Matt Denton: How we built BB-8 for Star Wars

Shoot From The Hip: Why This Improv Group Is Selling Out Theatres Around the World

In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Shoot From The Hip to explore how they turned an improv group in a full time career. If you want to discover how to make a success improv show, this episode breaks down what actually works. This episode is for: - Creatives (writers, performers, content creators) - Business owners and entrepreneurs - Speakers and presenters - Anyone looking to improve communication and idea generation About Ben Hanlin: Ben is a magician, presenter, and keynote speaker who helps companies create engagement, connection, and memorable experiences. He hosts corporate events and interviews world-class creatives on this podcast. About the podcast: "What’s The Trick?" explores how creative people think, create, and turn ideas into reality. Topics covered include creativity, communication, storytelling, content creation, performance, and building creative careers. 🎧 Listen / Watch: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenHanlin Apple Podcasts: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin Spotify: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin 📩 Work with Ben: https://www.benhanlin.com/ --- FOLLOW BEN: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag Instagram: http://instagram.com/benhanlin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin --- 🎤 FOLLOW SHOOT FROM THE HIP: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shootimpro Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shootimpro/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shootimpro Website: https://www.shootimpro.com/ --- What is this episode about? This episode explains how to make career as a improv group. How do creative people turn ideas into reality? Ben Hanlin breaks down the mindset, process, and decisions behind it. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Derren Litten: How One Sketch Became Benidorm

In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Derren Litten to explore how he wrote Benidorm. If you want to learn how to write your own show and have it commissioned, this episode breaks down what actually works. This episode is for: - Creatives (writers, performers, content creators) - Business owners and entrepreneurs - Speakers and presenters - Anyone looking to improve communication and idea generation In this episode, you’ll learn: - Great ideas often start smaller than you think. - Not knowing the rules can sometimes become your advantage. - Character is stronger than plot. - A creative world expands through observation. - Success creates its own creative trap. --- About Ben Hanlin: Ben is a magician, presenter, and keynote speaker who helps companies create engagement, connection, and memorable experiences. He hosts corporate events and interviews world-class creatives on this podcast. About the podcast: "What’s The Trick?" explores how creative people think, create, and turn ideas into reality. Topics covered include creativity, communication, storytelling, content creation, performance, and building creative careers. 🎧 Listen / Watch: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenHanlin Apple Podcasts: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin Spotify: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin 📩 Work with Ben: https://www.benhanlin.com/ --- FOLLOW BEN: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag Instagram: http://instagram.com/benhanlin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin --- 🎤 FOLLOW DERREN: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derrenlitten/ Website: https://www.derrenlitten.com/ --- What is this episode about? This episode explains how the hit show Benidorm was written. How do creative people turn ideas into reality? Ben Hanlin breaks down the mindset, process, and decisions behind it. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Matt Richardson: Why Most Comedians Never Make It

In this episode of "What’s The Trick?", Ben Hanlin sits down with Matt Richardson to explore how to become a stand up comic. If you want to improve your knowledge on ways to truly make it as a comedian, this episode breaks down what actually works. This episode is for: - Creatives (writers, performers, content creators) - Business owners and entrepreneurs - Speakers and presenters - Anyone looking to improve communication and idea generation In this episode, you’ll learn: - Great comedy starts as a messy idea, not a finished joke - Audience trust changes what you’re allowed to do - The best performers still treat it like a craft, not a status symbol - Creative careers aren’t linear, visibility and value constantly fluctuate - The people who last are usually the people willing to keep grafting --- About Ben Hanlin: Ben is a magician, presenter, and keynote speaker who helps companies create engagement, connection, and memorable experiences. He hosts corporate events and interviews world-class creatives on this podcast. About the podcast: "What’s The Trick?" explores how creative people think, create, and turn ideas into reality. Topics covered include creativity, communication, storytelling, content creation, performance, and building creative careers. 🎧 Listen / Watch: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenHanlin Apple Podcasts: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin Spotify: https://linktr.ee/benhanlin 📩 Work with Ben: https://www.benhanlin.com/ --- FOLLOW BEN: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag Instagram: http://instagram.com/benhanlin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin --- 🎤 FOLLOW MATT: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mattrichardsoncomedy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattrichardson3/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattrichardson3 Website: https://www.mattrichardsoncomedy.co.uk/ --- What is this episode about? This episode explains how to become a full time comedian. How do creative people turn ideas into reality? Ben Hanlin breaks down the mindset, process, and decisions behind it. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Easter Special: What 10 Creative Guests Taught Me About Making Things That Work

This episode is a little different, and that is exactly why it matters. Instead of focusing on one guest, one project, or one creative journey, Ben steps back and looks at what the first 10 episodes of What’s The Trick? have actually revealed. The result is a smart, generous roundup of the ideas, habits, decisions, and mindset shifts that keep showing up across very different creative worlds. Across these first conversations, the people featured have built companies, books, films, comedy careers, social media brands, stage shows, and creative bodies of work that took years to sharpen. This episode exists to pull the best lessons back into focus: not as a greatest-hits package, but as a practical guide to how creative work really gets made. If you are new to the podcast, this is a useful entry point. If you have been listening from the start, it is a strong reminder that the real value is not just in hearing a great story once, but in noticing the patterns underneath it. FOLLOW BEN: SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/benhanlin TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin WEBSITE: Benhanlin.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Matt Denton: How we built BB-8 for Star Wars

What does it take to make a character feel alive when that character is made of mechanics, code, cables, and performance? In this episode, Ben Hanlin [https://www.instagram.com/benhanlin/] sits down with animatronics expert and robot inventor Matt Denton [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCbOrJwJsd4vFS4aLIILa_7Q] to unpack the craft behind some of modern cinema’s most memorable practical creations, most notably BB-8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but also work connected to Harry Potter, Project Hail Mary, and the wider world of robotics and film effects. This conversation exists because great screen characters are rarely “just designed.” They’re engineered, tested, puppeteered, compromised, rebuilt, and refined under pressure. What emerges here is not just a story about robots or puppets, but a deeper look at how technical problem-solving becomes emotional storytelling. If you’ve ever wondered how a sketch on a Post-it note becomes an iconic film character, or how practical effects still survive in an increasingly digital world - this episode is a fascinating look behind the curtain. FOLLOW BEN: SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0oXTRP-zWlJ_IiNykTLag FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/benhanlin INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/benhanlin TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@benhanlin FOLLOW MATT: SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/@UCbOrJwJsd4vFS4aLIILa_7Q FACEBOOK: facebook.com/mantisrobot INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/mantisrobot TIKTOK: tiktok.com/@mantisrobot ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.