Uncover the Mysterious Power of the Ladybug Effect with Greg Porper – SYS Podcast Episode 535 Exclusive!
So, combining that with filmmaking, which I find really practical today is kind of my approach. So when I’m making stuff, it’s not just the creative elements, but then it’s the business side of things. I’m like, how to get the product out there, I got the movie out there, I got people to see it. And yeah, I’ve always just had interest in making my own projects on the side. I came out to Hollywood and I got a job as an assistant working at a reality TV production company. And I don’t want to be working in reality TV, which is something that a lot of people who work in reality TV say, but it was a stable job and it being on a desk and being an assistant for a high-level executive and being on the phone with big talent agencies constantly, it was a great just learning experience on just how the entertainment business works. And so while working in these jobs at the same time on the side, I’m trying to make projects when I can. And then slowly I was moving up at this reality TV company and it’s like that, as you get promoted, it’s like the harder it’s kind of switch because then you get pigeonholed and like, all right, you’re the reality TV guy, you do like reality TV development. And so I was pretty determined to kind of change that impression, how people see me. And so, my true bread and butter is to make like scripted comedy, that’s what I really love. So I started to make those on the side. And one of the projects I had made worst birthday ever was a project that ended up getting picked up by the CW. It was a short form web series. And that was something that at the time I was still working at this reality TV production company. And I told my boss like, hey, I have this web series. I think this is something you guys can pitch out. Like, I know you deal with reality TV, but why not try out some scripted content? And at the time, no one was really sure what to do with it. I had attached a Vine star back when Vine was a big thing. More of these people kind of had a big, the amount of power I should say, the influence they have today. But I could see that like at the time, this kid who was posting six second videos and getting hundreds of thousands of views within a day. Like, what if I put him in my little web series? And when I did that and then put it on YouTube, it’s like, I got like 60,000 views in a day and 3000 subscribers. And it was like, I was seeing the power of what these influencers could have. And I realized, okay, this is like over 10 years ago, but like clearly this was like the warning signs or not even warnings, just the signs of like the way the industry is changing today. So ultimately using that web series as a proof of concept and my boss at the time saying, yeah, let’s go pitch it out. We ended up pitching to the CW and they ended up actually buying the show as like a 10-episode digital series for CW Seed. But that helped the transition going from like working in reality to essentially like scripted. Because now I essentially went from being a development coordinator to a show runner on a short form scripted series. And then from there that kind of helped launch me to then do a lot of freelance projects for several years. these shorts with various influencers in the projects. And then from there, again, I’ve always wanted to be a showrunner and seeing the project through. So, I had a lot of experience in development, a lot of experience in production, but I also wanted to have post experience. And I also do have that background in reality and we all have to make a living. And so, a former showrunner that I had worked with at the reality company had his own series of documentaries that he was producing for Vice. And he said, do you know how to use Avid? And I said, yes, I know how to use Avid. I did not know how to use Avid, but I had three weeks to learn. And it was great, like when I had a deadline and this goes to writing or producing or whatever it is, if you have a deadline like to work against, you kind of find a way to get something done. And again, it’s actually kind of perfect.
