Get started with the Recording Radio Film Connection & CASA Schools
Show #69 | Roland Artist Lounge, Burbank, California
Guest: Mike City plus DreamTeam Directors
Jul 24, 2017
Here are the job opportunities (or as we like to call them, Grind Opps) from this week's show.
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #2
Position:
Recording Composer / Sound Designer
Industry: Recording
Location: Beijing, China
Description
Music Agency seeks a full-time composer/sound designer and engineer.
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #3
Position:
Film Videographer / Editor
Industry: Film
Location: Charlotte, NC
Description
Production company looking for an enthusiastic videographer to shoot and edit video for clients.
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #4
Position:
Recording Runner
Industry: Recording
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Description
Recording Studio looking someone to fill entry level position of Runner for the studio
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #5
Position:
Recording Studio Assistant
Industry: Recording
Location: Boston, MA
Description
School for the blind needing an assistant for the recording studio and supporting the recording studio book and magazine production programs.
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #6
Position:
Intern - Feature Film Production
Industry: Film
Location: Ridgewood, NJ
Description
Production company looking for interns to help with pre-production on an independent feature film
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #7
Position:
Sports
Industry: Recording
Location: Board Operator
Description
Radio Station looking for someone to provide programming and control board support to On-Air Talent
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #8
Position:
Board Operator / On Air Talent
Industry: Radio
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Description
Radio station looking someone to produce and execute radio show
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #9
Position:
Private Chef
Industry: Culinary
Location: Atlanta, GA
Description
Popular Bar and Grill looking for an Executive Chef
07/24/17
GRIND OPP #10
Position:
Audio Engineer
Industry: Recording
Location: Portland, OR
Description
Recording Studio looking someone to fill engineer position for podcast
Transcript
DJ IZ: I can do it.
Mike City: I’m as dope as them. So one thing led to another. I kept grinding, kept grinding. Then a guy who I grew up with, Tuffy from Channel Live, who you know works in publishing right now, he knew Carl. He was like, “You’ve got this record. Let me give it to Carl [inaudible 00:00:18] Next thing you know I went to whatever studio it was, Daddy’s House. At first I got kicked out of Daddy’s House. Straight up, I got kicked out of Daddy’s House, because during that time I was working with my man, AG, and he was signed to Ruff Ryders. So I was up there with the Ruff Ryders in Yonkers. I think we came down there to the studio and one of them had on the Ruff Ryders shirt, but I think that’s when Puff and The LOX were going through that thing. So he was looking around the studio like, “What is all this?”
Now, we were the only three odd people there. “Get these out of the studio. You know I’m doing my album,” blah, blah, blah. So we got kicked out of Daddy’s House. A week later I get a call like, “You’ve got to come back up here.” So I went from getting kicked out to the next thing you know I was in like Sound on Sound, Electric Lady, Sony Studios, all these big studios doing “I Wish” and everything. But I felt like I had prepared all that time to be ready. So every time I would get in the studio with somebody big, whatever it is, I’ve been grinding so long that I’m not like in shock and awe. So I went in with Babyface. Babyface did his part. I was like, “Let me do my part. I’ve got to let him know this is real.” I go in the studio with Stevie Wonder. When Stevie Wonder tells you you’re dope, I was like, it’s official.
DJ IZ: Right, I’m here.
Mike City: You can’t tell me nothing. I’m official. Stevie Wonder said, “You’re dope.” So I’ve been nominated for a few Grammys. I’ve never won, but Stevie Wonder said I’m dope. So that’s like, to me-
Daniel: Can’t beat that.
Cloie: That’s the Grammy right there.
DJ IZ: What’s great about that, too, man…I know for me being considered and being in the class and having a nomination to me has always been more valuable than just the statue or whatever it is, because you know, to justify everything in this one statue doesn’t mean anything to me, but to be acknowledged. Like I said, those records that came from you were just great for the culture of R&B and black music. You know what I’m saying? You were the pinnacle for them.
Mike City: You know what, I feel like I won a Grammy from the streets.
DJ IZ: Yeah, a Grammy from the streets, exactly.
Mike City: I go in any hood, they’re going to rock one of my joints. So I feel good about that, you know what I’m saying? I think actually maybe that’s what gave me staying power, because I’ve never really tried to follow the pop trend. I always just did feel-good music. That’s what I do. So it’s a mixture of hip hop, R&B, gospel, fusion. I go from listening to The Carpenters to Biggie to Steely Dan to Mobb Deep, to whatever, to Commission in the course of a day. My mind is all over the place in what I’m hearing. So I put all that into the studio when I go in. I never know what I’m really going to come up with.
DJ IZ: Right, but that’s great too, I think, to have a source like that where you can pull inspiration from as a creator and then ultimately at the end of the day, like you said, be in the studio and then whatever comes out of you is what comes out of you, but it’s a concoction of those things.
Mike City: Yeah, and I feel like I’m a fan. In the heyday of selling CD’s and records I was one of the people standing in line at midnight to buy the record. I’m a fan of music, you know what I’m saying? So I feel like I have a really good foundation and taste in music.
DJ IZ: Right, which is a great time for us to have someone like you and also have a dynamic duo like you all.
Cloie: Exactly.
DJ IZ: Because one of the things we were talking in the hallway prior to the show was music and getting into the film aspect. So here you guys are, you know, the dynamic duo.
Cloie: Who doesn’t know, like a husband and wife team, not for nothing. And still working on both accounts. So that’s a success.
DJ IZ: Which is an incredible dynamic.
Mike City: That’s incredible.
Bayou: Thank you.
Daniel: [inaudible 00:04:08] quick connection over here though. And women always think that the man doesn’t listen to them. I’ve got to blame these guys over here because I was in Diddy’s studio on Press Play and other stuff, and they just take the speakers and take them to the max. I don’t know why you guys do that, but you can feel the whole room vibrating, right?
Mike City: Yeah. How about this though? You probably know this. No room vibrates like a Dr. Dre studio.
Daniel: Absolutely.
Mike City: No room. I don’t know what he does to the speakers, but you better be ready when you go into one of his-
Daniel: Your ears will be like-
Mike City: I’m serious.
Cloie: You feel it in your body.
Mike City: Earmuffs.
Bayou: So that’s what he blames it on. He blames it on the recording session. Not hearing the wife is because of the recording sessions with P. Diddy.
Mike City: I’m gonna step to the side.
Cloie: So DreamTeam directors, can you tell us a little bit about what it is that you do? Because you’ve worked with MTV, Adidas, I mean come on now.
DJ IZ: The name itself. I’ve got to know the reason and concept behind the name.
Bayou: Thank you. Yeah, do you want to talk about-
Daniel: Let me see here. Bayou and I met in a vegetarian cafe in the Lower East Side, on Ludlow.
Bayou: In New York.
Daniel: Check this out. She lived on 11th Street between B and C, and I lived on 11th Street between B and C. We never met. And then she lived on Norfolk and I lived on Suffolk and we never met. Finally we meet at this vegetarian cafe. She’s coming out of her yoga class, I’m sitting there eating a veggie dog. There was only one seat available, we strike up a conversation, she’s making films, I’m making films, and we decide to make our first film together based on her students, because she was a professor of film, Bayou.
Bayou: That’s right. Yeah. Parsons New School.
Cloie: Yes, Parsons.
Bayou: Yeah, okay? And then I was like, “Wow, my students are sitting next to each other and they’re texting each other,” and I’m like, we need to make a comment about this. This was in 2007. So we did that.
Daniel: Yeah, we made the film in 2009.
Bayou: That’s right, 2009. Then we ended up getting in 15 film festivals, winning three top awards from Fox Searchlight, DreamWorks, we got on Times Square, and then recently I just put it online and it’s over 3 million hits at this point.
DJ IZ: Wow, that’s dope.
Bayou: Thank you. And we got a manager. So Daniel was working in fashion with top people like Pete Adeeb, [SP] Betsy Johnson, Carolina Herrera, all the top people. Then I was like, “Look, we’ve got something. We need to go to Hollywood and continue our dream.”
Daniel: People actually just called us the DreamTeam because everything we did, our first two projects, one was with Lea Michele, and then she blew up in Glee. The other one was “Text Me” and then Matt Bennet became really successful. So they were like, “Wow, you guys are a dream team.” So we were like, “Oh my god, that name sounds so cool.”
Bayou: And then we started selling out products-
DJ IZ: I want to be on the DreamTeam. How do I get on the DreamTeam?
Bayou: That’s what we want. We want to make people’s dreams come true. That’s our goal.
Cloie: Yes, I’m all about dreams, having vision.
Daniel: We’re all in the for the dream, absolutely. Everyone has a dream, and we want to inspire people to go after their dreams and not be distracted by all the craziness in this world and people trying to tell them they can’t do it. So if we could help anyone get closer to their dream, then we had a very successful day and a very successful week, and it’s all been worth it.
Cloie: Wait, before we go, because this is actually a perfect transition. So this show is about getting you jobs. Not giving jobs, but presenting opportunities for people then to go out and make their work.
DJ IZ: Dreams come true.
Cloie: So we give five. During the show there are also five that are on our website, but I feel like this is the perfect time to present one opportunity.
DJ IZ: Let’s do it because I’m getting ready to reverse engineer this dynamic right here, because it’s something very interesting. So we’re going to hit it off. First grind opp of the day is in the field of audio engineer. This is in Miami, Florida. “A recording studio is in pursuit of an experienced audio engineer who is currently working. Must understand how to run sessions, communicate with clients/artists, record in Pro Tools, edit, and mix.” Now, this is definitely our field, Mike. Is there anything you see here as far as preparation, also what they might just want to have experience in? I always say DAW’s, like knowing all your DAW’s.
Mike City: Yeah, and knowing how to do people. You know, in music you’ve got to have a full range. You’ve got to be like the glue. You’ve got to get outside of…Can’t be about yourself to be able to be in a room with creative people, because people tick differently. So you’ve got to be the mediator at all times. You can’t get an attitude. You’ve got to stay chill.
DJ IZ: Yeah, and that’s one thing with the studio environment. It’s a very unique environment because it’s one of those things you have to know really well because the temperament of things is always different. Some cats don’t like certain things. Some people don’t like traffic in the room. I think from the audio aspect I would say it’s important not to just know Pro Tools, but you want to know Logic, Reason, and Ableton, because downtime in a studio is always a bad thing. Whether it’s that something’s not working right, there’s a buzz or a hum, as an engineer-
Mike City: It could stop a hit. It could literally stop the whole vibe.
Cloie: It’s like a boom man dropping the boom. You have a fantastic shot and then it’s like, boom shadow.
DJ IZ: So for any engineer that we have viewing today that wants to apply for that job, just make sure you have those things dialed in a whole lot. Because the great thing with a studio environment is you meet people, you meet other engineers, and that could be a great bridge for other work to come later on down the road. So again that was in Miami, Florida. Now back to the DreamTeam. It’s an interesting dynamic because obviously you guys are husband and wife.
Daniel: And we cook, too.
DJ IZ: By the way, we also do culinary jobs, too.
Cloie: We also eat.
DJ IZ: We also eat, too. So just to kind of understand the dynamics of this team here, I kind of want to peel back the layers. So obviously is there one that is kind of like the spearhead, the visionary? Just to understand the roles.
Daniel: I’m the one who stays up late at night. That’s for sure. Coming up with a lot of ideas. I’d say Bayou is really instrumental in working with talent on projects. She really makes them feel extremely comfortable so that they can be the best they can be, bring out the best in their performance. I’m very visual. I really get into the cinematography and the lighting.
DJ IZ: The creative feel.
Daniel: Yeah. I also come from a fashion background. I literally was behind the scenes with Betsy Johnson and Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera and Marc Jacobs in New York. So I got really into hair and makeup. So that’s a huge part of-
DJ IZ: Learning that is so dope.
Daniel: Just really getting very focused in on that, that’s very important. So I feel like because I’ve been able to learn from the best in that field, that becomes a huge visual part of what we do. And Bayou loves that because I have as much fun at Sephora as she does. So that’s a huge part of it. So I think the main thing is that I have an idea and she adds another idea and it keeps going higher and higher and better and better. Sometimes I’ll be writing all night on a script and Bayou will come in and just say one thing, and it just changed the whole script for the better, because she was a professor of filmmaking and she knows how to critique in a really optimistic, cool way. Because some people can get so nasty. I feel like it has no place in the industry at all. You’ve got to bring out what’s working about it and then how to fix what could be better. She just has these amazing, genius insights, and then it just always makes it so much better. Also when we write scripts we literally are reading the script together and she’ll act out the female role and I’ll act out the male role to make sure it feels real.
Mike City: [inaudible 00:11:58]
DJ IZ: You guys have a serious [inaudible 00:12:02] and I think it’s so dope, too. I know for us on the producer side how valuable and important it is to get the artist in a space where they’re completely comfortable and open, because that’s ultimately when we get the best performance out of them.
Cloie: And from this side of it, to have that, because we’ve all been in the situations where the talent has lost their mind. We’re not getting what we need.
DJ IZ: That takes a specific dynamic to be able to open an artist like that to where they are completely comfortable and pulling the best of out of them.
Bayou: It’s so important. I mean I have been on the other side of the camera. So I know what it feels like. I was a professional dancer. So I know how to communicate and how to make them feel like, “Okay, I’m going to be the best I can see.” I immediately see them and I see what is the best, and I just pull it out of them. I’m like, wow, they’re really good at blah, blah, blah, in my mind. I see it right away. I’m like, “Let’s just do it. Give it all to me.” And then the cameras melt and go away, and they just see me. That’s all I want. I’m good energy and I give it back, and I nurture it. And of course if something’s not working I communicate about it, but to them. I don’t yell it across the room, I don’t scream.
DJ IZ: It’s personal.
Bayou: Yeah, it’s personal. Go over and communicate.
Cloie: To that point, too, we should also note two of our Connected team, we have Daniel and Charles on our team that were actually your mentees.
Bayou: Yeah, we have Steven and Charlie that are behind the cameras right now.
Daniel: [inaudible 00:13:38]
Bayou: Yeah, it was really fun. They both are amazing. Charlie’s amazing at editing and Steven is really incredible. Well, both are amazing at editing. Steven was able to come in on a TV show with us, and Charlie did a lot of the behind the scenes and did a ton of editing for us as well. So these guys had great energy, showed up on time and were willing to do anything. So there you go. They still do. You guys still do, right?
Cloie: They totally do.
DJ IZ: They came from a great cloth, right?
Bayou: That’s right.
Cloie: We also like to highlight other members of the RRFC family. This week we actually are highlighting Devin Zorn, who you met a few weeks back. His mentor is Rick Rooney. He’s working with him in a studio out of Dallas. We actually-
DJ IZ: We’ve got a videoclip that we can rock.
Cloie: We sure do. He just worked on his first music video and all this other cool stuff. Why don’t we roll that video?
Devin: Well, his name’s Rick Rooney. He’s a freaking excellent mentor. He’s got a lot of tenure. He’s worked with Aerosmith and BB King and Iggy Pop and the Stooges and Donna Summer, Joe Cocker, and all those crazy people. He worked with Dr. Dre and a whole bunch of cats like that. So he’s definitely got the experience in all the different genres that you need to know. So I started working with Tom Devil and the WIZard because of Rick. Rick would tell me, “Hey man, if you ever have somebody who you want to bring up, then bring them up. We’ll get it done.
Singer: Made a decision to take that would change my life forever, and right away I let down behind down with the crowd. I took the music and I cleared my mind. [inaudible 00:15:24] I just checked the gas. I hit the road and I never looked back. Thank god I didn’t ride that train one more time. It would have been my last. Thank you for saving me today.
DJ IZ: So shout out to Rick Rooney on that one, man, and being an incredible mentor. Like you guys, we always like to just acknowledge our mentors that are pretty much out there on the ground doing the real work and sharing information like you all did with a couple of our team members and just making yourselves available for that.
Bayou: Thank you. We feel artists are the most important people in this world, and we change realities, we uplift societies, and that’s our goal, is to help others make their dreams come true and do the same thing. Yeah, there you go.
DJ IZ: That’s what it’s all about. When I first got the opportunity to put together a show like Connected, and having Cloie on board, was to ultimately do exactly what you just mentioned. It was to take everything we’ve been blessed to have and experience and immediately figure out a way to pump that back into this next culture of creators, forward thinkers, and just inspire them and get them on a track that’s not so much driven by tradition. I feel like that lane is well documented. You know, you go to high school, you go to college, and you go. But for people who are really driven by the arts, that roadmap is a bit different for us.
Daniel: That is so well said. That could not be better said. I think the one thing about this industry is that there is no roadmap.
Cloie: Especially now.
Mike City: Oh, it’s the wild, wild west.
Bayou: You said it. Yeah.
Mike City: It’s the wild, wild west. Film and stuff, too, because you can make a movie on an iPhone or something, and it can pop off.
Cloie: It’s happening.
DJ IZ: That’s the thing. I think what’s so great about what we all do collectively is that, yes, through technology you can do those things, but there’s a level of expertise, there’s a level of art and quality that goes into it. I know even for me on the music side when I get a chance to be in a room with young cats that are carrying their laptop like it’s a Fender bass or a keyboard, that’s the modern day instrument, right? I also make it a point to infuse the work ethic, the quality, the caliber that goes into this, which is something I want to talk to you guys about, too, is just your day. What does that look like? How many hours? What time are you getting up? What time is applied to the business and then what time is applied to the creative? So if you’ll kind of dive through that with me, it’s important for our viewers to kind of have an understanding of, “Man, I put in eight hours a day.” Well, on a daily I put in 16 hours. So helping them understand the demand that goes into your craft and what that looks like is very important. So if you guys could kind of share that.
Daniel: I would say it’s definitely not a 9-5 job. I think that anytime I’m awake I’m creatively thinking. I do a lot of, how the DreamTeam works is that I will go until like 2:00 a.m. and then Bayou will pick it up at 7:30 a.m. and carry the ball across the line. So we kind of work that way, but I think we’re always, even on our honeymoon we actually came up with an idea for an antidrug PSA.
Bayou: It won an award.
Daniel: Which actually won an award and was really meaningful because I feel like what we’re trying to do is, literally, everywhere we can, we’re trying to do something to help this planet, because I feel like that’s what it most needs. We’re trying to get involved with Teen Cancer America, Whole Planet, which is Whole Foods Foundation, which helps women across the world with loans so they can get their dreams going. We’re trying to get involved with as many nonprofits, but it’s constantly working, constantly doing social media, constantly going out and meeting people.
I think since we’re talking about getting jobs and getting paid and making a living at this, I feel like if you combine extreme competence and skill at what you do with being really good with people and showing them how much you care and how much you want to do a good job and go above and beyond and do whatever it takes and see the opportunity to do something before someone asks you to do it, there’s no way you’re not going to get hired. There’s no way. If you’re good at what you do and you go way above and beyond-
Bayou: It’s like leading with heart.
DJ IZ: That’s so important, what you just said. I know it’s the same for you, Mike and Cloie. I think we’ve definitely made it a point throughout our careers to go way further beyond. I always say if somebody was writing me a check or not, I’d still be playing drums, I’d still be DJ’ing to myself in my house because I love it that much. When you show people how much you really love it, I mean nothing’s easy. It’s a road for all of us. It’s been a road for all of us, but when you take that extra step to really put your heart on the table and really just go, it has an interesting way of drawing people in, and people see that. And through that you find decisionmakers that say, “You know what, I need that guy,” or, “Man, I’ve got to have you guys. How can we do something?” It just kind of becomes a snowball thing.
Daniel: I mean a turning point personally, career-wise, having worked with a lot of amazing celebrities from Isaac Hayes to Diddy to Sum-41, a lot of people in the music industry, I think a big change for me is not just doing what I want to do, but making sure I do what they want to do. What is their vision helping them to achieve? That’s what we try to do. What’s your dream? Do you agree you need the right team to achieve your dream? And then helping them achieve their dream, because at the end of the day it’s about the vision of the artist. We’re here as music video directors to breathe our own vision into it, but also to make sure that it’s their vision.
DJ IZ: Let me ask you this, Mike. When you sit down with an artist, is that kind of the same space you’re in as far as really understanding where they’re at in that moment in their life and trying to put a body of work together that kind of encompasses those things? What’s your formula?
Mike City: Like we were talking about, you were saying with Brandy, working with these different artists, when I was working with her I had to really get to know her. So it was like I was in her head. I had to get to know her. I knew sunshine. Then working with Carl Istam [SP] and Dave, I was talking to Dave, “What’s going on with you personally?” You get in their space, because that’s what it’s all about to get the best product. I think the reason why I’ve been able to last through whatever it is, is because I think when people hear my music, they can tell I care. So a lot of people, you can’t feel the care in a lot of music, but you hear my music and you know I care. I want it to be fly. I’m trying to impress myself. So I want to impress the client and I want to impress myself too, because when I’m old and grey I want to be like, “I was fly.” So now when they play my records right now from back in the day, they still feel like it’s right now.
DJ IZ: Timeless.
Cloie: We’ve discussed this with other artists who’ve come on the show, and it also ties into what you’re staying about the heart. Heart is timeless. When you’re trying to follow a trend or appeal to the masses but from a look at me perspective as opposed to, “Here I am, this is who I am,” then you’re saying something cool and fun for a moment, but it is not lasting. There’s no longevity there.
Mike City: As far as you’re talking about the time, I have no set time. I will say this, before I had kids I never worked in the morning. It was always afternoon, late night, coming home at dawn. Now I have kids. So sometimes I’m in the studio at 8:30-9:00 doing something. I do that thing, I take a break, I come back to it, and if I’m at the gym I could be on the treadmill with the iPod on or anything or the phone, whatever it is. I’ll take a break and look at Netflix, whatever it is, but it’s always getting back to what I’ve got to get back to. So even when the day winds down, it might be like 10:30 and I might be at a point where I’m tired, but either I’m going to go to sleep right then or I get another burst of wind and I’m in there until 2:00. You never know.
Daniel: I’m really inspired by what you said. Everything you do, you’re trying to make it the best it can be.
Mike City: That’s where I come from. You’ve got to think, I come from the era like when Puff and them were doing stuff in uptown. If your music wasn’t fly, they’d kick you out of the studio or you’re in a meeting and they’d be like, “Get that out of here. This is corny. This is whack.” We come from that era. You can’t be whack. You can be a lot of things, but you can’t be whack.
DJ IZ: Yeah.
Mike City: Seriously. That energy.
DJ IZ: But the great thing is, there’s something to be said about that dynamic and that expectation, because that ultimately propels competition, and people either rise to the occasion or they fall off. I think where we’re at with the culture right now from our aspects is that the bar is on the ground and they just walk over it now.
Cloie: They’re not even lifting their feet up.
DJ IZ: We had to refine and really put in the time to really practice and get to a point where you’re comfortable with saying, “I created something. I’ll pull it up for you to see it.” There’s something that goes into the presentation.
Mike City: We come from the era, and we’re right at the real music, hip hop eras, right when it merged. So even then the production, you could be in a meeting and hear it and be like, “Yo buddy, that snare ain’t hot.” The A&R will tell you that snare ain’t right. I can’t feel that. It ain’t popping. It ain’t making me move a certain way. So we come from that era, so you could be a lot of things, but whack better not be one of them.
DJ IZ: And that’s something that’s important for our viewers, because there’s a level of quality that has to be attached to anything you’re presenting that reflects you and what you’re creating.
Mike City: That keeps you working.
DJ IZ: And it travels with you and becomes a part of who you are, it becomes a part of your creative identity.
Cloie: That’s what we say about overperforming. Overperform. On that note I have an idea. I think it’s a good one. Why don’t we do-
DJ IZ: Another grind opp?
Cloie: Let’s do two of them because then we’ve got some things to show and we can talk with the boys and do some things.
DJ IZ: Yeah, we’ve got a cool video piece from Mike City, too. Let’s run through these jobs.
Cloie: Jobs two and three, please. Let’s make it happen. I love it.
DJ IZ: Second grind opp of the day. This is composer/sound engineer or designer. Beijing, China. Wow, we made it to China.
Cloie: [inaudible 00:26:19]
DJ IZ: Music agency seeks a fulltime composer/sound designer and engineer. Must speak business level Mandarin and English. Must have knowledge and experience producing music for multiple platforms.
Daniel: That’s a great opportunity.
DJ IZ: Incredible opportunity. So make sure you’ve got your passport on deck.
Cloie: Because it’s not a game right now. If you think it’s time to renew it, do it.
DJ IZ: And the great thing I think from just a cultural experience, I mean to go to China and really experience that culture, I’ve been in China a few times, and it’s definitely a different culture, but it’s a lot to take in.
Cloie: It’s alive.
DJ IZ: Anything you see on this particular grind opp, guys? Anything you want to chime in?
Daniel: I think it’s a great opportunity to expand your horIZons. Bayou and I spent a month in the Philippines in 2015. I’ve been in Korea, Japan. I think it could just open up someone’s mind in a whole new way.
DJ IZ: I totally agree.
Daniel: Traveling is one of the best things an artist can do.
DJ IZ: I agree. That’s an opportunity. Sign me up.
Daniel: Like Mike said, figure out what the cultural customs are, figure out how to communicate, have your manners.
Cloie: Basically don’t be a . . .
DJ IZ: On that note we’re going to go to grind opp number three. Grind opp number three is in the field of runner. I remember these days. This is Runner at Santa Monica, California. Recording studio looking for someone to fill entry level position of runner for the studio. Must have working car and proof of insurance, responsible for studio upkeep, stocking refreshments, going on runs for supplies or clients, food orders like burgers, chili cheese fries, tacos. Client services, miscellaneous, studio maintenance. Now, the great thing about a runner opportunity-
Mike City: That’s a great opportunity, especially in the right studio.
DJ IZ: I’ve come across a lot of runners. I’ve seen them anywhere from 17 on up. My heart always goes out to the runners who are in their 40’s or 50’s, because that’s a tough gig. However, the great thing with being a runner is you meet a lot of people and you’re really learning how to accommodate people and-
Cloie: How to speak a bunch of different languages.
DJ IZ: The environment of the room and just knowing how to really, like you said, talk to folks. You find yourself running for people who might hire you.
Mike City: People have learned how to engineer just being a runner. I mean if you take it in, you could do engineering, you could learn how to produce being a runner. Or you’re looking over your shoulder and the next thing you know, I’m sure there are plenty of runners that have been on top.
DJ IZ: Yeah, engineers.
Daniel: I have two stories on runners.
DJ IZ: Man, let’s go. What have you got?
Daniel: Our mentor, Doug Clayborn, he produced “The Fast and The Furious” and amazing films with Francis Ford Coppola. He volunteered to work for free on “Apocalypse Now.” He flew out there and then that film went on for three years shooting, I think, in the jungle. They all went crazy, but he became the assistant director, then he started producing for Coppola, then he started executive producing for Coppola. I mean that’s incredible-
Mike City: Well, the relationships.
Bayou: The first “Fast and Furious,” he did “Black Stallion,” “War of the Roses.” I mean this guy started out in that position.
Cloie: Showing up and being of service.
Bayou: That’s right.
Daniel: This other kid, when I was working at Ridley Scott’s company, he directed “Gladiator” and “Blade Runner” and all these amazing films, he basically was just answering phones, but he didn’t care. He just did the best thing he could do, and eventually he’s working directly with Ridley.
DJ IZ: That’s incredible.
Cloie: Show up.
Mike City: Kendrick says be humble.
Cloie: Sit down.
DJ IZ: I feel like we’ve got good energy going on grind opps. Let’s cut to grind opp number four.
Cloie: I’m not mad at it. Love a grind opp. Love an opportunity.
DJ IZ: Grind opp number four is in the field of videographer/editor in Charlotte, North Carolina. Production company looking for an enthusiastic videographer to shoot and edit video for clients. Responsibilities, assist in general research, i.e. location, casting. Help create strategy documents, draft applications for funding from major foundations. Should be comfortable with making cold calls.
Cloie: Okay, so that’s the thing.
DJ IZ: Dive in, guys.
Cloie: That is not a game. If you’ve ever seen “Boiler Room,” you all know ABC, always be closing. Cold calls are real.
DJ IZ: I feel the energy.
Cloie: For those of you that don’t know what a cold call is.
Daniel: I feel like a lot of kids in our generation, a lot of young people, they look at a phone as a way to connect to the internet, a way to get on social media, and a way to text, but not necessarily to talk on.
Cloie: Talking? What is that?
Mike City: We still have to talk?
Cloie: And for those of you who have no idea what a cold call is, it’s literally like a list of people you’ve never spoken to. You’re going to pick up your phone, dial them, and essentially you pitch yourself, your product, whatever it is you’re doing. But it’s not like you’re calling friends and family.
Daniel: If you can do that though, you’re a star.
Cloie: It’s an art. Always be closing. “Boiler Room,” check it out.
DJ IZ: So I feel like we got some cool video pieces we want to show.
Cloie: Do you want to do grind opp five? Let’s do grind opp five.
DJ IZ: I’m not mad. Let’s do it. Grind opp five. I’m going to let you have this grind opp, Cloie.
Cloie: Goody. Thank you. Grind opp five is a studio assistant. This is in the field of recording in Watertown, Massachusetts. A school for the blind is needing an assistant for the recording studio, and supporting the recording studio book and magazine production programs. Responsibilities include assisting staff with the conversion of digital production files into formatted digital book and magazine files for final mastering and duplication. And again that is in Watertown, Massachusetts. So sound design, audio engineering, or composing is preferred. That’s an interesting one. I don’t think we’ve ever gotten anything like that before.
DJ IZ: Never. Any thoughts?
Mike City: It’s an opportunity.
DJ IZ: I like that. It definitely is that.
Cloie: I want you to be on the show every show just to say that.
Mike City: It’s an opportunity. It is though. We didn’t have these opportunities coming along.
DJ IZ: True. It’s crazy.
Mike City: We were like, okay, we want to do music, but how do we get to do music? If I had computers when I was coming along and I could just put out my stuff, I’d probably be retired by now. The advantage y’all have, it’s a wrap.
Cloie: That’s true. Also as a reminder, we do offer five additional grind opps on our website. They’re not open to the world. This is not like Craigslist. No shade to Craigslist. But to check out those, make sure that you go to rrfedu.com/connected/latest. There it is right there. That’s going to have all the grind opps. We can roll the slide later. I don’t want to give the team a heart attack trying to find that graphic right now. Sorry, Howard.
DJ IZ: So Mike has a project that he just put out. We actually have a video piece that we want to show, to bring you guys up to speed. So let’s cut to that. Then we’ll dive right into it after, Mike.
[00:33:38]
[Music]
[00:33:55]
Female Singer: Once upon a time I had a love who wasn’t what he appeared to be. And over time I caught him up in a bunch of lies repeatedly. So he had to go. As I opened up my heart, I’ve got to do my all. I love with everything in me, about as loyal as they come, but you start acting dumb. It’s over. The thing you should know about me, when I love I love hard. If you don’t do what it takes to keep my trust, you become [inaudible 00:34:42]
Male singer: That brings us to now. Regarding us, are you who you appear to be? It feels like we’re getting serious. Anything you want to say to me, say yes. As I opened up my heart, I’ve got to do my all. I love with everything in me, about as loyal as they come, but you start acting dumb. It’s over. The thing you should know about me, when I love, I love hard. If you don’t do what it takes to keep my trust, you become [inaudible 00:35:29] The thing you should know about me, when I love, I love hard. If you don’t do what it takes to keep my trust, you become [inaudible 00:35:45]
Female singer: If we go out, I can’t have no chicks looking at me sideways like they were with you yesterday.
Male singer: If they say to me that I’m the only one, then I better be. I’m telling you from the jump. The thing you should know about me, when I love, I love hard. If you don’t do what it takes to keep my trust, you become [inaudible 00:36:16] The thing you should know about me, when I love, I love hard. If you don’t do what it takes to keep my trust, you become [inaudible 00:36:31]
[00:36:32]
[Music]
[00:36:48]
DJ IZ: Yeah. So Mike, let’s talk about this project real quick. When did you release this? And what’s the name of the project?
Mike City: It came out June 16, and it’s called “Mike City Presents the Feel Good Agenda Volume 1.”
DJ IZ: Fresh out the oven, man.
Mike City: Yeah, it’s black dance music. So I grew up in Philly and Jersey. So I grew up on house as well as everything else. So I went to London in like 2009 and I was like, “Oh, they’re back on this.” I didn’t realIZe house went to London in the late 80’s, early 90’s, and really kind of parked there. So London is really the centralIZation of dance music for the world. So I was like, I want to do a project like that and everything. So I started working on ideas, called this person, this person, but I said, “I want it to feel different. I want it to have that throwback 80’s boogie vibe to it. So basically I wanted to speed up R&B. So on the project I have Dwele, Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, Teedra Moses, Maysa from Incognito, I’ve got my homegirl, Crystal Johnson, Terri Walker, my homegirl from London. I’ve got Junior from “Mama Used to Say.” Then I’ve got Lalah Hathaway who just happened to be one of the most incredible vocals ever. So they’re on the project and-
DJ IZ: Now, where can we go snatch this record at?
Mike City: Anywhere you stream or buy music digitally.
DJ IZ: Is it like SoundCloud or iTunes?
Mike City: iTunes, Tidal, Apple, Amazon, wherever.
DJ IZ: Cool. So guys we want to make sure we get out there and support good music and rock with it.
Mike City: I appreciate it.
Cloie: Also for our viewers, make sure that you are getting your questions in, because we’re going to black into that Q&A pretty shortly. And we’re not going to wait for you, so get them in there right now. So on the other side of it-
DJ IZ: We have more to show from the DreamTeam.
Cloie: So now what we’re about to watch is a sIZzle reel for your music videos.
Daniel: We love music videos. As a filmmaker, it’s just the best way to experiment and get to try new things and work in many different genres, because music is something that’s so important to us. Bayou’s parents are musicians. I grew up in a music family. So it’s just combining visuals with music.
Cloie: Yes, and telling that story. Both ways to tell a story. That’s the best thing about a music video, too. It’s appealing to every single sense, almost, on one level and being able to tell, how do these two stories come together to tell one story?
Bayou: That’s right, and you can also get very magical with it. It’s about the visuals and it’s taking you out of your mind, actually, out of the world.
DJ IZ: You can just paint, paint, paint. That’s awesome.
Daniel: We used to sit there growing up watching MTV when it was all music videos. It’s such an exciting time. I think music videos have such an opportunity to interpret music in hopefully an interesting way, where when you just listen to it and then you watch the video, it’s a really interesting surprise what some of these directors come up with. It’s a very inspiring format to work in.
DJ IZ: I’m excited to see it. Let’s check it out. SIZzle reel from the DreamTeam.
Bayou: It’s been amazing to work with so many different artists and to bring out the best in all of them.
[00:40:27]
[Music]
[00:40:44]
Daniel: What really drives us is trying new things, innovative storytelling techniques, characters, experimenting with colors, rhythm, effects.
[00:40:54]
[Music]
[00:41:13]
Bayou: I think music and film are a match made in heaven.
[00:41:17]
[Music]
[00:41:29]
DJ IZ: That’s so dope.
Bayou: Thank you.
Cloie: So one of the things that we talk about on the show is, or the questions that we get are talking about sIZzle reels and demos and all these types of things. I would say that, for both sides of it, what would you say are the most important things to consider when putting together your demo, your sIZzle?
Daniel: That’s a really good question. I’ve been editing professionally since the year 2000. I think graphics are really important. If the fonts look cheap, if the graphics look cheap, it’s immediately thrown in the trash or just puts you on a lower level. I think the music track has got to be slamming, right Mike? It’s got to be incredible music.
Mike City: It’s got to have an impact to it.
Daniel: Yeah. I think it can’t be music that’s too specific. If I was doing a sIZzle personally I wouldn’t put opera music or something, because not everyone likes opera. I would try to do something that’s appealing to most people and I would keep it short and really exciting. Leave people wanting more. When you go see a trailer and it doesn’t tell the whole story of the whole damn movie, but instead like, oh my god, I want to go see that. It doesn’t have to be long. I think people make things too long, and then it’s sort of like you get to this climax and you’re sort of like . . . But if you just get up to a climax and then put your name, that would be the best kind of sIZzle.
Bayou: The last tip is, don’t put anything that’s not the best, because that one image is going to bring it all down. Just keep it up.
DJ IZ: Never compromising the presentation.
Daniel: I think we’re all in an extremely fragile form. Art is so fragile. Bayou and I could do a music video, and if the makeup’s not good, it brings down the whole video. Same thing with a sIZzle, like Bayou was saying. If you include that one visual that’s just not at the level that it should be, it brings down the whole production.
DJ IZ: Man, those are gems that you guys are giving. It’s so true.
Cloie: It’s like one sour note. You’re listening to a thing like-
DJ IZ: And see, that’s the thing. When you develop an eye for those kind of things, like I know for me, I can spot them right away. The first thing I’ll look at are the colors, the logo, the font, the way the film looks, the angles. You become like a sniper for those things because of how important those things are in a visual presentation. Crazy. I feel like we should jump to some Q&A.
Cloie: Glady.
DJ IZ: You guys want to dive into some questions from our viewers?
Bayou: Yeah.
DJ IZ: Let’s see what we’ve got here. We’ve got a lot.
Cloie: Here we go. For DreamTeam we have May in Pasadena. She wants to know, “If I’m doing a music video with a very small budget, what should I prioritIZe? Also, is it better to have the video match the lyrics or not?” Great question.
Daniel: Bayou, you want to start on that? Should the lyrics match the video?
Bayou: That’s not what I was going to answer. You can answer that.
Mike City: Husband and wife.
Bayou: First I was going to answer that you need to have a really good cinematographer, and hopefully since she has a small budget, hopefully they can also direct as well, and a really good hair and makeup artist, really good hair and makeup. Then the additional things you add on is, you know, you can find a lot of locations with natural lighting. You don’t even need to buy or rent lights. Then you can add on a producer, then you can add on the lights if you have budget left over. But I would put those to the side and find a really, really good editor. So there you go. The editor, cinematographer, and makeup, those are the three that, if you’re on a budget, that’s what you need to do. And then the last part of the question-
Daniel: I mean Bayou and I always do a concept first. Like is your concept original? Is it going to be something that’s going to be compelling to the audience? Does it relate to the song in a really cool way? But I think Bayou is right, the cinematographer, editor, hair and makeup artist, use natural light if you don’t have money. Those are kind of my things, but I think a great concept, like I’ve seen some concepts that were so fantastic. Like The Verve, “Bittersweet Symphony,” just a guy walking down the street, walking over people, through people, became one of the most classic music videos directed by Walter Stern, and the concept is so good. It’s all about concept. You can literally shoot something with your iPhone, but if it works with the concept and if the concept’s great-
DJ IZ: The idea’s free.
Bayou: That’s right.
Cloie: To that point, super quick, when you were talking about this…May, this is to your question too, if ever people are looking for great hair or makeup or mixing, not to forget that we do have our Facebook app. Thank you for this. But it’s closing the gap and helping artists and production and sound engineers. It’s closing the gap, taking out the middle man so that people can find each other and create and collaborate.
DJ IZ: And it’s great too, because I think one of the biggest challenges that we used to run into back in the day prior to technology was the ability to connect with people instantly, and what’s great about our Connected Facebook app is it allows you to connect with other creators that are literally five to 10 miles away from you. And it’s great for folks like us who you meet who are on the film side and then folks who are on the music side, because those things kind of walk hand in hand.
Mike City: That’s a natural thing, and we need each other.
DJ IZ: That’s right, we need each other, and the great thing is through the app you can post your work. You know, work for hire, your rates, and it just really allows you to build instantly. And this is a platform you can access through Facebook. I always say we can show up here every Monday and provide opportunities and provide an app and make it as easy as possible, but at the end of the day you still have got to put in the work and the application.
Daniel: I’ve got to get on that right away. That sounds incredible.
DJ IZ: It’s amazing. We do have another question, I believe, for the DreamTeam, which is, “Do you always work?” or this might be for all of us. “Do you always work with artists you like? Is it ever just a paycheck?”
Cloie: That’s from Katz. Shout out, Katz.
DJ IZ: Shout out to Katz in southern California.
Cloie: He’s an OG.
Daniel: That’s so cool. I think that it’s really important to work, but it’s also important to work in the direction of things that you feel good about. If Bayou and I get approached to do a video and it’s for a song that we think is negative or disturbing, we just won’t do it, because we’re putting ourselves out there artistically, and I feel like if we don’t put the DreamTeam directors stamp on things that we believe in, then ultimately we’re not doing what we set out to do. So there’s that aspect of it. There’s also been times, I’ll just be completely straight with you, where I did a project which I didn’t necessarily want to do, but it became a really good learning experience. I was working for Smashbox Cosmetics. They’re a great company and a phone call came into the owner. Paris Hilton was doing an album. “Daniel, do you want to shoot this documentary I’ll make of her album?” I was like, I don’t really like Paris, but I did it, and she turned out to be a really cool person and it was a great experience.
Mike City: You would have never known that.
Daniel: I would have never known that.
Mike City: I know some people that worked on her album that said she’s really cool, too.
Bayou: She is cool.
Daniel: She’s great. I walked in there and I had all these preconceived ideas of her, and she broke all of them. She was extremely hardworking. I had no idea. She was a professional at what she did, which was really cool.
Bayou: But that was her branding, which is funny. Her branding is to be an airhead, but she’s not an airhead and she works hard. Respect.
Mike City: The Hilton brand. I don’t think they got branded being an airhead.
Cloie: Thank you. And we should also mention Katz is our Film Connection scholarship winner.
Bayou: Yeah, [inaudible 00:49:18]
Cloie: Yes.
Daniel: Katz is a very bright young filmmaker. He’s passionate.
DJ IZ: He is passionate. What I love about him is he’s got a really incredible heart. You don’t have to dig through layers to figure out what kind of dude he is. It’s just him. Its honest.
Bayou: I work with him a lot as a mentor, and he shows up and he wants to learn, and he’s respectful, and he’s like, “Give me more,” and he goes and applies it. I am helping him on his feature film. I’m like, “Here, this is how you get a proposal to get a product into your film to actually fund it,” and he went home right away and he did his own. I’m like, now that’s how you’re going to make it.
Cloie: Fire.
DJ IZ: That’s a testament to this experience that we’re all a part of. Who’s really touching folks like that, that are hungry and actually sharing the information on those types of things?
Bayou: We give our secrets because we want them to succeed.
DJ IZ: Absolutely. We have one for you, Mike. This is Rihanna from Baltimore. “I feel like I want to sing my own songs and produce for other artists. What should I focus on first?”
Mike City: Repeat that again.
DJ IZ: “I feel like I want to sing my own songs and produce for other artists. What should I focus on first?”
Mike City: It depends, really. That’s like a trick question, because honestly, I was singing my own songs until I got into producing. I was an artist first back in the day, and then next thing you know, when I started doing stuff for Carl and stuff, all of a sudden people didn’t even know I could sing. So for well over 10 years people had no idea that I could sing. So you’ve got to go with the flow.
Cloie: And just make some work. That’s also what it sounds like. Make some work, yes make it work and also make some work and put it out there. We have a question for DreamTeam. Ariana in Pittsburgh asks, “How do I know my screenplay idea is good enough/interesting enough? I’m writing a historical drama. Thanks.”
Daniel: I mean I can tell you one little secret to success. Are you guys ready for this?
DJ IZ: Ready. Drop it. Quiet on the set.
Daniel: So you can advertise something as much as possible with as much money as possible, kind of like that Disney movie with that lone ranger. It didn’t do well. That’s because it didn’t go into word of mouth. If people start talking about something, that’s the best kind of advertising there is. So if you tell someone your idea, and suddenly they’re like, “What? Really? But what about this and that, and oh my god.” If people start doing that, you know you’ve got something good.
Bayou: I have another tip. You need to make sure that you surround yourself with good people and only tell those people that you trust your ideas first, because there might be somebody that doesn’t have your-
Cloie: Vultures.
Bayou: Yeah, your best interests in mind, and they might try to squash you every second they can, and it might be family, it might be friends. This is huge in any industry, so you’ve got to keep your top three. We work with David Campbell. He’s Beck’s dad, and he basically says you’ve got to have that family that you trust, and then you give them your idea, and if they like it and they’re like, “Yeah, yeah,” or if they have a couple changes, trust them, and then bring it out to the world. But you have to have confidence. Number one, you have to be the confidence and you have to believe in yourself.
Mike City: You’ve got to hope they don’t jack you.
Bayou: That’s right.
Cloie: Lots of vultures.
Bayou: You’ve got to watch out for that too.
Cloie: That’s a real thing.
Daniel: Last thing on that, don’t over talk it.
DJ IZ: Yeah, don’t oversell it.
Daniel: Just give them a little bit.
Cloie: Not all the cookies, not for free, and not without the milk.
DJ IZ: Now, this is for everyone. We have Marcus in Houston, Texas. “How do you find people to collaborate with? How do you keep people involved in your projects when you don’t have money to pay folks yet?
Daniel: That is a really important question. I mean I think you have to operate on the concept of…It depends on what level you are in the industry, but I think exchange is the best initially. Like, “Hey, man. Work on my project and I’ll work on yours.” That is a great way to go because then both people are getting helped.
Mike City: I did that with Mobb.
DJ IZ: Exactly.
Mike City: [inaudible 00:53:23]
DJ IZ: I got you here. Can you get-
Mike City: [inaudible 00:53:29]
Daniel: But I think what Bayou said, you’ve got to work with people that will be real underlying team members, people that actually contribute to the survival and expansion of your project and will make you feel good and confident as a creator and will help you with their energy.
Mike City: And they’ve got to believe in you. Because if they don’t believe in you, they’re not doing to anyway. That’s the bottom line.
Bayou: Or if they’re competing, get them off the team. Say bye-bye.
Cloie: Mike, we have Nicole from Long Beach. She wants to know, “Do you like writing songs with other people? If so, what’s your process?”
Mike City: It depends on what the vibe of the room is or how well I know them, because I do write a lot alone, but sometimes when people send me a track I write it. But if it’s someone I know and we have a conversation going, the energies just flow. It just depends on the comfortableness that you have with that person. I don’t have a particular thing that I do. It depends who’s in the room with me or where I’m at. We can go write and do everything, but if I don’t really know someone and the vibe isn’t all the way there, I might take a backseat, because I don’t want to get involved with anybody and what their movement is right then, because I don’t want anybody to get involved with…If I’ve got something going I don’t need you screaming out ideas at the top of your lungs over there, because I’m probably not paying attention anyway. So I don’t want to do that to anyone else, because someone could be right in the middle of something and you don’t want to take away their moment of greatness.
DJ IZ: Yeah, definitely. DreamTeam, this is Shaun from Topeka, Kansas. “In order to direct films, how good do you have to be at the technical stuff like shooting, lighting, and all of that?”
Daniel: Bayou, you’ve got to tell them about Tarantino.
Bayou: Which part?
Daniel: What Tarantino said about that.
Bayou: Oh, he said, and I agree with this fully, you don’t have to know all the different technical things and all the different hats that go with it. You just have to know how to get your idea communicated to that person that can do your idea well. So that means that you can get your idea to the set decorator, you can get your idea to the props master, you can get your idea to your cinematographer with the lighting. So I’m good at that. This guy’s good at technical. So I can tell you from firsthand that-
DJ IZ: So you can articulate what it is you hear or see, and he can interpret it and say based off of how well you were able to convey that.
Bayou: That’s right.
Daniel: Yeah. For example, sometimes we’ll just bring a video to set of how we want the performance to be like so we can show it to the talent. It’s just, again, communicating what your vision is in very real terms. If you say, “I just want it to be funny and cool,” that doesn’t give people enough of a vision of what you’re looking for. But if you can show a bunch of images, rip out things from magazines, “I want the lighting to look like this,” bring a film, like short clips of films and cut it together. “This is the atmosphere I’m going for,” I think that kind of stuff is really important, showing examples.
But I also think at the same time if you can learn a little bit about how to do sound, if you can learn a little bit about camera, because this is what I find. If you know all those things, then you can also be a conductor and you can orchestrate all those departments and make sure they’re operating at their best. I was on a production in North Carolina not that long ago, and the sound person was operating sound and there was a buzz, and other people weren’t noticing it, and I was like, “There’s a buzz on the line. Let’s fix that.” If it would have gone for two hours with that buzz, and it’s because I knew something about audio, you can’t get past bad audio.
DJ IZ: Yeah, you can’t man. You waste a lot of time. You’ve got to redo some.
Cloie: For Mike we have Yolanda in Florence, South Carolina. “I love Carl Thomas. Does he have something coming out soon? And Kevin Hart, did you meet him? What is he like?”
Mike City: Well, I met Kevin Hart a few times at the gym actually, a gym right near my house. A lot of people go to that gym. He’s a cool dude. Carl is working on something right now. I keep records for Carl in the vault. So it depends on when he’s ready to release them.
DJ IZ: Yeah, see? That vault is strenuous right there.
Cloie: So they’re loading up more questions. As you’re going through and as we’re talking about things, what would you say is any additional inspiration that you can offer at this point in time? Because especially living in LA, it’s a market that is incredibly oversaturated in a lot of ways. What’s something that somebody can do when they lose their faith to keep the faith?
Bayou: Keep going. You’ve just got to keep going. If you’re not working for someone, where they’re paying you, you’ve got to come up with your own ideas, if it’s music or film. You just go out there and keep creating. That’s some of the best, most award winning projects we’ve done, is when we’re like, “Okay, well right now we’re pulling in the clients. So let’s work on this project that we have passion for,” and then all of a sudden it rehabilitates all that passion and you just keep going.
Mike City: I feel like that as well, and I feel like everyone needs to have a man in the mirror moment. You really need to look at yourself like, “Am I supposed to be doing this?” You need to have that real truth serum with yourself, because a lot of people don’t. Just because you’ve got a big butt and can sing, whatever it is, that doesn’t mean you should be in the music business. I’m serious.
DJ IZ: That’s real shit.
Mike City: Or you sold some dope, and you should be rapping. You’ve got to have that real conversation with yourself. When you think about it-
Cloie: It took me a minute to realIZe…Did you say what I think you said? I love it.
DJ IZ: One thing I love about Philly boys, they always tell the truth.
Mike City: I’m just saying, you need to have that moment with yourself, like, “Am I supposed to be doing this?” because it’s real. There’s nothing wrong with being a fan. I never shot a movie a day in my life. I’m a fan of people that shoot movies, you know what I’m saying? So we do music and everything. Not everybody is ready to go on tour. Some people just need to play…You’ve got to know yourself.
DJ IZ: Yes, you do.
Mike City: You might want to say, “I want to be a real big producer, do this, that, and the third,” and you might not be ready for that stage yet. When that stage comes, you’ve got to be ready for that.
DJ IZ: When the lights come on, it’s a different thing.
Mike City: When they cross paths, you need to be ready, because I believe everybody gets a chance.
Cloie: Or several.
Mike City: It’s what you do when it happens. If you’re really supposed to be doing it, like we said earlier, someone is making a movie with an iPhone and they’re going to make a lot of money [inaudible 01:00:06] I don’t know the whole story behind “Blair Witch Project.” I know it didn’t cost that much. I know they’re probably retired.
Cloie: So last few questions. For DreamTeam, Marco in Champaign, Illinois says, “I’m confused. They say work your way up in film, then focus on one thing. If I want to work in film but don’t know what exactly what I want to do, where do I start?”
Bayou: So she’s in school, she said?
Cloie: It doesn’t say. Marco, are you in school? But just saying to work his way up in film . . .
Bayou: Okay, I got it.
Daniel: That’s a really interesting question. I will say it’s really good to get on some projects with people you know and just kind of feel it out and see what department is interesting to you. Is I the writing that’s interesting? Is it doing the sets that’s interesting? Is it the camera that’s interesting? And it’s also okay to take your time and figure out what it is. With me for example, way before I met Bayou, I was actually working in theater. I wanted to be a set designer. When I went to the opera, my mom’s really into the opera, she would take me and there were these whole worlds that they would build on these stages. That’s what I wanted to do. I started working on it and everyone was like, “You know what, it’s so depressing, you can’t make money at this, it’s so painful,” and I’m like, “Wow, everyone’s saying the same thing.”
DJ IZ: Everyone is slitting their wrists.
Daniel: I started watching movies, and that was my initial interest, the way movies looked. Then as I started to do that I’m like, “Well, how do you create that? You’ve got to write the idea.” Then it went into writing. So you never know exactly where you start and where you’re going to end. That’s the cool thing about this. Film is the greatest medium because it combines the greatest of everything, it has dance, architecture, music, drama, literature, and all these things. So just start and you’ll figure it out.
Cloie: And to clarify, Marco is not in school and is 23. So he’s got nothing but time.
Bayou: So just be a PA and keep your years open, Marco-
Cloie: Mouth shut.
Bayou: And mouth shut and watch, and like Daniel said before, think before someone asks you. Be the best PA you can be and move your way up in that position that you feel is your dream and what you’re good at, actually.
DJ IZ: Well Cloie, we are at an hour. I feel like this has been…I would love to do a part two.
Bayou: I would too. I want to come-
DJ IZ: Let’s check folks’ availability because I really would love to pick up with a part two of this show, because I feel like the dynamics of music and film have just, it’s incredible and I know there are a lot of things we can cover maybe on another show that I would love to do with you guys.
Daniel: You guys are a dream, seriously. I had so much fun, for me, to be able to talk to people about opportunities and how we can do things to get where you want to go. There’s nothing better. This is a really legendary day.
Cloie: Absolutely. All we need is some wine.
DJ IZ: I always look at this type of thing is a platform for us to really collectively download everything we like to download, just to share that information. So I know you guys got a lot of things going on your end. Mike, you’ve got your project. I know you’re getting ready to go out there and start doing some dates.
Mike City: I started practicing my sets and everything. That’s the way to really touch the people now and go out and spin sets with your music and everything. So that’s what I’m preparing to do as well. I want to do some shows, and honestly I want to really make a concerted effort to get more involved with film and TV because I’ve had end credits in movies and stuff like that, but I see what’s going on. When I came up there were five TV stations. Now there’s like 1,000 platforms with shows and everything to get stuff on, and I need to be a part of that.
Bayou: That’s right. We’ll give you our card.
DJ IZ: And I’m serious about this, guys, we should definitely pick back up. Let’s do a part two of this show and go even more into depth and showcase more of the work you guys are doing. Let’s showcase more of what you’re doing because it’s so crucial to our culture of Connected followers. I wish we had a two- or three-hour show because I know we’d fly right through it.
Mike City: I had fun.
Bayou: It was really fun.
DJ IZ: It’s all about being able to be in the house and just kind of kick our feet up and talk amongst each other and share the information.
Daniel: Thank you for what you guys do. This is so important.
Bayou: Yeah, thank you. You guys are amazing hosts, by the way.
Cloie: Thanks.
Bayou: I have to say you really make us feel comfortable.
DJ IZ: That’s what it’s about. So Cloie, let’s let our viewers know where they can catch us, for our first-time viewers, our social, our graphics.
Cloie: Oh yeah. Guys, social media is real. Roll the graphics. There are two of them.
DJ IZ: Yeah, bam.
Cloie: That’s number one. You got that? @IZConnected everywhere. All of it, boom. That’s number two, bam. Nice and simple. As a reminder, we do have our additional six to 10 grind opps, which are on our website. This is this week’s. We’ve got, in films, interns needed for a feature film in Ridgewood, New Jersey. A radio operator for sports radio in Opelika. Of course we have, in radio, a board operator/on air talent. Philly, there you go. For culinary for Private Chef Bar & Grill, Atlanta, Georgia, recording audio engineer in Portland, Oregon. And of course our grads, to celebrate our grads.
DJ IZ: Shout out to our grads.
Cloie: Our grads for this week. Ready to put that in. And boom.
DJ IZ: Noah Cook.
Cloie: Jessica Pettigrew.
DJ IZ: Tom Chorba.
Cloie: Charpara Gildersleeve.
DJ IZ: Daniel Matiushenok.
Cloie: Hannah Angcos.
DJ IZ: Josh Holt.
Cloie: Jordan Owen.
DJ IZ: Al Manigault. Look at that, man. Look at our graduates. Shout out to them for pursuing what they love and going out here and getting it done, making it happen. Shout out to you guys, man. It’s really about that. That’s the end result, right? Our graduates that can then take on the information that folks like yourselves have poured into them, and see you guys win. Shout out to our crew, man. Shout out to our Connected crew.
Cloie: [inaudible 01:06:13]
DJ IZ: Shout out to Roland Igor, our Roland family for allowing us to be in the house and kick our feet up and just have a conversation. I really look forward to this next show we do, guys, the part two of today. So let’s definitely make sure we make that happen. I want to encourage everyone to get out there, hit the pavement, have a great week, have a blessed week, and go get some work done.
Cloie: Make it happen. Earn your vacation.
DJ IZ: I’m your host, DJ IZ. My lovely cohost, Ms. Cloie. Mike City, the DreamTeam. It’s been great. We look forward to catching up with you guys on the next one. Peace.
Previous Episodes of Connected
- Electronic musicians, DJs and beat-makers
- Runners and assistants
- Filmmakers
- Broadcasters
- Aspiring show hosts and more
- Get job tips on all the best jobs and career opportunities
- Get mentored and find out how to get and keep the best gigs in the music and film industry
- Get to know your favorite artists
- Hear industry success and horror stories from the legends inside the business
- Find out real tips to get hired at your dream job
- Connect!
LIVE EVERY MONDAY AT 11AM PST VIA GOOGLE HANGOUTS
Learn More
