Episode 98 - Mary Dail – Owner & CD at Big Leo Productions

Have you ever wondered how the “Got Milk?” campaign was started or what it was like to work with the celebrities and the celebrity photographers who helped make the campaign? Well, Bernie Hogya can tell you all about it because he was there from the beginning, all the way to the last frame. And that campaign reversed a 30-year decline in milk sales and became a pop culture phenomenon. In his career, he has worked with celebrities like Taylor Swift, Elton John, Van Halen, Tom Brady, Steven Tyler, Harrison Ford, The Rock and so many more. He also worked with photographers like Annie Liebowitz, Richard Avedon, David LaChapelle, Herb Ritz, and more. Bernie is one of the elites when it comes to being an Art Director and Creative Director in Advertising. Led creative on The Foundation For A Better Life, cited by the OAAA as “The most successful public service campaign in the history of outdoor advertising.” We discuss his band in High School being the first Kiss tribute band ever, how he started out working at Marvel Comics and hid names of friends in the pages of the comic books, what it took to get Annie Liebowitz to agree to be the first “Got Milk?” photographer and what her process is like for a shoot. He also has some great advice for up-and-coming art directors, or anybody really, and we talk about what he’s doing now, plus so, so much more. There are some really great stories and behind the scenes information in this episode.So take a listen and let me know what you think.Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!

Andrew and I talk about what he did to win an Emmy, a shoot where he rebuilt, to scale, the Home Alone house interior, working the Super Bowl and World Cup, why he moved from the Buffalo, NY area to NC, what we like better, using sticks (tripod) or handheld, advice for up and coming creatives and a whole lot more.This is a fun one!So take a listen and let me know what you think.Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

This one is for the photographers! Ian Spanier is an award-winning commercial and celebrity photographer who has a new book coming out called Cigars: A Biography, whichyou can get at www.Sigculture.com In this episode, we talk about the upcoming book and how he went from Photo Editor at multiple magazines, including GQ, to becoming a full-time photographer. What happened when he metPhotographer Albert Watson, and how photographer Harry Benson was his mentor. Ian talks about his process going into a photo shoot and what it’s like to work with Morgan Freeman, Steven Tyler, Bob Odenkirk, Jeff Bridges, and more. We discuss cameras, why he left NYC, and the time he had a photoshoot on an aircraft carrier where he was escorted around by armed guards at all times and how he told the ships commander how he wanted them to position two 30 million dollar planes. This was a lot of fun!  So take a listen and let me know what you think.Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

Another Great Episode where Gregg tells some amazing stories! We start off with his first time working with the great photographer, Walter Ioss and another great one, Greg Heisler. Gregg gives his thoughts on what makes a good photographer and what you need to know to be a good Creative Director. There’s also the story of a shoot for Comcast where two of the actors ended up, later, being the creator of the show Glee and one of the main actors on Modern Family. We discuss where ideas come from, working with AI, why you should be a student of your craft and much more! You’re going to love this one! So take a listen and let me know what you think. Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

How did Priyanka get from Mumbai, India all the way to NYC? Listen to this episode to hear about her wonderful journey. We also discuss how Personal work can really help in keeping you fresh for client work and what ways Priyanka goes about doing that. She has some advice for anyone who is hoping to become an Art Director, what her walk up music would be and we hear about a life changing event for Priyanka that helped her along her journey. So go take a listen and let me know what you think. Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

Let’s talk about strange prop request that must be fulfilled in a short period of time! That’s exactly what we will do while chatting with Rotary International Art Director Leann Arthur. We also talk about a very interesting assignment she had while working as a photographer for a small West Virginia newspaper, what it was like working for a cruise line that had her going to Alaska, a shoot that halfway around the world for Rotary International and so much more, including advice for me on where to go when visiting Hawaii for the first time. So go take a listen and let me know what you think. Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

How did the San Francisco 49er’s mascot become part of Kim’s most fulfilling project in advertising? In this episode we hear how! We also hear about Kim’s dream job, how she finds director’s and photographers, her thoughts on doing treatments for jobs, why she loved working at BBDO, how Vayner Media (Owned by Gary V) is a different type of agency, the first time she saw her work out in the world and what spaghetti had to do with that, as well as what she thought about working at Hasbro and so much more! There are a lot of great stories in this episode and some wonderful information if you are a photographer, director or creative director. So go take a listen and let me know what you think. Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

How did a Burlesque show lead to Monica Zaffaron becoming a producer? In this episode we hear how the woman responsible for Trybe Production Collective started off as a dancer, model and actor and made a living at it for four years in Europe as well as some time in America. She talks about what it was like being on German TV, touring Germany as a singer in a band, and the time she faked played bongos for a tv appearance where a very popular American actress sang on a German TV show. We also discuss a shoot she had with Elton John and Dua Lipa, her favorite thing about this business and her advice for new producers, or literally anyone in this industry. There are a lot of great stories in this episode and great information for anyone who wants to be a producer. So go take a listen and let me know what you think. Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

Until very recently Julie was the Managing Art Producer at Havas in NYC, so she has a lot of wonderful stories! We talk about her time in Italy where she was taken to a room with no windows and questioned as she was trying to fly out of the country, her favorite shoot which was for Jaguar, producing her first big shoot for Volvo with basically no help or experience. We chat about how she grew up knowing she wanted to be in advertising and what she did to make that happen. Julie also discusses how she finds photographers for shoots and what needs to happen for her to put a photographer in the mix for a shoot and we discuss a few of the celebs she has met along the way. There are a lot of great stories in this episode and great information for anyone who wants to be an art producer and for photographers So go take a listen and let me know what you think. Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!  

Courtney tells us how she created the successful production studio Salt Paper Studio and the meaning behind the name. We discuss one of the coolest things to happen to her, which involves Adobe, what unusual thing would be in the rider of her contract (I stole this question from my friend who does the Rocker Dog Podcast – Go listen to it). We also talk about how she finds new clients, what new service they are going to start offering next year and how she got from Delaware down to the Carolinas. I had a lot of fun talking with Courtney and I think you will really enjoy this episode. So go take a listen and let me know what you think. Be sure to Like it, Share, Subscribe and Comment!