come out this year as well, TRACI HAYS has been a pioneer for so many Women in our networking space, that we just HAD to get her on the pod!

Traci is a DGA award–nominated director known for crafting female-centric, genre-blending stories with a strong visual edge, and in this episode we talk about her career journey from working in production design and her path to directing.

Traci is a perfect guest for this podcast, because she really walks the walk, as the current Board President of Moonshot Initiative, and member of the Alliance of Women Directors (who happen to be our non-profit fiscal sponsor for our feature film CREDIT).

She is someone we truly admire and can't wait to see her films out this year, as well as see her at our next Women led networking event.

Thanks for all you do Traci!! <3

You can follow Traci on Instagram at @traci.s.hays and check out her website at https://tracihays.com/

ANNNDD... of course go to our ⁠CREDIT⁠ feature film link and follow (free), share (also free), and make a contribution. Get involved and support indie filmmakers and Women told stories this Women’s National History Month. ALL contributions are TAX DEDUCTIBLE thanks to our non-profit fiscal sponsor, AWD, the Alliance of Women Directors.

Follow our progress on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, and subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠ for exclusive After Hours episodes, production updates, templates, and more!!

Now... Go GET SET!!

xoxo
Your ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Old Girls⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,
Jessica Payne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jesschristeen11⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Monique Schwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @moniqueschwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Producer & Assistant Director RYAN MORRISSEY is on the pod today, talking about that special magic that happens when you form lasting connections on set. And you know we really mean it, because him and Jessica vibed so much on set, that we made him our fellow Producer of our feature film CREDIT.  

This episode goes over how to be your authentic self while doing good work in a professional and fast paced environment, being the crew member people feel comfortable talking to, keeping up with the connections you’ve made as you build your career, and the importance of not being an a$$hole. And boy, the tea is served piping hot in this episode. 

You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.morrisseyy
And of course go to our CREDIT feature film link and follow (free), share (also free), and make a contribution. Get involved and support indie filmmakers and Women told stories this Women’s National History Month. ALL contributions are TAX DEDUCTIBLE thanks to our non-profit fiscal sponsor, AWD, the Alliance of Women Directors.

Follow our progress on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, and subscribe to our ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ for exclusive After Hours episodes, production updates, templates, and more!!

Now... Go GET SET!!
xoxo
Your ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Old Girls⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,
Jessica Payne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jesschristeen11⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Monique Schwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @moniqueschwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to PART TWO of our OSCAR WEEK Filmmaker Conversations!!

Usually we publish every Monday throughout the Season, but we HAD to bring you this incredible episode before you enjoy the Oscar's this Sunday!

Today on the pod we have the Writers, Directors, and Producers of the OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILM Two People Exchanging Saliva, Natalie Musteata & Alexandre Singh!
Two People Exchanging Saliva is based in a society where kissing is forbidden and people pay for things with slaps to the face. Angine, an unhappy woman, becomes fascinated by a playful salesgirl, raising the suspicions of a jealous colleague.
CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH THE OSCAR NOMINATED FILM!

This is the filmmakers' FIRST FILM PRODUCTION!!! Learn all about how they got into production, their lessons learned, and their road to the Oscars in this episode.

Linked below we have their favorite resources mentioned in this episode, which they used throughout the filmmaking process.

PODCAST Resources:
ScriptNotes
Draft Zero - Screenwriting Podcast
The Screenwriting Life w/ Meg LeFauve & Loren McKenna
IndieWire
IndieWire ToolKit
... and this one ;)

Follow their journey and cheer for them on Oscar night!!
Two People Exchanging Saliva
Natalie Musteata

And a major announcement from the OLD GIRLS team... our crowd-funding campaign for our first feature film ⁠CREDIT⁠ is now LIVE on ⁠Seed&Spark⁠!!! With AWD, the Alliance of Women Directors, as our fiscal sponsor, ALL donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!! Whether you follow, share with a friend, post, or donate, ALL of those things help our project get seen and supported by more people. THANK YOU in advance for supporting Women Filmmakers & Women led stories!!
HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH!

Follow our progress on ⁠Instagram⁠, and subscribe to our ⁠Patreon⁠ for exclusive After Hours episodes, production updates, templates, and more!!

Now... Go GET SET!!
xoxo
Your ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Old Girls⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,
Jessica Payne ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jesschristeen11⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Monique Schwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @moniqueschwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today on the pod we have the OSCAR NOMINATED FILMMAKERS of the Comedy Short, Jane Austen's PERIOD DRAMA, JULIA AKS (AXE), STEVE PINDER & ELLI LERGSKI (le-ger-ski)!!! Julia and Steve are the co-directors, and co-writers, Julia stars in the film, and Elli is the producer!

For those of you who haven’t seen this incredible comedy short film yet, it’s set in England, 1813. Miss Estrogenia gets her period during a long-awaited marriage proposal. Mr. Dickley mistakes the blood for an injury, and it becomes clear that his expensive education has missed a spot. And it's currently streaming for free on YouTube! (linked above)

This short has been called "A film to root for in the live action short category" by Cinema Blend, in addition to the high praise of RogerEbert.com, "I don't mind saying that this one is my favorite of the bunch" !!!

We talk with the filmmakers about their individual journies and careers in the industry, how they met and became collaborators, the ins and outs of festival submitting and Oscar season, and of course, the origin and production story behind this incredible film.

See the 12 minute short, root for them on Oscar night this Sunday, and be sure to follow all their socials below:
Jane Austen's PERIOD DRAMA
JULIA AKS (Lead / Co-Writer / Co-Director)
STEVE PINDER (Co-Writer / Co-Director)
ELLI LERGSKI (Producer)

And a major announcement from the OLD GIRLS team... our crowd-funding campaign for our first feature film CREDIT starts TODAY at 10am on Seed&Spark!!! With AWD, the Alliance of Women Directors, as our fiscal sponsor, ALL donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!! Whether you follow, share with a friend, post, or donate, ALL of those things help our project get seen and supported by more people. So, THANK YOU in advance!!

Follow our progress on Instagram, and subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive After Hours episodes, production updates, templates, and more!!

Now... Go GET SET!!
xoxo
Your ⁠⁠⁠⁠Old Girls⁠⁠⁠⁠,
Jessica Payne ⁠⁠⁠⁠@jesschristeen11⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Monique Schwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @moniqueschwaneman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠