Ian Pons Jewell on Commercial Filmmaking

[@MrIanpj]

Thanks for the invitation Nur! Also huge thanks to Aisultan and Qara for inviting me to amazing Kazakhstan! I’ll try answer any other Qs here in the comments… ✌️

[@nurniazfilms]

My pleasure brother! It was epic! 🙏

[@RomaineReid]

Hi Ian, thanks for your insights! Really have admired your commercial work over the years! Do you offer any mentorship, or feedback on directors reels at all? Thank you both for this great interview!

[@MrIanpj]

@@RomaineReid Hi ! I’m afraid that my production company takes up all of my time now in terms of mentorship, I also don’t have a reel feedback service but people send me stuff and I do try and look, but it’s not formalised if you know what I mean. Thanks!

[@michalcygan]

Hi Ian! In the interview you said that 99% of directors get signed by production companies because they’ve been contacted first, not the other way around. But how companies can find you, especially when you’re working as freelancer focused on making passion projects rather than spec commercials? We all know that short films in 99% cases don’t go viral on any social platforms. So even though I have a short film on my youtube channel and on Instagram using relevant hashtags, the chance that my work pops up in any social platform to any producer is incredibly small.

[@dumitruchiulafli4762]

hi, @MrIanpj can we see any of your treatments. thank you very much for the interview @nurniazfilms

[@WillieShawFilms]

Ok, now that I've watched the whole video he's given some great insight. My main takeaways 1. There's no clear path. 2. Make what feels right to you. 3. Put it out there. 4. Don't make spec ads. 5. Writting treatments always pays off. (Even when it feels like it's not) 6. Hard work leads to jobs, Jobs lead to connections, connections lead to hard work and it repeats.

[@nurniazfilms]

Nice summary 😁👌🏻

[@nurniazfilms]

let's all give that like button a good smash to show Ian some love for his awesome work! 🙌

[@Elassyahmed]

What Ian says at 32:00 about commercials being corporate propaganda that is 'soulless' has made me love and respect him even more - his heart is in the right place.

[@nurniazfilms]

So true!

[@swashyhimself]

100% but advising people not to make spec ads as they will become soulless as someone who has made his millions doing them is very hypocritical

[@NKRDBL]

Wow!!!!❤❤❤ “Commercial is a side quest” - that’s GOLD

[@nurniazfilms]

🤯🤯🤯

[@danwucreative]

Such an amazing conversation, especially for a fresh-faced director starting a production company. Thanks to you both!!

[@isaac.schultz]

two great filmmakers sharing valuable information

[@TheFallenangel800]

I find the advice some filmmakers give so impossible for people that don’t have money.. like the ‘don’t focus on getting signed, just focus on your work and your next projects’.. ok but what if I’m not getting any paid work? Do I just keep churning out thousands of pounds of my own money in making spec work for years until I get considered? Make it make sense.

[@guillaumeraux]

Well, it's hard, but you can only start with what you've got. You use your own resources, time, friends, your bedroom, your belongings, your friend's and family's belongings, your equipment, and yes, your own money, to make something that's the best you can with what you've got right now. Does not need to be long, does not need to be insane. You can do something cool that's 30 seconds or less. Do 3 likes that, put it out there, learn where you can, get better, meet people. Repeat. Get a side job if you need be, the closer to the industry, the better, but not necessary. Most artists you've ever heard of worked for 7, 10, sometimes 15 years for you to find out about them one night and say: "Wow, they blew up in 2 days". Those who make a very good living from it in their 20's are the exception, and often started early in their teens. How do you think everyone got started? It's not easy. Most of the work you do at first, you do for free, for personal work/portfolio, but it's an investment to get money at some point. A lot of people who get paid a lot work all the time, even between two paid projects, on their portfolio, with their own resources. Watch Christopher Nolan's short film "Doodlebug" (1997) on KZbin. That's 3 years before he made Memento. Spielberg and Tarantino were no different. Same for great commercial videographers. Now it helps to be good with people, to be kind and professional, and to do great work. If you do that and show your work long enough, people will eventually notice. If the algorithm does not like it, it does not always mean it's bad. But usually, if people like it, the algorithm will want to show it to as many people as it can. Bottom line? It's a long-term game. People who make good money fast are the exception. Those who do it for the money are in the wrong business. Money is only a consequence. Being an artist or a creative is a calling, a mission, first. Would you do it even if it didn't make you any money ever? Because you love it and truly want to tell stories and can't help but give something to the world? Then go do it. Make something. It might not be great for some time, but if it gets better over time, between plateaux and ruts, then you're on the right path. Money is the byproduct of years of great work and perseverance. And your phone is probably good enough to make a great story, now.

[@MrIanpj]

Yeah it’s really tough. When I started out I worked a full time job and would shoot my personal projects on the weekend. I wound it down to a 4 day week to get there bit of extra time and eventually managed to get freelance videography work. I shot weddings, conferences, I even shot a dentist forum lol. This gave me a day rate that meant I had enough to survive paying rent etc and not take on a time killing mon-fri job. I made all of my videos up until the Bolivian shot videos during this period of time. I also washed dishes at a friends restaurant and worked in a cinema after all my equipment was stolen in a burglary… it’s super fucking hard but the advice I give is what I did, I can’t give advice from a life I didn’t have. What worked for me looking back was just developing my style and art. Keep in mind I was signed WHILST washing dishes and working behind the till in a cinema. Being signed doesn’t equal money… and people can get signed and waste away on a roster if they aren’t continuously working on the next project they have. Not everyone makes it, not everyone makes it quickly, not everyone gets signed, not everyone makes a killing. There are no guarantees, it’s a wild “job” to pursue 🤷🏻

[@Materealize]

Hi Nur. Thank you for this. Loved this. I appreciated your previous contents, but it's so awesome that you highlighted someone else, their story, their perspective. More of this please?

[@nurniazfilms]

Noted! Will try to bring in more guests this year 🙏

[@ayushpawar]

Thank you for bringing out Ian, hearing you guys talks gives more insights about filmmaking. Looking forward to seeing you talk with more filmmakers in this channel 🎥💛

[@nurniazfilms]

Thank you! More to come hopefully 🙏

[@HermanHuang]

I've followed Ian Pons Jewell's work for a long time and have been such a big fan of his work. Thank you for getting him on this, and I'm excited to hear what he shares! (still waiting for the video to premiere at the moment)

[@WillieShawFilms]

This is so good! I've never wanted to do music videos, but I think it may give me creative freedom. Loving it so far!

[@nurniazfilms]

Same here!

[@antonpolinski]

wow nice that you managed to bring IAN to your channel!

[@nurniazfilms]

I know!!

[@jayyeung9850]

valuable content! especially the discussion on spec ad since the trend has been "you have to make spec ads"

[@nurniazfilms]

Unpopular opinion they say :)

[@JorelLisingFilms-fb4wl]

Brilliant. Thank you boys!

[@JesusPlaza]

The GOAT! Thanks for sharing ❤

[@matthiaserik]

Insane that this is free

[@gugzay]

great interview, btw theres some beeping sound that keeps going off in the background lol

[@tavoflmmkr]

Wow!! Can't wait 🔥🔥🔥

[@mihamilavec7498]

No way you got him! Wow🙌🙌

[@ViktorIvanov1990]

Thank you for allowing these wise words reach us. What is the podcast with Ian you mentioned?

[@nurniazfilms]

"The Good Podcast" hosted by Jared Hogan and Christian Schultz. It's a gem.

[@SimplyThabani]

He's point on specs isnt in line with what i like to think BUT the rest of his point was really good

[@nurniazfilms]

Yeah, same here but it’s a nice fresh perspective to hear. I always preach making spec work to get things going because it’s something that helped me out tremendously in the beginning. Yet his perspective too makes total sense because it’s personal to him.

[@MrIanpj]

@@nurniazfilms @simplythabani Appreciate the comment! Yes each person has to find what’s right, but I guess instead of making up a fake brand, just use the same creative juices to make something real, for a charity or an NGO, or a cause, that can actually be used by an organisation. You then have a far more real world experience. Making a spec ad, you have no actual client, no actual agency, no actual brief to adapt… it’s all completely constructed. If you instead come up with a great concept, then back engineer it to a charity, or an NGO, or some social isssue that it could be used for… you have a real world pressure and real world process of having to make a “commercial” that is actually needing to transmit an idea to an audience, for a “client” (the charity or the NGO etc). So you’ll actually learn far more too, as well as it having soul…. but, totally respect people doing spec if that’s what feels good for them too 🙌

[@egrafting]

This was great!

[@MrForestExplorer]

What Ian says about VFX could also be said about genAI eventually.

[@alphafilms_at]

awesome information. though there is a weird beeping sound now and then

[@nurniazfilms]

True.

[@AsuaChannel]

Fantastic video

[@markdecile213]

Where's the podcast?

[@michaelsavage4422]

Curious. Is this interior location in Paris?

[@nurniazfilms]

No, it was in Almaty, Kazakhstan

[@danielboulton922]

when he mentioned Oscar Hudson was he talking about an interview you did with him or something else?

[@nurniazfilms]

We have all attended the same forum hosted by Qara Studios a few days prior to this interview. Oscar was there too.

[@mic_derin]

Hi guys I need some advice, I’m very keen on coming up with concepts, ideas, and treatments and how the video should look, but I’m not very good on the camera and editing, can I still be a video director or producer?

[@nurniazfilms]

being a director has less to do with camera and editing, and way more to do with concepts, ideas, writing and communicating. So you're on the right track.

[@mic_derin]

@@nurniazfilms wow I appreciate the feedback

[@vadimgalakt]

Wow! 🔥🔥🔥

[@rongchn_]

🔥🔥🔥

[@PopartFilms]

Love this interview and the info...but man; the awkwardness from both these two together is almost unbearable. 😄

[@MrIanpj]

🤣

[@mokisacreativevideo9510]

❤❤❤

[@shangweiliu1598]

sound and image out of sync around 48min

[@charlesalexander4156]

49.00 Out of sync??