Reframed The Podcast

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4ybXaeI ▶ About This Episode: Director Ádám Halmos joins Dylan Hahn to the podcast to break down his music video for Brumiko's "Sör, Unicum," which features Hungarian film legend Reviczky Gábor, Ádám's own childhood cinema hero. Ádám explains shooting his first ever project on 16mm film with only 40 minutes of stock, wrangling horses and motorcycles inside an active quarry, rebuilding a prop heart in VFX after the real one looked fake on camera, and trusting DP Fabó Tóth's eye on a black and white monitor that was hard to see. He also gets into directing without the safety net of digital playback, casting for real chemistry between his actors, and what it meant to work alongside one of Hungary's most legendary performers.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4iru9XM ▶ About This Episode: Director Damien Blue returns to the podcast to break down two spots he directed for Brick. Damien walks through shooting a reversed paper throw at 120fps on 16mm film, wiring a custom LED light fixture shipped in from Australia, and combining a zoom out with a Dana Dolly slide for the final shot. He also gets into shooting practical effects in the age of AI, casting a real life couple for on screen chemistry, and building out his own home as a recurring set.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4i3vgNe ▶ About This Episode:Director Josh Cohen joins Dylan Hahn to break down the Doritos x Formula 1 commercial starring Gordon Ramsay. Josh explains how a snowed out Toronto shoot forced the team into 3D truck scans and CG exteriors, how a moving light on a push cart replaced a volume stage they couldn't afford, and how the camera shake, blowtorch transition, and jalapeno explosion were all built in camera. He also gets into working with VFX house Wicked Pixels, printing the final film back to 16mm, and why he chose to edit the project himself.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4q8pegx ▶ About This Episode:Director Megan Tan joins Dylan Hahn to break down "The Champion Recipe," a storytelling-driven spot for Lexar's Argentina-designed SSD made with the AFA. Megan walks through shooting the entire thing in one 14-hour day in Malaysia, dressing a local Airbnb to pass as an Argentinian home, casting a real footballer over a trained actor, and packing in training scenes, a dialogue-heavy centerpiece, and a rain-soaked finale. They also dive into the DP relationship, the reflective light sweep everyone asks about, and how years of cinematic YouTube vlogging prepared Megan to direct on a real set.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4gUcDe7 ▶ About This Episode:Director Daniel Iglesias joins Dylan Hahn to break down The Neighbourhood’s music video for “Planet”, a surreal dance piece built around an inverted woman, practical insects, a hairless cat, and a moving El Camino. Daniel explains how he turned a seemingly simple concept into a carefully structured visual journey, balancing ambitious transitions, VFX, choreography, and an eight-hour scheduling problem. They also discuss building treatments, protecting the right creative decisions, choreographing the camera alongside the dancer, and knowing when to break the visual rules you’ve established.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/3SK2d6X ▶ About This Episode: Director Scott Secco returns to Reframed to break down his latest mountain bike film shot with GoPro's new interchangeable lens camera. Scott walks through the custom rigs, cable cams, pole cams, fog setups, and creative problem-solving behind the project—including the moment a failed stunt left him with a broken sternum. They also dive into why small cameras are becoming legitimate cinema tools, how budget really affects filmmaking, and why the best-looking shots often come from smart ideas, not expensive gear.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4wk1AiL ▶ About This Episode:Dutch director Sabrina Nijenhuis joins Dylan Hahn to break down her Cannes-nominated spec commercial Burning Desire — a cinematic film about skin cancer shot on 16mm with almost no budget. She shares how borrowed film stock, DIY production design, natural light, and practical in-camera techniques helped shape the film, while diving into spec work, commercial directing, and the importance of developing a creative voice as a filmmaker.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4eygU3W ▶ About This Episode: Director Daniel Warwick joins Dylan Hahn to break down his Westpac campaign, a commercial that turned an entire community into a human helicopter. Daniel explains why he chose to build the impossible practically instead of relying on CGI, how Martin Parr's photography inspired the film's distinctive 16mm aesthetic, and why shooting front-lit in harsh sunlight became the project's biggest creative advantage. They also dive into production design, static camera work, film stock, color, location scouting, and Daniel's philosophy on protecting the human soul of filmmaking in the age of AI.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/44hbA0a ▶ About This Episode:Director and photographer Aidan Cullen joins Dylan Hahn to break down his commercial spot for Cosmos starring Odessa A'zion, and to discuss what makes certain performers impossible to look away from. Aidan shares insights from a decade of working with actors, musicians, and brands, including his creative collaborations with Odessa, Omar Apollo, Malcolm Todd, and more. They talk about directing talent, building creative chemistry, shooting on film, creative direction, the realities of "overnight success," and why consistency matters more than inspiration. Aidan also shares lessons from founding Nova, working with some of the biggest names in entertainment, and the mindset that helped him build a career across photography, directing, and entrepreneurship.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/3S0f30i ▶ About This Episode:Cinematographer Todd Banhazl joins Dylan Hahn to break down Olivia Rodrigo's "Drop Dead" music video, a project shot entirely on vintage BetaCam, VHS, and MiniDV cameras. Todd shares why the team wasn't chasing nostalgia, but the unique beauty these formats bring to faces, movement, and atmosphere. They discuss preserving interlaced motion, lighting for low-resolution cameras, filming at Versailles with director Petra Collins, the resurgence of lo-fi imagery, and why the industry's pursuit of realism may have gone too far.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4o2SN1D ▶ About This Episode:DP Adam Bentel joins Dylan Hahn to break down KFC’s “Eat the Rules” campaign, directed by Zee Ntuli. Adam shares how the team turned a single abandoned community center into a surreal party world using practical effects, lasers, dancers, mirrors, confetti, and a lot of experimentation. They get into collaborative scouting, shooting at 250fps on the Alexa 35, building atmosphere with practical effects, lens choices, and how giving talented people room to play led to some of the spot’s most memorable moments.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/4fCE3V1 ▶ About This Episode:Director and Abyss Digital founder Shapxo joins Dylan Hahn to break down how some of his most insane VFX shots actually get made. From Unreal Engine previs and robotic camera systems to CG avatars, seamless eye transitions, and LED volume stages, they dig into the real process behind modern VFX work. They also talk about AI, filmmaking culture, creative collaboration, and why some of the best ideas still come from grabbing your friends and making something with almost no money.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set: https://go.frameset.app/3PajnJv ▶ About This Episode: Director Rick Darge joins Dylan Hahn to break down his wildly absurd Popeyes “Chicken Chicken Chicken” campaign. It's a musical commercial built around one word, one weird idea, and a ton of meticulous prep. Rick walks through the entire process of directing a big budget commercial, from casting actors who can sing, navigating UK food advertising laws to solving VFX problems on the fly and keeping a set calm under pressure. They get into comedy theory, agency collaboration, lens choices, actor auditions, production company culture, and why the best comedy commercial work often comes from committing fully to one strange idea.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set:https://go.frameset.app/3RbjW6d▶ About This Episode:Director Simon Becks joins Dylan Hahn to break down a surreal Iceland-shot music video about a man stranded in a frozen wasteland who falls in love with a snow woman. Alongside co-director Folkert Verdoorn, Simon shares how the team turned a strange one-line concept into a massive practical shoot involving glaciers, handmade sleds, puppeteered snow creatures, and brutal conditions across Iceland. They get into worldbuilding, production design, collaboration, and the challenge of balancing emotional storytelling with a playful, cinematic visual style.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set:https://go.frameset.app/3QFEmUS▶ About This Episode:Director Leon Liehr joins Dylan Hahn to break down a spec commercial featuring Headspace that was made as a student project. Leon shares how a small team used location choices, practical effects, and VFX to create the illusion of ceilings closing in, all within a three-day shoot. They talk through previs, lighting strategy, in-camera solutions, and the process of aligning a spec piece closely enough to a real brand that it gets their attention.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set:https://go.frameset.app/4tywEKA▶ About This Episode:Director Alex Takacs returns to break down his music video Brush Me Like a Horse, a simple but striking concept built around a man running on a treadmill over a cliff. Alex shares how the idea expanded into a full world through production design, performance, and careful visual choices. They get into the realities of the shoot, including difficult locations, rattlesnakes on set, a broken treadmill, corrupted footage, and a last minute pickup shot that brought the piece together. It is a conversation about problem solving, trusting your instincts, and finding a way to finish the project when things go wrong.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set:https://go.frameset.app/3ODQSU9▶ About This Episode:Director Morgan Le Faucheur joins Dylan Hahn to break down his cycling campaign and the detailed process behind creating a high-end commercial look with limited resources. Morgan explains how he developed the treatment, pitched the idea in person, and used a combination of moto crane, drone, handheld camera, and practical lighting to build a strong black and white visual language. They discuss multiplying riders with subtle VFX, mixing stabilized and imperfect movement to preserve energy, and even capturing product shots using an iPhone with the Blackmagic app. The conversation also explores the balance between craft and new tools like AI, and why strong ideas still matter most when trying to stand out as an independent filmmaker.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set:https://go.frameset.app/4cg6MMh ▶ About This Episode: Director Scott Sacco joins Dylan Hahn to break down his Outdoor Research film Moments, a five-day shoot across British Columbia built with small crews, lightweight rigs, and a practical approach to getting cinematic images in remote locations. Scott shares how he balances directing, shooting, and editing his own work, how improvised rigs help create dynamic shots, and why flexibility in the field often leads to stronger ideas. They talk ultrawide lenses, POV camera setups, location strategy, shaping natural performances, and the ongoing challenge of making resourceful productions feel bigger than they are.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set:https://go.frameset.app/4v2Bn8H▶ About This Episode:Director Oscar Hudson joins Dylan Hahn to break down his Coinbase campaign created for the Oscars, a project that builds a believable video game world almost entirely through practical techniques. Oscar explains how the team translated digital logic into physical design using printed textures, flattened costumes, miniature environments, and carefully controlled camera movement to create an uncanny game-like reality in camera. They discuss the isometric camera language, materials testing process, choreography inspired by NPC movement, and how simple physical solutions helped achieve complex visual ideas without relying heavily on CG.

▶ Find Inspiration and develop your ideas with Frame Set:https://go.frameset.app/4c1YKHR▶ About This Episode:Cinematographer Cyan Mariani joins Dylan Hahn to break down the bold black-and-white music video that’s been gaining attention online. Cyan shares how he created striking contrast with minimal lighting setups, balanced hard and soft sources through a single window, and unified footage from four different cameras using film scans. They also get into working fast with limited resources, adapting when locations fell through, and how constraints helped shape the final look of the piece.