I Nearly Turned This Job Down. Here's What Changed. | Ep 03

We Had Our First Fight plus guest Casting Director Steph Pringle | EP 07 The Director & The D.O.P

Steph Pringle is co-founder of Chicken and Chips Casting. In this episode she breaks down the NRL "This is How We League" campaign — a hybrid process mixing trained actors with community and street casting, built around one of the most articulate diversity briefs she's seen in her career.We get into what casting directors are actually doing on a project, why the callback process is disappearing and what directors lose when it does, and how emerging directors should be thinking about building those relationships.In Life of a Freelancer: how Ethan and Liam crew up — and their first real disagreement about crew loyalty.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Cold open — first fight teased00:23 Intro — episode 702:29 Meet Steph Pringle, Chicken and Chips Casting05:20 The NRL "This is How We League" — why this project08:46 The bilingual brief — specific without box-ticking09:45 Street casting vs agent-driven process11:32 Finding Dang — the gut feeling moment12:21 Car acting and eyeline technique20:43 The callback process — what directors are losing26:35 What casting directors wish production understood28:05 How emerging directors should approach casting directors29:55 Loyalty — building a reel then moving on34:13 Life of a Freelancer — crewing up37:30 The first fight38:25 Wrap-up FIND US🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aYJx1Y3tfx8nXvSMnzOfp?si=9d077fcf64074702 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDirectorandTheD.O.P 📷 Instagram: @directorandthedop Follow Steph @anditsstephaniepringle + Chicken and Chips Casting @chickenandchips_ #commercialfilm #filmmaking #advertising #casting #director #cinematographer #DOP #podcast #thedirectorandthedop #behindthescenes

What an ECD Is Actually Looking For | ft. Russ Tucker, Omnicom | EP 06 The Director & the DOP

Russ Tucker is ECD at Omnicom. Ten years ago he wrangled an uncommissioned Intel short film, a real robot from Swinburne University, and the Sydney Opera House — with no agreed budget and a TEDx premiere date closing in fast. In this episode Russ breaks down Being a Robot Usher. We cover live-coding a robot on set, engineering interviews so the Opera House staff unknowingly described the robot as their colleague, and why the best shot of the whole shoot was the one nobody planned. We also get into treatments — what ECDs are actually looking for, where confidence tips into cockiness, and who really wins the argument over which director gets selected. In What We're Watching: Expedia "Nothing" (dir. Lope Serrano, DOP Tim Lorentzen, production CANADA), Nike "Run Forever" (dir. Rodrigo Inada), and two Netflix documentaries redefining found footage storytelling — Perfect Neighbor and The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold open 00:23 Intro — episode 6, 50k views across social 04:51 Meet Russ Tucker, ECD at Omnicom 05:46 Being a Robot Usher — how it started 07:41 Hustling the Sydney Opera House 10:30 Jordan the robot-deer — live coding on set 14:14 The glass door moment 15:46 Engineering the interviews — they had no idea 19:59 Treatments — confidence vs cockiness 22:43 How much does the DOP actually matter in a treatment? 23:55 Who wins the director selection argument? 24:45 What ECDs are actually thinking at the monitor 27:20 Where do you find references nobody else is using? 29:38 What We're Watching — Expedia "Nothing" 33:22 Nike "Run Forever" 35:00 Perfect Neighbor + The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson 39:30 A confession — the camera we forgot to roll

The Super Bowl Ad That Almost Didn't Happen | Ep 05 — The Director & The DOP

n Episode 5, Ethan and Liam break down ESPN Have a Sick Day — an Australian Super Bowl promo for Now We Collide agency with Mint Films, produced by Henry Richardson. They get into why Ethan wrote a treatment for a job that didn't ask for one, how they found lead actor Jack William Newell through a casting tape that made the decision instantly, shooting a loose unscripted performance style with a rigid sun-driven schedule in an open street, and what it felt like when Liam lost it laughing trying to hold the Ronin steady on Jack's very first take. Then the story nobody knew was coming — a shoot postponed the day before because of the Bondi Beach shootings. How that call was made, who made it, and what it cost everyone to show up a few days later and find the energy to make something joyful. In Gear Chat — Iron Glass, a Ukrainian company doing some of the most interesting vintage lens rehousing work in the world while their country is at war. Why vintage lenses are having a moment, and what the new Air Series mirrorless mount rehousings mean for smaller camera packages. 0:25 Intro — MacGyver mic stand, 25K social views, guest updates 3:37 The Breakdown — ESPN Have a Sick Day 5:53 Writing a treatment when nobody asked 11:40 Finding Jack — the casting tape that ended the process 13:56 Liam loses it on the Ronin — first shot of the day 16:00 The trumpet girls scene 18:38 Shooting in a city — 3, 4, 5 suns 32:51 Outro The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work. New episodes weekly. 🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP) #commercialfilmmaking #director #cinematography #advertising #filmmaking #australianfilm

I Shut Down a Pub and Lit It From the Street | Ep 04

In Episode 4, Ethan breaks down Adidas Bound by Legacy — a film for the Sydney Roosters made in collaboration with Helium and Hype Republic, directed by Ethan and shot by Donny Buppapirak ACS.They get into why Ethan chose to light an entire pub from the street rather than inside, how First AD Murray Robertson’s “you get one light” call shaped the entire look of the film, working with rugby league legends who have a 10-minute window, and the Petzval lens choice that gave the film its nostalgic character.Then in Life of a Freelancer — Director’s Cuts. Why Edit 2 is the director’s version. Why Edit 3 onwards belongs to the village of clients. And why directors keep ringing their composer mates asking for free favours long after everyone else has been paid.Plus — Meta and Google both shut us down in the same week. We’re back.---0:00 Cold open — I shut down a pub0:28 Intro — new mics, wardrobe, and getting banned by Meta and Google04:15 The Breakdown — Adidas Bound by Legacy, Sydney Roosters07:14 How Ethan got the job without pitching08:34] Lighting the pub from the street — the one light decision09:55 Working with rugby league legends in tight windows18:21 Petzval lens choice and Peaky Blinders colour references22:56 Jesse Watt — the composer who made the difference24:50 Life of a Freelancer — Director’s Cuts25:10 Edit 2 is the director’s cut28:46 Who pays for the grade and sound mix after the fact32:24 Outro---The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work.New episodes weekly.🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP)#commercialfilmmaking #director #cinematography #advertising #filmmaking #australianfilm

I Nearly Turned This Job Down. Here's What Changed. | Ep 03

In Episode 3, Ethan and Liam break down Changi Taste of Asia — a 12-day, four-country travel campaign directed by Luna for Infinity Squared, with Liam as DOP and no camera assistant. They get into how Luna planned every location digitally before ever setting foot there, why you have to plan spontaneity, how Liam stripped the Sony Burano down to football size to shoot handheld across Southeast Asia, and why Liam nearly didn't take the job at all. Plus the broader conversation on crafted influencer content — what happens when you bring a proper ad crew into that world, and why the result is better than the sum of its parts. Then in What We Watch — Ethan on Ardbeg You Can't Untaste It and the power of a simple, beautiful setup. Liam on Project Hail Mary and why IMAX is genuinely worth leaving the house for. 0:00 Introduction0:30 Espresso, coffees on set, and show intro2:27 The Breakdown — Changi Taste of Asia6:41 Luna's digital recce approach10:09 Sony Burano — stripping back to handheld13:05 No camera assistant — how it actually worked18:56 I nearly didn't take this job21:14 The crafted influencer format23:40 What We Watch — Ardbeg + Project Hail Mary / IMAX27:35 Outro