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    Season 2 · Episode 7

    Making Films (On & Off Camera) and The Laws of Attraction

    ZADAN with Mason Greer

    · 1:28:39

    The conversation

    Mason Greer had just returned from assistant directing Fear Farm, a horror comedy shot in 10 days with no prep around Davis and Sacramento, when he sat down with ZADAN. He describes the cold, wet cornfield shoot, then the travel he did between ages 11 and 14, including seeing the Big Five in Africa and watching effigies of George W. Bush burn on New Year's in Quito. The two also weigh live streaming the podcast and using Facebook events to launch short films.

    Mason explains what a script supervisor does, why editors will trade continuity for a better performance, and how Spider-Man 3 soured him on hyped releases. He walks through building a reel, studying at an acting studio and landing an agent, plus an audition where he had to transform into the devil. Later they talk video games, friendships formed through creative work, why dating in LA feels tense, and ZADAN's method for flipping cheap finds for profit.

    Topics, with timestamps

    Pick a time to start listening right there.

    1. ZADAN's remote work and a job found by swiping
    2. Assistant directing the 10-day feature Fear Farm
    3. Ten countries between the ages of 11 and 14
    4. New Year's effigies in Quito and the electric slide
    5. Live streaming the show and Facebook event premieres
    6. What a script supervisor actually does
    7. Spider-Man 3 and losing faith in hyped movies
    8. Crowds, theater shootings and premiere costume bans
    9. Building a reel and finding an agent
    10. Auditioning as a man turning into the devil
    11. Video games and ZADAN's streaming plans
    12. Friends who come from doing what you love
    13. Why meeting people in LA feels tense
    14. The flip method: buying cheap and reselling

    Worth hearing

    • Fear Farm, which Mason worked on as assistant director, was shot in 10 days with no prep despite stunts, practical effects and fight scenes, in damp cornfields around Davis, California.
    • Mason contrasts that schedule with Get Out, which he says had roughly 17 to 20 shooting days plus 15 days of prep.
    • As a script supervisor he flags continuity problems and leaves notes for the editor, but he says even great directors like Scorsese let continuity slip when the performance is better.
    • Mason dates his skepticism of big releases to Spider-Man 3, which he says crowded out a good story with too many villains and conflicting subplots.
    • Before signing with an agent he built a reel through smaller parts and studied at an acting studio for about seven months; his agent now submits him for roles that are never posted publicly.
    • Both say their closest friends came from their creative work, and Mason argues the insecurity that comes with the entertainment industry makes LA feel more guarded than Sacramento or Pasadena.
    • ZADAN describes the flip method he picked up from Gary Vaynerchuk: buy underpriced items at garage sales or on Craigslist and eBay, then resell them at full price.

    ZADAN's original episode notes

    Mason Greer is an Iowa City born, LA residing Director, Assistant Director and Actor working both sides of the camera and fulfilling his passion for filmmaking by creating projects that further his career and talents.

    In this episode Mason and I talk a lot about his work as a professional filmmaker, on and off the camera, and some of the recent projects he had completed at the time. We go into movie theater premieres and how crazy extremists have stifled the industry, finding an agent and putting together a reel to get started in the acting industry, doing what you love and how that law of attraction brings the right people into your orbit and so many other awesome topics; so without further ado I give you, Mason Greer.