Welcome And Introductions

Vipul Bindra 0:04

Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Studio B Sessions with me, Bendra. And today I have my guest, Zay, who's a creative director. Uh, and we've done a lot of projects. And just like always, I've got Mario helping us on the producer desk. How are you doing today, Mario?

Mario Rangel 0:20

Hey guys, I'm all good. Thank you. How about you? Doing good, man. Good to see you again, Mario.

Vipul Bindra 0:26

It's good to good to be here. And uh, for people, if you haven't seen our uh Chicago vlogs that we did for a project, so go check them out. That's what we did with Zay. Both Mario and I were there, those projects. Uh so hopefully if you've seen those, you have an idea. If not, yeah, uh tell a little about uh to people what about you, Zay.

Zay Mccleary 0:45

Just a normal guy, man. It's not it's not much to me. Uh well, you know, go by Zay. Um, live here in the Orlando area. Been filming for, you know, since about 2018. Uh I primarily do like you know nonprofit advocacy work. Um and just a creative guy. Love to film, love to collaborate. Um yeah, pretty much simple, man.

Vipul Bindra 1:08

I'm not a and you know, on this podcast, uh no, and you and you're great, and I you're humble, which is why you know we like each other. So he's being humble, it's very talented. But also, uh, you know, the the thing is um people, you know, on this podcast have been harping about the power of networking. The thing is, I know people talk about oh, talent and all this, and yes, that's important, obviously. Right. But the reality of our industry is it's who you know, simple as that. And so that's why I recommend people go out, network, meet more people, meet more creatives, meet other business owners, or you know, like in your case, more nonprofits, so you can partner with people. Um, so I I think the story of how we met uh, you know, years ago uh is such an interesting one and people should hear about. So if you want to start with that, and then I can I can take me down memory lane.

Zay’s Creative Background And Values

Zay Mccleary 1:54

So I'm trying to think this had to be correct me. Uh and maybe you can bring it up on our 2020 or 21. Maybe you can bring it up the screen. It was a long time ago. It's like 2021. I remember I was uh FRC. Matter of fact, I had just flew in uh from doing like a big shoot. Um, and we had a conference. I couldn't shoot because I came back to Orlando immediately the next day we had a uh conference. Um I was in the middle of editing a big project, and I'm like, man, I need some equipment. Um I don't know where to get it because uh it's been last minute, and I was using you know, uh, you know, Lens Depot that used to be here. And um I think I ran it from you like once. Uh microphone, yeah. Microphone, and I came back again. I was like, can I get a mic and some other stuff? Yeah, you're like, yeah, of course, man. What are you doing? You know, doing it. I've never done this before. What are you doing with my equipment? I'm like, bro, I promise I was bringing back. He's like, I usually get bigger packages, uh, took it down to the rose in um Orlando, uh, film with that. But I didn't, you know, I just seen you in the area, you were close, share grid, and you were actually the first person I ever used on share grid. So from there, and the story goes. That's so crazy.

Vipul Bindra 3:04

So we actually met through ShareGrid, you know, and the only reason I've talked about ShareGrid before, I list stuff for this very reason because it's not the most profitable thing thing. Plus, you know, you're risking your gear, uh, and if something does happen, the getting money through insurance is a pain, and I could go on that forever. But the the thing is, I'm probably the only guy in this area whose Sheps microphones listed on there, so but you know, to be real, not that many people rent those because those are very expensive to rent, they're very expensive mics. And to be honest, I don't want to rent them to people because if they break it, that'd be a huge A, they're used every day, so that would be a loss of use, and B, getting repaired, send it to Germany. It's just a pain. Point is so you you put in a request for Shep's mic, and that was my first one for Shep's mic.

Zay Mccleary 3:48

Well, I think you actually uh I'm trying to remember what it was, but I was like the first person to ever have that package. Yeah, because we had it, we made a package. And you like, yeah, bro. I don't ever do this. Yeah, exactly. You're like, but hey, uh, you brought my stuff back the first time. Exactly. So let's see how it goes. So I think I was like the custom package guy for a little bit for the first time, yes.

Vipul Bindra 4:07

The first one you rented a Shep's mic for me. I think it was CMC646. And I like I said, I was nervous, but no, you you took care of the gear, you brought it back. I couldn't even tell it was taken out of the box. And so that's and that's how you build a relationship. And next time you were like, hey, I need a recorder, I need this. So I was like, you know what? I'll just make you a custom package, I'll just give you my sound kit. So I gave you the mic with the whole recorder, the XLR, and all that. And same thing, you brought it back, and then obviously the the power networking is you don't just exchange gear, we got to talking. Hey, because I'm curious. I'm like, I know why I use them, but I'm like, why are you using because a lot of audio guys, even locally, don't use them. And then we got to talking. I'm like, oh, you want to do something really great, because that was your intention, right? You wanted to just have the best audio, so you want to use the best gear, right?

Meeting Through ShareGrid Gear Rental

Zay Mccleary 4:52

Yeah, I think that's what uh you know, being self-taught, doing research. I'm like, hey, you can't not to be the failure, but a try. So it's like, hey, like, let me go try this equipment. You feel me? And um, it went from there. So usually if I kind of research something and I say, oh, this is you know, I'm not too familiar with audio. I'm like, I'm gonna try this out. Even though it probably didn't go too good, I used the footage just a little bit, but it still sounded good. Um, and so that was my first time using chefs. I went to like 10 people sometimes. Do you know about chefs microphones? Do you know about chefs? But uh yeah, that that is a key part though, when you say like um, it wasn't like transactional. We were always talking in the parking lot, and you'd be like, hey, bro, if you never need any insight on business or you know how you run stuff, because you know, at the time I was uh you know, dealt with other people, but it was just uh always like usually doing projects for the company like solo. Yeah. And so I was like, hey, I'm learning to like work with more people. And so it was just cool how that uh was able to like you know pan out exactly years after that.

Vipul Bindra 5:49

Yeah, and and and what's crazy is now we're here almost four years later. We've worked on tons of projects together. And you know, you never know, and it doesn't happen in day one. I want people to not know, like, oh, you now start listing your gear and share tomorrow, you're doing projects with each other. And that's not how it works. And you know, people met and you've met seen a lot of people have seen here how many people I met, and everyone's through a you know, some kind of story. And I think it's just our story's unique, but it's important because at the end of the day, the reason it worked is because we connected through that piece of equipment, but at the end we were like, Oh, what are you doing? And I was like, Oh wow, you're telling me you've been out and shot John Legend and all these celebrities, and then I'm like, Oh, and then you asked me about what I'm doing. I was like, Oh, that's pretty cool. And you know, that's how it started. Initially, it was just talking while we were just exchanging gear, and eventually, I think uh it was a project that you asked me to come help out on. I think it was the Hit Boy project, right? That was the first call? Oh, yeah. No, actually it was Jason. I take that back. Didn't I come help you do the documentary?

Zay Mccleary 6:48

No, I believe we actually Which one was first? We filmed. Let's just say it was Hit Boy. Okay, we'll just say that, yeah. Let's just say it because it was it, I think it was. Yeah. Um it was one of those two projects. But yeah, let me give you a project, I can bring my people. You know, you have yours. Yeah. Perfect team there. That we can touch on that later, but uh no, it was Hit Boy. Uh, because that was like a uh crisis management situation. I remember uh at the you know, we had a team member of mine, we were gone at the time. Uh he couldn't make it, and that's how it happened. So it's like, well, you're like, bro, I'll I'll go with you. Uh what are we doing? I'm like, his guy named Kitboy. He's like, You like, I think I know who that is. I'm telling you all the songs he produced or whatever. Um, but yeah, so it's actually like my first time doing a project with you. Like we're flying out to LA. I'm like, man, I'm like, what's about to happen? But it was cool to kind of see how you like uh adapted. Like usually y'all have bigger crew, this and that. But then it was so cool to actually find people on share grid. Yeah, exactly. Uh LA in LA too. You got a gaffer there, right? To shape. Yeah, so I think what do we have? We got like a gaffer, two guys. I think I met the guy in LA um before. Yeah. And he had gave me the equipment in the alley. Like, I don't like he's like L'Angleterre. He got like the equipment he gave me uh in LA would have cost me like thousands, I feel like thousands in Orlando. He's like, hey bro, give me, give me a little bit of a channel. Yeah, that's LA for you. And I gave him like a 50 buck tip. He's like, Yeah, here you go. Yeah. So, but uh because I actually had shot with him uh before, but uh no, you actually came through, um, and I know the partner of mine, um, really cool guy, he couldn't make it. He actually had a movie uh set to uh go to. He's like, bro, I would really love to be here because you know, like you were like dynamic duo, yeah, filming a lot, and then um, you know, you you stepped in, and so that was cool. I I like I'm trying to go back down memory lane, like trying to remember. Yeah, I know it was so long. But I I know um I'm trying to remember what you brought, man. I mean I brought a ton of things. I know I brought FX6. I had like paired to FX3, we had like I don't know how many cameras. Yeah, at least four or five. Yeah, paired up like that. Like you give your perspective on that.

Vipul Bindra 8:54

Like, how I mean, I look so for me, uh you know, obviously, I you know, I know it was our first time, but like going to LA is pretty normal. But but I was just excited because again, uh, you know, I'm not a celebrity person as you've known by now, but it's just good, it's something people care about. I've realized that when you speak your worth, if I tell people, you know, yeah, I shoot thousands of videos, they don't care, honestly. Right. But now you tell them, oh, I filmed this celebrity, or I've filmed it, it is uh a factor. And so you mentioned that hey, hit boy, so here I am. Honestly, most of my thing go like this. I film so many celebrities or people of note, and I like I don't know who these are. I recently filmed some really big NFL agent, and I had no idea. So they just tell me, like, okay, so this is good, and I'm like, good. So I Googled him, I was like, oh, this is a huge NFL legend, but I didn't know that. So that's how usually I'm introduced because I'm into like limited things. You know, everyone has like my people that I know. So anyway, so you told me Headboy, and I'm looking, I'm like, oh, this is a uh big artist. Uh this would be an incredible work, plus, you know, it's right up what I like to do. It was a session, and I think in a studio, he was gonna play some songs. We were gonna also uh do an interview with your parents there, uh representing you know the organizations that they represent, which is again, like you said, yeah, social justice work. So I don't know. To me, it was a video about uh making a difference, it was also about uh you know filming another celebrity, and it was just a chance to kind of hang out with you because I felt like at that point we had known each other for a while, but we hadn't obviously ever collaborated. And the dates were just perfect, and uh yeah, so I was really excited to jump in, but same thing, I was kind of nervous.

Zay Mccleary 10:33

I was like, I don't know obviously what the expectations are, uh, you know, what what what all that, but again, but you were calm, but I but yeah, because it's not like it's nothing new, and I I remember I still remember us in the lobby, like going to the camera. This is mine, this is yours. We're gonna uh throw everything. I think we had a suburban at the time. Uh my parents, they go get their equipment.

Vipul Bindra 10:54

There was a fight happening in the lobby while we were doing that.

Zay Mccleary 10:58

I think the biggest thing was uh what was cool. I'm like, hey man, this is how this work goes. This is like uh nonprofit, so it's kind of cool to kind of see like this sector of work. Um, and stuff is playing, but not always playing through. You can have a shot list, you can have an outline, uh a schedule, stuff is gonna go off. I remember we got there, and then um Hitboy and his father were shocked, like, wait, I thought this was a Zoom call. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, they didn't even and so that like he was like he was just shocked. And so we were sitting there. I remember the first thing seeing like how much the team player you were, because he's like, hey, this room looks nice. I'm like, this room looks nice too. And so like we literally went from I think about the map out that one uh the studio getting. They had two studios basically. Um and that was in uh what were we with? We were in uh we were in Hollywood. Uh yeah, yeah.

Vipul Bindra 11:41

We were literally in, we were like not even a couple streets from like Chinese theater, all that.

Zay Mccleary 11:45

We were actually at like Hit Boy Studio. A lot of celebrities went there. And I'm gonna talk about like the testimony we got from the uh staff. Yeah. Uh that that's the key.

Vipul Bindra 11:52

So that's so so yeah. So we did that. I think it went great. Yeah, uh as good as it could have gone. Uh, like I said, we pivoted. You told me you like the other room better, and you know, as a as a I wouldn't call it DP, sure, you know, whatever. Because it's just two of us. But what I'm saying is it's just two of us. There's no like so all my job was to make sure that you guys get what you need and you know, we're ready for it. So plus I'm doing all of it. So I did, I think all the sound and all the cameras, yeah. Um, and obviously you would have two. And then we but I didn't have to worry about lighting. So that was one less thing, at least I wasn't worrying about because we we had a uh a couple guys there helping with that.

Zay Mccleary 12:27

And then you remember us on the train. I don't want to go backwards, but kind of like I'm a chronological org guy. We're on the train, I'm like, we don't have uh uh it was a receiver or something. Yeah, one receiver. Yeah, I'm on the phone we were on the phone, like you like usually. We should have had this planned out. I'm like, yeah, this is how it goes sometimes with me. Exactly. The guy from last year, he's like, Yeah, bro, pull up driving over to LA, go to go to get uh stuff from him.

Vipul Bindra 12:51

Yeah, so we wanted to do so. I brought four booms and I think three lavs, but we wanted to go and laugh everyone. So we basically rented a fourth, and it was so cool, and that's the the power of LA and you know network that uh they had access to the exact same unit we were using, so it matched perfectly. Um, and and uh so we recorded four booms, four lavs, and then four cameras. I think it's just that. And uh I think it looked incredible because you know uh for what we had, yeah. And it was a very limited because it's a recording space.

Trust Building Through Taking Care

Zay Mccleary 13:21

We made that space look, I mean, no, it was for the time we had, how we switched, and like we were going one way, and then well, hey, let's go this way. Let's pick. I mean, I made the call, but like it either way was gonna look nice. Yeah, and then the crew, it was cool to have uh uh like I said, team players. Part of this work is you can be as talented as you want, but like they listened to what you were saying, listen to what I was saying, you know, exactly trusting our leading. Um, I think we may some some share some screenshots.

Vipul Bindra 13:47

And I still remember his videographer had a Ronin 4D. Yeah, that was new back that I too.

Zay Mccleary 13:52

Uh Third Eye Raz. That's his name in IG. No, it's funny enough, um, through my parents again, a lot of people I meet and know because of my parents to work, uh, they do, but um, yeah, I actually met him uh in Miami during Roland week weekend, and he was really cool. Oh, really? Um, yeah, so my parents were speaking on a panel. Um I think it was like Rick Ross, he had some celebrities uh there, and he was a camera guy for this event. Um, a little guy named Marvin, who they know, and he kind of like, oh bro, you can come in and look, whatever. He's like, You're just talking was cool. So it was just cool to see him again. And now, it's uh cool enough, like he's shooting all the uh Hit Boy, uh he shoots all Hit Boys um music videos. So all the music videos.

Vipul Bindra 14:31

I mean, but yeah, and for me it was cool because I think that time 4D was just brand new, so it hadn't been out for that long. So I was uh I think one of the first times I'd seen it in the in the wild, somebody actually using it, uh the the chicken camera, but uh and now I own one. So um uh coming back to um that project, I think that was a good opening. Then I helped you the documentary, and that I think kind of opened the floodgates helping us. This one part though.

Zay Mccleary 14:58

Which one? When we left, so we packed up, you know, you know what I'm saying? So when we left, the guy comes in, he's like, bro, I've seen so many celebrities come in, so many camera crews. Uh-huh. I think he was even saying that.

Vipul Bindra 15:08

Yeah, so the studio manager or whoever the yeah, he's like, bro, this is one of the best crews.

Zay Mccleary 15:12

I'm like, really? I'm like, you just saying that. He's like, nah, I'm trusting, I'm not. He's like, you guys got a dope crew. And then even the uh the guys who were handling our you know the lights and everything, they were like, bro, no, this is really dope. This is cool. And I guess for them, they may hear, you know, live in LA, they hear celebrities, but this, I guess it's go spend some time with them. It didn't mean much to me, but I mean a little bit because what people don't know, I wanted to produce at one point in my life. Yeah, so but I love music. So before doing camera work or anything, like I just know arch is my thing. So if I'm not on a camera, I'm probably cooking. If it's not cooking, something about music. And so a Hit Boy, funny enough, yeah, was somebody I followed for a long time. And so when we gave those bucket hats, it was something that he was like kind of shocked by. He's like, like, man, you really like it. And I I actually like followed him. So it's nothing that I like, I'm a fanboy and just like jump on the table, whatever. But it's good to see that, and also with you, um, because sometimes when you you go places with people or something that you you're responsible for, um people can overreact, act too important, or you know, uh they just act different or get nervous around celebrities and like, no, they're just people just like us. Yeah, and we're doing them a favor. We're about to make them look good on on camera.

Vipul Bindra 16:25

So we're gonna make them sound, look, yeah, uh you know, add to their uh, you know, in a sense, you're doing them a service, but like they're on your set, so kind of feel like in charge.

Zay Mccleary 16:35

Don't um be intimidated by it. Yeah, that's kind of exactly.

Vipul Bindra 16:39

But no, I think uh all of us uh there did a good job, and like I said, I was just happy to be a part of uh such a shoot. Uh because and that's what I'm saying, you never know what happens, and uh it was uh, you know, it just an opportunity came because you're the guy you collaborate wasn't available, and uh my schedule just happened to work, and I I just navigated that through. We figured it out, uh, and uh we had such a great time over there. And what's crazy is, and this is why I'm so glad I opened up. So you I don't know if you know this, but I started my company in 2018. I've talked about it in this podcast before, but like so. When I started my company, I was freelanced before then. I made a pact that I will only work for my own company. Wow, so I wasn't doing freelance work. So up until 2021, when we met, I would not take a project unless we would shoot, edit, my crew, everything. So I broke the ice. No, no, no, you didn't, but that was the time. So in 2022, January is literally when I, you know, because I got bored. Because sure, I love doing my own projects, but yeah, but I'm also a DP, I'm also a Gaver, I'm also love this art. So in 2022 beginning, I was like, okay, this I love what I'm doing, sure the business is going great, but this isn't personally satisfying. How many projects I'm not gonna get, I'm not getting to be part of because I'm too exclusive to Bindra. So opening myself up, um, and that was literally, I'm saying beginning of 2022 was the year when I did that, where we I finally opened back. So it was what four years where I didn't do any freelance work. Um, and uh so so that happened was perfect time. I think it was just a couple of months after I'd only done a few freelance work. So it was perfect because any other time that opportunity had come, I wouldn't have taken it. And I'm so glad it did, because not only did we create something epic, I think it opened coming back to floodgates of how many other projects we've done.

Zay Mccleary 18:31

I mean, I I mean I can't I just get it's getting up there. I mean, um, but yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, it's it's definitely more than on my hand, uh more than 10 projects because between the stuff with you know FRC, me personally, um, and that's another thing too, is like the balance between it. Like me, I actually do this, you know, yeah for for my job. Yeah, my parents. I work for one parent, I contract with the others. So that's kind of you know, yeah, exactly.

Vipul Bindra 18:55

And then there's two balances. For me, in my accounting, you're listed twice, you know. One is for the representative for FRC and then one for XM.

Zay Mccleary 19:03

Yeah, so I mean that I think that's pretty dope. And it's pretty cool.

Vipul Bindra 19:06

Um and I'm pretty sure if I because in accounting, you I I uh we look at it separately, but I'm sure if you combine it's a pretty big number.

Zay Mccleary 19:12

Oh no, I yeah, I I think I think that's pretty cool to um like that taught me a lot, man. This this industry does bring me money, and um, you know, even working with you, I I can see that. Uh I'm definitely profit. So no, um that that that's pretty good. But yeah, um I think after that, we went on to the documentary with um and it didn't start as a documentary, it was just a story we're doing um this little highlight on a guy named Jason who um was a member of FRC. And I said, you know what, let's try to do something bigger. And it was me, you, Everett. That was an amazing shoot. And that's my first time actually seeing you bring all your gear. No, yeah, I think how you adapted. Because before it was like, hey, I brought the camera's audio, yeah. We had the lights, but then you like, hey, and you I believe you brought, I forgot the. I brought all the grip and lighting on that one, yeah. That lady's name. Um, we had my kind of I had an assistant, yeah. Yeah, assistant.

Vipul Bindra 20:04

And and it's funny, and this is how I do it. So this was my first time. Talk about that. So uh, so you initially, so you anyway, you so you were like, okay, so I'm gonna do my project, and my DP is now available. Yeah, uh, so but I would love for you to come do because we had talked about you know how much I love lighting and and uh grip. So you were like, hey, why don't you come do GE in my set? And uh and I was like, oh, perfect. But then you know, the way I'm thinking, I'm like, yes, I can handle any GE, but I'm like, how big of a project this is. I didn't know that, right? So again, same thing. I'm like, yeah, is it like lighting an interview? Then I don't need it. But then I was like, you know what? I don't have a budget because you know the budget was just I build you for me. But then I was like, you know what? I need an assistant, and this is where shout out to G and David, I love his group. I was like, hey, I need an assistant who can help me with grip, and uh and she was really great. Yeah, she was a great job.

Zay Mccleary 20:50

And the shots did come out amazing, even though it was delayed and yeah, uh using it only like internally right now, like the stuff was amazing. Um, all from the interviews, yeah, and his story was incredible too. So it was good show.

Vipul Bindra 21:01

Shout out to filmed at uh UCF, right?

Zay Mccleary 21:04

I think, and then as his house, so it was multiple days his house, UCF, yeah, two days. Um no, Jason's a good guy. Then we moved on from that, yeah, came to a few events uh for FRC. One um the street before that.

Vipul Bindra 21:17

I do want to I do remember now. It's so funny. So yeah, so first one is a UCF. So you I don't know if you even know this. So I first one is UCF. So I build you just as GNE, me, no, no crew. And about the assistant, because I was like, oh, I don't know. And I I don't want to I want to do a good job just in case. I was like, I'll leave the cost to the assistant. Didn't need an assistant, she was very helpful, obviously. Not her. So I was like, oh, perfect. So second time, now you're like, oh, we're gonna film at his house, very similar. I'm like, awesome, I got this. Oh so I didn't bring an assistant because I was like, Well, I don't want to take more pay cut, but guess what? Here we are. Now it's just me, and we're like, okay, let's set up an eight by eight. I'm like, okay, I could do that. And then it's like set up another eight by eight. Then let's set up something on top, like a solid. I got some help. Which is good because we needed it, but then I'm like, okay, I would I an assistant would have been a good thing. And I was in the ladder and I was like, Yeah, for that garage.

Zay Mccleary 22:12

You need it pretty quick. I mean, I yeah, I won't want to.

Vipul Bindra 22:15

But I don't know if you've noticed that. That's literally when I was setting this. I was like, okay, an assistant here would be nice.

First Big Collab In LA

Zay Mccleary 22:20

No, I mean we killed that. Yeah, no, it came on us. You know, more running gun events, like little events here and there, and then you know, CSI. We finally get a project. Uh you know, the Philly one, right?

Vipul Bindra 22:30

Last year.

Zay Mccleary 22:30

We went to uh Philadelphia, we ended up going to Detroit. But the Philly, that Philly project was uh really, really nice. You came again, you know, brought the gear. Now this time is uh you flying with more gear. Yes.

Vipul Bindra 22:41

So this one was interesting. So I technically was your gaffer and audio guy. So you took two roles, but I didn't fly with my GE gear. So we rented the GE gear, but I brought all the audio and I also brought a camera, I think.

Zay Mccleary 22:53

We brought some stuff that we didn't even need. Yeah, it was on me. Like I was like, oh, we're gonna need this, we're gonna need to get it.

Vipul Bindra 22:57

And then we didn't use the thing on a ring. But mainly what I did was uh gaffing and then audio, but I brought in but I didn't bring any GE. We rented that and then but I brought all the audio equipment. Yeah, that was the that collaboration.

Zay Mccleary 23:13

That was uh a dope collab too. Uh the client, like at CSI, they were happy, they raved about those films, and it it caused me to get the contract the next the next year. Exactly. Um, but yeah, it um and make my mom proud. Yeah, like make her look good and make her proud.

Vipul Bindra 23:27

So you know, a lot of people, and we've talked about this before, because a lot of people go, Oh, you're the CEO's son. So you know, people have a certain kind of thing, and I'm like, that shouldn't be, because you're getting the job because you're talented. Yes, it doesn't matter that your mom is the CEO. Yeah, uh but people do look at it that way.

Zay Mccleary 23:45

And I respect the process, the processes they have.

Vipul Bindra 23:48

So for you to be able to kind of show, like, look, no, this is the talent.

Zay Mccleary 23:51

So you had to show up because then I think you have to show up even more. So exactly. It's kind of like you're like, yeah, bro, you you are giving them a lot. I'm like, because I don't think they and that's another thing too. Uh I think the biggest thing in all this, like the lessons learned is uh when it comes to budgeting. So like the business side of it is something I'm definitely uh like learning every day. Um, but that part is like um because I do a lot of work with my family, so it's like, hey man, I want to help them out. And he's like, bro, you are and I mean, remember, yeah, we just stacked, we were putting stuff out to you like we can go and shoot FX6 and I can make this look amazing. I remember telling that uh, you know, you weren't a DP on that project. And we I think we still were happy with it. We had the cook look.

Vipul Bindra 24:29

Yeah, no, we had cook lenses, we had Rings, I mean we had good stuff.

Zay Mccleary 24:32

So and we worked with a small room. This was the thing. Another, another team, like told like you remember we were supposed to be a joint project. They told us, like, hey, we can't we can't make nothing work in this room. And I was like, uh, that's a challenge. I like my thing is like that's when creativity kicks in. I don't think creativity is uh present when you have all the bells and whistles, kicks in when you like, hey, I don't have everything.

Vipul Bindra 24:54

And so um and and that's where you get to get creative. What I love is uh, you know, this is why uh I I have I'm iffy on rentals, and which we'll come to this year why we didn't want to rent. So we had very limited gear, and even though it cost a lot of money, I had like five or six total fixtures. That's very limiting. I get it, it's a small room. So here I am. How do I light this room? So what I ended up doing is we actually used a Nova P600 as our key light, a six by six frame in front of it. I think I had uh magic cloth on it. That ended up our key light, and then I think for backfill, uh, we did uh two um I think um 600s, 600 X's with the uh the uh the spotlight mounts. You got a good memory, yeah. No, uh yeah, uh oh, I remember some of the prize, but anyway, we did spotlight and then and then uh and the hurdles you run into. So it was like, oh, we uh so we wanted to light there, was bookshelves. We wouldn't light them, like you know, there's there's some light on them. But guess what? We can only go build so far back, right? So it's like trying to figure out how do we light these shelves, but we are running out of room here, right? And uh so but it came out really good. I think uh uh what else did I use? I think for um uh yeah, and then we had a Dana Dolly set up as far as grip goes uh on B camera, and then A was just on sticks, right? That was uh and then I used the I think it was the same thing 616 uh 646 uh Sheps mic for their audio.

Zay Mccleary 26:19

Yeah, it's cool to even um it was funny because going back to next year, yeah. I'm gonna jump forward and then come back is like how we compared that one, and then we moved forward to we had clean slate last year, and then we come back this year. We went to Chicago and then the whole plan is every year to get better now. That could be like, you know, how we composed a shot, how you know how we shot it, uh, how we lit it. This year was more dramatic, that was more kind of flat. Um, but we got better. So that that that's that's a cool thing. And uh we kind of beefed up the crew, exactly. And um, so I did appreciate but then to end the stuff for Philly. I will say like they were very happy. Um the reactions from the people, they said they feel like it was their experience, you know. I mean, like uh that work is kind of like some touchy work, you know, people's lives and uh what they say live the live experience with people talking about the issues they go through in the system. Um, even people, I mean, from the questions to the setup, how comfortable people felt, the crew, um, like people crying on tape. We had probably like three people, right? Yeah, at least at least like three people, yeah. And like happy tears, too, not least like trauma porn, but like happy. So like everybody raved about it. And um, that feels good. Uh walking into having your own, you know, media company is like that's my first time, you know. When you could because I'm gonna be honest with you.

Vipul Bindra 27:34

That was your first big project.

Zay Mccleary 27:36

Well, like I'll say the one that I did with FRC, you know, John Legend, that was like took me big. Even though we didn't have uh big crew, but that was big to me. Yeah, because I trap that's the most traveling I did in a few days, but this definitely uh topped it off for my mother. This definitely was the um biggest project, but also I feel like biggest impact, the kind of like because you know I'm just gonna be able to do that. Yeah, because these are impactful stories, yeah.

Vipul Bindra 27:57

And that's where, as a crew, I want people to know, at least from my perspective, it makes you want to be part of them more. And there is a bias. I want you to know, as when you're trying to hire people, if you tell me, hey, you gotta come light up this corporate CEO and we're gonna tell about how they're made 20% quarterly or extra earnings this year. I'm not saying I don't do it, I love corporate work. But versus you're like, hey, same day, I've got a project for you. We're gonna tell impactful stories where people's lives have changed. Which one am I gonna pick? Because you know, yeah, I'm like, and and for us filmmakers, especially corporate and commercial filmmakers like me, we're chasing corporate and commercial work, which makes an impact, if that makes sense. Right. And every time I worked with you, which is why it's always a yes, because the stories that you're usually telling are very impactful. So it's not only just video work, it's actually emotionally um also uplifting because you're like, hey, I didn't know about any. Because you I know you're in the in this all the time. I am not, I'm dealing with all sorts of industries. So when I work with you, it's like a sigh of relief, at least. That was the best way I could say it. Because it's like, oh, my work means something, you know, because it's gonna help you guys or whoever, even one person.

Zay Mccleary 29:12

But it helps impact lives too. It's like a it's like a whole narrative change, like with the work we do campaign, like how people look at those leaks among us. So uh, and I it kind of I kind of like sometimes like look across the room, see your faces, and like all the crew, and like they're like, wow, this is like you, or like just the little murmurs that people are whispering after the like the interviews, like, damn, that touched me. To where the like the film crew feels impacted. So it's like, hey, they we all feel good about what we did, like we we're making a change, we're impacting people, and in the way we do it, like we're helping people share their own story. So like we help change your life, like with uh telling the stories. Exactly.

Vipul Bindra 29:44

Corporate work doesn't have to be boring, it depends on what you're doing, you know.

Zay Mccleary 29:48

And our style too. It's like because even though like it's the model, it's a corporate model, but it's still non-profit work, right? But like you can see how you see suits and everything still in those rooms, right? Like the people who you talk, business owners, everything it's the same thing, there's different name. And so you see how like our style when we come and shoot together, it's like we bring a mood. Usually, if somebody else was to come shoot our stuff, I guarantee you it'd be flat. Yeah, have no emotion, the creativity would not be there. Like we're we're incorporating handheld shots, getting hand shots, like we got dollies. Uh um, we're we're like being we're this is the thing, we're not just getting equipment because it's cool or it's cooked, but hey, does this match the tone or like the feel of what we're doing? And so, like, these are discussions we all have before going into the shooting.

Vipul Bindra 30:32

You brought such an awesome point that I didn't even mention. The other thing I like why we're working with you is because we get to be creative. So usually on my shoots, I get to be creative on commercial shoots, but carpet shoots they want flat, they want it. And I had a shoot recently where Mario was there. I don't know if you remember Mario, don't mention the client, but where we were gonna do something gritty, something was gonna come out, right? And uh, and we were at a shoot, and I was like, Mario, this would be really good handheld, right? Because I want that feel that you know, like the moment of the thing coming out, and Mario did the shot, but won't believe. Not even 10 seconds later, the client comes to me and they're like, The shot is too shaky, don't you think? What and we were like yeah, remember so I was like, Okay, here's the gimbal, Mario, and that's how it works. It's not I don't like gimbal, honestly, personally. I if I could just chuck that away forever, but I own how many? Four of them because we use them a lot because in the corporate world, they want flat, they want uh uh you know, gimbal shots, they want everything to be stable. Uh, one of the funniest things I've ever had, I'm not gonna name the agency in Orlando. We we did some work through them and uh we did really and you know me. I I take a budget and I knock it out of the park. So we killed it, and you know the feedback we got on all this. I was like, oh, good, good video, so very good editing. Uh, on this one particular shot, I think your videographer in the future needs to train better because there's a tree in the foreground, they should have moved to the right. That was a creative shot. They purposely, you know how you we create this, yeah, exactly. So we had a foreground and I'm in a background and then the subject. So they they they're so untrained, these agencies have no idea. They think that's a mistake.

Zay Mccleary 32:12

Everybody's spillbird, man. Everybody, every it's funny when people see a set, everybody turns into a director for something. I don't know why, but yeah, it happens.

Vipul Bindra 32:18

No, but like I I don't mind criticism or feedback. Obviously, it's part of the job, uh, part of how we improve. But sometimes when you get feedback, like that's clearly just wrong. This is no knowledge, and I just laughed. It was like, hey, this is uh to create depth, this is a foreground element.

Zay Mccleary 32:34

Or to explain, I think sometimes when you explain to them, like this is the meaning behind it. Kind of like what we did, you know, moving forward into this year. Um, so hey, gonna talk about it.

Vipul Bindra 32:45

Yeah, so so I feel like uh uh I mean it's exciting for me. So we've done so much work, but this was I was excited about it because to be honest, like coming right.

Zay Mccleary 32:55

You're trying to ward it down, man. This was the this year, Chicago hands down was the best project I've done so far. Well, thank you. I'll take some credit. Tiny like like so. Mario, yeah, Mario gave Mario uh. Thank you, thank you. And I I told you the rest of the crew. The whole the whole crew did amazing. Uh I must say, and I mean, if you don't mind, Mario definitely was the MVP of the crew. Look at that. And that that's still a shout out to Jared. That's a shout out to uh to uh to uh Emmanuel to you, but like you know, Mario definitely um look at that. MVP because it's it's good to have skill. I know we talk about that a lot, and I'm not gonna touch on it much, but like uh also like people's attitude, willing to adapt, uh like having a great you know I'm saying he's had a great attitude and um, I mean, willing to do whatever, not saying you gotta go without, you know, you know, I'm gonna uh use you or do stuff outside of what I paid you, but it's like he was willing to uh get the job done to make the client um happy. And so I didn't I appreciate that.

Why Vipul Started Freelancing Again

Vipul Bindra 33:54

And and and you know, giving you my perspective on it. Thank you. Yeah, no, Mario, great job. Uh but uh, you know, I have two sides of you, right? One, you're a friend. We just talk year projects, just shoot shit sometimes on the phone, in person. We've done this podcast non-recorded billions of times. But then there's the other side, you're technically a client when I'm working with XMR. So every time, you know, I would hear us, you know, normally talking, let's say as friends, and you'd complain about something you had this with this crew or this thing, this thing. And I was like, for like, give me a project with like control, you know, because the thing is either I was your gaffer or sound guy or more multiple roles, just or DP or something. It was never or videographer, but it was never, hey Whipple, get your crew, get your equipment, and do shit. So this was the first time I feel like where you were like, hey, I'd like you to be part of it. And I was like, of course, anytime. Can we touch on that too?

Zay Mccleary 34:52

Because I think um one thing really quick, we didn't touch on a uh uh Detroit. Yeah, so we went to the we did another conference with Detroit, and I think there's when I told the whole crew we had a we said a decent sized crew there. Yeah, for a conference for a conference, and like I remember talking, like me, I'm like an art unorthodox. Like, I do stuff different. I'm not like so. I'm like, hey, I want you to be the D. I'm same crew that we always shoot with, you be the DP next time. I think I was telling Dier, and then you know what you so like no, it's always gonna be there. I think uh you should I think anybody who has a crew or like a base, you should try these things because you never know when somebody's gonna be like what happened to me. Now like, okay, I'm dependent on one person, what happens? Because um, you know, things can get in the way or people like you gotta be you gotta be like Mario. That's what I'm telling people. You have to be more like Mario, where you can step in at this role, this role. And I think this year, our team, even last year, yeah, was like that.

Vipul Bindra 35:42

Um, yeah, no, but the team wasn't everybody.

Zay Mccleary 35:45

I feel like at any moment, even if they talk, could step into like, hey, if we would just say, hey, we're gonna just switch chairs every day. The Vipo, you go do license day. I'm pretty sure you can do it. Mario, you come, you come in, uh, you come and be DP or whatever, he would be able to do it. And so um, going into this year, man, yeah, let's just talk about real quick how we uh exactly get that call from like, hey Vipo.

Vipul Bindra 36:06

Yeah, so finally, that's so that's what I was saying. So I was waiting for a chance, and uh, and it's so funny, you know, uh, because we talk, so it's like, whatever, you had this issue, this issue, and this specific, and I was like, dude, give me a project where I can bring the people I want to bring, and you know, I'll knock and give me that same budget, and I will knock your socks off, right? That was at least my mindset, and obviously, I get it, there's so many projects, but it finally happened, right? So for me, getting that call was incredible because first she called me and I was like already ready to just it was like, hey, checking in the dates, you know. How I think that's how it started. And I was like, of course, for you the dates are always available.

Zay Mccleary 36:43

I think it was the dates. I said, so I said, hold the date. Yeah, and then from there we went to you said, Hey, it was totally different because me and you, I mean, we talk all the time. You said, Hey, of course, let's set a date to now meet. I'm the DP, let's meet because I want to see your vision. I think I sent you some stuff over the phone. We came and actually sat and talked, like, no filming. We we spoke for a little bit, we we met, even down to getting equipment. Exactly. We knew you had stuff, but uh that's the key part. I want to touch on it, I'll let you take it from there. But it's like, okay, this is the budget, this is what I got. Uh you know, you you let me know what you have, like, hey Zay, this is what I can bring, but how do we make things easier? Yeah, I think you were on the I'm in my cart, I'm calling you. Hey, I don't know what we're gonna do because uh they got it, they got a truck up here, yeah. And then that car, what happened? And I I'm spiritual, so I'm like, that's nothing but God. Yeah, it ends up that the uh the car gets in an accident. The uh the the uh the the demand, and they want to give you a bigger event and and we we're gonna pay the bill, and you're like, how about if we do this? Exactly. That's the piece I want you to like touch on.

Vipul Bindra 37:43

For me, okay, so same thing. So uh like I said, very excited. So you're like, hey, you're DP, you know, we can bring the people you like, so I know what I can achieve, but the thing always comes down to then is equipment, right? So there's a budget, there's always a budget, right? So so you're telling me, and then I I kind of compiled it. You were like, let's go with similar to last year. I did it, and then you showed me the numbers, and I'm like, Yeah, that was true. This is like six, seven fixtures, right? And we had a so we had a like a grip van, but it didn't have any lighting, so it's just strictly grip, and then we added some lights and a Dana Dolly to it.

Zay Mccleary 38:13

I think it was very limited. And I think for all that, it came into I'm not gonna say, I mean, I if you want me to say, No, I don't remember, but it was a huge number, and that wasn't everything. It was crazy, yeah.

Vipul Bindra 38:22

And then the crazy thing is, remember, that wasn't the insurance for the van and all the extra stuff you were gonna need. And uh for me, it's like this is limiting. I can't, I'm promising you because remember, it's not my reputation's on the line. I'm like, I'm promising you better than last year, right? That's the promise I made to you. I'm like, I have six fixtures. Where am I gonna do it?

Zay Mccleary 38:40

You did put a bug in my ear, you're like, hey, how about and at first I was kind of I'm like, I don't know, man. Yeah, because the first thing I don't everything in my head is like, oh man, flat tire. Yeah, this happened. Yeah, I'm like, Vipple, uh, hey, I gotta get that equipment there, bro. Exactly. What's gonna happen? But I knew we would have figured it out.

Vipul Bindra 38:54

Exactly. Um, and you know me, if I put my name on it, which to me I'm nervous. I don't know if you saw the video I made about the the van driving there. Same thing, I'm as nervous as you are because my name's on the, you know, I don't I don't play with my reputation. It took me a long time to get here where Vipple's a reliable guy, right? So I'm not gonna ruin that helping a friend out. Uh so no, but the reason, yeah, and and it uh I put that bug in you, so it's like I'm like, this is not enough. And the way I'm looking at that website, because you know we were looking at a rental company and I'm I'm adding, I'm like, I would like that. I would like that, I would like that.

Zay Mccleary 39:26

And I'm like, holy crap, I don't even want to tell you the number that it's gonna become because you remember we were talking about ultra primes, yeah, and then because from the last year, I was like, I cannot give the client less, but I I want you to talk, like, talk about kind of like how we got to that point where you're like, hey, we're gonna take this gear. We got to the point, like, bro, we literally had a conference meeting. I called my guy Malik in Atlanta, and like when you made the decision, I was like, I want this look, I want cooked, but I also want like clean, yeah, and how we came up to that point.

Vipul Bindra 39:53

Yeah, so so now finally decided, I think the better thing is, and I and I was like, I'll figure out the the budget and whatever, how to get my van there because I know I have everything to make that happen. But then came to lenses, and we obviously I wanted to, I was like, hey, if you want my absolute best that I do, I use uh you know, RE um uh mini LFs with signature primes. The cost in those more than our ultraprime is exactly and ultra and and then then you were like, hey, Jared has some ultra primes that you can rent. I was like, perfect. Then I was like, oh, and it happened twice to me. I was like, no, ultra primes are super 35, they're using full frame cameras, ain't gonna work. And then happened again. So it was like, okay, so we so Ari's out of the picture because also coming back, we didn't want to do two cameras, we wanted to up the level. So last year we did two Ari's um and and cook lenses. So I was like, how can we up the thing? And I was like, look, I only have to beat last year, right? Yes, can I do better with Ari mini uh like mini LFs with uh some signature primes? Yes, but the budget is triple, quadruple to get you know two of those, and then that's only two angles to the grid because we the thing was you said give me your plan and I can tell you what we can build.

Zay Mccleary 41:01

Remember, I said, hey, I want to do this, and that's I call it the it's in text as a God's eye view, yeah, like a top-down bird eye angle, and that ended up being like one of the one of the better angles, right?

Vipul Bindra 41:11

Like you're so now here. I'm like, how can I do that? I cannot clearly afford four RE mini LFs. I would have given you a heart attack had I sent that request to you as a DP. Because you know, I'm also trying to do a good job, but also never like you delete my phone number because it's like those guys crushing the button.

Zay Mccleary 41:27

But the thing was, you was very transparent. Like that process was cool, man, because um, I don't know, to me, it's a partnership, right? But we we we actually uh it was transparency. We another cost, another cost of the crew, yeah, even to where they able to they adjusted everyone. Yeah, everyone, yeah, and how we were able to uh now say, hey, well, this is the c no matter what, hey, this is the cost, right? I can't go beyond this, but like, hey, now let's improve exactly the uh the shoe, and we did that by you know five, I mean, all the way down to you ordering.

Vipul Bindra 41:58

This is called commitment. And so anyway, so I got you so anyway, so we came to the the simple thing is uh the best solution for the project was uh how can we do better but without overkilling it? We decided to do on Sony's uh we decided to go three FX6s, um two uh fx threes, right? No, you did four, yeah, with four cameras. So, right? So three FX3s and one fx six, uh no, three FX6s, one fx three, and one Burano. It's five cameras.

Zay Mccleary 42:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Philly And Detroit Lessons On Budget

Vipul Bindra 42:27

So we didn't have a the five cameras. Uh so Burano is our A cam, three FX sixes, and one FX3 is that's that top-down camera that we're gonna do. Again, go back to see that vlog if you if you're interested in seeing how we did it. So so we're like, okay, and I was like, the advantage is I own most of these gear. We only need to rent one or two of those bodies, so you save all that cost, I'll eat that rental cost. Then I was able to get the van there. I'm like, okay, now we don't have to worry about what the room situation is. So we're fixed in grip and lighting, then came down to lenses, and I was like, Well, I want that look, you know. I and what's the closest thing? And I've been, and this is my personal thing, and this is how we improve as filmmakers. I've been so negative Chinese lenses because you know what they're doing is not that great, but they improve. The thing is, anyone, even Chinese companies, if they started five years ago trying to make some lenses, that doesn't mean now today they can't, and and they have done a good job. So I've I looked at DZO film, their KataZooms, and they were all right, vintage looking. And I don't do that. And shout out to Malik.

Zay Mccleary 43:29

Malik, Malik, you had um He had three of them. He had three. We're gonna call him, but he was like this raving on them. And he's like, you know what? I was like, Vibble, that's confirmation. Let's go with them. Right here, right here in your studio.

Vipul Bindra 43:41

And I saw some tests, and they were the perfect look, and and the best way, and and I'll let Mari speak on those lenses too, because we've used on more projects since then. So essentially, uh the best way I described the people is like they they basically bought uh a signature prime and then uh uh like um uh like a zeiss basically supreme or something like that um or a cook lens and then they sent it to the factory and be like copy yeah exactly because it's looks just like that it's heavy like a tequina it um it the look is a very close to a uh cook lens point is uh it it's sharp like a ze you know what i mean like i mean it's it's it's a perfect uh yeah yeah it doesn't really make any of those lenses redundant but now five years ago you couldn't have even dreamed of a normal or well I say mid-tier cinematographer can afford lenses to buy right that you know cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in any name any of these lens sets that I'm talking about so uh so point is uh there was one person now I know one other person but uh a friend of mine bought it so that video people gotta watch the comparison the point is uh the I knew one person in all of Central Florida who owns those ARLs Prime so that's the lenses we're talking about from DZO film and so I talked to him uh but obviously we were this took a while so by the time we it was like two days before three days before the rent uh by the time it came uh uh he he he hadn't heard from us we hadn't given deposits so he's like dude and I I have a shooter I don't know I rented them whatever they weren't gonna be available and I'm like frick we're screwed we're entirely relying on the and then the set was perfect for us the five focal lens was exactly what we wanted the so it's gonna be perfect and I was like you know what I changed you know so my commitment was never buying Chinese lenses so it's like uh but then I was like you know what I see offering a mid-tier I have GM you know Sony GM lenses for corporate work and then I rent the the signature primes for high end work but I don't have a mid-tier lens because such a thing didn't exist in the past I'm like this is perfect for my client where they're like I want something better I can maybe pay four or five hundred bucks extra a day but I can't pay thousands of dollars extra and so the way my brain works and I get it this may not be the right for everyone I was like you know what I need to make this investment for my company and uh but I was like crap we need this they need to leave on Saturday this is like Thursday I was texting hey Vipo uh hey didn't make a meeting like yes this is this is like days before we leave uh yeah yeah the the same thing you skipped apart while we were having this big I mean we actually had a meeting like we we production was like planned out it was different from our past shoots um we called I believe Mario on the phone Manuel Jared all the same night while we were sitting here I'm marking up on paper seeing what it you know cost and that's when we made the decision um to have you guys drive up your van to Chicago man that was an interesting thing right but I mean it's nothing new to be honest my trailer that I had before man we we drove it a lot of places but it was a because the van's new so this was the first one for the van to go somewhere and me not being in it uh yeah that's what I'm saying the truth the the trust is just like um that's when you know you can trust somebody because if they uh if they're gonna bring people uh I mean Jared we worked with yeah uh Mario Mario yeah yeah you had worked with each person separately just not together and that's why I trusted them I I wouldn't have let just anyone by the way I trusted Jared and Mario because I know them right and we had worked together so long. Plus uh Mario even came and you know practiced so I felt confident that he could then show Jared you know how to because again it's not hard to drive but you don't want to risk the half a million dollars in it it's not the van that I'm worried about it's the A it is a brand new van but it's all the crap in it yeah if if that van didn't come I mean everything but his you're like we can add this we can even you I even got space if you want to add this I'm like okay cool and so uh even down to like how much of your team player you were to go pick up the Barano and then get it just so you know normal clients don't get this service only friends do. So yeah no but no no and I'm throwing it out there like yeah that that definitely was a uh uh teamwork um and more so like you said it's a it's uh yeah even rented Quentin's FX6 for you that was good to hang out with that shout out to Quentin shout out to everybody who helped that helped on the project you're part of talk about the lenses so I'm on Thursday calling B and H my my reps there and I was like I need these lenses by like uh tomorrow and they were like oh no we can do Saturday I was like no no no you're gonna overnight these so I paid I was like I don't care what it costs so they overnighted them and I had them the next day and that's when I called you I I don't call people with problems yeah so I didn't call you like hey the lenses are not available I solved it okay here what you like you I was like I wouldn't got the lens I'm making an investment I was like the lenses are not available but guess what I have good news I bought them they'll be here tomorrow and I mean yes so the project was technically a huge loss for me but I don't count it that way it's an investment I think those lenses every time I've used them uh and like I said I want to go to Mario what's your opinion Mario use them on those projects but you also use them with me on the other shoot we did what's your opinion on those lenses yeah uh uh I love them I mean for for the price and the quality I think it's an amazing lens for sure uh it it g give you that cinematic quality and it's like like you said for for mid filmmakers it's amazing for sure yeah exactly because the set costs for reference people I think it's like ten thousand five hundred dollars for a five lens set that's the A set so they they they're two ten total lenses uh and I'll I'll announce something on this podcast in a second so I bought the first set five lenses ten thousand five hundred I think is the is the cost and you get the normal focal lens like 2535 507500 but they have a B set which has more creative focal lenses uh lens so like 1621 I think 25 uh no uh 40 and uh 135 180 those are incredible obviously they're not your standards but those are uh like our handheld could have easily used 180 that would have been nice but that's a more expensive cent set so I think that's like 12 ish grand 11800 well here's what I'm announcing I'm gonna be buying the B set so I will have the full 10 lens set I am that committed to those lenses so I think that was a good investment because I want to have because I've seen already projects where I'm like oh I need the 180 or 135 or the 16 and not having the full set and like I said since I'm already committed to five I just want to have the whole set.

Zay Mccleary 50:18

So I'm getting the other five so we're gonna have all 10 set lenses if we ever need to as we you know the time and stuff but like how do you feel about I do want to talk about the um like the comparison you know so like how do you feel about compare and contrast like I mean year one was still good like when we did the CSI stuff but like um for uh and and and for the average consumer out there to say oh well you guys actually went you know you didn't do RE but for what we brought out of a FX6 I don't think me per not to and this is this is for me I have not seen a FX6 look that beautiful yeah I could say that you go find the YouTube video but yeah I mean and this was lit in under two I mean referencing your other video two hours. Yes and so we were on time crunch.

Vipul Bindra 51:01

Exactly so here's uh the the difference so you want to know year one too. So yeah I was promised and that's not on you but I was like I'm gonna make remember our my commitment to you give me the same thing I'm gonna give you better. So we initially started and this is that same thing. Like we're gonna do story bank we're gonna have this many videos we go up we set up we make it incredible uh and you know we we knock it out of the park but by the time we were like in two days before you know they had changed everything on us and that happens I I want people to know just like I said in the in the vlogs corporate shoots they changed at the end they were there to to make sure CSI gets what they need and if that means we're gonna pivot we're gonna pivot but for us on the production side it meant like hey now you're doing four different setups oh also you don't have time you don't have like because the first time we went there I still remember I had like six hours so while the uh the camera guys or the DP and his second camera they they fixed their cameras I had six hours to set up all that lighting yeah and I'm saying just me so I set all that lighting six hours and obviously audio doesn't take that long so let's say 15 minutes to do set up audio right and that was my task there was a set decorator I didn't touch no furniture uh nobody did you yeah so and then somebody decorated the set I did the lighting the camera and the the Dana Dolly and then the camera guys got the camera and the lenses set up. Point is this year it's completely opposite. We have to film at 230 and you're like uh your your room access is like at 12 or 1230.

Zay Mccleary 52:34

They ended up cutting off because I I remember I've got they had the roots the room for six hours we're gonna get to six hours they're like well we can't move any oh let's not even talk about the room we were gonna go shoot in um I would just say hey let's film it here.

Making Corporate Work Feel Cinematic

Vipul Bindra 52:46

Yeah shout out to you you fought with us they were gonna put I saw so they said they suggested a room that we're gonna film in and you know you don't see the full view they showed the room I was like terrible room but I could make it work but it'll be very corporate y no when we showed up that room was in public the audio there would have been a nice with I mean I want people to know like uh this is a cleaning slate initiative uh conference they have a convening every year um and let's just say I'm I could be fluctuating the numbers but I believe it was like it had to be like five to six hundred people it was a lot of people walking around the old post office I mean big building hope you guys put a picture up um rent out that uh facility uh for the conference and I mean very beautiful looking y'all that yeah the two areas that they uh showed us I went in like literally scout and look I'm like there's no way people were in there on phone calls music was playing from the lobby right next to the bar glass was clinking so like we could have yeah never made anything like this room we just knew I mean from looking and this is the thing the biggest risk we also had is we couldn't go up to the local location and look we don't know what what what adapters is it we're limited on I mean it was policy with insurance don't move the equipment the union all all those things but you guys made it work you guys went in there two hours and I was still able to handle business this is my first day I go go talk to the you have to handle directory director and producer thing so like I did like about this is I give everybody on the crew credit pat on the back everybody took on more than one role yeah whether you were driving and bringing the other equipment whether you were setting up and doing like like nobody put their hands in their pockets and sat in a corner which is cool and um teamwork and I I I do believe uh this has taught me uh that and I I appreciated it furthermore yeah having the right people the right people yeah I mean and then and then and then how people the the reaction and take some credit right leadership too oh yeah yeah no absolutely I do think I'm a uh when it comes to uh I don't think you have to wear that on your shoulders everybody knows who you came in there with I mean it's on your shirt um you don't have to do that um unless somebody's like totally out of line and it's even it's even a way to do that outside but I don't believe in disrespecting anybody um yeah on a small crew like this we're just working together and that's why as you saw we were when we were there it's like hey we can't access the room so we were we were in their ping pong area I was like look guys we we can't we just have to do the best so we are there assembling camera rigs uh if you please go watch that vlog we have a table shot there the t their table tennis table like the ping pong table full of these expensive rigs so what we did was we basically got all the cameras assembled the Dana dolly assembled so as soon as we got the room we we got in there and we basically rolled the dolly in the cameras in but just to give reference point compared to first that I explained we had two hours now we had to do the set decoration we had to move all the furniture we had to get all the cameras and remember five cameras with the top down rig yes eight by eight lighting setup we did all that and we were rolling in two hours and shout out to I don't want to forget my cousin man he oh yeah Tay man Tay is the best right hand man um he definitely like within like Tay will move the car he does this hey this viple need something anybody I mean he he was doing multiple things and even down to furniture so I want to shout him out too because he definitely um yeah he it's always fun hanging out with him Tabron is definitely um the GOAT but I I do say by the time I came back I'm looking at I'm like wow I put my head back in again everything cool yep we're almost there talking with the people for the interview and then even down to I mean this is this part of work you have to be able to adapt we can't cry over spilled milk so like uh the comms director comes to me and says hey I'm actually gonna do the um interview which was cool but then everything changed usually it would be me and then I brought a lady up uh Miss Erifer shout out to Miss Erifer as well but then the whole thing changed like we were able to adapt and pivot exactly where it's like hey I thought Zay you're gonna like no I'm not gonna yeah because it was supposed to be like year one where we were gonna have her interview them but then it swapped because they had somebody they wanted to the three changes we went from uh not only did we do individuals this year you gotta give props to the team yeah we did pairs also to we didn't even know if it was possible the the um the uh the the the five the panel and I just got images uh earlier from the uh the the colorist yeah as he had touching stuff up and man it looks looks good right it looks good and that's the the advantage of these cameras that's what I'm saying so and and I I'll come to challenges uh because that so this is a good part so I think day one given the challenges I think went extremely successful like there's nothing you can go change I mean forget uh sure obviously we have time and budget constraints but I'm saying let's say remove the budget you say I have unlimited money I don't think you could have done anything different in that two hour span so I think uh shout out to like I said the team and everyone like I said Mario uh Emmanuel Jarrett I think everyone killed it even Tay um everyone who was on set I'm saying uh killed it and I don't think there's any way like you said best images coming out of an FX6 I don't think we could have done any better um but then the I think the the bigger challenge came to us on day two because we were there for three days because now we had to do pairs uh which initially we had not planned but you know it's an easier pivot right uh so we were like okay well we can make the same lighting work we move some things around uh fit two people in and we already left day one I think ready like that yeah but then we we show up we can't and and trust me I've done thousands of shoots I've talked to other filmmakers this never happened before but we're not allowed to go to the loading dock for some reason oh no so I I'll tell you guys about the stars say terrible I I feel like I was bringing you guys a whole bunch of bad news through the uh through the headset um no that that venue uh and maybe they felt away because like oh they shot Batman here all this stuff right then I mean they did you know it was cool um and so first day we get through perfectly fine loading the equipment everybody's helping one another by day two I mean this is Chicago this is not like where like in like stuff we can park on the side of the street finding an easy garage I mean I think we even have to go all the way back to the Airbnb to drive my car um the uh the lady who was there who was like the the she was the pro uh the uh the manager the or whatever responsible for the loading like she just she just automatically had an attitude with me exactly um and that's challenging me in front of people because that's a little client yeah um and for me yeah my perspective is uh because remember this is not a Bindra gig right I am working under XM so as in XM is renting all this I am not responsible at most I would send a liability certificate here you go that you know I have to and I want people to be clear we did yeah and so I was gonna combine and even when I called the insurance company she's like oh this is gonna be an extra 2000 I even was on the phone with uh uh with the company he's like bro I've never uh this is the location yeah I mean it's a nice venue but I I mean I've heard of concerts I haven't yeah heard of stuff like this so that was a challenge all the way down to you have to remember this day one we did pairs we knew by going into day two I was saying hey Vippel we had to change the room because we we're going to pairs on day two we had the individuals on day one pairs we had a challenge with the equipment yeah of moving the furniture oh you can't move that exactly so so deal with that they wanted an absurd level of insurance I've never heard any place ask for that it wasn't even liability they wanted like auto liability and a bunch of other stuff and and she was like asking me she's like who owns the van I'm like me it's like uh where's your insurance I was like I sent the liability no I need two million of this and that and I was like that's not normal but anyway ignoring that so we dealt with that which fine which we didn't park the van right we sent the van back to Airbnb or whatever something like that is what we did so we're we're dealing with the situation we got our our our stuff out um and what we needed uh for it to do but then uh same thing so we show up we have everything ready and then they pivot on us now it's no longer them talking to each other which would have been easier to do and look more eyeliner's off yeah yeah so eyelines completely off because now they're talking to the guy yeah the light is here he's here and and you know this is where corporate stuff we pivot because that's the content that they want because you had to make a balance between like when you integrate my my thing is a lot or run my productions is like is like hey I tell the client hey technically doesn't you know this is not gonna look good.

Zay Mccleary 1:01:07

Once you sit sign off and say hey this is what you want and then they hey exactly because the monitors right there all five and so everybody uh you know they were able to see you know what was going on which is cool because I I think too it is comes with a pre sometimes uh because you never want the client to fail yeah like you let them know hey can you write this on paper can you and it's reasons why he wanted the prompt and I'm like hey we this next time you should definitely let us know because you that wasn't discussed um then going into the five uh person panel now that that was so cool it was just not enough time no yeah and we knew we now that's something I did know going into and I'm like hey it's gonna be impossible we're gonna try it for you guys because they really want to have this conversation it's not enough space I mean it was expensive stuff exactly everywhere I'm talking about the furniture the glass this room and I'm hopefully you you know I know you're showing pictures like people see the room so it's like any little move there's there was a more furniture we can even put it exactly go again watch the vlogs I want to keep shouting that them out but quite literally so we did the two we and and you know I that's why I like collaborating with you so what works best for me is that I'm a director myself so I know how to communicate with you.

Vipul Bindra 1:02:14

So when they pivoted uh that hey they're gonna interview here uh you know as a DP my main concern to you is like hey the eyeline's gonna suffer and you looked at it you were like let me get them to approve they approved it you know we move on we we we we deal with the situation but then it came to switching to the three person panel oh my goodness so we had lunch and uh and we had uh a couple hours so and I was like yes it's limited time I told you initially I was like hey two hours not enough time but I can manage we can build a menace arm rig I can do something in the middle we can have them you know surrounded so they'll they'll be lit well we we we can work through this I'll I can work out the sound I'll put a mic in there they'll all be heard so we enter we had lunch we enter back and it's like oh you can't touch any furniture because you know we're we've been moving furniture in this room for two days and I guess they were so pissed out because of the van situation they were like honest they're like no no no you cannot even touch it so we're like okay we'll put it back where it was no no no you cannot touch anything so here we are sitting there for an hour or an hour and a half not being able to do anything waiting on the and you know remember the funny thing so they had their people come in and that old older lady poor lady came and they were asking her to lift this heavy couch I think at one point even Tabor had to help and then like the other one comes and like no no no no you can help yeah so it that was that was weird which yeah if we're for us we're like five men over there and I'm just ready to live everybody's just and and they're they're like no not touch and they have older uh lady the who can't lift this that they're asking to lift this so basically that wasted at least an hour hour and a half of our time and then when we were done the the way the furniture we ended up with that they were and they brought the furniture in we couldn't even touch the furniture now they're like so far spread out because we're dealing with our an old couch that we didn't want there.

Chicago Prep And Gear Decisions

Zay Mccleary 1:04:09

So now I'm like uh I don't know how to light this in 30 minutes and so we're trying to and so here we are building the manice arm uh you know all that and then I I feel that I feel they the pressure on you oh no well like telling you like no we need to roll this up I mean yeah they were outside and I didn't feel bad and so at that point I'm like okay hey Velbo we're gonna let them in and so we just knew there's a lot of cleanup imposed and at the end of the day uh I respect I respect all the staff at uh clean slate uh because Bobby who was the lead um they're all understanding like hey well we knew yeah it's not under their top I never got upset with them and I think it's is uh something they wanted to do but it we have to remember like talking to all your viewers and listeners it was a conference so it's not like people you have available yeah you have panelists you have speakers uh a lot of the leaders of from uh CSI because you know the chief of staff is actually in that conversation she's gonna be busy yeah and so she actually is like hey I had this time and I had to go upstairs for another uh uh uh I mean it was the whole every level had was was the conference so um yeah these people are busy and we only have that limited time to record them so it doesn't matter if our lighting isn't part of the thing yeah this is not yeah this is not a day this is not a day dedicated to the to the it's like hey yeah we have the time slot so we have little wiggle roll yeah and so you're you're in my ear and I feel the pressure on you from that that you have to roll to people now we gotta roll.

Vipul Bindra 1:05:33

So it's so funny pivot I've never done this fast of a pivot 30 seconds I was like menacearm out the way uh we put a lantern here this side we moved the six by uh sorry eight by eight this way so these people are lit and I was like that pack person is gonna be slightly darker but I know the the post yeah uh what do you call the uh the latitude that these cameras have now I was like I know for a fact your colors can bring it up and and we pivoted and like you said it won't be the the bestest work we We did it in the three days, but I still think it came out great.

Zay Mccleary 1:06:02

Yeah, I would say honestly, as far as an interview, um, and I know there's little slight tweaks, maybe the hair, like what I bro. I it's um I'm talking about work I've seen. Like that is some of the best work I'm talking about. Cause you gotta realize too, um, some people they're not gonna like they'll do what we do and they don't see anything else. And we you gotta remember too, we still had time throughout the shoot, so we still adjusted. Yeah, exactly. I mean we're playing a light stuffing as we go. At some point, we did get to that point. And I uh the first person is always gonna be a you know touch run or whatever. And then we we got there. So it's like that's also too how do you use your time? It's like you know, from the first if you know this stuff, you gotta change, don't forget about it. No, improve. No, you gotta change. Use use that those last 15 minutes to uh do it, which we did. Yeah, I do I believe we gave that client uh a hundred percent. I don't think it was like oh the only thing that I said uh was that panel, and that was out of our control. Yeah, but the um between the pairs, how we lit it, that it was amazing. Audio, lighting, crew, everybody uh one accord. Yeah, um going out together.

Vipul Bindra 1:07:01

So people know we did this with uh unto what uh five people, six people if you count T. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh that's it. That's that's the crew. Yeah, that's the crew.

Zay Mccleary 1:07:12

And if you look at the stuff, now this is funny. Everything, this is when you know, uh, I would say to anybody, this is when you know you executed and did your job. One, the client's happy, but what you want because I always say I want the client to say this or feel this. The first thing I said is um sounds cliche, like, hey, I want this to feel like a Netflix documentary that you can take any. We talked about it, you can take any still and say, bro, that looks like an interview and uh and a documentary dramatic, has some you know, tone. Yeah. I want the cook look, but I kind of want it, you know, um neutral. Yeah, and so we we had that. And so everything we said, we executed on, and it's funny where the client tells you, you know, the mood board that you guys put together, that you put together, like, no, these look better than what you than what you sent. And so that that's when you know automatically you have done, you've overex uh exceeded. And so I would say is uh also this the responses we got as people pass by, because the monitor is like right there. And all you you're seeing the angles, and this is just you know what you have. Yeah, just this is the like 709, like yeah, this is not a recent. So for them to see that, and I mean the CEO of my mother's like, oh my god, I feel like I'm on Netflix. Exactly. I've heard that so many times down to the color. I never said Netflix to anybody, but you uh the colorers, bro. Yeah, I've never said that word once. Yeah, I know Mario said it, yeah. Yeah, but no, no, like literally, I mean, people in the room, I mean they they kept they kept saying that, and then all the way down to post-production, the editor, Maliki's like, bro, this feels like Netflix. I'm like, bro, it really and it was all down. Remember, I said we I want to do a weird angle. You know, I'll just wide, and then we did that, and then there was the other top down. So, like, I'm like, no, we got a formula. So now it's like it's cool because now we experience is the best teacher. I will say that too. It's because um I know when people say, Oh, I write a book, I did this, I went to school, it's like, no, you gotta actually experience this stuff. I can now take that formula, hey Vipple. You remember how we shot that?

Vipul Bindra 1:09:00

Exactly.

Zay Mccleary 1:09:01

Let's take that and take this to uh somewhere.

Vipul Bindra 1:09:03

And to me, and this is why I will tell people uh my biggest thing, like I said, I'm mostly a director producer, so I'm fine. As my company, we're doing good. But when I freelance with pipe people, one of my biggest issues is when people are like that person's style. I'm looking for somebody with that style, and my entire thing is I'm not a fan of it, I get it. Some people like my thing is as a DP where I see it, that's different than the director producer. Obviously, I have a definitely style there. Yeah, yeah, but as a DP, my thing is I'm gonna take the director's vision and bring that to life. But people don't see it that way. But for some degency, they oh, you've created this and this, and that's why I like this project because yes, a lot of the freelance stuff I do is high-end corporate, not as moody, because that's just not the demand. Yeah, so to be able to go to show you, like, hey, I can do moody, and we can do it really well. And you know, the same thing. A lot of people I just need people wanting that.

Zay Mccleary 1:09:54

Some people, uh I mean, like you said, corporate, I feel like everybody could like that, but like have this mood, make sure the shadows aren't too much, too hard. Like, I don't I don't believe everybody can, uh you know, or some people they just don't do it.

Vipul Bindra 1:10:06

And so for us to do that and then pull it off, yeah, and and to be able to show that, and which is why I told you, I was like, hey, let me show it. And despite the challenges, I think we did, and um, like you said, shout out to you giving me the creative freedom because you know that's what it takes. Because to be real, look, I get it. When I'm the director producer, it's my money on the line and my reputation on the line. So I, you know, it's hard to just tell somebody like, hey, this is my mood board, now go achieve that. So for you, and I know this didn't happen, and this is what I'm talking about. This is an ongoing thing. Oh, this is what we're doing. We built this relationship years and years into it, and we're but but that's what I liked about this project was which is why I went above and beyond. It was like, hey, you trusting me, then I'm gonna trust you back with this is what you want. Yeah, let me get that back to you. And I think we we collaborate so well, and which is why we've talked about this project so much, is because we had fun. Plus, what I like is there was no stupid NDA. I'm tired of these such fancy projects, dude. I keep doing these documentaries, right? Simple documentaries, not even as good as we did. And then they all want NDA, so I can't talk about it or show them on the street. I definitely understand that.

Zay Mccleary 1:11:10

We'll see how long that goes.

Vipul Bindra 1:11:12

Hopefully, that and that was an incredible part for me to go show people like, look, this is what we do once there's not an Indy involved, so I can show people the work and stuff like that. Because um, you know, uh, and again, I get it. If you have a project with NDA, whatever, that's fine, that's normal. But I'm just saying, so to be so to be able to show to other people, like, hey, this is what you can get paid to do. And to me, as a filmmaker, who says corporate is boring? Corporate can be moody, corporate can be exciting, and I think and rewarding.

Zay Mccleary 1:11:40

And I think this is the thing, too, is like you're setting a tone in that space. Um, because usually when you see interviews, hey, this is the cleanest, like you'll see like a certain look. And when the client starts to trust you, now somebody else can look and say, I want that. Because you're trying to tell a story, you want a motion, and it's like I think for that setting, what we were talking about, it is it fits the mood. We didn't just pick a room because we picked a room, we picked the room, hey, what are you telling? What's the story? What are we talking about? And we kind of went with that um theme, and uh the room is matched perfectly. Uh I I don't I don't have any really regrets about the uh the project, man. I I think we we nailed it, we killed it.

Vipul Bindra 1:12:17

Um yeah, given the circumstances, I know we've talked about this off camera before, but I was like, given the circumstances and the constraints, there's nothing we could have done differently. Yeah, obviously there's some minor tricks, but I'm saying overall, majorly, we could have done differently. Um unless we had been able to change our circumstances or planning.

Zay Mccleary 1:12:36

I think the biggest thing was circumstances and then also um external factors, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, um, but no, man, amazing job to everybody, bro. And then so I'm just excited for like what's next.

Vipul Bindra 1:12:47

Yeah, exactly. I I hope you uh we get to do it again next year, we get to take it to another level. Who knows what cameras we'll use, what lenses we'll use, or what we will do. Yeah, and it's just always fun collaborating with you. I think that's the main point that I want to drive home is like network. You will meet people in unexpected places, but it's all about collaborating. Right, it's not about what we do here in video production is not an individual thing. Right. It's it's an art and it's a business. And when you do it with people that you can go back and forth with, I think you create better things than we do individually, right? Won't you agree? What's your thought on that?

Zay Mccleary 1:13:25

Yeah, I I've always like um when I first started, but people would tell me, you know, uh all the guys I used to work with, like, bro, you gotta you gotta have a team, you gotta work with people. Even something with uh, you know, working with uh the last DP, like he would even say that you gotta have a team. And um, I would take heed to all the things he said because you know, when you uh especially when you're self-taught, and so it's things I'm not like I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna have to learn on my own. Um I tell people I went to YouTube university, you know, I know that's like funny, like ah ha.

Vipul Bindra 1:13:54

But um But hey, there's good value on YouTube. As long as you know how to parse out good with bad, you can learn a lot, yeah.

Chicago Chaos And Fast Pivots

Zay Mccleary 1:14:00

But um I definitely I don't want to get YouTube too much credit, just stuff I had to learn on my own. Being creative, I do see the benefit in having people because I remember I did when I first did the first story bank, I did it solo. Remember, I'm getting the bell boys from the hotel in Detroit to bring help me bring the stuff up. I'm setting up the lights, I gotta go sit in the chair, I gotta come back, I gotta go like so it like no, I did all that um solo. There is a benefit in teaming, a good team.

Vipul Bindra 1:14:26

But that's how you learn too, though. That would see now you know what to expect from your career. No, no, absolutely. And yeah, things like that.

Zay Mccleary 1:14:33

It used to feel uncomfortable because even last year I was like trying to do too much hands on, but like this year to even sit back because I will say once you know you put to work in it as a director, producer, um, you're not gonna be like be panic too much on what's going on. I mean, stuff is gonna happen. You kind of sit back and okay, I hey my d I talked with the DP, even the team, you know. Um, but we've got this under control. And then just step in when you need to, especially in that space. Um, it's a conference, so you know you have staff you're dealing with. They're coming to you, hey, talk to this person. So it's like I'm able to go in and out. Uh in last year, too. Yeah, our crew was amazing. I was able to step out of the room, come back in, still watch what's going on, and um, this is to see how the footage comes together, man.

Vipul Bindra 1:15:12

Exactly. It's half of what we do is problem solving. Believe it or not, people who can problem solve better will get hired more just than people who can film because half the time what we're dealing with is things that are out of our control. And instead of panicking, and that's when you truly know, you know, there's a difference in doing it like we were talking about earlier on our drive. Like, um, it's one thing to do it in your garage or in your home, uh a same set than doing it in a real-world scenario where you have an CEO or some other marketing company or whatever, right? Standing there hurting you up, uh, that panic that um the rush that you're put through. So that's a completely different thing, but that's where you learn because uh people who can stand their pressure and kill it are the people who are gonna win. Anyway, I I I I know we have limited time. You got a meeting to go to, unfortunately. So before we go, anything else you want to add or talk about? We're gonna definitely continue this in season three.

Zay Mccleary 1:16:09

Uh I can't wait till season three. We come back with some more dope projects, man. I I just think the sky's the limit, you know. I can't wait to see, you know, where I go next. And I just encourage people, you know, who are doing, you know, self-taught like myself, man, is to keep pushing.

Vipul Bindra 1:16:23

Yeah.

Zay Mccleary 1:16:24

Um, and just connect with good people, man. And don't take this film sub too, you know. I always tell you that. Like, no, it's serious. The work is serious enough. Yeah, no. You know, just have fun, yeah. Have fun. I I think that's probably something I I do want to check, because sometimes you have uh people like Shakers who like, oh no, this is how it goes in film. Like, you know, the uh the director's gonna be an a-hole. This is gonna be like, no, I don't, I don't, I don't know.

Vipul Bindra 1:16:46

That's called dinosaurs, and they're they're slowly getting vetoed out of the industry. And so we don't know.

Zay Mccleary 1:16:50

Yeah, you can have that, but that's not gonna be me. So I think I'm the oddball when in in when it comes to this work in the industry, and I have no problem doing that. It's like, no, you should be the serious director. No, I'm that's not me. Yeah, I think you'll notice most successful people are unlike that.

Vipul Bindra 1:17:04

It's only the bad ones that are.

Zay Mccleary 1:17:07

Like we were talking about sports, use it as a comparison. It's like, um, no, it's at a certain level with film, you you do is like, hey, when you got a lot on the line, I mean that's our that's serious enough. But what good is it to uh I mean you're screaming about everything. I mean, you see head coach on the bench when you're looking at sports. At some point, he may, you know, talk to his team, he may rough them up, and then something goes wrong. I mean, you're going straight into it with the attitude, I don't want to play for you. Or can you do anything like you're always mad? We score, you're upset. We went and so uh no, but you know, it's the work is serious enough. Um, learn to enjoy it. And um, I think we were all smiling. When we when we were looking at the subject, like, hey bro, this is exactly what we wanted. Exactly.

Vipul Bindra 1:17:46

No, despite all the challenges, everyone on set was happy. We were happy to be there, right, Mario?

Mario Rangel 1:17:52

Yeah, we did. We had a great time. I'm excited for next year.

Zay Mccleary 1:17:56

Oh no, man.

Mario Rangel 1:17:57

This is gonna be dope, man. Who said you were invited?

Teamwork, Pressure, Closing Advice

Vipul Bindra 1:18:00

I'm just playing with you, Mario. You're you're the you're you're definitely you're the MVP, and you're you're definitely invited. No, I love uh by the way, shout out to Mario. I know I've said this before, but uh I've loved collaborating with him over the last few years. Uh that's why I invited him to be the producer on the on the podcast, just because you want the good attitude. You not only want the skill, but you want people who are like take a need and then figure out a way to do it. Again, problem solving and doing it correctly. Mario did that on this because I realized what I needed to do, and I was like, there's no way I can do five things on this project. So I remember telling Mario, hey, you gotta do A-Camp, you gotta do B cam, you gotta make sure they're focused, and you gotta listen to audio. This guy was triple, triple doing uh the job uh because I was having to do so much talking to you and the rest of the crew and watching the mario. I was like, I can't because originally I was gonna monitor the audio. I was like, I just can't. So this guy for stepping up, and that's why why I agree with you, he was the MVP because he stepped up and did what he needed to do. And at the end, I think it came out incredible, and not just him, but I'm saying everyone did, but like for especially Mario. So thank you, Mario. Uh, thank you for being on this episode, man. Thank you. Uh I appreciate you.

Mario Rangel 1:19:15

Thank you, guys. Hope you have to. It was a great conversation. Yeah, man. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Vipul Bindra 1:19:20

Thank you, Zay. This has been incredible, bro. We're gonna keep doing this, absolutely, and uh next time we'll hopefully talk longer because uh so many more problems.

Zay Mccleary 1:19:29

It's a lot to talk about, man.

Vipul Bindra 1:19:30

Yeah, but uh thank you for coming, and until the next episode on Studio B sessions with me, Bendra.