How to Break Into Commercials with Stefan Dezil

Stefan Dezil is a multi talented filmmaker who works for a commercial production company where he hires directors for commercials. We talk about everything from how exactly the world of commercials works to the film industry at large.

See Stefan's latest film THIRST on HULU and Youtube  at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtfxQmDETgk&t=185s

Follow us on Instagram @onceuponafilmindustry

Transcript

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Hi, everybody. We are here with Stephen diesel. Stephen diesel is a talented, talented filmmaker. He also works with a commercial company with a commercial company. It's called superlative. As you can hear Steph is also a voiceover artist. hear that voice give you some more stuff. velvet. Dark chocolate ice cream. Have to go to Baskin Robbins right. Now Steph is a super talented guy, and we're happy to have him. We want to know a little bit about Steph where Steph came from Steph, what is your story? Like? How'd you get your start as an artist? Okay. Okay. Well, first off, Steven and Alan, thank you so much for having me on the podcast. means a lot to me. Steven, you know, we've been basically family out here. You're the closest thing I have to family in LA. I feel that Yeah, I'm from New York, also Long Island. And I also grew up in South Florida if you're Caribbean or Haitian, usually you have family in Florida and New York pretty much. So actually, I don't know this about you stuff. But what was the first thing that you jumped into? Was it acting? Was it filmmaking? Was it writing? Like, what was the first thing and how young did you start? First thing I've jumped into was fine arts, you know, just like drawing and painting. So that and theater was sort of the origin of my filmmaking journey. And I'm thankful to my folks kind of introducing me to movies growing up from kung fu movies and cowboy films that I would watch it my dad, and my mom showing me a lot of foreign films. And it was it was late in college, when I started to teach myself how to make movies, which came because this is a very random story. But my father had an encounter with Wesley Snipes, and that was on a cruise ship. And when my dad told Wesley that he had a son who was interested in acting, and and all the craft of filmmaking, and then Wesley told my dad to tell me to become a storyteller, and a producer of sorts, because we needed more people like that, in the industry. And this is before the Renaissance that we've had now with everything from Ryan coogler, to Isa Ray and Ava DuVernay. So this is before all that was going on? And yeah, that when you when you're, you know, blade blade is giving you advice? Oh, absolutely. I mean, when your father told you that, what was your take on it? It was very eye opening to me. And also, this doesn't apply to everyone. But like, I always knew I wanted to be a storyteller more than being just a cog in a story, you know, in the machine of a story. So it was it was kind of just like a catalyst. Would you say that? That was the moment if that didn't happen, you wouldn't have gotten into film. I think I still would have gotten into film but I probably would have just focused on acting and performance and making small projects on the side on my own. But that definitely got me thinking and it organized. My, my cognitive approach to to art and filmmaking and my personal journey. That's dope. I mean, for the people who are listening, Stephen diesel is one of the most talented actors I've ever met, and I've been around a really long time in this industry. Stephen diesel's a beast. Oh, man, he'd be gassing me. I'd be guessing. No, no, I saw he's I gotta say I saw some of your work. I saw your reel and it was quite impressive. We're gonna have to tag Wesley Snipes on this and tell him you know, Oh, I love how Lopez he's a business mind. I see that. Tag Wesley Wesson, you know about his agent right now. Wait, owl. Are you also from the East Coast? I am born and bred from Brooklyn, New York. accent I was like, wait a sec. I can't get it. And you know what? I decided to keep it forever, man. Well, Brooklyn. So we got New York up in here in the building in the building. So listen up, because you do all these things. I want to know if you've ever thought about this, which is actually interesting to me. What natural gifts or privileges however you see it do you think you had that led you to believe that this industry was for you? That's a good question. I think it's having the right people. To champion you, because as an artist, we are always seeking some kind of validation. Yeah, right. Yeah. And for a long time, I wasn't sure if, if I was meant to do some of the things that I was doing and, and, you know, so many stories of people who have attempted, and they moved out to LA for two years, and then they ended back home or they never even got a real job in the industry, or they came very close to things. But for me, I got validation from some very, very incredible and, and, and iconic figures in my life who cemented that confidence in myself. And I mean, just to shout them out, you know, like Tommy Oliver, who is behind black love, on, on on. And and he wrote, wrote and directed this great movie with Hill Harper called 1982. And then another friend of mine, Jessica Goldberg, who also like so early on in my career told me that she thought that I was, yeah, I mean, she just she, she inspired me, because she admired my talent. And that was before I was even really making any of my movies. She just said that based off of conversations we had on her script, and you know, now she's gone. She's writing a movie for the Russo brothers. Oh, nice. That is fantastic. Nice. I feel like, I feel like your major skill. And I could be off here, correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like your major skill is connecting with people like you, you, you have the ability to connect with people instantly, and build little communities. Like how many times do you say, Oh, I have a buddy. I have a buddy who? That's always telling me how many buddies he got. I'm like, Steph, Do you know anybody? Yeah, yeah, I got a buddy who are cool, cool. I feel like, I feel like that's one of your, your, your best gifts. And you're able to, I guess, I think people can take a lot away from that as well. You know, it's so important man, especially Look, I am good at just superficially just connecting with people, you know, just in terms of holding conversation. But most importantly, to me, and I and I have to give credit to this novel that I read before I moved out to LA seven and a half years ago. It's called good in a room. And it's by Stephanie Palmer. And she just talks to it's how important it is to keep a small circle and keep those people close to you. Rather than trying to extend all these tendrils all over town and getting all these business cards randomly and like emailing a million people, I don't really do that I, I have a few very strong connections that happened to also be personal with people who are in the industry doing incredible things like yourself, Steven, you know, and and these are people who I connect with. And then when I say I have a buddy, it's usually like one of those few people that I keep in touch with. And then they have a friend who can who can put me in the right direction, if I'm looking for something on my behalf or someone else's path. Right? And would you say stuff that you know, I mean, networking is a big part of the film industry? I mean, it sounds like what you're saying is exactly that. But how much of an impact do you think networking will have in a person's career when they're getting into the film industry, I think it's important to just get out there because you want to make friendships, and you want to make friendships not just based on the film industry, you want to make friendships with people who connect with you, on a personal level, because when you're working on a film or a TV show, you're talking years of investment on a project or development. So you want to you want to make friendships with people. So you definitely got to go out there. And then I also have to shout out this other guy. His name is Dallas Saunier. And he's another guy who like, has been very instrumental in a lot of my development. And I worked as a PA on a film with him 10 years ago, and it's like, we just kept in touch beyond film. You know, I remember like, we know when any of us would have a tragedy in our lives or, or success like you just reach out. And and you call them. Don't just send an email. It's all about some there are some old fashioned approaches that I think are timeless. So like talking on the phone and hanging out with people in person. I mean, I know right now we got a social distance but as much as you can, and be creative about that, for the introvert, that's listening. Someone who is like shy, he's not really into connecting with people. Do you? Do you think it's so important that they need to get out of the comfort zone? Or do you think there's another way around it these days With the advent of tic Tock and YouTube, if they can make a name for themselves on the internet, and find a way to garner an audience and connections just through the medium of the internet, if they don't want to go out there and person, use that medium. But if not, I mean, you can make a great movie, but nobody will see it if you don't talk to the right people, and get it out there. And frankly, even in making films for me, my process of making films has gotten better. Because I've been out there and I've been meeting better DPS, better a colorist ad, you know, and and just meeting these people at film festivals or on someone else's set that you vibe with, you need that you need that chemistry and alchemy, to find its way into your life. And one of the things I admire about your career is that whether it's voiceover, whether it's doing music videos, you becoming a very well rounded person, it within the industry by being exposed to all these things. Do you think like someone who's starting off, let's say, as a director or an actor, do you think that they like should stay within the industry or just focus on Hey, I'm going to be an actor. And in the meantime, I'm going to be working at a pawn shop or something like that? I mean, what what do you recommend? Well, Steven knows this, I worked in hotels for four and a half years out here before I got to a point where I could just sustain myself on income from the film industry. So if if you need to survive, just to be out here, get that survival job, and find a way to make sure that it's flexible enough that you can focus on the things that you want to do. And then also, I think there's an issue of getting a survival job that don't forget the main reason why you're out here, like your main hustle. If it's in the film industry, then make sure that's number one. So if you need to call out sick because you have an audition, or a pitch meeting or development meeting on something, you better call out sick no matter what, because if you need to get a job, you'll find another survival job, Bro, I know all about survival job. Y'all know, I've had I've had 10 of them that you brought up a good point, right? Like state, you gotta stay focused on what, why you're here and what's driving you and what you want. Like, you got to stay focused on that end goal. Even if you get sidetracked, and I'm sure everyone gets sidetracked every once in a while, right? I mean, but at the end of the day, you got to stay focused on the purpose of why you hear and then and then to the other point, or your other question, which is, what to focus on, I do think it's good to concentrate in one medium. Yeah, I happen to do a lot of things. But I'm in I'm in a kind of a rare case, because I'm mostly concentrated on filmmaking, that's like my number one thing right now. And when I introduce myself to people, that's, that's basically kind of how I'm introducing myself. But, you know, the other things are more to supplement my income, because like, you know, I mean, just just to live in LA, and if you have any, any interest in trying to buy property at some point, you know, like, you kind of need multiple revenue streams, and things like voiceover, and, you know, freelance gigs that I do for ad agencies and things like that, like, those are really great creative outlets. That happened to pay decently also, but but I would say, to focus on one thing, at least at least get yourself some representation, and in a place where people see that you have a portfolio in it. How'd you get into voiceover? And yeah, and and like, how do you practice for voiceovers? voiceover is was more of a very serendipitous journey. So when I was working at a nother production company, they needed somebody to do a scratch track, which is basically they just needed somebody to just record something, like literally just so that they had somebody saying something over the Edit, you know, so they they're like, hey, Steph, you got a good voice what you want to just come like record this really quick for the client, you know, like, they just need somebody before they book the actual voiceover artists. And what happened was, was that they like my voice, you know, and they were like, yo, let's book this dude. And, you know, it was like, $250 in a pocket at that point. It was kind of like, you know, like, like, not that much money. But that one led to them asking me to do a different sports team. And then I did like three or four. And then when I had those, another friend of mine who worked at an ad agency, he was like, Hey, I like those things that you did. I actually have this commercial that I'm producing and like you're doing would be perfect. And then they booked me for that. And then when I got my, my representation as a film maker, they actually saw that I had a voiceover reel. And I was like, Oh, you know, like I could, you know, help make you guys other money doing the voiceovers, if you could connect with a voiceover agent. And that's, that's, you know, like, I'm so thankful to, you know, my management, you know, Randy Qian at Luba Rocklin for kind of for, for looking that up. And did you take classes for it? Uh, no, you know, I did, I did. There's a, there are different voiceover coaches. And I have, I've done like, a couple little sessions with a voiceover coach. But for the most part, you know, it's kind of just like, you know, it's like singing, you know, in that you just, you kind of like, listen to certain songs and you just trying to, like, you know, for me, I listen to certain ads, and I'm like, okay, that's like, like, when I'm reading something for KFC, or I'm, you know, auditioning for a KFC thing. I watch a bunch of the KFC spots. And I'm like, okay, that's the vibe. That's, that's the cadence that they like, that's the kind of, you know, they like a little bit more swagger to it. Or the characters are colorful, you just kind of get a sense of the tone. And, and, and the vocal qualities that different clients are interested in. So going back to day jobs, superlative was your main job there. What do you do? I am the manager of creative development at superlative. So I build the roster of directors in the commercial industry that they that our company represents. And then I pitch those directors for different commercial jobs around the country. And when they also shoot outside of the country. Oh, nice. So do you actually you don't travel to do these pitches, right? Are they all like zoom? Google meat sort of pitches? Well, especially now with zoom? Yeah. Before there were a few where we could actually go to the ad agency, especially when it was local. But we wouldn't usually fly out because the director could be located in Ohio, and then the agencies in Florida. So that coordination, you know, it would need to be done over the internet? Can you walk us through the process of like, how does that process work for you dealing with directors, agencies, and then your company coming in? And then you developing the director? Like, how does that work? So the film, the film industry, right is comprised of like different aspects you have, you have film, TV, and then you have like digital, which is kind of comprised of all this new media stuff on the internet. And then you have I mean, commercials in the commercial production company is a little different. Ours is we focus on developing directors to direct broadcast commercials on TV, that's like the prime bread and butter is getting a 32nd McDonald's commercial that plays on the Superbowl, right. And to get that a director needs to have a reel of three to five commercial spots. And those three to five commercial spots are basically what I use to build a reel and pitch that director for different requests and creative that we get from an ad agency. So I say I'm a director from out of Kentucky, and I want to get started in this. And I love commercials, I want to get started in commercials. What's my first step? I think the reel should basically be comprised of three to five spots that are like actual commercials. And you know, they don't need to be Amazon, Google Yahoo. But they need to be tied to some actual brand. So if you're like, yeah, like, if you're some guy in Kentucky, you know, or, or, or, or a woman in Kansas, and you can't get in touch with like an ad agency or big clients like that. Make a 62nd or a 32nd commercial for your local restaurant, or, you know, for your local shirt, surf shop. Or for a startup, if you're in San Francisco, or in a place where there are tech startups or like in Seattle, that that that would would be ideal. And then it's really important that those three to five commercials need to be in the same genre, like the same vein, right? Like they need to, they need to feel like like you're making three to five commercials like in comedy dialogue or visual storytelling like or that's like emotional or just to show that you have a grasp of a certain genre and a medium. And frankly, I think the same thing kind of ties over into long format feature filmmaking where if you're trying to make a feature sci fi, and then you have like, a three minute comedy sketch short, it's gonna be pretty hard to pitch you for that job. I think that's a really big when it comes to this industry is about if you want to get paid starting out, you do have to kind of pigeonhole yourself. I mean, I think there's always some exceptions to the rule. There's always some outliers. But for the most part, I feel like to get paid, you got to sort of find your niche and work the hell out of it. Exactly. And then what happens when people you know, in the industry, I hear this term used quite often, which is range, you know, in the film industry, like, how do you? How do you show range, but yet still stay in the same in that genre that stuff was talking about? I also feel like that's, like, over time, maybe? Yeah, no, that's over time. Like, cuz, like, for instance, I feel like, and this may be not with everybody, but a lot of artists, when they start out, they make the most artsy thing that's esoteric, and everybody wants to be Martin Scorsese, or Ingmar Bergman, or Spike Lee, kind of like with their first thing, and it's like that, hey, I'm Fincher, yeah, you know, that's cool. But sometimes it's like, why don't you just try to just tell a story. You know, and frankly, if you even go back to some of those guys, first films, you know, it's just like, it's economical storytelling, frankly, I think the best. The, you know, like, the best company to look at for economical storytelling in its most like, kind of intrinsic form is Pixar. Yeah, you know, and, like, just study how they can convey, you know, a full story and emotion. And, and a tone with, with with like, not too many images, right? And it's just like, and but but, you know, and and it's also adhering to the format of cinema, right? In and out. That's Pixar right? Inside Out. inside and out, in and out burger. Pixar presents, animal style. Hey. Back to commercials. What do you do with a director who, maybe you're backing? Maybe you're pushing maybe a pitching but he's not quite he or she's not quite getting it? Then like, maybe they're being a problem a little bit? How do you handle that? Are you the taskmaster? Or do you have a higher up? How's that work? I'm, I'm pretty much when it comes to pitching, I am the person who, who helps kind of like manage that. That facet of the bidding process. And yeah, I mean, if it directors in, in a certain, in a in a creative rut, as a production company, we're there to support them as much as possible. And frankly, that means supporting them with other artists, you know, graphic designers, image researcher, or, you know, storyboard artist, and even supporting them, you know, as a filmmaker myself, with references, and research, and all those sorts of things. And sometimes sometimes a person needs a day developing a director, right? Like, what's the end goal of that? Right? So you find that director, you see his reel, you say, Man, you know what, I can work with this, this is a diamond in a rough, Let me massage a little bit more, let me give him my feedback, you start pitching him, he then starts landing jobs. I mean, at what point does the development stop? And then does he get off of that process? And then moves away from you guys? Or does he continue to stay with you guys, and you continue to develop them in other areas? Yeah, in my experience, it's always a constant development. And I think that's the best form relationship as an artist, I mean, I don't think you ever really want to get to a point where you're just like, yeah, like, you know, I'm the shit, like, at this point, so anything I do, is just, you know, I mean, even even some of the top directors on the planet can make a can make a, you know, a poorly reviewed film, or, or, or bad commercial or bad web series, you should always have people in your corner. And frankly, it's a project to project thing. And then also, in that development, you know, certain directors are like, you know, what, I never got to shoot something, you know, with a group of people in a boat, you know, like, how do I do that. And then and then, and then you start to show them, commercials or short films that can capture that. And then and then you find different creative methods that, you know, like, you study Jaws, and oh, that's how that's how they were able to capture the shark. So with it with each project, I think that you're always kind of in a in a constant process of reinvention. So do you have a pool of talented directors that you go to all the time? Or are you constantly saying hey, this pool is saturated already and they have too much work I need to go find and develop another another director. Every production company has like their go to who are directing for the company. So you need to have those people on roster because basically, as a production company, like your bread and butter is basically is based around the talent that you have. And then yeah, you know, like you're always kind of scouting for new talent because every couple years, there's a new look, there's a there's there's there's there's something that's trending. There's something thing that's a little bit different, you know, you're kind of always looking for a new point of view, you know, a new way to shoot sneakers, a new way to shoot, you know, a dialogue scene in a mall, you know, it's like, oh, this person is trying something like completely new. That's a new perspective. Let's talk to them. Speaking of like, new cultures, that's happening, two things are going on right. Now, of course, we all know COVID are in quarantine and all that. And Black Lives Matter. And from my experience, it is flipping Hollywood upside down, in very drastic ways. Yep. Do you think this is a this is a permanent flip? Or is this just a flash in the pan? What do you what are your thoughts on that? history would tell us that it won't be permanent? Yeah, that's, that's my thought. Even even when you look at the news, it's like, you know, you see that they're recasting you know, certain characters on a cartoon, to make sure that they're voiced by black people, or, you know, someone who's actually mixed race or somebody who's actually Asian, you know, which is cool. But at the end of the day, until we have more people of color, and more margin, people who come from marginalized groups and underrepresented groups of people, at the actual decision making seats, it'll still be the same next year, you know, until someone is like, actually, until the head at Warner Brothers, you know, like, the CEO of Warner Brothers of Warner media happens to be somebody who looks like us, frankly, it's gonna be the same, you know, and and it's, it's a, you know, it's it's a great thing, the initiatives that they're doing, but we need more heads of industry, right? In all industry. Absolutely. What do you and this is, you know, slightly off, but what do you think about the ideology of someone like Tyler Perry, someone who says, forget, invited me to the table, I'm going to create my own table? What do you think about that? Do you think that is something that is we should all be trying to do as marginalize as black people as brown people as whatever? Or do you think it's something where it's like, you know, that's not really going to happen for everybody, and let's just try to get at this table, let's try to, you know, work our way into the systems that are already in place. I think it depends, you know, to each his own, I think it's fantastic with Tyler Perry is done. And, you know, like, he's doing it on the production side. And again, like I said, we need more heads of industry, we need more people on the distribution side, right, because Tyler Perry has it deal with own and Lionsgate right? own is Oprah, which is awesome. But outside of that, you know, like, who are our other outlets for distribution, you know, who are at the at the heads of industry, and and we need to be able to distribute our own material as well. So that's why you kind of you kind of need people at some of those older a distribution entities like, again, like Warner Brothers universal, you know, I mean, University of Donna Langley, you know, but we need more people like that at different a different distribution platforms. How did the commercial world influence your filmmaking now? Because you just made a short film, right? Yeah, I just finished a new science fiction movie. So how is Yeah, how is all the producing and all the dealing with the directors? How is that informed or helped your filmmaking? I really know what it is to have a sense of point of view, when you're trying to say something with images, you know, and convey that again, in an economical way, not just like a bunch of shots. And then the commercial industry? Also, I would say, like, there, there, there is no other specificity, that that that that I think exists in any other medium than in commercials and an advertising because in advertising, when you have a frame, and you're trying to sell a Coca Cola ad, when that Coca Cola is sitting, and then there are four people sitting in that room drinking Coke, and they're hanging out, there are a lot of things that matter. You know, when you're making a movie or a TV show, it's just like, okay, there's a group of people do they have a good vibe, they're good actors, whatever, you know, but like, when you're working commercials, they're like, okay, you these four people fit our demographic. That person is not smiling enough. That guy's hair, you know, doesn't look well polished enough. And then beyond the people in the frame, then there's like, you know, wait, why? Why is that tree the leaves on that tree? Don't look well groomed. So can we fix the leaves there? Oh, there's not enough red in the frame that reflects the brand. can we fix that turn that coat can this way. I mean, there's just like, and then you have a dozen people from the director, production company, client agency side, all giving input to make sure that every frame reflects the best for what needs to be advertised. So Steph, this is a once upon a film industry. So what is your Act Three? What is your ultimate goal? We jumping into porn baby diesel in the house. Act Three, I mean, Steven, I'm right there with you, you know, like I would love to, I would, I would I would love to act in a feature. I've acted in features, but I like to play like, a lead role in a feature film would be really nice to do. And then also, you know, I'm trying to get my own feature off the ground right now with my team, so that's why my latest film was basically made to help to help support this feature that I've been developing for for a little while. So that that would be Act Three, and then you know, and then what comes after that. I mean, again, it's like, I want to find ways to to help support more up and coming artists like like ourselves and, and also, you know, be become or help create somewhat of a gatekeeper myself. Nice. I mean, I feel like I've known you for what, seven, eight years now, sir, something like that. And I feel like we've worked together so many times, but we really only done one project together. Well, yeah. Where I've like acted in it. Right. And like, yeah, and then yeah, it just emancipation, just emancipation. I mean, yeah, we're always together on some capacity on the project. But But Chuck, shout out to emancipation great film, shout out. And just be films, calm. Check it out. Check it out. Lovely, lovely movie. Steven. Steven knows how to get such great, rich emotional performances. And his dialogue is knockout. Thank you, brother. Appreciate that. Appreciate that. So this is a podcast about stories. So Steph, I'm gonna need you to tell a story about you on set. And I'm just gonna say you have to tell the story about when I piayed on your short film, and that dude, almost Oh God, there is no details. Rather, uh, I'm not gonna say any names. But this is just, this is just good for any filmmaker to just know that, like, I mean, I I learned that going into any project, make sure you have, I mean, even now, right with the COVID safety precautions, just make sure you make sure your shit is buttoned up, man. You know, like in terms of safety, and, and, and water, and bathroom and emergency services, like, you know, as much as it is, it's good to kind of be adventurous. You know, you can be adventurous if you have three people and it's just like you camera guy. Yeah, you can be kind of adventurous, but just be very cognizant of the kind of people you're working with. Anyway, so that's just the preface this story, which is on a certain film that Steven had worked on, as well. And in this film, there happened to be, there's a, there's a, there's a young man running in the outdoors, and then there's supposed to be in an old man chasing this person. Right. And what I didn't realize was that we're filming in, you know, 100 degree weather in the blistering heat in the valley of Ohio. And when we got out there, it was very hot, we had water. But again, with the safety precautions, that just does, that doesn't just mean making sure everything's good on set, it's the day before, making sure people are aware of Hey, guys, it's gonna be very hot tomorrow. So make sure you hydrate and make sure you get your rest. And this is where the nearest emergency services are. Because what happened was, we got out there, and, you know, our older cast member happened to overheat in, in, in the middle of the forest in Ohio. And we didn't have all, you know, like, all the emergency services and things buttoned up. And literally on the second take a he collapsed, you know, and, and, and, and after he collapsed, I mean, we were also nervous, and he had a seizure. And we were very, very nervous about what was happening. And, and then yeah, we had to call, you know, like emergency services, you know, like to come and, and, and take him to the hospital. And frankly, and this is also the nature of not following all the procedures that are necessary by certain entities. And, and yeah, and, you know, I put that on my fault. I put that on, you know, like, I mean, just just just just just our whole team just making sure that you know that like our our actors were all well taken care of before the shoot and yeah, I mean, I I cried on set that day, because I thought that one of my cast members was going to die. And, you know, I remember I bought I bought flowers and chocolate to this guy's house afterward. And, you know, it was really nice to be kind of forgiving for it. But, you know, that was definitely a very important life lesson that I'm Am I gonna lie? That was definitely my scariest moment on set. You call me up and like, Hey, man, you helped me out with this little shoot and like, yeah, pa for you, whatever you need me to do, man. We go out there as hot as hell. And then this guy collapses man and I'm just like, what is happening right now? That sounds scary. Did they call it a helicopter or anything like that? No. There's like the ambulance came and things. We were in like a secluded area. Yeah, yeah, the ambulance had to drop. They had to like clip the fence and then drive up the hiking trail. It were like a mile into this. Yeah, kind of open wilderness area. Yeah, they drove in and they got him and it was pretty intense. Yeah. And it was just the hydration you know, but yeah, I mean, something something like that. That might seem so trivial. is such a big deal. And and can can can place people's lives on the line. Absolutely. So everybody listening, make sure you hydrate. proper safety precautions when you fill me in remote area x. Where can we find your stuff? Yeah, I'm not on social media. But I do have a website Stephan diesel.com. s diesel.com. You can find me on Vimeo Stephen diesel and then I'm only I'm on LinkedIn. That's that's my one social media platform. And I'm reachable. You know, Jimmy, do you have any projects out like any YouTube links or anything like that? We can. Yeah, so I have I have the triptych of three films that I've done. The third one is is about to come out. But the first two are Yeah, the treadmill and blackberry you can find on my website. And then I have a new film. We're releasing the the teaser publicly for people to see. It's called martyrdom. And it's a science fiction. socio politically charged. action flick. Nice. No, I can't wait to see that. I'm a big sci fi fan. So seen a trailer and it's dope. Steven. Yeah. Feel free to show our the the link that I sent you. Oh, yeah, for sure. Show Absolutely. No, it's a dope dope piece. And I really love Blackberry. blackberry played it a few festivals as well. And it was a really, really nice piece. Thank you, man. Thanks for being so much, Steph. You're the man. Love you, bro. Love you too, man. Thank you so much, Steve. out man. Thanks a lot. Take care man. Stay blessed. If you like this episode, and you're listening on Apple, please leave us a review. You can also follow us on Instagram at once upon a film industry. For more on Stephen diesel. You can see his latest short thirst on Hulu and YouTube. link in the show notes. See you next time guys. Thanks for listening.