Ourselves Podcast

Sean Bankhead got cut from Usher's tour at 19. Almost 15 years later, he came out of retirement and danced next to Usher at the Super Bowl.



Sean is the choreographer behind Cardi B, Normani, Tate McRae, Lil Nas X, Missy Elliott, Victoria Monét and Lisa. He started out as a shy kid from Atlanta who couldn't book a dance job, so he made his own videos, put them on YouTube, and the world knew his name before the industry did.



In this conversation I break down with Sean how his "Run The World" dance video dropped before Beyoncé's own video and got his whole channel taken down, how he ended up performing "Single Ladies" with Beyoncé, why Normani was the first star he saw coming, and how he gave Tate McRae real pop dance. We also get into the parts nobody posts about. Why choreographers and directors sell the music but never see the royalties, the one thing he looks for when he hires dancers, why technique doesn't beat taste, the BET moment with Lil Nas X nobody planned, and what his therapist told him about needing to be needed.



If you're a dancer, choreographer or creative trying to get paid what you're worth, this one is for you.



0:00 Cold Open

1:37 The Kid Who Couldn't Book A Job

2:12 Living Out Of A Suitcase Since 19

3:19 His First YouTube Channel

4:39 The World Knew Him Before The Industry Did

9:52 Beyoncé's "Run The World" Call

14:51 The Dance Video People Thought Was Real

15:48 Copyright Strikes Killed His Channel

17:37 Frozen In The Room With Beyoncé

20:15 How To Build Aura

22:55 Fatima Robinson Took Him Under Her Wing

23:42 Prince Showed Up To His Birthday Party

26:11 Atlanta Became Black Hollywood

27:30 Normani Was The First Star He Saw Coming

31:04 Giving Tate McRae Real Pop Dance

32:31 From Choreographer To Creative Partner

33:37 Underpaid For The Vision

34:44 1.5 Billion Views, Not A Penny

35:48 "We Sell The Music"

40:18 Creatives Are 100% A Business

41:52 How Dancers Actually Make Money

42:56 Taylor Swift's Dancer Bonuses

44:39 Why He Books The Same Dancers Every Time

45:04 The #1 Thing He Looks For In A Dancer

47:03 Technique Doesn't Beat Taste

48:57 How He Really Started With Beyoncé

49:33 His First Big Break, "Promise Ring"

50:53 Performing "Single Ladies" With Beyoncé

53:42 Stomp The Yard 2 And Hannah Montana

54:06 Cut From Usher's Tour At 19

57:04 Out Of Retirement For The Super Bowl

59:34 Next To Usher On The Biggest Stage

1:01:18 Why Cardi B Outperforms Everyone

1:05:45 Chris Brown's Edit Room Lesson

1:06:34 The Secret To Viral Choreography

1:08:16 Lisa And The K-Pop Process

1:11:13 K-Pop Stans And Twitter

1:12:07 How Lil Nas X Found Him

1:14:34 The BET Kiss Nobody Planned

1:15:57 Everything Checked Off Except Janet

1:17:48 You Can't Delegate Taste

1:18:23 Therapy And The Need To Be Needed

1:22:10 Will Stepping Back End His Career?

1:23:08 Why He Hasn't Done His Own TV Show

1:24:03 Jumping To The Next Ladder

1:25:17 Filling Your Cup Back Up

1:26:15 Rapid Fire: Doja Cat Is Underrated

1:27:45 The Artist Who Learns Fastest

1:28:45 How They Shot Normani's "Wild Side" Slide

1:29:50 TikTok Dancers And The Frosted Flakes Check

1:31:59 Card Pull: What He's Always Wanted To Try

1:33:44 Where To Find Sean



Follow Sean here

Follow Arrad (podcast host) here



LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:

SPOTIFY

APPLE MUSIC

YOUTUBE



CONNECT WITH US:

✩ Ourselves (production team)

✩ Instagram

✩ Twitter

✩ TikTok

✩ Facebook

The collapse is worse than you think. Over 50,000 California production jobs disappeared in two years, soundstage occupancy fell from 95% to 62%, and not a single Best Picture nominee at this year's Oscars was shot on a Hollywood lot.

 

I've been directing for 14 years. In 2012, 99% of my shoots were in LA. Starting in 2019, my work moved to Atlanta, Miami, Jamaica and Paris. The industry didn't die. It left.

 

In this episode I break down why American culture is losing its grip on the world and how Hollywood is dying. From your favorite NBA player being French to your favorite pop star being Korean to your favorite movie being shot overseas. I get into the FilmLA and Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, why Netflix being a tech company changes everything, how inflation priced LA out of its own industry, and why a $20 million American production can be shot overseas for $4 million. Then I make the case that this isn't a collapse. It's a reset, and it's the biggest opening outsiders have ever had.

 

If you're a filmmaker, artist or creative still waiting for Hollywood to call, this one is for you.

 

0:00 Cold Open

0:56 America Is Never Going Back

1:41 No More Michael Jacksons

2:08 Your Favorite Stars Aren't American Anymore

4:04 When 99% Of My Shoots Were In LA

5:20 How LA Priced Itself Out

6:32 Why My Jobs Left LA In 2019

7:14 The 2023 Strikes Changed Everything

7:41 Soundstages Fell From 95% To 62%

9:23 50,000 Jobs Gone In Two Years

10:29 The Oscars Say Hollywood Is In A Death Spiral

11:54 Shoot Days Cut Almost In Half

12:47 Netflix Is A Tech Company

13:44 Capitalism Swallowing Itself Whole

14:48 Shooting For A Fifth Of The Price Overseas

15:22 Inflation Is Through The Roof

16:52 If You Live Overseas, This Is Your Time

18:08 Three Hard Decisions For American Creatives

18:33 The Gatekept Industry Is Dying

20:20 America Isn't The Center Anymore

20:59 Curry Barker, Kane Parsons And YouTube

21:40 The End Of One Country Controlling Culture

22:02 Think Globally As A Filmmaker

22:26 Bad Bunny, Blackpink And Burna Boy

23:26 The Immigrant Hunger America Lost

23:52 Do We Blame AI? No. We Adapt.

24:49 America Still Has The Infrastructure

25:32 Build Something Undeniable

26:10 This Era Belongs To The Outsiders

27:03 It's Not A Collapse. It's A Reset.

 

Follow Arrad (podcast host) here

 

LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:

SPOTIFY

APPLE MUSIC

YOUTUBE

 

CONNECT WITH US:

✩ Ourselves (production team)

✩ Instagram

✩ Twitter

✩ TikTok

✩ Facebook

P-Lo produced the Drake record that put Mac Dre back in front of the world, and the Bay had a lot to say about it.

 

P-Lo is a producer, rapper and Bay Area architect who helped build the sound that came out of Pinole, Richmond and Vallejo. In this episode he breaks down how "Too Hard For The Radio" actually came together, why honoring Mac Dre mattered more to him than the placement itself, and why he thinks people misread the whole thing as a shot at the West Coast. He also gets into the two records that built Empire, why being independent is more fruitful now than it has ever been, and the day he told his job he was gone with $400 to his name and half of it already spent on a flight to LA.

 

He talks about what G-Eazy taught him, why the Warriors started a record label, what AI is really taking from artists, and the sacrifice nobody warns you about. Then he makes the case that his best work is still ahead of him, because Quincy Jones made Thriller at 50.

 

0:00 Cold Open

1:37 The Drake Record Nobody Knew He Produced

2:09 Drake Was The Dream He Spoke Into Existence

2:30 Drake Wanted To Honor Mac Dre

3:06 Was It A Shot At The West Coast

4:04 The Bay Had Mixed Feelings About It

4:40 Mac Dre, Forefather Of Bay Area Rap

6:23 Growing Up In Pinole

7:25 The Records That Raised Him

8:44 Cataracts, The Pack And The Team

10:01 When Your Song Becomes Their Love Story

11:33 Producers Are Already Using Suno

14:54 The Real Problem With AI Is Your IP

16:40 Notebooks Full Of Raps Over Kanye Beats

17:45 Meeting iamSU And Building HBK

19:00 Empire Was Built Off Two Records

20:21 Why Artists Still Sign To Majors

21:52 Why Give Away That Percentage

24:33 Honor The Music And It Honors You

25:25 Being A Good Person Is The Strategy

29:11 Build Horizontally, Not Just Up

31:03 If He Lost Everything Tomorrow

32:38 Passing Out CDs At Rasputin And Hilltop Mall

37:08 The Sibling Rivalry That Built His Confidence

39:03 His Parents Didn't Want Him Making Music

39:54 What His Immigrant Parents Risked

42:19 Why Filipinos Can Sing And Dance

44:56 The CMC Channel After School

46:20 Chad Hugo Made It Feel Possible

48:08 The Crossroad: Wiz, Berner And Juicy J

49:26 He Told His Job "I'm Gone"

49:55 Down To His Last $400

51:27 What G-Eazy Taught Him

53:57 The Warriors Own A Record Label

58:55 Music As A Vehicle Into Everything Else

1:00:49 Quincy Made Thriller At 50

1:03:38 The Sacrifice Nobody Talks About

1:05:58 You Need That Delusion

1:07:27 The New Album, Out The Box

1:09:39 Card Pull: Proudest Moment

1:11:07 Where To Find P-Lo

 

Follow P-Lo here

Follow Arrad (podcast host) here

 

LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:

SPOTIFY

APPLE MUSIC

YOUTUBE

 

CONNECT WITH US:

✩ Ourselves (production team):

✩ Instagram

✩ Twitter

✩ TikTok

✩ Facebook

Christian Breslauer directed the music videos you have already watched a hundred times. Ariana Grande. SZA's Kill Bill. Lil Nas X's Industry Baby. Doja Cat. Lisa. Roddy Ricch's The Box. If you have loved a music video in the last five years, there is a good chance he made it.

 

He also never went to film school. His parents couldn't afford to send him, so he worked in restaurants and taught himself the craft one video at a time. Then he heard a song called The Box, wrote a treatment nobody asked him for, said "this is the hit," and it changed his life.

 

In this conversation I break down with Christian how he shot SZA's Kill Bill in a single 18 hour day with wirework and stunts, the one scene he pitched over lunch that took Lil Nas X from 50 million views to 500 million, the pitch that made Ariana Grande cry and led to Video of the Year at the VMAs, and what it was like shooting Ariana on real film with Steven Spielberg's two time Oscar winning DP. We also get into the parts nobody posts about. Why you have to be your own agent, why he walks onto every set a little scared, why he'd rather have a hundred shots that look thirty percent cool than one perfect one, and why he thinks you have to be a little psychotic to be a creative.

 

If you're trying to build a career in film or music video without permission or connections, this is the blueprint.

 

0:00 Cold Open

2:23 Becoming A Dad Changed Everything

6:54 Shooting Ariana Grande On Film

14:03 YUNGBLUD, Ozzy And Sharon On Set

15:44 His Dad Built The Karol G Museum

18:55 Self Taught, No Film School

23:26 Trippie Redd's First 100K Video

24:32 Roddy Ricch's The Box, Nobody Asked

28:04 You Have To Be Your Own Agent

29:53 The Box Dropped, Then Lockdown

37:16 Lil Nas X's Industry Baby Shower Scene

41:36 SZA's Kill Bill Was An Accident

43:35 Doja Cat's Streets And Blacking Out

45:44 Why His Treatments Got Simpler

50:22 SZA And Lisa Shot In One Day

57:54 Spielberg, Fincher And Precision

1:02:49 Inside Ariana Grande's World

1:05:48 We Can't Be Friends And Eternal Sunshine

1:11:54 Creative Directing Ariana's Tour

1:16:36 20,000 People Lose It

1:20:06 Winning Video Of The Year At The VMAs

1:25:06 Advice For Up And Coming Directors

1:32:42 Old Spice, Marshmello And Commercials

1:37:18 Chasing The First Feature

1:45:25 Stop Forcing The Timeline

1:50:10 McConaughey's Oscar Speech Lesson

1:57:40 Dinner With His Grandparents

 

Follow Christian here

Follow Arrad (podcast host) here

 

LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:

SPOTIFY

APPLE MUSIC

YOUTUBE

 

CONNECT WITH US:

✩ Ourselves (production team):

✩ Instagram

✩ Twitter

✩ TikTok

✩ Facebook

A $750,000 horror movie just beat Hollywood at its own game. In this episode, I break down how two creator-made films, Obsession and Backrooms, each crossed $200 million on micro budgets, and why that quietly rewrote the rules of the entire film industry. Curry Barker built an audience on YouTube first, then made Obsession for the fans he already had, and Kane Parsons turned an internet horror phenomenon into a real theatrical event before he was old enough to rent a car.

 

I use both to make the case that the old gatekept Hollywood pipeline is dying. You can prove the concept first, build the audience first, and let the audience tell the industry what to pay attention to. I get into why craft and taste beat budget, why horror is the great equalizer for new filmmakers, the honest reality that these breakout stories are rare, and the one move every creator still has to make. You don't need permission, a studio, or millions of dollars anymore. You need a good idea, taste, and the guts to go make your damn film.

 

00:00 Introduction

02:37 Two $200M Movies on Micro Budgets

03:23 Reintroducing Myself

04:04 Why Hollywood Might Be Better Now

05:35 Curry Barker and the YouTube Model

08:48 Stop Putting Pressure on One Idea

09:32 The Excuses We Make as Creators

12:03 The Insane Numbers Behind Obsession

13:34 We Spend Too Much Time Waiting

14:25 The Audience Doesn't Care How You Got There

16:11 Make Movies That Feel Alive

18:22 Kane Parsons and the Anti-AI Argument

20:11 The Hard Truth and the New Path

22:40 The Internet Is the New Film Festival

24:41 A New Pipeline and Horror as the Equalizer

26:26 Go Make Your Damn Film

 

Follow ⁠me here⁠

 

LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:

⁠SPOTIFY⁠

⁠APPLE MUSIC⁠

⁠YOUTUBE⁠

 

CONNECT WITH US:

✩ ⁠Ourselves (production team)⁠:

✩ ⁠Instagram⁠

✩ ⁠Twitter⁠

✩ ⁠TikTok⁠

✩ ⁠Facebook⁠