In Proximity

YouTube’s daredevil Michelle Khare has tackled the world’s toughest professions and stunts in her award-winning series CHALLENGE ACCEPTED — from mastering Harry Houdini’s water torture cell escape to tackling Tom Cruise’s deadliest stunt. With over 6 million followers, Michelle made history when she successfully petitioned for her independently-produced YouTube series to join the Primetime Emmy ballot for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series. On this episode of IN PROXIMITY, host Paola Mardo sits down with Michelle to talk about her origins as a Buzzfeed producer, the production process for CHALLENGE ACCEPTED, creating viral YouTube content, and her biggest takeaways from running 7 marathons on all 7 continents in 7 days. 

CHECK OUT MICHELLE’S “THE GREAT WORLD RACE” SERIES
I Ran 7 Marathons in 7 Days on 7 Continents

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(00:00) Can I borrow your military plane?

(06:16) From Louisiana girl to interdisciplinary athlete

(11:20) BuzzFeed: a crash course on Internet videos

(18:03) The creative and production process for CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

(20:02) Behind the Houdini water torture trick

(22:08) How she pulled off the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE plane stunt

(27:52) Pro tip: THIS is how you hook your viewers

(30:08) Petitioning to be on the Emmy ballot

(36:13) Michelle’s business model as a YouTube creator

(43:05) After running 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents…

(45:58) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA

Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo

Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian

Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson

Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino

Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana

Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza, Michael Fallavollita 

Assistant Editor: Ian Schrank 

Associate Producer and Sound Recordist: Celine Mendiola

Production Coordinator: Joy Woo

Production Intern: Ben Caloza

Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana

Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz

We’re going stateside on IN PROXIMITY! Before she became a multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated musician, PinkPantheress was a film student in London who loved editing videos and watching Hitchcock movies. Now, she is the first woman and the youngest person to win the BRIT Award for Producer of the Year, and she landed at #1 on the Billboard Global 200 for “Stateside + Zara Larsson,” which was also featured in the Winter Olympics during Alysa Liu’s figure skating exhibition performance. Ahead of her world tour and Coachella debut, host Paola Mardo sat down with PinkPantheress to talk about her music production process, love of film, and advice for artists starting today. Grab your boots for that ego boost and tune into this fun conversation with a talented Gen Z artist pushing the envelope in music production.

CHECK OUT PINK’S PLAYLIST
fancy playlist for fancy people

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(00:00) Paola’s supposed to ask PinkPantheress this! 

(04:39) Casually meeting Alysa Liu

(05:50) Why her name is “PinkPantheress” 

(07:02) Her film editing origin story

(13:50) Singing for the WAKANDA FOREVER soundtrack

(16:55) Drum and bass and the PowerPuff Girls 

(18:32) What do music producers do?

(21:25) Mura Masa, Oscar Scheller, The Dare, and more! 

(28:57) How Pink found her singing voice

(32:08) Growing beyond a “TikTok artist”

(38:33) Can new artists still break out on TikTok? 

(45:03) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA

Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo

Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian

Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson

Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino

Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana

Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza

Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz

Associate Producer and Sound Recordist: Celine Mendiola

Production Coordinator: Joy Woo

Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana

Production Intern: Ben Caloza

We’re celebrating the theatrical anniversary of SINNERS with a musical deep dive featuring executive music producer Serena Göransson. Alongside her creative partner Ludwig Göransson, the former violinist and concertmaster helped produce the film’s Oscar-winning score and soundtrack. Serena has collaborated with Ludwig on BLACK PANTHER, OPPENHEIMER, and the upcoming THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU and THE ODYSSEY. On this episode of IN PROXIMITY, Serena joins host Paola Mardo to break down the role of an executive music producer – from pairing legend Bobby Rush with Delroy Lindo for Delta Slim’s harmonica performance, to shaping the film’s standout musical moments like the “I Lied to You” surreal montage and the “Rocky Road to Dublin” sequence with Jack O’Connell, Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, and more.

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(00:00) Production-wise, SINNERS is a musical! 

(03:12) The past and future spirits in I LIED TO YOU

(04:47) Producing 30+ musical moments in SINNERS

(07:34) Building Ryan’s world as the Executive Music Producer

(09:19) Collaborating with music consultants 

(13:37) Filming Delta Slim’s train station scene… with the legend, Bobby Rush! 

(17:08) Breaking down ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN

(25:22) Connecting her Korean-Irish heritage with the film

(27:11) Voice Memo from Mary herself — Hailee Steinfeld!

(29:59) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA

Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo

Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian

Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson

Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino

Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana

Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza

Associate Producer: Celine Mendiola

Production Coordinator: Joy Woo

Production Assistant: Devin Saddler

Production Intern: Ben Caloza

Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana

Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz

Take another trip to the archives with Proximity founder and writer/producer Sev Ohanian’s conversation with screenwriting duo Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier! Juel and Tony are the writers behind CREED II, SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY, and THEY CLONED TYRONE, which was also Juel’s directorial debut. Their next project is the upcoming HOT WHEELS movie, directed by Jon M. Chu and produced by Bad Robot. On this episode of IN PROXIMITY, Juel and Tony talk to Sev about the origins of their writing partnership, how they landed their first screenwriting projects, and the unconventional – and successful – pitching tips.

CHECK OUT THE ORIGINAL EPISODE
Breaking into Screenwriting with Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, and Sev Ohanian

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(01:00) From the archives… Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, and Sev Ohanian!

(02:00) Get Reel

(08:21) Gym buddies to PAs to writing partners

(13:38) How Juel and Tony broke into the industry after grad school

(17:30) Their first professional screenwriting projects

(25:22) THEY CLONED TYRONE’s pitch: DIY crafts & Spotify playlists

(35:05) Coding websites and writing short stories for film execs

(43:22) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA

Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo

Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian

Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson

Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino

Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana

Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza, Cedric Wilson, Judybelle Camangyan

Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz

Producer: Caitlin Plummer

Associate Producer: Celine Mendiola

Production Coordinator: Joy Woo

Production Assistants: Isabella Miller, Polina Cherezova

Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana

Production Intern: Ben Caloza

We’re back in the archives with a re-release of one of our first episodes ever featuring writer, producer, and Proximity Media founder Sev Ohanian and writer/director Aneesh Chaganty. Together, Sev and Aneesh wrote, directed, and produced the hit thrillers SEARCHING (2018), RUN (2020), and MISSING (2023). Their next project together is the upcoming DOPPELGÄNGER, produced with their producing partner Natalie Qasabian at Search Party and Proximity Media. This episode is a deep dive into Sev and Aneesh’s intricate and informative screenwriting process. It’s a masterclass with top tier writing pros well as a peek into what makes a solid creative partnership.

CHECK OUT THE ORIGINAL EPISODE
Screenwriting Masterclass with SEARCHING’s Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian

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(00:50) From the archives… Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty!

(02:37) Aneesh started his writing partnership with Sev… on a lie!?

(08:15) The “Blue Skies” phase of screenwriting

(11:44) Outlining: SAVE THE CAT, Google Docs, and phone call arguments

(14:53) Share your work with friends! (and ask a thousand questions)

(18:33) Research should inform your story, not BECOME the story

(21:41) Need a recap? Click HERE

(25:19) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA

Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo

Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian

Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson

Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino

Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana

Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza, Cedric Wilson, Judybelle Camangyan

Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz

Producer: Caitlin Plummer

Associate Producer: Celine Mendiola

Production Coordinator: Joy Woo

Production Assistants: Isabella Miller, Polina Cherezova

Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana

Production Intern: Ben Caloza