The No Film School Podcast

Most filmmakers wait until after production to identify their audience and develop a distribution strategy. In this partner episode, GG Hawkins speaks with Greenlight Coverage founder Jack Zhang and Level 33 Entertainment Vice President Andreas Olavarria about evaluating a screenplay’s commercial potential before production begins. They explain how AI-assisted script coverage can support—not replace—human decision-making, what distributors look for when assessing independent films, and how the Greenlight List gives screenwriters a path toward $100,000 in equity financing and guaranteed distribution.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests Jack Zhang and Andreas Olavarria discuss...

Why filmmakers should consider their target audience, key art, trailer, genre, and distribution strategy while developing the screenplay

How Greenlight Coverage uses data science and AI-assisted analysis to evaluate screenplays

How Jack developed the platform using data from thousands of films and hundreds of millions of audience data points

Why AI script coverage should function as an initial evaluation tool rather than a replacement for human readers

How the Greenlight List combines an algorithmic first pass with evaluation by experienced industry professionals

What separates a well-written screenplay from a commercially viable independent film

Why contained concepts can be more practical for independent filmmakers and investors

How originality, plot construction, character development, theme, and audience positioning affect a project’s score

Why low-budget horror still requires a specific audience and marketing strategy

The built-in audiences for horror, thrillers, romance, and Hallmark- or Lifetime-style films

How theatrical, TVOD, SVOD, and AVOD distribution windows affect independent film development

Why filmmakers may need to hook viewers within the first five minutes on ad-supported streaming platforms

How cast members, executive producers, and creators with established audiences can strengthen a film’s marketability

How the Greenlight List offers its grand prize winner $100,000 in equity financing and guaranteed distribution through Level 33 Entertainment

Why writers should use submission deadlines as concrete milestones for completing their screenplays

Memorable Quotes:

“I think it’s so important that filmmakers look at what the end product will be and how they’re going to connect that film, that story, with a target audience.”

“It has to have a specific audience itch that you’re trying to scratch, or it’s just going to be one of the thousands of films produced out there sitting on the shelf, unfortunately.”

“The film itself should hook the audience in whatever genre in the first five minutes.”

“Don’t miss a deadline. Hit the submit button. Don’t miss the deadline.”

Guests:

Jack Zhang — Founder of Greenlight Coverage

Andreas Olavarria — Vice President at Level 33 Entertainment

Resources:

The Greenlight List

Greenlight Coverage

Level 33 Entertainment

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Wonder Dynamics co-founders Tye Sheridan and Nikola Todorovic join GG Hawkins to explain how their filmmaking backgrounds shaped the development of AI-powered production tools for artists. They trace the company’s evolution from an interactive storytelling startup to Autodesk Flow Studio, a tool designed to transfer live-action performances to CG characters while preserving creative control and compatibility with established VFX pipelines. The conversation covers Hollywood’s changing relationship with artificial intelligence, the potential for lower-cost sci-fi filmmaking, Autodesk’s acquisition of Wonder Dynamics, the continuing importance of marketing and distribution, and how emerging filmmakers can prepare for an AI-integrated industry.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests Tye Sheridan and Nikola Todorovic discuss...

How Sheridan and Todorovic met while working on Last Days in the Desert and bonded over their interest in making independent science-fiction films

Why the expense of CG and visual effects inspired them to pursue a lower-budget, “Blumhouse model” for sci-fi and animation

Wonder Dynamics’ pivot from interactive narratives to AI tools focused on film production

Why AI filmmaking technology should be developed by people who understand professional production and post-production workflows

The differences between tools made for social media content and tools made for long-form narrative filmmaking

Why editability, control, and compatibility with established VFX pipelines became central to Autodesk Flow Studio

How Autodesk Flow Studio captures a performance from single-camera footage and transfers it to a CG character without a traditional motion-capture stage

Why Sheridan and Todorovic do not believe an actor’s performance should be generated entirely through prompts

Hollywood’s pushback against AI during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes and the industry’s gradual shift toward discussing responsible use

How filmmakers can evaluate AI tools according to their ethics, usefulness, and respect for artistic control

The potential for AI to lower production costs and help independent filmmakers create ambitious sci-fi and VFX-heavy projects

Why cheaper production does not eliminate the challenges of marketing, distribution, and audience discovery

How short films, YouTube projects, commercials, and music videos can serve as testing grounds for new filmmaking technology

The opportunity to create visually ambitious genre films that remain grounded in original ideas and character-driven storytelling

What Autodesk’s acquisition of Wonder Dynamics provides in terms of 3D expertise, scale, resources, and integration

How small production teams have used Autodesk Flow Studio to revive scripts they previously could not afford to produce

Why future filmmakers may see AI as an ordinary part of every creative tool rather than a separate category

Sheridan’s advice to practice whenever an opportunity appears and learn from every film set

Todorovic’s advice to persistently seek mentors and approach experienced professionals with genuine curiosity

Memorable Quotes:

“For us, that became our core theme, is just building something for artists that leaves them in control.”

“AI is like the Internet. You can’t just say AI is bad or AI is good. It means so many different things. It really depends on how you’re using it and whether or not you’re maintaining the integrity of the artist process.”

“We’re kind of allowing distribution to everybody, we’re going to allow the production to everybody, but now it’s a matter of being discovered.”

“Be stubborn, be persistent, and try to find the best mentor you can possibly think of, someone you admire, and then just bother them with emails for six months. You’d be surprised.”

Guests:

Tye Sheridan

Nikola Todorovic

Resources:

Autodesk Flow Studio

Find No Film School everywhere:

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📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com

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Editor, director, and producer Whit Conway explains how the Hulu comedy Never Change! was assembled on an unusually compressed post-production schedule. He discusses cutting scenes while production was still underway, building an organized Adobe Premiere Pro workflow, using searchable transcripts to locate alternate performances, and collaborating with director and co-editor Marty Schousboe. Conway also shares how constant iteration shapes comedy, why editors cannot become precious about an early cut, and how aspiring comedy filmmakers can create the work they want to be hired to make.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Whit Conway discuss...

How Whit’s previous collaborations with director Marty Schousboe led to Never Change!

Why the film’s budget and delivery schedule required editing to begin during production

Completing an initial assembly within a week of production wrapping

Applying lessons from the fast-paced editorial workflows of Saturday Night Live and Joe Pera Talks With You

Organizing footage into scene sequences and line-by-line collections of every performance

How front-loading editorial organization saves time when producers request alternate takes

Treating the first cut as a strong starting point rather than a version that must be protected

Adjusting individual jokes by only a few frames and testing different reaction shots

Preserving previous versions of scenes without formally tracking every editorial change

Recognizing when a joke needs more work versus when the filmmakers have simply watched it too many times

Using Premiere Pro’s searchable speech-to-text transcripts to find improvised lines and specific takes

Collaborating with directors who edit and directors who communicate their ideas conceptually

Why strong directors know what they want while remaining open to better ideas from collaborators

Managing creative disagreements, competing producer notes, and compressed deadlines

How walks and time away from the edit room can help collaborators reset

Why budget limitations ultimately determine when the filmmakers must put their pencils down

Building a comedy-editing career by making long-form work, studying classic comedies, and creating projects with friends

Treating unpaid personal projects as “extra credit” that can lead to new professional opportunities

Memorable Quotes:

“It is just my job to put the first version of the moment together as fast as I can and also be tickled by it.”

“I think great directors do a couple of things. One, I think they know what they want. They know what the moment should be. Two, they are open and willing to see other versions of that moment.”

“I think you don’t have to have all the answers all the time.”

“People understand you and know you through the work that you have done, that they have seen you do.”

Guests:

Whit Conway

Resources:

Watch Never Change! on Hulu

Whit Conway’s Website

Adobe Premiere Speech to Text

How These SNL Editors Cut an Emmy-Nominated Sketch With 60+ VFX Shots in 2 Days

Cutting Comedy: Inside the Edit of Saturday Night Live’s 50th Anniversary

Field Producing on Last Week Tonight & Tackling Vimeo’s EU/UK Problem

Find No Film School everywhere:

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Facebook: No Film School on Facebook

Twitter: No Film School on Twitter

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Producer and Joy Coalition founder Joy Gorman Wettels joins GG Hawkins to discuss the long, uncertain path of building a producing career, from developing Next to Normal and spending 17 years at Anonymous Content to betting on herself as an independent producer. She explains why she staffed Little House on the Prairie before it received a green light, how she develops projects designed to create cultural conversations, and why the industry’s shrinking infrastructure threatens the next generation of producers. Gorman Wettels also shares lessons from 13 Reasons Why, Home Before Dark, and The Bell Jar, emphasizing empathy, creative conviction, audience-building, and the importance of finding collaborators who will grow alongside you.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Joy Gorman Wettels discuss...

The challenge of balancing production schedules with family life

How growing up around theater and the arts shaped Joy’s career

Developing Next to Normal over the course of a decade

Learning the creative and logistical sides of producing at Anonymous Content

Launching Joy Coalition just before the industry strikes

The financial risks independent producers take while developing and staffing projects

Why Joy staffed Little House on the Prairie before the series was greenlit

How the industry’s broken career pipeline limits mentorship and upward mobility

The goals of Producers United and the need to compensate career producers fairly

How instability affects studio executives as well as independent producers

Choosing projects that can bridge cultural and generational divides

The research, psychiatric support, and sensitivity practices behind 13 Reasons Why

Creating stories that give young audiences “something to reach up to”

Why emerging filmmakers should build their own audiences and distribution channels

Finding long-term collaborators, remaining loyal, and celebrating friends’ successes

Memorable Quotes:

“All you could do is bank on the things that you believe in and love.”

“Some of the best of us producers no longer have the infrastructure to bring up the next generation.”

“Everything that I make pretty much comes down to taking young people more seriously than I feel we have historically.”

“Hollywood’s a very, very, very long high school and college, and you find your people and you succeed together.”

Guests:

Joy Gorman Wettels

Resources:

Joy Coalition

Joy Gorman Wettels on Instagram

Producers United

Find No Film School everywhere:

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Facebook: No Film School on Facebook

Twitter: No Film School on Twitter

YouTube: No Film School on YouTube

Instagram: No Film School on Instagram

📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com

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Emmy-nominated stunt coordinator and performer Victor Paguia joins No Film School’s GG Hawkins to explain how action sequences are designed around character, story, safety, and production realities. Drawing on more than two decades of experience—including his work on I Am Legend, Zombieland, and CBS’s FBI—Paguia discusses breaking into the stunt industry, developing distinct fighting styles for characters, creating ambitious television action on an eight-day prep schedule, and using previsualization to make sequences safer and more effective. He also shares practical advice for independent filmmakers staging action with limited time and resources.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Victor Paguia discuss...

How competitive diving prepared Paguia to perform under pressure

Crashing the callback that led to his first stunt job on I Am Legend

Why effective stunt work must serve the story rather than spectacle

Finding the line between exciting action and physically unbelievable action

Developing a shared movement language for zombies and other creatures

Why fast zombies are more intimidating—and more enjoyable to perform

Building action around the established strengths of a character

Giving the agents on FBI distinct fighting styles based on personality and physicality

Keeping fights, chases, and takedowns fresh across multiple seasons

The differences between preparing action for a feature film and a network television series

Choreographing and teaching fights to actors while filming on a tight schedule

Why filmmakers should slow down instead of rushing on set

How stunt doubles help actors learn choreography and improve their performances

Using an iPhone to previs camera angles, movement, costumes, and choreography

How smaller camera systems have expanded the possibilities for action photography

Monitoring multi-camera stunt sequences when playback is unavailable

Why micro-budget filmmakers should design action within their actual resources

The driving, fighting, falling, and wire-work skills aspiring stunt performers should develop

How collaboration between departments creates memorable action

Memorable Quotes:

“Telling the story of the movie is more important than performing the action.”

“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast—and wear sunscreen.”

“Stunt doubles aren't just there to perform the action instead of the actor. They're also there to help choreograph and teach and show.”

“It's enticing to try to go for bigger than you can actually handle, but it may end up just looking bad or sort of amateur.”

Guests:

Victor Paguia

Resources:

Watch Victor Paguia’s Zombieland stunt

Extraction 2 Director Sam Hargrave’s Advice on Oners, Stunts, and Emails

Find No Film School everywhere:

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Facebook: No Film School on Facebook

Twitter: No Film School on Twitter

YouTube: No Film School on YouTube

Instagram: No Film School on Instagram

📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com

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