Lights, Camera, Conversation: Jayson Johson's Journey to Cinema

00:03.87
Bruce Anthony
So ladies and gentlemen like I said at the top I've got Jason Johnson here he's a writer director producer currently working at strike 5 films. We're gonna be talking about his background his passion his future. Also he worked with Francis for Francis for copulist I'm really excited to get. More information about that. But Jason welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us. It's my pleasure and I start off every interview with tell me a little bit about your background where did it all. Begin.

00:26.11
Jayson Johnson 
Thank you for having me.

00:38.77
Jayson Johnson 
I'm originally from the Chicago suburbs. Um I came out to California ri drive ah finished college you know I started working for Frances Copel as you were saying earlier and then you know just the rest is history.

00:48.19
Bruce Anthony
Um, yeah.

00:55.52
Jayson Johnson 
But yeah, it's just a I'm kid from Chicago that loved films and just love being creative and just you don't want to enter into this fantastic entertainment industry.

01:04.38
Bruce Anthony
Okay, so you always loved films as a kid was it just something that you enjoyed doing or did you notice as a kid I want to do that.

01:17.38
Jayson Johnson 
I think I just loved films I you know I used to watch like Eddie Murphy and you know my mom would watch soap operas and I just was just really captivated by just the the magic you know behind what went into it you know and and I think growing up for me. It was something that. It just seemed like it was on screen and I didn't even know how they even worked. You know how you even enter into that industry. So um, it was just something that really wasn't of interest and I just always wanted to be a part of it I just didn't know how yeah.

01:39.20
Bruce Anthony
He.

01:48.26
Bruce Anthony
Just didn't know how did you go to school for film.

01:53.80
Jayson Johnson 
No I actually went to I went to a 4 year university and they had a radio tv and film department and that was more tailored for like the nightly news. But.

02:01.87
Bruce Anthony
Are.

02:09.11
Jayson Johnson 
You know, after like working in a camera the Vtr doing technical direction I figured that you know maybe I could put some creativity into some of the things I was doing so anytime we had like a project I would always try to put a narrative spin on it instead of you know, just the. Ah, information spin that they wanted for like you know, ah news tv.

02:29.69
Bruce Anthony
Yeah I got in trouble with that in college I wrote for the school newspaper and I wanted to be a columnist and sometimes journalism is just giving out the facts but I always wanted to put my opinion into it. So that's interesting that there's those parallels what made you? Okay, so you didn't go to school. Originally Ford how did you get interested with joining the program while you were at school.

02:57.94
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, realistically this is probably the the worst way to pick a major but I remember graduating and then going to college not knowing what I wanted to do and then I went into kind of what to have like the orientation room and and everyone was.

03:06.92
Bruce Anthony
In.

03:14.17
Jayson Johnson 
All the college deans were like wearing neckties. They all seemed to be wearing black suits Neckties blue suits blue blue neckties but way in the back There was a guy that was wearing like a red bow tie. So I said yo, whatever your teaching. That's what I want to do because it just didn't seem like it was anything.

03:16.98
Bruce Anthony
A.

03:25.40
Bruce Anthony
Um, okay, okay.

03:33.27
Jayson Johnson 
That was just mundane. So ah, a risky bet probably very reckless but that happened to be speech communication and you know I just jumped ah feet first into it and then just said this is gonna be my path and and.

03:41.53
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

03:49.98
Jayson Johnson 
Some way Somehow it's gonna work.

03:50.40
Bruce Anthony
So let's go a little bit further back into your background. You say you're from the suburbs of Chicago what were the economics. What was your family like did did any of that kind of push you towards. Which you're in right now as far as entertainment.

04:07.83
Jayson Johnson 
No, it's It's really interesting because my parents are not I wouldn't say that they're really creative. My dad was a truck driver. Ah my mom worked at at and T in the factory. So it it wasn't really like you know I had like this creative upbringing.

04:16.52
Bruce Anthony
A.

04:26.81
Jayson Johnson 
You know, but we would watch a lot of Tv and and movies and stuff like that. Um, so I just you know I I don't know I just kind of gravitated towards drawing when I was early in in my lifetime I actually wrote comics for my school newspaper as well. So it's just ah.

04:41.89
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

04:46.48
Jayson Johnson 
I Think that's where the desire to tell stories and try to be creative. That's where that was all birth out of but yes is really interesting I didn't come from a creative upbringing is just ah, just circumstance of just that's what grabbed me and and I just kind of developed it.

05:01.42
Bruce Anthony
Now I have an interesting question about your parents because I know that my parents have always kind of encouraged me and my siblings to think outside of the box and to try different things but to also have. Ah, backup plan. So originally I wanted to be a writer of my father Also said you know maybe you want to get a business degree or something like that. So when you tell your parents that you're majoring in Speech communications.

05:36.46
Bruce Anthony
What are they saying to you are they saying? That's not something that you can make a career out of are they encouraging you.

05:41.13
Jayson Johnson 
You know I think for them. It was just important that we went to college and that you know we graduated I'm outside of my older brother I'm the second one in my entire family to go to college. So.

05:48.34
Bruce Anthony
And.

05:57.27
Jayson Johnson 
I think that they were just ah, really keen on me going to college and graduating I don't think that they have the information of you know you should do this because it's going to provide you this opportunity so they didn't really have a lot of input but they they did make it.

06:10.12
Bruce Anthony
Um, yeah.

06:14.30
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, clear to me that they did want me to graduate and try to do my best so that was really their only direction.

06:20.58
Bruce Anthony
Okay, um, so you didn't really get influences from entertainment from your parents. But as you're working in this new station and and coming up with narratives and creativity. Um. You graduate and somewhere along the line. You start working with the famed director Francis Ford Coppola can you tell me the story of how that all came about.

06:48.57
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah, so ah, growing up in Chicagoland I went to Eastern Illinois University which is in Southern Illinois and after college still didn't know what I wanted to do had these communication skills and ability to. Ah know a little bit about film industry and and doing stuff for the news. So I followed a girl out to California which didn't work out. It did work out. Yeah, it got me here. Yeah.

07:14.18
Bruce Anthony
It did work out. It did work out it it it Yeah got you there. The situation didn't work out but it brought you to what your future would be.

07:25.90
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, yeah, ah so I remember getting out here. We moved to Napa California which is there's just no black people. You know so I remember just applying for you know, sending out my resume to this place and that place I much as sent out.

07:33.49
Bruce Anthony
The.

07:44.00
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, hundred resumes and the only place to called was like um you know this? ah nondescript winery and they didn't say yo this is Francis Ford Coppola they just said can you come in for an interview. So um I remember going to the interview. They asked me a lot of questions about.

07:46.11
Bruce Anthony
Um.

07:56.20
Bruce Anthony
Ah.

08:01.70
Jayson Johnson 
What's your availability. What do you know about wine and I'm just thinking you know I don't even know what I applied for you know to tell you the truth. Ah so so finally they they offered me a job I didn't have a job so I said okay I'll take it and then they said okay well welcome to Frances. Ah it was actually called Nibom Coppola at the time.

08:05.32
Bruce Anthony
Yeah, okay, all right.

08:11.86
Bruce Anthony
A. Um, okay.

08:19.20
Jayson Johnson 
And it still didn't register what it was you know so it wasn't until I got my orientation that oh this is this is Francis Ford copel is winery so you know I started working there and I was a wine steward for I want to say three months over the summer

08:27.59
Bruce Anthony
Right.

08:37.20
Bruce Anthony
Okay, ah.

08:38.29
Jayson Johnson 
Terrible at it didn't know anything about wine. You know, just telling people any other thing and it was just like let me get some more low I I pour them like some char and it's just like yeah yeah.

08:47.70
Bruce Anthony
So Jesus that's completely different. So it's safe to say that you were not good at this job. Okay, and I got right now. Ah.

08:55.96
Jayson Johnson 
No, it's terrible with this job and I'm surprised I didn't get fired but at the at the end of the summer you know because they just needed bodies because you know people would show up and there's be waves of people and at the end of the summer they said ah yo do you want to work in a different day.

09:01.58
Bruce Anthony
E e.

09:12.52
Jayson Johnson 
Department and that was that was a way for them to say we like your we like you as a person. But yeah, this is not this is not for you. So that happened to be I worked in a warehouse for another couple months and then I would make like these cardboard sculptures.

09:18.41
Bruce Anthony
Right.

09:31.76
Jayson Johnson 
Which caught the eye of the art director and then he said yo, Do you want to work in our creative marketing team.

09:32.18
Bruce Anthony
Um, yeah, yeah.

09:37.27
Bruce Anthony
So when you were making these cardboard sculptures you were doing it for the company or were you just this is just extra cardboard I'm just going to do this because I need to fill my creative. My creative artistic side.

09:51.71
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah I was just doing creative outlets because you know there'd be times where you know it's you know it's busy and then it's not so you know just to just to have a creative outlet I just started doing it just out of instinct. Yeah I just wanted to do something that just appeal to my creativity and um.

10:04.55
Bruce Anthony
And and that caught the you said the Creative Director's eye.

10:11.20
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah, he he happened to be going back there for some wine because you know they they had to pick up wine and you know like ship it off to somewhere and do presentations and then he he's he stopped and he said who made this and I said oh my God I'm in trouble now. Yeah I'm really in trouble and.

10:19.34
Bruce Anthony
E.

10:25.90
Bruce Anthony
Right? right? right.

10:30.90
Jayson Johnson 
And he was just like Wow That's really creative I didn't even think that you could do that out of cardboard and ah you know he I just started talking to him we we formed a friendship and then from there you know I started you know voicing my opinion on some things that I thought they could do.

10:34.21
Bruce Anthony
E.

10:47.37
Bruce Anthony
And what were some of these opinions. What what did you see that you were like maybe you could do this a little bit differently and or this is how I would do it and what gave you the balls.

10:49.13
Jayson Johnson 
And then before I knew it I got to work for their creative marketing team.

11:06.60
Bruce Anthony
To do that.

11:08.90
Jayson Johnson 
You know I'll start with what gave me the ball is it like when you are somewhere where you just you don't feel like you're doing your life's you know work or just you know your passion then it's just like whatever you know you're gonna just try whatever you're gonna throw whatever against the wall. Ah.

11:09.56
Bruce Anthony
I talk.

11:18.34
Bruce Anthony
E.

11:25.77
Jayson Johnson 
So I think that that gave me an opportunity to just be bold. You know if I I got let go then at least I was doing what you know my heart told me to do ah but you know I wanted to I thought of wine as something that was really stuffy and it's just like all the bottles are the same so you know I'll just say well. What if you can.

11:27.71
Bruce Anthony
The. In.

11:45.10
Jayson Johnson 
Put stuff in a different bottle different shapes you know and they'd explain to me. Well you can't do it because of X Y Z but you know at least I was getting those ideas out there. Um, so you know interestingly enough they started. Ah it wasn't because of me but you know maybe maybe I had a little bit to do with it. But.

11:49.85
Bruce Anthony
Are.

12:04.81
Jayson Johnson 
They started putting stuff in cans. They started putting it. Ah you know, ah in different shaped bottles instead of just kind of the standard that you see so you know I think some of that was appealing just to look at things from a different way because you know someone that's a nontraditional wine drinker.

12:13.81
Bruce Anthony
Um.

12:23.91
Jayson Johnson 
Saying yo if you want to bring in other people that are you know, not traditional wine drinkers. Then maybe that's something that they might be interested in.

12:29.62
Bruce Anthony
You had a different set of eyes because they were in a bubble and and they're consuming it because they're wine enthusiasts and you're saying Well I'm not but if you want to attract people like me here's some ways to do it and that caught their attention.

12:47.73
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah, yeah, so that was I was I think that was interesting to them and just ah, you know they give me a chance.

12:48.70
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

12:54.49
Bruce Anthony
So as you're continuing giving out suggestions. Where does this lead to um Francis Ford Copulla and him specifically saying to you go out and become famous.

13:08.56
Jayson Johnson 
So we did what was called um, a road show. He was introducing a new line of wine and this was kind of like a a family wine that he was close to his heart and he wanted to kind of get it out there so we were going to do a.

13:14.16
Bruce Anthony
A.

13:25.51
Jayson Johnson 
And want to say a 13 city tour where he would kind of do magic tricks and ah things that would kind of promote the wine in a nontraditional way and yes, he does. Yeah.

13:36.80
Bruce Anthony
Hold on I got to ask you Francis for coppola does magic tricks. Okay, all right? and okay, just ah I was just the quickest aside but continue on.

13:43.52
Jayson Johnson 
So so going back to my ability to make things out of un traditionalal media like cardboard and such they hired me as a prop master I'd never done this before.

13:56.96
Bruce Anthony
Um, oh.

13:58.35
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, and some of the things that we would do would be like a a little wine bottle or I'm sorry a little hot sauce bottle that blew flames out so I had to figure out how to make that um I made like a little rolling hut. Ah you know we had like these ah you know magic tricks where you know he'd put like. Ah, small card in and into this box and then a big card would come out so I was in charge of making all those things and storing them from City to City and um towards the end of it. He could so see that when I was on stage that I was really eating up that audience you know, just.

14:33.42
Bruce Anthony
Are a.

14:35.73
Jayson Johnson 
Put my best colgate smile out. Um, and I think that he said I think he was just like wait a minute. This guy is really attracted to this is do you want to be famous and I remember he asked me that and I didn't know what to say because I was like oh my god this is. Francis Ford Coppola I I grew up watching this guy's movies and was interesting was um I didn't know what to say so I just said yes because I thought that's what he wanted me to say and soon as I said that the biggest frown came on this guy's you know face because he's very anti hollywood.

14:56.33
Bruce Anthony
Um.

15:01.73
Bruce Anthony
Here. Yes, he is.

15:11.88
Jayson Johnson 
You know, a lot of people don't know that but I didn't know that so it's just like you know he kind of frowned at that. But you know he gave me the opportunity to work in his ah film festival after that and that's kind of where I started to get the confidence that yo I can do this because I got this.

15:25.98
Bruce Anthony
Um.

15:31.59
Jayson Johnson 
Kind of this this vouch from this really famous director. That's just hyper talented and hyper creative. So I just felt like you know if he could see it then other people would see it.

15:41.17
Bruce Anthony
Okay, so where did that lead you because you're working with him in the film festival. But then you go on to write direct and produce award-winning content for various networks and Brands. So How does that transition. Happen. What were what were the steps in between those 2 situations.

16:04.12
Jayson Johnson 
So I worked there for 4 years and at the end of those 4 years I felt like a really tiny fish and a really tiny pond you know I just felt like you know I wasn't going to get um I wasn' going to get promoted to you know the the next level.

16:14.30
Bruce Anthony
The clock.

16:22.48
Jayson Johnson 
Um, I felt that I wasn't really doing my films So I took a chance on myself and I just I left and I took a job teaching. Um I took a job as a creative director at the Chamber of Commerce Um, they for whatever reason. Thought that I knew Illustrator Photoshop Indesign I I totally didn't know it but they said.

16:43.11
Bruce Anthony
So This is once again another job because because you've risked you've reeled all 3 jobs here the wine job that you didn't know anything about you were a prop master and and I and I didn't get a chance to ask you? How did you figure all of that stuff out and then you had to teach yourself. Um, basically the production aspect of um, everything really photoshop. This is Media digital. Um stuff that you don't have a background in Correct. So.

17:17.49
Jayson Johnson 
Um, yeah.

17:19.83
Bruce Anthony
And another jobs you've taken that you don't have a background in how are you teaching yourself to do all of these things. What tools are you using to get the job done did that'll do it.

17:29.36
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, 2 words god and Google mess and and that's what that's what I was doing so you know I would you know I I'm a Christian I I believe that you know I always put my faith in my dreams and desires in god's hands and. There was Youtube and there's Google so there's like a wealth of information online so you know somehow while they were giving me these jobs I would say okay I can do it a little to note little known to them I couldn't do it. But I'm going I'm gonna figure it out so that's ah what I would do.

17:45.63
Bruce Anthony
Um, yeah.

17:58.84
Bruce Anthony
Right.

18:05.50
Jayson Johnson 
Would make something that was rudimentary and then try to you know improve upon it over time until I got really good at it and and you know, ah once I was good at Photoshop and illustrator indesign then um I started to learn um editing.

18:11.17
Bruce Anthony
Um, sorry.

18:21.99
Bruce Anthony
Are here.

18:24.48
Jayson Johnson 
And then they started to give me like you know little editing jobs for the chamber of Commerce So you know I made their annual Chamber video which was a really good success and then and then after that I said okay well I think I can teach this now. So.

18:36.31
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

18:43.55
Bruce Anthony
Um, because you're essentially self-taught. Yeah.

18:44.24
Jayson Johnson 
So yeah, so I went to napa college at the time and I started teaching video production and while I was learning because they had a lab that you know the students were required to be in.

18:55.00
Bruce Anthony
Hey.

19:03.25
Jayson Johnson 
Five or six hours a week I was just in there. You know I staying there till like three o'clock in the morning just learning just trying stuff just you know making like little special effects and just little little snippet videos just whatever you just whatever you could think of and start off bad at first but you know they. Start to improve and get better and more glossy as I went on.

19:23.90
Bruce Anthony
Okay I Want to rewind a little bit because you made a point and that that I didn't get a chance to really Examine. You're a black man and you go to napa What was that like for you during all of these different jobs. Doing all these different transitions from wine to film festival to Chamber or coms to teaching. What was it like for you being a black man in predominantly white spaces as you're teaching yourself how to do all of these things.

20:00.23
Jayson Johnson 
Um I got to be honest I didn't really think about it that much you know I just thought you know I I feel like I have a certain level of intelligence I'm gonna show up I'm gonna do my best and if I'm not given an opportunity and you know this is like what 20

20:04.50
Bruce Anthony
Um, he.

20:18.25
Jayson Johnson 
20 I'm sorry 20 oh four or something like that then that's their problem. It's not mine. So you know I would just try to put my best face forward. My best effort forward and then I would let that be the determiner but I don't feel as if it really.

20:20.82
Bruce Anthony
Um, okay in.

20:35.40
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, played a factor.

20:37.90
Bruce Anthony
Okay, okay, um, so you're working with the chamber to commerce you move on to teaching you're learning all of these special skills. How are you putting all of these skills together to transition to independent. Filmmaking.

20:56.82
Jayson Johnson 
You're you're so you're you're gonna love this because this is this is a common thread here. So after figuring out that I couldn't really progress in my film production anymore at Napa college I left and became a.

21:11.77
Bruce Anthony
Um.

21:13.81
Jayson Johnson 
Independent filmmaker just a contractor so you go out on these gigs and you figure out. You know what they're doing and at first they hired me as a production assistant which was kind of like the lowest of the low you know, go get coffee you know move this stand here. Um.

21:14.80
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

21:32.23
Jayson Johnson 
And I I really wasn't feeling that because at that time Im just like you know I worked further I worked for the godfather at this point So I rebranded myself as a location scout and and these are the people that say they go out and they find a location to film at the crew comes in. You know there's ah.

21:35.87
Bruce Anthony
Right.

21:51.72
Jayson Johnson 
You know restaurant services you know where the bathrooms and you know they figure out all the paperwork. So I said I'm a location scout and I'm I'm here to work for you guys and I'm gonna do you one even better.

21:58.29
Bruce Anthony
Um.

22:07.44
Jayson Johnson 
I'm going to do it for $100 less than you know the ah these other location guys are doing so so much to my surprise they hired me again.

22:16.84
Bruce Anthony
Ah, and let me guess never been a location scout. This is amazing.

22:21.20
Jayson Johnson 
Never been a location scholar. Yeah, and this and this guy. Ah he was he was the um he brand himself as the king of locations in the San Francisco bay area and he.

22:33.17
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

22:36.76
Jayson Johnson 
He would just you know gobble these things up he he'd be like triple you know quadruple booked so he said I'm gonna give you a chance I'm gonna give you this Facebook gig and you have one day to to find it so and it was just a really particular location where it was a.

22:48.50
Bruce Anthony
A.

22:55.10
Jayson Johnson 
Second Story um apartment that's overlooking the street and um I you know I had to find it in one day and I remember seeing this location just you know, just ah, just through you know, normal life just passing it So you know I I just by chance.

23:01.22
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

23:08.69
Bruce Anthony
In.

23:14.40
Jayson Johnson 
Went to this building said hey I'm gonna offer you this amount of money didn't even know how much I was supposed to offer because you know they him tell you but it it sounded good to them so I booked it that day you know so it was just like so I came back to this guy I said you know I think I have it. But if you could give me a couple of days

23:19.80
Bruce Anthony
Right.

23:33.81
Jayson Johnson 
More than I'll really have it So you know I I started you know I use that time to figure out what are some other alternatives that they could be and I I made sure that those locations weren't as good as this location. So so when they finally saw it when the client sighed.

23:34.37
Bruce Anthony
A.

23:47.48
Bruce Anthony
Um, right.

23:52.77
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, Facebook saw up they said oh my god this is this is exactly what we want so from the strength off of that you know I started getting others just so yeah, so that's that's how I did. Yeah.

23:58.76
Bruce Anthony
Right? And so how do you transition from a location scout to you writing directing and producing.

24:12.70
Jayson Johnson 
So I think with with locations you could either go into film production 1 or two ways you can either go through the the financial route where you're managing all the money or you can do it through locations and since I pegged locations and figured out how to do that i.

24:25.49
Bruce Anthony
A.

24:31.99
Jayson Johnson 
I Started to have the confidence that you know well maybe I can do this myself So and at that time I was meeting a lot of different filmmakers. You know dps actors so forth and so on. So I said let me just try.

24:34.73
Bruce Anthony
E.

24:49.80
Jayson Johnson 
Writing this little short you know is just not anything. That's you know, really great but let me just see if I can do it and and you know I was able to write. Ah I actually did a black spoilation film called Black Rogers and you know I was I was ah the lead actor and you know was ridiculous.

24:56.93
Bruce Anthony
Um.

25:01.62
Bruce Anthony
Okay, naha.

25:08.27
Jayson Johnson 
You know premise but ah, people actually showed up because they thought that I knew what I was doing I had no idea what I was doing I'm really good at that I'm I'm so good at that and I got to to all the listeners. It's true just if you don't know what you're doing just go ahead and keep doing it.

25:13.34
Bruce Anthony
Hey sometimes you have to fake it until you make it it it.

25:27.98
Bruce Anthony
In here.

25:28.10
Jayson Johnson 
Because eventually you're gonna figure it out and that's what I did so you know I'd I'd show up on set. Um I would ah you know say this is what I would like to do and we'd have a little bit of conversation and you know that's how we we made the first. My first short film.

25:51.53
Bruce Anthony
Okay, Jason so right now you're a writer producer and director for strike five films. Can you tell me a little bit about everything that you do and for it strike 5 films and what is strike five films brand what are what is the. What are they synonymous for.

26:11.51
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, so let's start off with ah what? what is a synonymous for what does it mean so strike 5 is just ah, it is an analogy for perseverance you know and in life you know they say you get 3 strikes and you're out but anyone that's ever done their passion. You know they've got to strike out.

26:23.47
Bruce Anthony
Okay, here. There.

26:29.27
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, million times you know so I use the tally Mark as you know? Well, that's that's strike 5 So let's go on to the next one so that's that's what that really was born out of is I don't know what I'm doing but I'm gonna keep going and you know through all these strikes we're gonna get there. Yep.

26:34.94
Bruce Anthony
Are.

26:44.98
Bruce Anthony
You were gonna figure it out. Yeah.

26:48.64
Jayson Johnson 
And so ah, that's that's kind of what strike 5 was born out of and ah even before I I um really got my voice and as far as writing directing etc. Um, strike 5 was just kind of like my you know my my company where I would kind of loan myself as a ah producer.

27:06.43
Bruce Anthony
Yeah.

27:08.47
Jayson Johnson 
Because that was the next logical step. But you know again I didn't know anything about producing I remember I was I lied to get my first producer job. They said have you done this before absolutely never done it. Yeah and it was it happened to be for a bollywood film.

27:18.29
Bruce Anthony
Yes, I've done it I've done it.

27:26.80
Jayson Johnson 
Which was really interesting because they operate off of the cast system. So you know if you're if you're light, you know then that puts you in a voice of Authority but you know the darker you are and then it's supposed to mean that you're kind of you know lower. So so they hired me interestingly enough.

27:26.68
Bruce Anthony
Um.

27:28.99
Bruce Anthony
Oh okay.

27:38.80
Bruce Anthony
A.

27:44.57
Jayson Johnson 
And I didn't know anything about producing. So my plan was I would show up on set and I'd say this is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong and what are you doing here and then they would they would all scramble and then I said okay you know and then I get on Google again and and then I'd watch. Ah.

27:44.69
Bruce Anthony
Um, here.

27:54.35
Bruce Anthony
And.

27:59.69
Bruce Anthony
I.

28:05.61
Jayson Johnson 
And then that's how I was just like you know we would We would ah produce stuff and it was just yeah yeah.

28:08.31
Bruce Anthony
So I So I have a question as you're learning how to produce it seems like a lot of the things that you've done have led to producing. Did you find producing was relatively easy or easier than it would have been. Because you had a background of really producing your own work going all the way back to the cardboard cutouts.

28:34.32
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah I think for me, um, producing is just you have you have these people you have these resources and then you have this time so you want to maximize all of those you know and in the ah in the timeframe that you got so that's.

28:41.52
Bruce Anthony
In here.

28:47.76
Bruce Anthony
Um, right? um.

28:51.12
Jayson Johnson 
To me that's producing in a nutshell you just want to try to you know, keep everyone Happy. You want to get high performance out of everyone and just you want to make sure that you know everyone's safe. So That's that's really how I approach producing and you know that's been pretty successful. Ah, so far I continue to use the same model even even from the days I didn't even know anything.

29:13.53
Bruce Anthony
So we're going back to you scaring everybody away, you're getting on Google to learn how to produce how did that how did your producing evolve over this time.

29:27.72
Jayson Johnson 
Um, really interesting because you know first didn't know what I was doing and we'd show up and and ah over time we got to go to more complex settings and sometimes it wasn't always roses I remember.

29:41.60
Bruce Anthony
Um.

29:44.42
Jayson Johnson 
We needed a college to film at and they I remember the executive director said Jason we need a college to film at we are running low on money. What can you do? So I said let's go to Cal Berkeley you know that's a iconic college and he said well whoa, how are you going to do that.

29:45.46
Bruce Anthony
Are.

30:02.99
Jayson Johnson 
And I said well we're gonna put. We're gonna have everyone wear Cal Berkeley shirts and we're gonna act like we're students. Um, and so that's what we did until the security showed up and yeah, we're we'rerilla style filming on cal berkeley and it was working perfect.

30:13.14
Bruce Anthony
So y'all wear Grillilla style filming.

30:20.79
Bruce Anthony
Come.

30:22.94
Jayson Johnson 
Until the security started to notice some things like some of our crew members were fifty years old and they're like I like a student. Ah.

30:31.21
Bruce Anthony
Now there are boomers that do go back to school but it is a little unusual. Yes.

30:39.44
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah, it it kind of you know? ah because you know like in Chicago you know you can do things and you can kind of get away with it because no one's really paying attention and that's kind of what my thought process was nobody really pays attention to anyone until they do. But.

30:51.60
Bruce Anthony
Um.

30:54.35
Bruce Anthony
A.

30:56.90
Jayson Johnson 
In this case, the security you know they riding around on a golf cart. They passed passed again and then they said wait a minute this doesn't pass a smell test. What are all of these kids wearing the same exact Cow Berkeley shirts doing in this small quarter. They haven't moved for a certain amount of time.

31:06.88
Bruce Anthony
Um, a.

31:16.87
Jayson Johnson 
And yo some of these guys are fifty years old so then they stopped and they said who's in charge here and um, they they all pointed at me and then they said ah Jason is and this is where this is where the the black man instinct. Ah.

31:17.58
Bruce Anthony
Right.

31:28.88
Bruce Anthony
A.

31:35.93
Jayson Johnson 
Totally came out in front of me I said oh shit I'm in trouble now. So my instinct was I took off running. Ah.

31:42.33
Bruce Anthony
Yeah, ok, you're the producer your gurilla style film and security comes you take off. Ok.

31:55.91
Jayson Johnson 
I took off I took off running yeah and if you're I don't know if you're familiar with Cal Berkeley but it's it's ah this real near the city of Berkeley so right across the street is you know Berkeley proper. So.

32:03.97
Bruce Anthony
Okay.

32:10.44
Jayson Johnson 
In my mind I'm like I'm I'm not going to jail you know because that's you know it's just like you know, black man. He's supposed to be doing this so I'm gonna run I'm gonna disappear into city you know Berkeley and then you know maybe they're gonna be so wound up chasing me that they can finish filming and that's exactly what happened.

32:15.41
Bruce Anthony
A.

32:22.90
Bruce Anthony
Um, okay.

32:27.42
Bruce Anthony
Wow, but okay, so were you guys able to use that footage because you have Berkeley's it aren't there some copyright issues with that or am I mistaken because I don't really know.

32:30.90
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah.

32:46.69
Bruce Anthony
Film in street like that.

32:48.30
Jayson Johnson 
Um I think they were able to use all the footage. Ah because ah you know they called me like an hour later and they said yo you have to come back and I said I'm not coming back if I get arrested and they were like no no, no.

32:50.16
Bruce Anthony
And okay.

33:02.24
Jayson Johnson 
We we talk to them. It's cool. You know we we pulled a fast one on them and they're just they just they're just willing to just say Okay, you got away with it but they want to make sure that you know everything's copathetic. So then you know I came back and said hey I'm sorry but you know it's just we're just trying to make something out of nothing. You know.

33:04.43
Bruce Anthony
Okay, okay. Okay.

33:21.34
Bruce Anthony
Right.

33:21.69
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, down out of fifteen cents and and you know they ah they let us go but you know we under the stipulation that we we can never come back and do that again.

33:28.26
Bruce Anthony
I can understand that so was this when you were just being hired as a producer for strike 5 films or is this when you were employed by them. Okay.

33:39.67
Jayson Johnson 
So Strike five Films is my company. Um, so you know whenever you work as independent contractor you you kind of form like this ah dummy corporation that you work under so you can get checks So That's what I did. Um, so I was a producer for strike 5 films that would loan my services out to others production companies.

33:59.63
Bruce Anthony
Got you got you got you got you all right? So you finished that production What happened when ah, you ran and you came back what happened with those people that you were working with where they. Turned off where they impressed have you worked with them again since then.

34:22.45
Jayson Johnson 
Oh yeah, they they said oh my God you're you're the best producer alive you know I I can't believe this? ah ah and you know from that project. They the executive director had a friend that.

34:29.20
Bruce Anthony
Um.

34:37.21
Jayson Johnson 
Just so happened to be making another film in Kansas City so I went from that film to the next film and and you know just based off of what I learned from you know this project I applied the you know the same thing to this one except it was in Kansas city.

34:42.54
Bruce Anthony
Are.

34:54.88
Jayson Johnson 
So um, yeah.

34:55.44
Bruce Anthony
Okay, um, okay so you've been doing this now. The film festival with Francis for Coppola was in you said oh four so twenty years you've been doing this for 20 years

35:05.38
Jayson Johnson 
Yep.

35:08.83
Bruce Anthony
How has technology technology has obviously changed in the last twenty years but how has the change in technology benefited or caused issues with your work.

35:21.90
Jayson Johnson 
Um I think I'm one that I never really get afraid of technology I think it's a tool so it's really been great to turn stuff around quickly. So you know like a nonlinear editing.

35:28.14
Bruce Anthony
Um, you.

35:32.52
Bruce Anthony
The.

35:37.41
Jayson Johnson 
Kind of like what we have everything is digital. So you know I think that makes it easier um being able to have low light cameras makes it ah gives you the ability not to have as much lights. Um, but you know now where Ai is is ah kind of taking form. You can do whole scenes now you know just type something in and then it's able to generate you know something. That's just Unbelievable. So I think technology is going to be a big driver I Do think that there's going to be ah some people that kind of get.

35:56.92
Bruce Anthony
E.

36:06.37
Bruce Anthony
Um, sorry.

36:16.18
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, you know, kicked out because you know that you know it's it's it's something that you really have to be on your a game to to match that technology. But I think it's gonna be a good thing moving forward.

36:28.72
Bruce Anthony
So I've read an article I don't know a couple of months back with the issues with sound. So basically the article was saying a lot of people turn on subtitles. Um, when they're watching Tv or movies because they can't hear. Some of it has to do with the fact that we're got headphones on and we have sound It's really close to our ears. It's kind of damaging the ability for us to hear but also because mics that are being used were completely different than what they were back in the day and the sound editing is completely different. From back in the day um, have you noticed um a a downgrade in the audio or have you not noticed ah or is that not really the case.

37:18.13
Jayson Johnson 
I I haven't really noticed ah when it comes to sound I really rely on sound mixers that kind of give me the give it to me from the Horse's mouth but I haven't really had any instance where they said well you know this new New you know microphone or or technique.

37:24.71
Bruce Anthony
A.

37:35.70
Jayson Johnson 
Is limiting our ability to capture clean sound. Um I'd I'd want to say it might even be better because you know it's just ah with some some of these Ai filters. You can put something that's really scrambled in there and then it's able to pinpoint you know things that you don't want and then to take it out.

37:37.31
Bruce Anthony
A.

37:48.44
Bruce Anthony
Here.

37:55.41
Jayson Johnson 
So um I haven't really noticed it. But you know I don't know if I would be the best person to ask.

38:03.41
Bruce Anthony
Get no the um and how as ai is such a really really interesting tool. Um, and I know during the negotiations this summer between sag and the writers association with the. Um, major companies Ai was a really big issue especially for writers. So when you say you put in something an ai and it spits out something really dope. Are you putting a premise or are you saying clean up. What I have added a little bit more humor and then you're you taking that as okay now I'm going to put my own little flavor in it.

38:45.23
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah for for me when it comes to writing you know I'll I'll generally have my own concept that I originally thought of and then I'll write it to the best of my ability and I would say that 90% of the stuff that I write.

38:55.11
Bruce Anthony
Um.

39:03.80
Jayson Johnson 
That's what I'm going to use but I do see where Ai is really great where you could say hey clean this up or you know analyze this does this make sense to the you know three structure arc and you know it'll give you that feedback and then you can say oh okay, well Ai thinks that.

39:05.74
Bruce Anthony
Um.

39:17.41
Bruce Anthony
Um e.

39:22.50
Jayson Johnson 
You know I'm missing this component. So then you know we go back and write I do notice that there's a lot of stuff that's really generic that is you know that you watch on like Netflix or you know streaming that I I would I would say there's probably Ai generated.

39:34.23
Bruce Anthony
A.

39:40.70
Bruce Anthony
In.

39:41.50
Jayson Johnson 
Because you know it's It's very milk toast in the way that it was produced way it was made and etc. So you know that I I kind of frown against because you know you really want to have that human connection because that's why we're all watching a film you want to.

39:55.33
Bruce Anthony
And right.

40:00.22
Jayson Johnson 
How do I relate to this character. How do I relate to this story and I don't know if Ai can do that quite yet.

40:07.60
Bruce Anthony
That's interesting because one of my favorite movie series is the Krispher Nolan Batman series and um, dark night rises. The last one has major plot holes and that's interesting that.

40:14.30
Jayson Johnson 
Yes.

40:25.36
Bruce Anthony
You can say to Ai does this fall into you said the 3 x structure and does it all make sense because Ai can help you fill the plot holes that that maybe filmmakers or writers or producers don't see and I never even really thought about that.

40:27.88
Jayson Johnson 
The.

40:44.50
Jayson Johnson 
Yeah, that's interesting because I watched a video on all the plot holes in the dark night. You know the bank robbery and they were saying This is the worst bank robbery idea conceived you know because ah everything has to happen perfectly for it to be executed.

40:52.55
Bruce Anthony
Ah.

40:59.89
Bruce Anthony
There.

41:01.84
Jayson Johnson 
But somehow it all works and in real life. You know that's that's just not going to work out. But yeah I think ai is a good tool to kind of point those things out just you know because sometimes you're so close to something that you just you're not looking at with fresh Eyes. So You know it's good to have that as a tool but you know once it takes over and just starts to write and generate images and audio then I don't know what what are we? What are we Doing. We're in the matrix now. So yeah, So it's gonna be interesting.

41:25.27
Bruce Anthony
Right? Yeah, it is okay so what do you see for yourself and strike five films for the future.

41:38.21
Jayson Johnson 
So I want to make a feature film I've made nine short films that have been into I want to say eighty six or eighty seven film festivals. We won 6 times and thank you and while that's great. It doesn't.

41:51.12
Bruce Anthony
Congratulations.

41:54.79
Jayson Johnson 
It doesn't move the needle because a short film is like a business card. This is what I can do you know? Ah so you know I really need to make a short I'm sorry a feature film to really highlight what what is possible What we can do just based off of the cumulative.

41:58.22
Bruce Anthony
The.

42:11.50
Jayson Johnson 
Production experience I've had for over the past twenty years

42:12.30
Bruce Anthony
Yeah, do you have do you don't have to drop anything but you have any the ideas of of what what you're going to do. Are you excited about it and what are the steps that you have to take to get this feature film done.

42:17.95
Jayson Johnson 
I do.

42:28.91
Jayson Johnson 
So just like anything I'm I'm learning as I go I don't know anything about anything and so right now I'm trying to figure out the the whole financing part of it but I do realize that.

42:32.65
Bruce Anthony
Film course.

42:42.42
Bruce Anthony
Um.

42:44.84
Jayson Johnson 
It's not good enough for someone just to give you a check you want to have distribution as well because you you know it's it's a lot like ah, an unsigned rapper you know it's just like they may be doing something locally but until like 1 of these um you know Columbia or you know deaf jam or whatever comes along and says.

42:48.21
Bruce Anthony
Are here.

43:04.48
Jayson Johnson 
We'll give you a million dollars and then we're gonna produce produce it and then distribute it to this wider audience then that's that's what I'm really looking for. So um, yeah.

43:08.27
Bruce Anthony
Yeah, like Master P masterpiece was great locally but until he got that priority deal The whole country didn't know about Master P He had to have that distribution Deal. So I guess for lazy Gentlemenman out there and entertainment. You need that distribution is there a way to skip the middleman is there a way to learn how to distribute without going to a distributor because with technology the way it is now I was interviewing authors. And a lot of them are self-published authors. Um, so is there a way to just forget all of that and distribute it yourself or there's they have a lock on on that system and you have to go through them.

44:01.71
Jayson Johnson 
Um, I think there's a way I think that if you are on Youtube or you know something and let's just say I'm a filmmaker and I and I I do like a streaming show and people find me funny or entertaining or whatever and i.

44:12.67
Bruce Anthony
Yeah.

44:19.46
Jayson Johnson 
I amass 3000000 people that follow me then that's 3000000 that's 3000000 people that will you know sign up for my project if I distribute it and then maybe I just release it just you know via you know a paid site or something like that. So I can see that as a way.

44:20.83
Bruce Anthony
E.

44:34.38
Bruce Anthony
A a h.

44:38.75
Jayson Johnson 
I can also see having that type of audience would um, encourage or or strongly motivate distributors to come to the table saying look. He's got us because that's ah, that's a lot of people so you know that's ah you know if if he can get 3000000 then maybe he can get more.

44:50.78
Bruce Anthony
Um, yeah.

44:57.50
Jayson Johnson 
To kind of you know, come onto his project. So so I think that the power social media is really ah, something that you know people shouldn't sleep on I wish I was better at it. You know sometimes I get on social media and be saying wild shit and um I don't know if that's the way to do it. But you know.

45:06.74
Bruce Anthony
A.

45:16.24
Jayson Johnson 
Um, inna try to do with the podcast route and Tv you know interviews, etc. So.

45:20.77
Bruce Anthony
There is definitely You can definitely build a following. Ah if if the content is good. You can definitely get a following I'm somebody who is learning that process. Myself. So it's definitely I encourage you you got the personality to do it. Um like like ah Francis Ford copel is it. You know you just got an eye for the audience. So I you could do that? Um, tell the people where they can find you.

45:49.20
Jayson Johnson 
Ah, so I'm in the process. Ah oh yeah, but yeah, don't look for me. Yeah, people be crazy these days. Ah so you can find me. Ah.

45:50.33
Bruce Anthony
Physically don't tell them physically where they could find you yeah but just tell the people where they could find you online and your work and and things of that nature. Yeah.

46:05.96
Jayson Johnson 
You can Google me actually I did tests. Yeah Jason Johnson Jason spelled JA YS o n johnson also you can google strike 5 films we're in the process of rebranding my site and that will eventually be strike fivefilms dot com um.

46:20.30
Bruce Anthony
A.

46:23.39
Jayson Johnson 
And yeah, that's that's how you can fire me in the short term. But ah, you know I'm hoping to do big things so you know I guess ah I guess we'll see.

46:30.10
Bruce Anthony
All right? Jason I want to thank you once again for coming on the show. This has been a really dope and cool conversation and I know my audience is gonna truly enjoy this and has enjoyed it excuse me because they've already listened to it or watched it at this point. Um, so once again, thank you for coming on.

46:46.55
Jayson Johnson 
And thank you for having me. It was a pleasure I had a great time.