Returning this week with Part 2 of our Marathon Weekend on Documentaries, we explore 4 more shorts and our final 2 features.

Originally we had actually watched 8 short films but due to pacing of the episode and the quality of the discussions themselves, I had to make several cuts to get us down to a reasonable length.

So here are the videos and films we watched to round out our marathon:

• Can We Solve the Bizarre Mystery of Skeleton Lake?, by Mr. Mythos (2020) (short)

• The Real Moby Dick Was So Much Worse, by Ask a Mortician (2020) (short)

• Do You See What I See, by Brad Abrahams (2021) (short)

• Aleatoric, by Andrew Sales (2016) (short)

• DIG!, by Ondi Timoner (2004)

• The Queen, by Frank Simon (1968)

If you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, please leave a comment or critique for us on your preferred podcast app. And don't forget to leave a review if our show intrigued or inspired you.

Hosted By: Jonathan Leiter

Co-Host: Cotton Ciaverelli

SOUND FX & MUSIC: All tracks and songs sourced from Storyblocks.com

Podcast Logo: Designed by Jonathan Leiter

As film enthusiasts, Cotton and I have made a tradition out of regularly spending a weekend watching several films across 2 days, trying to explore films neither of us has ever seen before. For our first episode back, we decided to record our thoughts on this latest marathon and share our explorations with you.

For this marathon, we left our comfort zone of narrative films and chose to explore 6 documentary features along with several shorts. For Part 1 of our marathon discussion, here are the films we covered:

• Timelapse of the Universe, by John D. Boswell & melodysheep (2019) (short)

• Koyaanisqatsi, by Godfrey Reggio (1983)

• The Imposter, by Bart Layton (2012)

• Into the Inferno, by Werner Herzog (2016)

• Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, by Mark Hartley (2014)

If you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, please leave a comment or critique for us on your preferred podcast app. And don't forget to leave a review if our show intrigued or inspired you.

Hosted By: Jonathan Leiter

Co-Host: Cotton Ciaverelli

SOUND FX & MUSIC: All tracks and songs sourced from Storyblocks.com

Podcast Logo: Designed by Jonathan Leiter

In Part 2 of our exploration of cartoon adaptations, we now reach the Thought Experiment portion.

With the ground-work and context firmly set for what films have come before, my co-host and I now offer up our own ideas for how we might adapt a particular cartoon into a live-action feature. To help guide this process, I spent the previous day (before this recording) writing up a series of detailed questions that would address each area of concern during a hypothetical pre-production process. There really is a lot to consider, and many things that could go wrong if not handled just right. But, lol, you can let us know what you think of our results.

If you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, I encourage you to leave comments and critiques on your preferred podcast app. And don't forget to leave a review if our show intrigued or inspired you.

Hosted By: Jonathan Leiter

Featured Guest: Cotton Ciaverelli (Screenwriter)

SOUND FX: All tracks sourced from AudioBlocks.com

Podcast Logo: Designed by Jonathan Leiter

In our first Thought Experiment episode (a two-parter), we start with a particularly tricky topic: how to turn a cartoon into a live-action movie.

The legacy of cartoon adaptation is not a very strong, or respected one. There is often a charm to seeing favorite characters portrayed by a beloved actor in a colorful costume, but this excitement doesn't last long if the film doesn't have a strong foundation of narrative, production design, and style to stand on. The worst culprits, however, are those adaptations that actively choose to strip the cartoon's premise of its very core, on the belief that changing its premise will help make it more marketable to a mass, movie-going audience.

There's plenty more to discuss. So I hope you enjoy Part 1 of this two part event.

If you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, I encourage you to leave comments and critiques on your preferred podcast app. And don't forget to leave a review if our show intrigued or inspired you.

Hosted By: Jonathan Leiter

Featured Guest: Cotton Ciaverelli (Screenwriter)

SOUND FX: All tracks sourced from AudioBlocks.com

Podcast Logo: Designed by Jonathan Leiter

A question I've never heard asked before is, "What is Movie Magic?" It can mean many different things, and different things to many people. Cinema and film is full of magic, it's own kind of magic, at almost every stage of production. Even the act of creating magic within a movie is magical behind the camera, and in a seat in a theater, seeing the end result.

Today, my friend Cotton and I discuss this broad topic, and try to describe our own experiences with it.

If you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, I encourage you to leave comments and critiques on your preferred podcast app. And don't forget to leave a review if our show intrigued or inspired you.

Hosted By: Jonathan Leiter

Featured Guest: Cotton Ciaverelli (Screenwriter)

SOUND FX: All tracks sourced from AudioBlocks.com

Podcast Logo: Designed by Jonathan Leiter

Continuing the conversation from our first episode, Chris and I branch off into discussions on Character Introduction, Characterization/Motivation, and even Voice-Over Narration, all of which not only relate to each other, but also have connections to our previous topic, Opening Sequences. There's a lot that can go wrong, and a lot that can go right when it comes to characters, they're the surrogate for the audience, allowing them to experience things and consider things they might otherwise not. Even narrators, when handled properly, can be windows into the motivations of certain characters, often not introduced until later in the story. 

If you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, I encourage you to leave comments and critiques on your preferred podcast app. And don't forget to leave a review if our show intrigued or inspired you.

Hosted By: Jonathan Leiter

Featured Guest: Christopher Horton (Screenwriter)

SOUND FX: All tracks sourced from AudioBlocks.com

Podcast Logo: Designed by Jonathan Leiter

In our introductory episode, my co-host and I discuss the pivotal subject of 'Opening Sequences,' and how to begin a film on the right foot. This can include title sequences, credit sequences, a pre-title sequence, or even just the very first moments of your film. What elements of these initial moments draw us into this new world and these new characters to make us care about them, and want to explore them more?

If you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, I encourage you to leave comments and critiques on your preferred podcast app. And don't forget to leave a review if our show intrigued or inspired you.

Hosted By: Jonathan Leiter

Featured Guest: Christopher Horton (Screenwriter)

SOUND FX: All tracks sourced from AudioBlocks.com

Podcast Logo: Designed by Jonathan Leiter