How to be an Indie Filmmaker with Sarah Moshman
12/13/22 • 50 min
1 Listener
It's not every day you get to sit down with an indie filmmaker and have them shed all their secrets—but Sarah Moshman is here to spill the beans! We covered a lot of helpful information in this episode, so settle in!
In this episode we cover:
- Is film school worth it?
- How to pick a film school
- What it's like to work on Dancing with the Stars
- How to decide when to move on to the next thing
- How to make your first film
- How to crowdfund (Sarah's an expert!)
- How to balance being a mom and being an ambitious filmmaker
- Directing documentary vs. narrative film
This episode was brought to you by B&H, your one-stop shop for everything photo + video.
Links:
Sarah's Website
Sarah's Book (Empowered Filmmaking)
Sarah's Films
Sarah's Instagram
Erin's Instagram
Sarah's Bio:
Sarah Moshman is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker whose work has been featured on Upworthy, Marie Claire, PBS, Hulu, CNN, Netflix, and Good Morning America. After directing two short documentaries about female empowerment in young women, (Girls Rock! Chicago (2010) and Growing up Strong: Girls on the Run (2012)) she set out to direct her first feature doc The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things (2014) which has been screened over 700 times around the US and around the world in schools, groups, organizations and corporations starting conversations about gender equality. With Indieflix as the distributor, the film has been sponsored by major brands like Nordstrom, American Girl and Microsoft to spread this message far and wide. Sarah's second feature doc, Losing Sight of Shore follows the incredible journey of four women who rowed across the Pacific Ocean. The film was released globally in 190 countries on Netflix in May 2017. NEVERTHELESS is Sarah’s third feature documentary which takes a look behind the headlines of #MeToo and Time’s Up to shine a light on the sexual harassment crisis and use the power of cinema for change. Most recently Sarah brought her talents to the narrative realm and directed an award-winning short fiction film UNBOUND about the first mother to go to space starring Lauren Lapkus (Orange is the New Black). In 2022, UNBOUND won First Place at NASA’s CineSpace Global Short Film Competition and is set to screen on the International Space Station!
Prior to focusing on documentaries Sarah worked as a field producer on the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars for 10 seasons as well as shows on NBC, MTV, Lifetime, Bravo and the Food Network. She often jumps in to story produce for premium doc series on A&E, HBO and Showtime. She also directs branded content for EllenTube, Tastemade, Mattel, AT&T, Samsung, Stayfree, SPANX, and more. Sarah is an inspiring public speaker, author, and an adjunct professor in documentary film, passionate about empowering the next generation of storytellers. Sarah is dedicated to telling stories that uplift, inform and inspire as well as showcase strong female role models on screen.
Sarah is LA based and Mom to two kiddos, a 5 year old daughter and a 2 year old son.
It's not every day you get to sit down with an indie filmmaker and have them shed all their secrets—but Sarah Moshman is here to spill the beans! We covered a lot of helpful information in this episode, so settle in!
In this episode we cover:
- Is film school worth it?
- How to pick a film school
- What it's like to work on Dancing with the Stars
- How to decide when to move on to the next thing
- How to make your first film
- How to crowdfund (Sarah's an expert!)
- How to balance being a mom and being an ambitious filmmaker
- Directing documentary vs. narrative film
This episode was brought to you by B&H, your one-stop shop for everything photo + video.
Links:
Sarah's Website
Sarah's Book (Empowered Filmmaking)
Sarah's Films
Sarah's Instagram
Erin's Instagram
Sarah's Bio:
Sarah Moshman is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker whose work has been featured on Upworthy, Marie Claire, PBS, Hulu, CNN, Netflix, and Good Morning America. After directing two short documentaries about female empowerment in young women, (Girls Rock! Chicago (2010) and Growing up Strong: Girls on the Run (2012)) she set out to direct her first feature doc The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things (2014) which has been screened over 700 times around the US and around the world in schools, groups, organizations and corporations starting conversations about gender equality. With Indieflix as the distributor, the film has been sponsored by major brands like Nordstrom, American Girl and Microsoft to spread this message far and wide. Sarah's second feature doc, Losing Sight of Shore follows the incredible journey of four women who rowed across the Pacific Ocean. The film was released globally in 190 countries on Netflix in May 2017. NEVERTHELESS is Sarah’s third feature documentary which takes a look behind the headlines of #MeToo and Time’s Up to shine a light on the sexual harassment crisis and use the power of cinema for change. Most recently Sarah brought her talents to the narrative realm and directed an award-winning short fiction film UNBOUND about the first mother to go to space starring Lauren Lapkus (Orange is the New Black). In 2022, UNBOUND won First Place at NASA’s CineSpace Global Short Film Competition and is set to screen on the International Space Station!
Prior to focusing on documentaries Sarah worked as a field producer on the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars for 10 seasons as well as shows on NBC, MTV, Lifetime, Bravo and the Food Network. She often jumps in to story produce for premium doc series on A&E, HBO and Showtime. She also directs branded content for EllenTube, Tastemade, Mattel, AT&T, Samsung, Stayfree, SPANX, and more. Sarah is an inspiring public speaker, author, and an adjunct professor in documentary film, passionate about empowering the next generation of storytellers. Sarah is dedicated to telling stories that uplift, inform and inspire as well as showcase strong female role models on screen.
Sarah is LA based and Mom to two kiddos, a 5 year old daughter and a 2 year old son.
Previous Episode
How to be a Props Master with Scott Reeder
Ever wondered who manages all the props you see in movies and tv shows? All the bowls, cups, pencils, car keys, phones, and on and on? Well, that's a Property Master or, for short, props master. Seasoned props master, viral content creator, and Texas-native Scott Reeder is here to tell us about his journey to a career in film/tv props.
In this episode we cover:
- Scott's upbringing, growing up in a small town in Texas + college journey
- How Scott wiggled his way onto film sets while majoring in Anthropology
- How Scott built a sustainable career, and how he continues to get jobs
- How unions work (Scott is a member of IATSE)
- Scott's reaction to the accidental fatal shooting on the set of RUST in 2021
- How Scott balances family and work
This episode was brought to you by B&H — your one-stop shop for everything photo + video (and podcasting!)
Links:
Scott Reeder TikTok
Scott Reeder Instagram
Good For The Plot IG
Erin McGoff IG
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