Hosted by award-winning filmmakers & creative partners Beck Bennion & Izzy Stevens. Tune in for unfiltered, sometimes unhinged, always entertaining advice on navigating your film career, communicating with your creative collaborators, stepping into leadership roles, getting your films funded, and building success—all while not letting your personal life totally fall apart.
On That's A WRAP: What a Zero Drama Indie Film Set Actually Looks Like (It's Not Luck) | SURVIVAL JOB Pt. 2
We wrapped. We slept. We cried a little. And now we're back with fresh energy eyeballs to debrief the actual shoot of Survival Job, our first short film together as a production company.
Spoiler: it was the best set either of us has been on, and that wasn't by accident.
In this episode, Izzy and Becky break down what happened before the shoot, when the cameras rolled, what they'd do differently, and the real lessons that always come from being on the other side of a completed shoot.
For anyone who has ever wondered what it actually feels like when it all comes together, despite its seeming impossibility, this episode is for you.
Crew shoutouts:
Elena Weinberger (1st AD), Nathaniel (DP), Emily Henninger (Production Design), Paula Christian (Gaffer), Molly White (1st AC), Mike Dice (Sound Mixer), Ellis Davis (G&E Swing), David Turns (Superstar), Jack Montgomery (Also a superstar), Madison Stonefield and Brooke Tranter (BTS Photography), Jensen (Shaddow director & Filmmaker Breakthrough spunk)
Follow us:
@indiespunkunfiltered | @indiespunk | @izzystevens | @beckbennion
Missed Part 1? Go back and listen to last weeks episode about Survival Job pre-production!
24 Jun 2026
On What Indie Film Pre-Production Really Looks Like | 150 Auditions, 40 Grocery Stores, No Location 6 Days Before Cameras Roll | SURVIVAL JOB Pt. 1
We're back, pre-production chaos and all.
Spoiler: it looks like a lot of unanswered emails, 40+ grocery store phone calls, and at least one existential crisis about becoming a beekeeper.
In this episode, Director & Producer duo Izzy and Beck break down the real, unfiltered deets of getting a short film off the ground, and the things nobody talks about online.
We get into:
Why we never once considered pushing the shoot date, even when we had no location a week out, and why setting the date IS the strategy
The casting reality check nobody prepares you for (hint: it's almost never about talent)
Why "summer camp tired" signals you're on the right path
Why Izzy doesn't second-guess herself as a director, but questions literally everything else
The "delusion" reframe, and why it's actually just another word for showing up and doing the work
Beck's producer breakdown, why it happened, and what it revealed about how they need to scale
The 3 C's of great on-set leadership: chill, certain, collaborative
A full-throated endorsement of We Make Movies (their insurance broker), dummy weapons, Film LA permits, and why micro-budget filmmakers skip this stuff at their peril
Why casting from tape alone is certainly making acting on TV worse
How over-communicating with your whole team, even about minor script changes, changes everything
This is the episode for anyone making something right now who needs permission to keep going when it feels like everything is conspiring against you. It's not. Keep the date. Make the call. Send the email.
Referenced in this episode:
Survival Job short film episode (listen to the episode with writer/lead Gemma for the full breakdown (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5T0upWm8HnO58R7EaWUBCe?si=9B51JEQUTMuf0E65fkJaVQ))
Amy McNabb, actress and mindset coach, on "summer camp tired" vs. burnout @actorsencouraged on instagram
Tangerine (dir. Sean Baker) and Uncut Gems as visual references for the film's tone
We Make Movies (the BEST insurance for indie filmmakers)
Follow us:
@indiespunkunfiltered (https://www.instagram.com/indiespunkunfiltered/) | @indiespunk (https://www.instagram.com/indiespunk) | @izzystevens (https://www.instagram.com/izzystevens) | @beckbennion (https://www.instagram.com/beckbennion)
Got a topic you want us to cover?
🎙️ Get Anonymous Advice On The Pod Or Suggest An Episode Topic: https://forms.gle/sMWovGuD8JC9Crxu7 (https://forms.gle/sMWovGuD8JC9Crxu7)
🎬 Apply for Filmmaker Breakthrough Mentorship: https://indiespunk.com/filmmaker-breakthrough (https://indiespunk.com/filmmaker-breakthrough)
🎥 Join our Filmmaker Database: https://indiespunk.myflodesk.com/filmmaker-database (https://indiespunk.myflodesk.com/filmmaker-database)
📩 DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiespunk & https://www.instagram.com/beckbennion
20 May 2026
WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT (...or three)
Welcome back to Indie Spunk: Unfiltered.
It's been a BIG week (but also when is it not??). We are deep in pre-production for Survival Job—casting submissions are rolling in, locations are almost locked, and contracts are going out—and somehow in the middle of all of that, we've found time to drop not one, not two, but three announcements...and you have to tune in to find out what they are. 👀
This week we also get into what keeps creatives going when multiple projects are moving at different speeds, the difference between actually needing a rest and hitting your upper limit (see: Gay Hendricks' The Big Leap (https://amzn.to/4dklZ0y)), how two quick-start personalities navigate miscommunication without letting it fester, networking conversation starters that actually work, and the Radiooooo app (https://amzn.to/4dklZ0y) (it'll change your life).
Izzy also shares what happened when StubHub canceled her ticket to a Ray concert on her 8-year anniversary, why she ended up crying outside the Greek Theatre, and how a Law & Order SVU quote reframed the whole night.
Oh, and Izzy's new screenwriting program Inner Architecture is live here! https://indiespunk.thrivecart.com/inner-architecture-workshop/ (https://indiespunk.thrivecart.com/inner-architecture-workshop/)
🎙️ Get Anonymous Advice On The Podcast: https://forms.gle/sMWovGuD8JC9Crxu7 (https://forms.gle/sMWovGuD8JC9Crxu7)
🎬 Apply for Filmmaker Breakthrough Mentorship: https://indiespunk.thrivecart.com/filmmaker-breakthrough-2026/ (https://indiespunk.thrivecart.com/filmmaker-breakthrough-2026/)
🎥 Join our Filmmaker Database: https://indiespunk.myflodesk.com/filmmaker-database (https://indiespunk.myflodesk.com/filmmaker-database)
📩 DM us on Instagram:
Izzy - https://www.instagram.com/indiespunk (https://www.instagram.com/indiespunk) & Beck - https://www.instagram.com/beckbennion (https://www.instagram.com/beckbennion)
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
18 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 33 / 100
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Quality
37
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
71
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