In Love with the Process Podcast

Mike Pecci takes a quick break from prepping They Like the Dark for another real time check in from the trenches of making his first feature film.
This week Mike digs into a directing skill that almost nobody teaches you: how to talk to people.

Over the years, Mike has learned how to sit across from another artist, whether it's on Zoom, over coffee, or in a production office, and figure out how they see the world. How do you listen instead of waiting for your turn to speak? How do you ask the right questions? How do you get a glimpse inside someone's creative toolbox and understand what their years of experience could bring to your movie?

And just as importantly, how do you get them excited enough to want to jump into the madness with you?

As Mike continues building the team for They Like the Dark, he shares what he's learned about communicating a vision, inspiring collaborators, reading the room, and recognizing when there's a genuine creative connection.

Because directing isn't just about lenses, storyboards, and shot lists. You're asking dozens of talented people to bring their experience, ideas, and creativity together to make something that started inside your head.

Learning how to talk to those people might be one of the most important tools a director can have.

It's the kind of filmmaking insight you didn't know you needed.

► Mike's IG
► ILWP's IG

Music: Code Elektro, Mitch Murder, Ron Cannon

——SPONSORS——
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This week on In Love with the Process, Mike Pecci dives back into the editing room with one of the most exciting editors working in horror today, Greg Ng, CCE, editor of Backrooms, Keeper, The Monkey, and Longlegs.

Mike is a huge fan of Backrooms, especially its voice, pacing, atmosphere, and willingness to be scary without constantly falling back on the same tricks we've seen in countless horror movies. A huge part of creating that feeling happened in the edit, so Mike wants to know: How the hell did they do it?

Greg takes us inside the process of cutting Backrooms, finding tension in patience, allowing strange moments to breathe, and helping create a cinematic language that feels fresh, unsettling, and unpredictable. The film presented unusual editorial challenges, including integrating its liminal spaces and slow burn tension into a feature length experience.

Mike and Greg also get nerdy about how learning to edit shaped both of them as filmmakers, how an editor develops taste, and why understanding the cutting room can completely change the way you approach production.

Mike connects all of it back to his current experience preparing They Like the Dark and the decisions he's making before cameras ever roll.
This is a deep dive into horror, editing, creative instinct, and finding your own voice as a filmmaker.
Get ready to enter the backroom of filmmaking.

► Greg's IG
► Mike's IG
► ILWP's IG

Music: Code Elektro, Mitch Murder, Ron Cannon

——SPONSORS——
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► Puget Systems
► Blackmagic Design

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The They Like the Dark journey continues, and this week Mike Pecci is deep in the realities of prepping his first feature film.
Mike talks about one of the hardest parts of directing: watching the movie in your head change as it collides with the realities of production. The ideas started with unlimited imagination, then became storyboards, and now those boards have to survive the real questions. How many days do we have? How much money? How much crew? What scenes have to go? Can three shots become one?

It's heartbreaking, exciting, and all part of making a movie.

Mike also gets into the importance of patience, collaboration, and problem solving, and why having an experienced crew around you completely changes the creative process. Instead of sitting alone endlessly trying to solve a problem, sometimes the answer comes from calling someone on your team whose own life and set experience gives them a solution you never would have discovered alone.

That's the magic of making something with other human beings.

Mike also talks lighting, working with your gaffer, what makes a great lighting team, engaging with your crew, and how a director keeps everyone moving toward the same movie while allowing the film to evolve.

Oh, and Mike breaks his teeth and has to go to the dentist.
It's another jam packed look inside the highs, lows, compromises, discoveries, and insanity of actually making a feature film.
Welcome back to They Like the Dark.

► Mike's IG
► ILWP's IG

Music: Code Elektro, Mitch Murder, Ron Cannon

——SPONSORS——
► Freenote Cloth
► FujiFilm 10% off Accessories (https://shopusa.fujifilm-x.com/accessories/) and Merch (https://shopusa.fujifilm-x.com/brand-merch/) Promo code PROCESS10
► Puget Systems
► Blackmagic Design
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The They Like the Dark journey continues!
On today's In Love with the Process, director Mike Pecci checks in from the middle of pre production on his first feature film and catches us up on where the movie stands, what he's working on, and what he's learning as the team comes together.

This week Mike goes deep into one of the most important jobs a director has: building and inspiring your crew.

How do you find incredible artists and technicians? How do you convince talented people to take a chance on your movie? And once they're on board, how do you communicate a strong vision without telling everyone exactly what to do?

Mike talks about establishing a creative compass for the film, giving every department a clear understanding of the world, tone, characters, and visual language, then encouraging those artists to explore, discover, and bring ideas back that Mike never could have imagined on his own.
Because directing isn't about having every answer.

It's about knowing what movie you're making, communicating that vision clearly, and surrounding yourself with people who can make it better.
If you're a filmmaker who wants to understand how feature films are actually built, this is the stuff you rarely get to hear about.
Welcome back to the making of They Like the Dark.

► Mike's IG
► ILWP's IG

Music: Code Elektro, Mitch Murder, Ron Cannon

——SPONSORS——
► Freenote Cloth
► FujiFilm 10% off Accessories (https://shopusa.fujifilm-x.com/accessories/) and Merch (https://shopusa.fujifilm-x.com/brand-merch/) Promo code PROCESS10
► Puget Systems
► Blackmagic Design
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The journey to make They Like the Dark continues, and this week Mike Pecci is searching for one of the most important creative collaborators a director can have: the editor.

Joining Mike is acclaimed film editor Josh Ethier, ACE, whose credits include Companion, Don’t Move, Orphan: First Kill, Gretel & Hansel, The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, VFW, Bliss, Mayhem, and Christmas Bloody Christmas.

As Mike prepares his first feature film, he’s bringing ILWP listeners along for the ride as he meets potential collaborators and builds the team that will help bring They Like the Dark to life.

Today, Mike and Josh go deep into what a feature film editor actually does, and some of the answers might surprise you.
What should a director look for in an editor? What makes an editor want to take on a project? How much of the movie is discovered after production? What makes a great director and editor relationship? And what happens when you finish your first cut and realize the real work is only beginning?

Mike and Josh nerd out about horror cinema, rhythm, performance, test screenings, getting past that first pass, and learning how to find the movie hiding inside all that footage.

They also talk about the hunt for great collaborators. How do you know when someone understands your taste? How do you find people willing to challenge you? And how do you build a creative relationship where everyone is pushing toward the same movie?

And because this is In Love with the Process, things naturally go off the rails.

Mike also gets into something everyone apparently needs a refresher course on: how to interact with celebrities when you see them in public, how to treat famous people like normal human beings, and how NOT to act when you recognize someone.

Filmmaking, horror movies, editing, collaboration, celebrity encounters, and plenty of classic ILWP tangents.
If you're a filmmaker, this conversation will give you a completely new insight into how movies are cut together and how to find the people you want beside you while making one.

If you're a movie nerd who wants to know what really happens after someone yells "cut," welcome to the editing room.

► Josh's IG
► Mike's IG
► ILWP's IG

Music: Code Elektro, Mitch Murder, Ron Cannon

——SPONSORS——
► Freenote Cloth
► FujiFilm 10% off Accessories (https://shopusa.fujifilm-x.com/accessories/) and Merch (https://shopusa.fujifilm-x.com/brand-merch/) Promo code PROCESS10
► Puget Systems
► Blackmagic Design
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.