Wanna' read along? Here’s a machine-generated transcript you can use. Yes...expect a few mistakes, especially with funky industry terms, interesting names and tagging whoever's talking. If something sounds weird, trust your ears. But...sometimes that really is what we said!
Announcer: Welcome to Producing Unscripted with Joke and BiagioAgile.
Angry Man: Is this some kind of joke?
Confused Woman: Biagio-WHO???
Biagio: In this episode.
Unidentified Voice: This is 2020.
Biagio: Is episode 122 and we’re bringing in the new decade with new perspective. We’re talking about finding happiness in the entertainment industry and life in 2020, a few shocking events that kicked off our new year and got us taking a new look at how we work, remembering that it’s just TV, the two kinds of producers and filmmakers. Which one are you? And. Joke tells it like it is.
Joke: The Saint, The Bachelor, where there’s just one dude and all of us girls, you know?
Biagio: Music courtesy Dave Pelman, music Dave Pelman.com. Hey, everybody. She’s joke, he’s Biagio. We’re married. We make unscripted film and television and want to help you do the same.
Joke: Hopefully by teaming up with us.
Biagio: Well hey everybody, happy 2020. Kind of like a belated happy 2020. I guess it is the end of January.
Joke: It’s still January. And just so you know, back in Belgium we used to like have to go New Year’s with family. And sometimes that would take us well into February. So I think we’re okay.
Biagio: Oh, then Belgians know how to celebrate New Year’s. No doubt about it. If you’re if you’re New Year’s celebration last more than a month, is no wonder that your country’s national export is beer. I mean, that’s fantastic, right?
Joke: Well, every on uncle wants to see you for New Year’s, even though I think we all saw them New Year’s Day. But then they want to celebrate again at their house. So we literally just had to do the rounds every weekend.
Biagio: Keep the party going. Heck yeah. Well, well we are. We are off to a busy start this year. Happy to tell you we’re in production on something. We can’t tell you what it is yet, but it’ll be on TV later this year. And we really are grateful not only to be working in the industry and continuing the work, but we’re grateful to all of you who reached out over the past couple of months asking when the podcast would be back. We had a lot of nice words of encouragement, and clearly we haven’t done a podcast since October because we’ve been in production, so it’s been a little a little crazy. But thank you to all of you who reached out. I mean, it means a lot to know people who are listening, right?
Joke: Yeah. I mean, it’s just you and me on the couch talking to, I don’t know, anyone listening. So, yeah, I mean, the holidays are always crazy and stressful. And for some reason, this year, the shortened time between Thanksgiving and Christmas really messed with me. But it’s nice to hear from you guys and say hello. Are we getting anything? So. So yes. No. We’re super grateful. Thank you so much for reaching out. And it makes us feel like this is not a waste of time.
Biagio: So with that said, as we go into our can you believe it? Seventh year of this podcast?
Joke: No, no.
Biagio: Our first our first episode was in 2013, so we haven’t reached the seven year anniversary yet, but we are in our seventh year.
Joke: Well, I mean, we did do it with our tiny baby first and she’s seven, so it makes sense.
Biagio: It does make sense. So as we enter this, our seventh year of this podcast, you know, we wanted to think about episodes this year. And we want to talk about bigger picture of working in this industry. I mean, we’ve done a lot of how to podcasts, you know, how to pitch a show by now, 122 episodes in. You got it. I think what we want to do is just kind of give you some honest, unfiltered perspective on surviving in the entertainment world, no matter what it is you’re trying to do.
Joke: This sounds really exciting. I want to listen to this. How do we survive in this entertainment world?
Biagio: Yeah, well, we’re all figuring it out, right? But that’s part of the honest, unfiltered part, right? I mean, listen, it’s a it’s a journey, not a destination. And all those cliches, there is no right answer. There are best practices. There are things you can do, but there is no right answer to surviving in this industry. So what we thought is every episode this year, we want to try and just talk about something bigger in the entertainment world, something that’s going to help you stay sane, stay happy and enjoy the journey, enjoy the chase, because we’re all always chasing, you know that that next success, whether it’s a new film or a new TV show or getting a ton of new views on YouTube, we’re always chasing that. But how do you do that and enjoy it? Now? A little bit of a, I guess, a somber note. And don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a the pressing podcast, but part of what got us thinking about this is we’ve had a couple of crazy hits in the past month.
Joke: Yeah, it’s gosh, well, not I’m not going to get sad. I’ve been sad though. It’s, it’s it’s put a lot of things in perspective. We’ve had a few friends of ours pass at ages that were way too young.
Biagio: At our age.
Joke: At our age, which, let’s just say that’s too young.
Biagio: Far too young.
Joke: I don’t want to go anytime soon. And and that was something that we were dealing with because it’s two in a month. And then I think we all heard the news of Kobe Bryant this past Sunday. And a helicopter with nine souls that all perished too young. And it really just kind of as it did with most people. So we ain’t special in this. It’s just for us. It was, you know, the one, two, three punch made it land extra hard. Kind of really puts things in perspective. And as Biagio said, you guys know how to pitch a show. And we’ve talked about pitch sheets and and all the details, and this is as much our advice to you as it is reminders to ourselves to step back and look at the big picture and understand that life is short and time is precious and nothing is guaranteed. Let me tell you, in this business, nothing is owed to you. Nothing is guaranteed. You learned that real quick, and so you have to find what you love, and you have to find the people you love, and you have to surround yourself with that. And so I think for our first episode this year, we really kind of wanted to remind you guys and us that this is just TV. It’s not just TV, it’s awesome. TV. TV is awesome and we’re doing great things. But in the end of the day, it is just TV. It’s not your loved ones. It’s not the people that hug you. It’s a TV show. And we get a lot of love from working in television. It’s a very collaborative medium. If you were lucky enough to be on a great team with great people, those crew members and those teammates become family and they become those you love and go into trenches with. And we’ve talked about production being like going to war and getting into trenches. So you so you do find some of those bonds in TV and in work, which is why we’re still here. Frankly, it’s because of the people we get to do it with. But but it’s important for all of us to understand, you know, who we are and what we want. And back to our movie dying to do Letterman. Let me tell you something. If there’s something you’ve been dying to do, don’t put it off.
Biagio: Don’t put it off. And you know, and I also want to say, while we say it’s just TV. Listen, the business is hard. You know, knowing that it’s just TV and that, you know, your loved ones that come first doesn’t give you an excuse not to do your best when you can, when to work at a level where a network is trusting you with millions of dollars and trusting you to deliver a show to them, you have to be at the top of your game. So we’re not saying, oh, whatever, TV, blah blah blah. No, it’s really it’s really important to to work as hard as you can and stay at the top of your game. But it’s like everything else. You have to put it in perspective.
Joke: Well, I think because working in TV requires so much of you, and it requires long hours and long days and time away from your loved ones, that if this is not something you really love, then this isn’t for you. You know it. It. It isn’t a punched clock type of job. It isn’t a I’m just going to phone it in today because productions limited. Every day counts. Every day in the edit bay counts. You’re up against deadlines. There is no phoning it in when you’re making a TV show. And so that requires passion and it requires drive, and it requires vision and it requires commitment. And so if you can’t bring that to the job of making television, which is fine, not everybody can, it’s better for you to go pursue your passions elsewhere. But yes, like I said, you know, a lot of times this is just TV. We’ve had, you know, team members who whose family, who had family members pass away in the middle of production. And, you know, they’re like, I’m sorry to have to leave the show right now. And it’s like, of course, go like, that’s life. This is just TV. We will we as a team have your back and we will figure it out. That’s what we mean with like it’s just TV. But when you’re here and when you’re in it, you have to understand the sacrifices it requires. It is is not a punch the clock job. This is. It’s not so. Love it. Love it when you’re in it. Love the the the the long hours. I mean, you know, you’re not going to love it every day, but but, you know, give your all at every moment so that, you know, it’s not wasted. You know, imagine having to spend a long day away from your family and you’re just phoning it in and it’s like, well, man, at that point you might as well just stay at home. Like it’s just it’s important that when you are in television or the entertainment industry or movies and you are taking that time away from your loved ones to pursue this dream and this passion. Remember to give it your all at all times. You know, as Kobe said, like just more, give more, just give more, more, always more. You can give more. You can be better, you can do better. And yeah, so that’s kind of what has us spinning this January.
Biagio: Yes. Now, now with that said and out of the way and sort of setting the stage for future episodes, there’s something we wanted to talk about specifically today, and that is how you deal with other filmmakers and producers. We’ve already said what a hard business it is. Right now. There are really two kinds of producers and filmmakers you run into out there. There are the ones who are very supportive, want their peers to succeed as much as they do, and there are some who are extremely competitive and wouldn’t mind seeing you crushed when mind seeing you just go away because they feel like it’s more for them.
Joke: There is truth to the movie swimming with sharks there.
Biagio: There really is, you know. And so we’ve been at industry events. This is what really, really got us thinking of industry events where we’ll be talking with, you know, a producer or a couple producers and executive, and we’re having a really nice conversation and we’re just being human. We’re literally just having a conversation, and another producer will come over and rather than join or Be Social, will do everything they can to hijack the executive and get them away from the group. And honestly, it just it just feels icky. We’re all there trying to enjoy the fact that we’re all working hard on something, and I believe we should all support each other. I think there’s enough real estate out there for every company to find their niche and make their shows. I don’t need another company to fail so that I can succeed, but not everybody feels that way.
Joke: We’re all human beings. And there’s there’s like Biagio said, there’s more to go around the saint, the Bachelor, where there’s just one dude, and all of us girls, you know, and even those girls can find friendships, like within the group, you know, even though no one’s here to make friends. It’s still like, you know, there’s a lot of buyers out there needing a lot of content, and there are lots of companies vying for that content. And what we found is that more often than not, the better content wins. So, you know, let’s be nice. Can we just all get along? Is that what we’re saying?
Biagio: I think I think I think that’s what we’re saying. I think what we’re saying is like, look, it’s a hard industry. Be supportive.
Joke: Be.
Biagio: Supportive, be supportive, give support and accept support. You know, it’s the only way to stay saying that you support that.
Joke: I support that I support, be supportive. You know, I’m a big fan of mentorship and apprenticeship and sisterhood and and all those things. So yes, thank you for really something that up because I didn’t know where we were going with that babe. Be supportive. Be supportive. You know, like get your time, you know, get in there, hang out, meet new people, be supportive, be supportive I like it.
Biagio: There you go. So there’s there’s our hope for you. Please know we support you. We’re so happy that so many of you are out there chasing your dream. And whether you ever work with us or not, we wish you nothing but success. And, you know, I hope that more producers and more filmmakers go that route, you know? And I hope you do too, because I honestly believe it leads to a healthier, happier life. All right. So as we get to the end of episode 122, I just want to say that we will be back next month with new podcasts and and nor new insights, big insights, hopefully, that you haven’t heard before on working in the industry or at least entertaining stories about it. And as always, if you’re a fan of the podcast and you’re out there looking to pitch shows and you think you might want to pitch to us, you can learn all about pitching to our company. Over at Producing Unscripted. Just head on over there. Sign up for the newsletter and follow the directions. Does that sound funny?
Joke: Last part.
Biagio: Follow the directions.
Joke: Most people do.
Biagio: Yeah, a lot of people do. Some people don’t listen. The reason we did this podcast was people would always pitch a shows that were completely wrong for television. So and we would always answer the same five questions. So we thought, oh, you know, we’ll do like a handful of podcast episodes and just tell people how to actually pitch a show so that they don’t waste their time. Don’t lie.
Joke: Don’t lie. Your plan was never to do a handful.
Biagio: Okay, that was how I can joke into doing it. Because, you know, first it is very running your own company and making television. It takes a lot of time. So even stopping the work at a podcast for an hour here, an hour there, you know, it’s not always easy, but.
Joke: You’ve gotten me into many things that have paid off. So it’s okay.
Biagio: We will be back next month. Until then, happy 2020 and be good to each other.
Joke: Be supportive.
Unidentified Voice: Producing Unscripted with Joke and BiagioAgios.
