The No Film School Podcast

GG Hawkins speaks with editors Lam T. Nguyen and Austin Keeling about building the visual language of Mercy, a hybrid screen life thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov. They break down how editorial shaped not just pacing and performance, but also the film’s digital camera moves, interface design, screen choreography, and collaboration with VFX. The conversation also expands into how texting, phones, and screen-based storytelling can work in contemporary filmmaking, and why the core principles of editing still matter even inside a highly technical workflow.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests discuss...


How Lam T. Nguyen and Austin Keeling first came together on Mercy


What defines the film’s hybrid “screen life” visual language


How the team used early previs to explore a more immersive 3D screen experience


Why the Apple Vision Pro became an early point of reference for the film’s digital courtroom design


How editorial functioned as editing, design, animation, and virtual cinematography all at once


The Premiere Pro workflow they used to manage complex multi-layered timelines


Why the team kept the process technically simple with adjustment layers, transform effects, and blur


How they decided where the audience should look when multiple story elements were happening at once


What the handoff to VFX looked like and why the editorial version had to be nearly final


Their thoughts on how texting and phones can be made cinematic in modern films


How Mercy balanced futuristic technology with interfaces that still feel recognizable to audiences


Why collaboration, adaptability, and saying yes to unexpected opportunities helped shape their careers

Memorable Quotes:


“We had four weeks to build the previs and all they wanted was in traditional screen life formats.”


“The best way to do is simplify it, right?”


“The fundamentals still apply as an editor for this film.”


“It’s all just using the tools that are available and kind of like using them to your advantage.”

Guests:


Lam T. Nguyen


Austin Keeling

Resources:


Vote for No Film School’s Webby-nominated explainer video


Tickets: Beacon Film Society screening — May 7, New York

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In this episode, GG Hawkins speaks with animator and director Julian Glander about making his microbudget animated feature Boys Go to Jupiter for just $30,000, premiering it at Tribeca, building momentum through a 50-festival run, and eventually landing theatrical distribution and a streaming home on HBO Max. Glander breaks down the realities of producing an animated feature outside the studio system, from teaching himself new tools in Blender to embracing the scrappy story behind the film, negotiating festival fees, navigating distribution conversations, and figuring out what comes next after a breakout first feature.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Julian Glander discuss...


How Glander and producer Payson made Boys Go to Jupiter with a tiny team and a $30,000 budget


Why Blender and open-source communities made an indie animated feature possible


What surprised Glander most about audience reactions to the film’s scrappy origins


The reality check of premiering at Tribeca without an instant splashy acquisition


How a long festival run helped the film build momentum and recoup its budget through screening fees and prizes


Why showing up in person for festival screenings and Q&As can make a lasting impact


How Cartuna helped shape the film’s theatrical rollout


The role of PR, timing, and critical response in helping the film break out theatrically


What it means to let go of control during distribution while still protecting the work


How Glander is thinking about a second feature and resisting the pressure of “heat”

Memorable Quotes:


“You really do have to be delusional and not know what’s going to happen.”


“I was embarrassed by how scrappy it was but it turned out to be like the thing that brings people in and the thing that makes them love it.”


“If you don’t ask for it, you don’t get it.”


“Most things are Googleable.”

Guests:


Julian Glander on IMDb


Julian Glander on Instagram

Resources:


Boys Go to Jupiter on IMDb


I Really Love My Husband Screening and QA

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In this episode, No Film School host GG Hawkins speaks with director Charlie Tyrell and editors Davis Coombe and Daysha Broadway about The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist. The conversation explores how the team shaped an essay-driven documentary around AI, parenting, authorship, and uncertainty, while also breaking down the collaborative editorial process, the ethics of making a film in real time about a rapidly changing subject, and the analog craft choices that gave the project its tactile visual identity.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests discuss...


How The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist uses a filmmaker’s journey into impending parenthood as a narrative device for exploring AI anxiety and optimism


Why the team chose an essay-documentary structure while still grounding the film in Daniel Roher’s on-camera perspective


The challenges of shaping a documentary whose subject kept changing during production as AI news evolved in real time


How Charlie Tyrell, Davis Coombe, and Daysha Broadway each found their way into filmmaking and documentary storytelling


The creative and ethical complications of having a co-director also function as a subject within the film


How the filmmakers balanced accessibility, complexity, and emotional honesty while making a movie about a massive technological shift


The editorial collaboration behind the film, including remote workflows, shared creative decision-making, and leaving ego at the door


Why the team intentionally avoided using AI in the film’s creative workflow


How Premiere Pro Productions, transcription tools, Blender, After Effects, Dragonframe, stop-motion builds, and practical effects supported the film’s handmade aesthetic


Where the guests currently land on the spectrum between AI optimism and AI anxiety as working filmmakers and editors


Why the guests believe the biggest question is not just what AI can do, but how people choose to use it

Memorable Quotes:


“It actively wrestles with it in real time, both thematically and in the way that it was made.”


“Everyone kind of just left their ego at the door and showed up to do the work.”


“Filmmaking only brings suffering.”


“I don't feel like AI is the big bad. To me, the people are the big bad.”

Guests:


Charlie Tyrell


Davis Coombe


Daysha Broadway

Resources:


The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist


Synopsis: From the Academy Award-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny, a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a hand-made, eye-opening documentary about the most powerful technology humanity has ever created and what’s at stake if we get it wrong.


For resources and ways to join the apocaloptimist community, visit theaidocgetinvolved.com

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GG Hawkins speaks with filmmaker Pete Ohs for the first installment in a quarterly 2026 series tracking how he releases four films over the course of the year. Using OBEX as the case study, Ohs breaks down the film’s microbudget production, Sundance 2025 premiere, U.S. acquisition by Oscilloscope, and the realities of theatrical rollout for independent films. Their conversation explores how booking works, what filmmaker participation in Q&As can actually do for a release, and where creative energy, audience-building, and sustainability meet during distribution.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Pete Ohs discuss...


How OBEX was made with Albert Birney in and around his Baltimore home


Why the film’s Sundance 2025 premiere led to a U.S. deal with Oscilloscope


What sales agents, distributors, and theater bookers each do in an indie release


Why January became the strategic release window for OBEX


How theatrical runs expand based on performance, per-screen averages, and momentum


Which Q&A appearances felt worthwhile in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Baltimore


What the marketing campaign looked like, including social assets created with Continue Agency


How Ohs thinks about audience response, Letterboxd reviews, and the digital release


Why preserving energy during release may matter as much as inventing new promotional ideas


What Ohs is testing next as Erupcja begins its release

Memorable Quotes:


“The walk from here to the bathroom is also recovering time.”


“They said he couldn't do period pieces on a budget.”


“I just love that it's proof that somebody watched it.”


“There are limits to the time and the energy, and that you can have all these ideas, but they're just ideas until you kind of do them.”

Guests:


Pete Ohs

Resources:


Pete Ohs’ quarterly 2026 distribution experiment series


Previous Pete Ohs interviews on No Film School

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Ryan Koo and Jourdan Aldredge report from Austin during the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival, reflecting on how the event felt different after the convention center overhaul and how the festival’s film and tech worlds collided more directly than ever. They discuss the growing tension between filmmakers and artificial intelligence, the value of human intuition in directing and storytelling, standout panels and screenings, and what Ryan learned while serving on the narrative shorts jury. The episode also highlights how SXSW continues to champion bold filmmaking, practical craft insights, and the importance of in-person creative community at a moment when AI is reshaping the industry.

In this episode, No Film School's Ryan Koo and Jourdan Aldredge discuss...


How SXSW 2026 felt different on the ground after the festival’s reorganization across downtown Austin


Why AI became one of the defining themes of this year’s SXSW conversations, panels, and screenings


Ryan’s takeaway from Steven Spielberg’s SXSW appearance and his emphasis on intuition in filmmaking


The documentary The AI Doc and how it framed AI through both filmmaking and fears about the future


The tension between slick AI-generated imagery and the value of human-made, lived-in artistic choices


Ryan’s experience serving as a narrative shorts juror and what he learned from watching all 19 shorts in competition


Why short films need to stand on their own instead of only functioning as proof-of-concept features


How filmmakers today are reaching an incredibly high level of craft across directing, cinematography, and performance


The narrative shorts that stood out to Ryan, including Supper and Souvenir, which won the jury honors


Jourdan’s spotlight on Mantis Stream (Like and Subscribe) and why inventive midnight filmmaking still feels vital


Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters as a bold opening-night film and a perfect example of SXSW’s creative identity


What they learned from SXSW panels on documentary storytelling, virtual production, immersive audio, and emerging filmmaking tools


Why film festivals and in-person artistic gatherings feel even more essential in an increasingly virtual world

Memorable Quotes:


“The human hand of it is the point of art.”


“I’d as soon eat nails, then use AI in my films.”


“Go to festivals, make friends, make art, mess up.”

Resources:


No Film School SXSW coverage

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