Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

Is Full Time Filmmaker worth it? 

I’ve produced online courses for half a dozen different solo creators in the past. Full Time Filmmaker blows them out of the water. It has 10x more lessons than the biggest course I ever produced.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

Left foot. Right foot.

You know the difference you can make for someone’s project in a day, or even just a few hours. Yet we have a hard time believing other creatives could do the same for us. This is walking. This is the left foot and the right foot of commanding larger budgets for your projects: invest in quality, then get more money.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

Fuel The Fire (Film Festival)

I was having lunch with a friend who me if I wanted to start producing narrative pieces. I’ve produced a ton of commercials, but I haven’t produced anything narrative. I told her no. Two weeks after that, I produced my first narrative short film for Fuel the Fire Film Fest.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

Close Those Tabs

Switching between tabs and triangulating tasks is exhilarating. It feels like you’re in a space ship command center, shouting orders, shooting down bogeys, mapping a new course all at once. Except it’s a surefire strategy to burn out–quick.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

How Not Working Helps Me Get More Done

As a producer, you need to be consistently moving tasks and vendors and bookings forward, every chance you have, in order to get the production ready in time. There’s no time to get lost in a doom-scroll session because you didn’t take breaks. 

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

How to find locations for videos

My favorite place to find locations for videos is through Peerspace. Peerspace is like Airbnb, but for film locations. People can list their homes, studios, bars, offices, or open fields as locations for rent on Peerspace.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

How To Reduce Stress On Your Video Productions

Is it going to work out? Is everything going to be ok? Is this project going to get finished? These are all valid questions, especially when you’re producing a video shoot for the first time. Or the second, third, and even tenth time.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

How to give good notes on a video in 5 steps

Sending notes to an editor is an integral part of the video-making process, but it’s difficult to convey exactly what’s in your head. Videos are visual, and words only go so far to explain your vision. I’ve found five best practices that help clients get the video they want without exasperating their editors.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

It’s ok to not push the envelope

If you’re always pushing the envelope, you’re always stressed about whether you can pull it off. You’re never in the moment, because you’ve never done it before.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

14 One-Sentence Producing Tips

Anyone can be a commercial producer if they can communicate clearly and make decisions efficiently.  Time is only on your side if you use it, so get to work on finding a crew and a location as soon as you can. 

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

How to Find Models for Your Photo or Video Shoot 

You can find a lot of models for under $100 per hour in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. They have great search criteria for specialty, age, height, gender, ethnicity, weight, hair color, union status and more.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

How to Turn Long-Form Interviews into Compelling Ads

More brands should partner with real life influencers, instead of celebrities. Polestar interviewed Karen Nyberg, an astronaut who spent 180 days in outer space, orbiting earth. They pulled sound bites from a long-form interview, and put together a compelling ad.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

Succesful Productions Depend On Margin

Sure, I could get a 10-person production planned in a day. If all my go-to vendors are available, if the ideal locations are available, if the rentals we need are available. The trouble arises when things aren’t available.

Read More
Reese Hopper Reese Hopper

How Inconvenience Levels You Up

After the first day of shooting, I got to my hotel room, opened my laptop, and sent emails for two hours. I immediately got flashbacks to 2019. Pre-producing one project, while producing another, while post-producing a third. It’s a lot.

Read More