Building a Production Company in 2024 with Dustin Devlin, Vagrants

00:00 Intro00:38 Diving into Dustin's Filmmaking Journey03:17 The Birth of Vagrants: From Concept to Reality10:33 Navigating the World of Original Content and Brand Collaborations17:04 Inside the Creative Process: Balancing Directing and Entrepreneurship19:39 A Deep Dive into Producing Content: The Rhode Island Tourism Board Project26:01 Exploring Production Company Partnerships26:42 The Organic Growth and Vision of Pennant and Vagrants27:35 Specializing in Different Parts of the Funnel: A Strategic Move31:36 The Power of Saying No and Choosing Projects Wisely34:43 The Evolution of Production Companies and Niche Specialization37:12 Embracing Generative AI in the Content Industry45:10 Behind the Scenes: Producing a One-Take Robot Dog Commercial50:27 Reflections and Future Collaborations

David Weinstein is the former VP of Production at Complex and Buzzfeed, where he oversaw production for a multitude of original content properties, and helped shepherd the media company giant through COVID and the transition to cloud based workflows. David is now taking on his next challenge at Pro League Network, where he'll be spearheading content strategy for untapped and emerging sports verticals. In this episode David tells us his career path into production leadership roles, and gives us an in-depth breakdown of his workflow and tools for managing a large content pipeline.

Dmitry Shamis is the Global Head of Creative for Hubspot. Dmitry started his career working in the mail room at Paradigm, and ended up as the creative leader for Hubspot, where he transformed a small service based group into an in-house agency with over 140 employees. In this episode, Dmitry walks us through his framework for scaling creative operations at an in-house agency.

Hannah Levy has directed Saturday Night Live sketches for the likes of Billie Eilish, John Mulaney and Kim Kardashian. She is now repped by Tool of North America and has her first film in development with Paramount. In this episode Hannah tells us the story of getting signed to direct at SNL, and takes us through their warp speed creative development and production processes that happens like clockwork every single week. She also tells us the tools and techniques she personally uses to visualize and direct her material.

Rajan Patel is the President and Executive Producer at Framework, one of Hollywood's top entertainment marketing companies with a client list that reads like a who's who at the Oscars - names like Disney, HBO, Marvel, Netflix and many more. In this episode we talk about Rajan's humble beginnings working in his parents motels, how he moved to Los Angeles and found his way into entertainment, and tactical advice on running a production company, building a culture, and developing yourself as a leader.

Cedric Devitt is the Chief Creative Officer at Big Spaceship, a New York based independent agency with a client list that includes JetBlue, Starbucks and Google. Cedric is an industry veteran whose accolades include helming MRY as social media agency of the year, and also founding the US Air Guitar Championships. In this episode, we talk about the importance of resiliency as a creative thinker, finding the magic in the room through reduction and the necessity of fusing brand and product.

Pete Sena is a serial entrepreneur, futurist, investor and CEO coach. Amongst his many initiatives, he is the founder of Digital Surgeons, a brand experience design consultancy, and also runs the co-working space District, a founder community, podcast and much more. Pete is a firm believer in being forward obsessed, and constantly learning new technologies to position yourself for success. In this episode we talk about opportunities to start businesses in AI, the importance of community in the next ten years, and some one-on-one consulting for yours truly.

Tristan Irving is a Portland based street artist made famous by his striking paintings of historical figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frida Kahlo and George Floyd. The latter was featured prominently during the protests and led to him being honored by the Portland Mayor's Office. In this interview we talk about his struggle with alcoholism, the impact Dan Wieden had on his life, and how one of his mentors inspired him to believe in himself as an artist.

Iain S. Thomas is a #1 bestselling author, poet and AI evangelist. His latest book "What Makes Us Human" uses GPT-3 artificial intelligence to answer some of humanity's greatest questions. He also works as Group Creative Director at VICE's in-house agency VIRTUE, where he helped launch the Cannes Grand Prix winning campaign "Backup Ukraine". In this interview, we talk about the tragic inspiration behind Iain's latest book, the philosophical questions surrounding AI, and a glimpse into what the future of co-creation with artificial intelligence will look like.

Joel Pilger is a former studio owner and now global consultant for REVthink, where he helps top creative companies unlock their potential through strategic positioning, pricing and operations. In this episode, we talk about his experiences running and selling a creative studio, how to deliver a memorable client experience, and why he believes in getting rid of the line item bid forever.