The Austin Meyer Podcast

Latest Episodes:

From School Project to Sundance with Director Patricia Vidal Delgado | Ep. 036 Mar 05, 2020

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Patricia Vidal Delgado is a film director and writer from Lisbon, Portugal. Only recently having graduated from the MFA program in Production/Directing at UCLA, Patricia has already been featured in some of the world's most prestigious film festivals. Most recently, Patricia's first feature film, La Leyenda Negra, which also happened to be her UCLA thesis project, made its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was also a Top 20 Finalist for the Roy W. Dean Grant.
In this conversation, Patricia and I discuss how she got into directing, the most valuable lessons she has learned along the way, and how she took her first feature film, using actors from a local high school, from a school project to the Sundance Film Festival.
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Leading Creative Teams with Symphony Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong | Ep. 035 Feb 20, 2020

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Francesco Lecce-Chong is the music director for the Santa Rosa Symphony and the Eugene Symphony where he has been dedicated to innovative programming, commissioning new music and engaging in community outreach. Described by critics as a “fast rising talent in the music world,” Francesco has conducted orchestras around the world, including the San Francisco Symphony and New York Philharmonic.
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In the conversation, Francesco and I discuss what is wrong with the classical music industry and how he is trying to address it, leadership principles to get the most out of a creative team, and why the symphony music hall is, and will remain, a unique and sacred place for building community.
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Making Plants Cool Again with Botanical Illustrator Nirupa Rao | Ep. 034 Jan 30, 2020

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Nirupa's Artwork
Nirupa Rao is a Botanical Illustrator and a National Geographic Explorer from Bangalore, India.
In beautiful and precise detail, Nirupa uses watercolor illustrations to record and celebrate the unique flora of India. As a National Geographic Explorer grantee, Nirupa just published a children’s book called "Hidden Kingdom—Fantastical Plants of the Western Ghats" that will help young readers explore the wonderful world of plants.
In 2019, Nirupa participated in a Plant Humanities program at Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks Research Centre. She has also been named an INK Fellow and one to 'watch out for' in Forbes India's annual 30 Under 30 issue.
In this conversation, Nirupa and discuss how she found this unique niche of illustrating plants, what her creative process looks like from going into the rainforest to getting back to her studio, and why children's books are such a powerful tool for reclaiming cultural identity.
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Notes from the show:
The National Geographic photographer that we refer to in the show as an inspiration for both of us is Evgenia Arbugaeva.

Shining a Light on Neglected Stories with Nicholas Kristof | Ep. 033 Jan 14, 2020

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Nicholas Kristof is a columnist for the New York Times, an author, and a 2-time Pulitzer prize winner who covers humanitarian crises at home and around the world.
In this conversation, Nick and I talk about how he came up with his wild idea to invite university students (me in 2015) into remote communities and conflict zones, how he builds compelling stories around individual characters and statistics, his new book Tightrope (out today!), and what he hopes his legacy will be as a journalist.
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Pursuing the Dream: Reflecting on my 2019 | Ep. 032 Dec 31, 2019

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Happy New Year! In this special edition of the podcast, I am reflecting on my past year's storytelling journey. I distill the lessons I have learned, discuss my goals as a filmmaker, and reflect on the experiences that impacted me most this year.
Thank you so much for listening to the podcast in 2019. I hope you learned something, felt entertained, and that it helped you on your own storytelling journey.
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Music Composition is an Act of Discovery with Paul Bessenbacher | Ep. 031 Dec 27, 2019

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Paul Bessenbacher, or PB, is an esteemed composer for film and TV, and also the lead of the band Opus Orange. His music has been featured on TV shows like Broad City, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Detour, national ads for Apple, Google, and Samsung, feature films and documentaries, and is the theme song for this very podcast!
In this conversation PB and I talk about the musical and life lessons he learned from studying classical piano at a conservatory, why he doesn't consider himself a quote, creator, and the differences between writing albums and composing for film. I hope you enjoy the episode!
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Why You Should Be Prototyping Your Stories with Seamus Harte | Ep. 030 Dec 12, 2019

Show notes

Seamus Harte is the cofounder of Only People Media, a media company that helps people working to change our world by making media to share their story. Seamus also teaches story at the Stanford Design School, where he has taught classes such as creative gym and movie design.
In this conversation, Seamus and I talk about how he is found his unique voice as a storyteller, how working on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus developed his directing skills, and why prototyping early and often should be a critical part of the storytelling process.
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The Power of Poetry with Pulitzer Prize Winner Forrest Gander | Ep. 029 Sep 19, 2019

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Forrest Gander is a poet, novelist, and essayist based in Northern California, whose most recent book of poems, Be With, was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
In this conversation, Forrest and I discuss the life changing moment that made him forego a safe and stable career to pursue life as a poet, what he thinks makes a poem not just good, but great, and why poetry continues to be such a significant art form for allowing people to express themselves and process both the beauty and tragedy in life.
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How to Make Your Documentary Stand Out with Charlie Phillips | Ep. 028 Aug 01, 2019

Show notes

Charlie Phillips is the head of video at The Guardian. Before working at The Guardian, Charlie was deputy director at Sheffield DocFest and an editor at FourDocs.
In this conversation, Charlie and I discuss the trends shaping the documentary industry, what kind of access and consent lead to great films, and what qualities make a film stand out from the crowd as one that The Guardian wants to commission and share with the world.
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The Dark Side of Sports with Investigative Journalist Benjamin Best | Ep. 027 Jul 18, 2019

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Trapped in Qatar
Benjamin Best is an award winning investigative reporter, filmmaker, and author whose reporting focuses on the dark side of sports: illegal betting, match fixing, corruption, organized crime, and the human rights violations that are often a byproduct of major sporting events such as the World Cup and The Olympics.
In 2011 Benjamin Best was awarded CNN's journalist of the year award, he is multiple time winner of Medium Magazine's journalist of the year, and in 2016, was awarded Best Director at London's International Film Festival for his feature length documentary, Dirty Games.
In this conversation, Benjamin and I talk about his untraditional path into journalism, his advice for freelancers and investigative reporters, and he takes us behind the scenes of his recent undercover report from Qatar where he revealed how migrant workers who are building infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup are being exploited. If you're interested in seeing that video, it is at the top of the show notes.
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