AI as a resource with Zack Millsaps

Zach and I discuss owning a role, Instagram depression, and using AI to level up as a creative.

Interested in coming on the show, or know someone who would be a good fit? Email us here - seth@sethlowephoto.com

Follow the show on Instagram - @thesolocreativepod

Transcript

Seth Lowe (00:01.074)
I haven't even put back my like normal podcast setup since my in-laws left. So I'm just, I'm just like, screw it. I'm just going to use my laptop, the MacBook monitor camera and leave it with this angle. Even though it doesn't look as good. I probably won't post the video. Great. You have, you have coffee on your shirt. I haven't showered today. It's one of those days. It is one of those days. I, last night.

I had replaced the exhaust fan in our bathroom ceiling. And the people that put it in trimmed the electrical wire like to the centimeter of length. And the motor on the old fan was on the short side and the motor on the new fan is on the long side. So my electrical cable is like, so I spent like the evening with my head through a hole in the bathroom cursing. my wife's like, why are you mad all the time? I'm like.

because I spilled all, like a whole cup of coffee on myself. Right before recording a podcast. And then I put my head in the ceiling for six hours. Yeah. And you know, I've learned from doing home projects that you, if you don't go to Home Depot or Lowe's three times, then was it a real project? know? Does it count? How many? Okay. I went to Menards twice. The first time to buy it. The fixture.

the second time to exchange it because we bought the wrong size fixture. And then I went to Ace Hardware, but before I got home, I realized I'd forgotten something. So I went back to Ace Hardware. So is that three trips or four trips? That's a, we'll call that a three trip. Cause you were in your car. Yeah. I didn't even get to my driveway. was like right about the halfway. That counts as a third, you know, I say home, getting home and leaving home. That's the trip.

three trips.

Seth Lowe (02:14.542)
Hey, welcome to the solo creative. Today we are talking with my friend Zach Millsaps down in Greenville, South Carolina. I have a little bit of a cold or allergies or something. So who knows? I sound a little weird in my headphones. So bear with me here. But I'm really, really excited to talk with Zach. What's going on, man? How's it going? Thanks for having me on. Yeah, dude. We've tried to make this happen a few times. And our summer schedules have not a lot. Illided and separated. But here we are. We've been together in person.

So it's harder to get together virtually than it is to get together in person somehow. Yeah, well, we do live a few states away. Yeah. We a pretty fun project together earlier this year. Yeah, Yeah, so good to be here. Yeah, dude. So just to jump in here, you you you're a producer and director, but oftentimes you're very much in like a behind the scenes role on

like a set and on a shoot. Do you struggle with that or is that intentional?

That's a great question. So I started producing because I had to. Being in a small market, I realized that my first love is directing, which is very much a prominent role, right? But in order for me to direct, I have to produce as well. And then naturally, the way the market took me, basically the way that my path.

went as I landed on producing being a major role in a lot of the projects that I have. I don't have this affinity to be front and center, like be this big DP. I do love directing, but I don't have to be the big director. And so I found to, it's almost like cooking. I cook because I have to, and now I love cooking.

Seth Lowe (04:15.116)
You know, it's something that I've just had to grow to love and same with producing. I've had to grow to love producing and, and come to terms with, guess, where I am in the market. And, there's something beautiful about accepting it and you can enjoy your life a lot more if you do. And I still get to, you know, wear the director hat and put on some more creative hats in the process. Sometimes it's not always sexy, but,

When it isn't, makes it even more so.

Are you like pretty self-taught as far as producing like just trial and error and doing like what worked for you initially? is. Yep. That is that is spot on. I think like many of us, I started making videos with my friends on for YouTube, you know, just putting content out there, making films, short films, skits, sketches. I was taught inspired in the golden age of YouTube, at least in my opinion, with Julian Smith.

Ryan Higa, RocketJump, like all those guys, Freddie Wong inspired me to wanna make skits and sketches. I was the guy who organized all my friends to be at a, I wrote the script, I got all my friends together, I got all the gear, the equipment, the tools, the props, everything together, and then I would direct on site.

and then I would edit, you know, like I did everything. And then I realized later on that, wait, producing is the logistics, is how we get there. Producing is how, is the catch all for the creatives to do what they do best. And what's nice is I come at it with a creative mindset first. So I'm a director first, right? So I understand how directors work. I understand how DPs work, but then making sure

Seth Lowe (06:15.158)
I could be there to catch what they need or elevate or bring all the things that need to happen together. Learn that that's an art and had to learn it the hard way. You know, like I learned it at first on my projects. And then as as time went on, I realized, OK, I need to make sure I don't miss a call. I need to make sure I the client knows what's happening and et cetera, et cetera. There's a lot of logistics that I learned and learned along the way, for sure.

have you ever struggled with not sort of owning the director role as much or do you feel like you had to give something up at all along the way or do feel like you're still true to who you are and what you set out to be? Sometimes, sometimes I can feel that way. There are some instances where I feel like, man, I would love to be directing this project. I would love to be the helm. But then a lot of the projects that I'm on,

even as a producer, I get roped into directing and I get roped into decisions that the director or even, you know, a lot of the projects that I might be on might not have a director there, you know, in this weird limbo stage of, know, you and I have worked on a lot of these like three to five man crews and it's the director is the quote unquote client, but really it's you and me coming up with the decisions.

And so I do get to wear that hat and even though there's no label to it, I get to exercise those muscles. And so that is super satisfying. Sometimes there's certain projects that I might get passed up on because I might not be the big, like the director that, you know, I'm not pushing myself out there to be the director on the project. But I'll say those are few and far in between. Mostly I'm pretty happy.

Because I still get to exercise those muscles on on every project that I'm in and not overstep boundaries Yeah, I've been on a few of those shoots where the clients like the creative director from the agency will just direct and then they're on calls or whatever all day and they're not directing anything and it's just you it's kind of funny. Yeah. yeah, and the line is blurred just naturally because especially on these smaller shoots or smaller projects it's

Seth Lowe (08:43.342)
It's it's yeah, the line is very blurry and the egos might be there. Sometimes you've got those people that they want to be the big director or called the big director and they want but they're you you are the one who's behind the scenes making it happen. And there's something I like about that. It's kind of fun. And even if they get all the credit, I mean, at the end of the day, it's still fun. And I get to do what I do, what I love to do for

a living, you know? Yeah. Do you ever feel jealous in those moments or you just it is what it is and you get on with it? I I got off Instagram. About seven years ago, because I really struggled with envy. Yeah, it's a pretty easy. I feel like this conversation has come up between a lot of us that it's really easy for me, even though I have great relationships with a ton of directors and

and other producers and DPs. And I know that I'm super excited to see that they're working on that job or working in that field. They're still part of me, know, that will always naturally just want to be there, want to have that project, want to, you know, be in the weeds with them or in that role. So absolutely, I had to get off because I realized that it wasn't benefiting me.

As a person, like my mental health was definitely, every time I got an Instagram, I would just have that feeling and it's not their fault. I don't blame them. I'm super happy that they're working hard, but absolutely. think that's a natural tendency that I can lean towards and I have to be very careful just to self-regulate and not fall into that because I don't wanna be that person. I would rather be, and in person, I don't feel that way. Like if you tell me, I got to,

go to Hawaii and shoot up this mountain and do this cool cycling project, which is a friend that told me about this. And it's a super sick project. And I was super excited to hear about it and see it with him. And I didn't feel envious. I mean, I wish I could have been there, sure, and been on that project. But it's something about that virtual broken connection. I'm not seeing your face. just that, yeah, that's a dangerous place for me. Yeah, I've been off Instagram for

Seth Lowe (11:09.998)
a couple of months now and I usually go off for a few months a year. And right now, I'm like two months in and I have no desire to get back on. Like I don't miss it at all. It's kind of sad, isn't it? Because I think connections wise, it's a great place to meet people, stay in touch with people, especially in our industry. Our industry is really big on Instagram. Yeah, it is. There is like that element of it for sure where it's the community side. it sucks though because...

I get really depressed. start to see other people's work and I'm like, man, how'd they get that cool gig? Or even, I think it also changes my work. there's like a certain, I'm not trying to like throw anyone under the bus here at all, but there's like a certain aesthetic of work that people cling to in like the Instagram, DP, creative industry, know, sort of low key kind of dark moody.

look and that's not my look. And so my look doesn't fit into that. Then I just feel even like more of an outsider, you know, and it's, just, hate it. So it, and it's not that against anyone that does that. It's awesome stuff. It's just not my look and it not my style, not how I shoot. And so I don't relate to it. Yeah. I totally get that. Yep. Yep. Cause I come from comedy and all of my comedy stuff is bright, happy, funny, you know, not dark moody. And then I'll interact with people who are cool.

And I think that's what it gets at is you don't feel like you're cool enough or your work is not. Yeah, your work is not cool enough. But but sometimes your your bank account is more full than theirs. So it's just it's the irony of it. But not to say because I know some people are doing some incredible work in that that space and and who have laughed with me about how they feel like they can't do any comedy. So it's it's I think we all find our place.

And I'd rather be supportive, not envious. And I think the line for me is getting off Instagram and doing that texting, phone calls, face-to-face relationship that I think makes it more meaningful anyways. Yeah. I think in general as well, like, I feel more proud of myself when I'm not looking at the work other people are making. And if I'm going through a slow season, like,

Seth Lowe (13:31.842)
Like I haven't had a job in a few weeks. And so if I was on Instagram for the past few weeks, I just would have like doom scrolled at all these other projects that people were supposedly on, you who knows they could just be posting BTS from something a year ago and myself self-worth, like I'd be so depressed right now if it for the past, you know, if I haven't been off Instagram, just, you know, knowing that's how it works. on that, that side of things, it's really great to not be on it as well. How do you, in a small town, you know, cause we're both in

smaller communities and naturally I think if you're working client direct as we often are, you you're kind of producing to get the job that you actually just want to direct and DP or whatever. Do you struggle with not becoming an agency for some of your clients? So that is a sort of a timely question because so half of my work is with incredible production companies.

mostly with an incredible production company, Hamlin with Brendan Hamlin, who you and I have done a lot of work with over the years. him, so I get to produce and work with him and direct on projects for him. but then last year I launched an agency, video agency to be client direct with specifically helping products led companies.

have more creative output in their content. And Brendan and I realized that we are, even as a freelancer outside of working with Brendan, it's like a lot of people come to you and they say, hey, I want you to make me something. Here's my idea. And I started saying, yeah, but why? Why are you making that idea? And that led to me forming an agency called Namebrand, which was to solve that question and have those conversations.

And that's been in a whole interesting journey. But I think to circle back on the small town question. being in a small town or small market, like we have some big companies here that are locked in on the companies they work with. There's production companies here and agencies that have been here for 20, 10 years that are

Seth Lowe (15:56.376)
they are committed to the small market and that's who they work with. And then there's people like you and me who we just put ourselves out there and then you find that your value is outside of your market. Like people are hiring us to, we go to New York and we film and produce. We go to LA, we go to San Francisco, Miami. Like I go everywhere but here.

in my town and I get to do some small jobs and maybe some bigger jobs that come in every now and then at a discounted rate or whatever. But the value that I found in the market is just outside. And it's interesting how digital has allowed for us to connect with people in ways that doesn't matter where you live, know, work from home culture as well as just companies have adopted.

You can work from anywhere. You can work from coffee shop. You can work as long as you're getting the work done. And I have found that reaching out to people, connecting with people that are interested in me as a person and what I can do for them or be for them has gone farther than trying to do it where I am in the market. I think your decision to start name brand and kind of be an agency for people, I think a lot of

people in small towns are maybe walking that line and not sure which way to go. Whether it's they don't want to give up their identity as a DP or they don't want to be an agency or, you know, maybe they don't want to compete with other agencies, whatever it is. Was there like a, like, what was the defining moment for you where you were like, you know what, I'm going to be okay with building this agency side of things.

Seth Lowe (17:48.982)
So my natural tendency is to follow where I can make a living out of this. because I don't live in LA or New York where I can focus on making a living as a director, I have to focus on how can I make a living in this space as a director, producer, editor, you know, which I think a lot of us can relate to that. And I realized that

the space that fulfills me personally is this holistic idea which puts me in a director role and carrying that vision and that carrying puts me in the producer role and and creative directing and all that stuff. it's really, just, found that the space that I wanna live in is so many times the productions themselves aren't what they could be.

you know, the outcome is not what it could be. And so I just wanted to step in and make that the the goal is for me to make that the best thing possible. Now, I know plenty of DPs that all they want to do is shoot and all they want to do is get on the camera for as on a day rate and just day play. And that is totally OK. And I have nothing against that. But I think I I like the whole picture aspect.

which means that projects are longer, which again, I know DPs that are exhausted with that process. They're exhausted with the fact that they have to do client calls and it drains them to think of logistics and it drains them to have to consider all the client feelings. But I think knowing that, I love to own the holistic idea or

you know, carry the project from start to finish, even if it's producing that for a production company like Hamlin, even if that's as an agency for a client with name brand that I find a lot of fulfillment and value in that. And I'm okay with the not so fun parts because they're balanced out with a lot of times a good paycheck. So that is something to consider. And then I know the fulfilling parts are gonna be

Seth Lowe (20:17.12)
in between those hard moments that maybe not, aren't so fun. It's like my life purpose is not to be fulfilled with my job every second, but there are, I do consider myself privileged that I do have moments that are fulfilling, you know? I think that can be like a hard thing for our industry because you can go through like a good sequence of really great projects that are really fulfilling. And so you get very emotionally attached to your job being

like the thing that fulfills you. And then when you maybe go through a season where you have a few boring jobs or no jobs, your self-worth is like immediately gone. And it's a really, it's a huge wrestle. I mean, I struggle with that big time. Do you relate to that? Yeah, that's a good, it's a good, yeah. I think we're gonna be battling that for the rest of our careers, right? And someone, I met with someone this morning that said, as a millennial, I was fed

the, fed the dream that I can do what I want for a career and it's all gonna be good. And he said, it's, yeah, but that's not, that's a lie. And I do think it's pretty awesome that we get to do projects that we enjoy or fulfill us or make us feel, you know, fulfilled. But I don't know anyone that does that every single day of the year. I don't know any, even the, some great directors

DPs that I know are, they're still, they're doing small projects. And one thing that I've learned is you don't have to tell anyone what you don't want them to know. You know? If there's a project that didn't fulfill you, like a lot of our fulfillment sometimes might come from just how we're perceived. And I think we might all relate because in a small town, you know, I go to LA and everyone is talking about.

production features, shows, commercials, know, the hotel lobby, the Uber ride, you know, everyone is in the industry. But where I live, Greenville, South Carolina, if I hear someone talking about any production, my ears perk up, you know, I'm like, that's interesting. I'm gonna go walk over and meet them. my point in saying that, I kind of lost my point. So give me a second. No, you're good.

Seth Lowe (22:44.518)
I think in general just talk like thinking through the idea of yourself worth not necessarily coming from what you're doing because when it's not there, it can't be all you have or all that you are. Yeah, I think my point in bringing that up was we don't want to, you know, is your fulfillment in the work and pushing yourself as creative or is it in how people perceive you? And I think that's what I was trying to get at. Like in LA, the whole conversation is around production.

in a small town, it's not so. So when you introduce yourself as a director, producer, or as a DP, they're like, ooh, that's interesting. And so eventually you like that feeling and it's really fun to be in that space and be considered something that's out of the box and creative. And you're doing that for a living. But if that's what your fulfillment is on, you gotta be careful.

Because if you're like you're saying, if every project has to look cool and it doesn't, you're gonna get depressed. Now, if every other project or one out of three or one out of four projects, you have a moment that is really cool, embrace that moment, enjoy that moment. But also it's okay that the others don't look as cool. You're still doing a really cool job in a really interesting career. It's true. Hearing you say that,

I've realized I've always struggled with how to introduce myself. And part of it is because I have had like imposter syndrome and I don't feel like I'm good enough to call myself like I'm a director of photography or I'm a commercial photographer or whatever, I'm a director. So there's that side of it. But then there's also the element of living in a small town where if I say, I'm a DP, people have never heard that word in their life.

So I have to explain it and they're like, they don't care. And it's stupid. so it's like that twofold problem. So like half the time I've kind of just settled on like, I'm a photographer. And then they just assume I shoot weddings or something. And if they care, they'll ask a follow up question. And if they don't, they just move on. And that's fine. And then more recently, I've kind of been pivoting towards something like, I make commercial photo and video work for.

Seth Lowe (25:06.06)
like Fortune 500 brands or something like that. And usually the same answer, but at least it feels like more true to what I do. Yeah, more polished. But I don't really care what they think anyway, but it is like a weird spot to be in in a small town. I think what you and I care about and what all of us tend to care about is what other industry people think about us. And I think that's, again, that's where I get back to I'll have breakfast or coffee.

with someone who I look up to and they're supportive. They treat me like a peer or they treat me like someone, they look at me, they're struggling with imposter syndrome and they're at the same, cause they're thinking, I'm not a union DP or if they are a union DP, I didn't get to do the Superbowl ad or it's just like, it's never ending. so,

but it is a really tough place for our industry because of what we do naturally is just be creative and go out there. so I hope we can all just remember that in person, most of the time, 90 % of the time, we're all in it. just, we care. We're glad that each other are working. I'm glad that you're working. Yes, we want to be on the project, but it's okay.

you know, maybe think about us the next time. you ever struggle with sort of a glass ceiling element of a small town? Yeah, yeah, I find myself talking to. DPS that I do a lot of work with or have had good work with over the years, and they're on bigger projects, and I think.

Man, did I spend...

Seth Lowe (27:04.662)
time putting myself out there in the wrong space, like my capacity or my skill could fit a bigger project or could fit a bigger client. And I've limited myself to a smaller market or smaller projects. And I think about that a lot right now. And so I don't necessarily have an answer as to what the solution is other than I think

it is putting myself out there and saying, hey, I am open. I would like to, I've done this work. Like I've got an incredible portfolio of work over the last decade that could show off what I can do. But I also know in this instance right now, when we're recording this podcast, the market has been really tough for a lot of us. And the glass ceiling is only as much as the market will allow, you know, as much as.

If there's no jobs, then too bad. It's just, it doesn't matter how good you are. But glass ceiling wise, yeah, sometimes I do struggle feeling that I have more to give and it's just, I haven't put myself out there enough to meet that. Yeah. I kind of deal with like the grass is always greener sort of element of it where like, I'm like, man, maybe if I just lived in LA for a couple of years and

I do way cooler work, you know? And that's not necessarily true, but it's like the what if game, you know? Or maybe if I lived in Colorado, I'd shoot way more personal work, you know, because I want to go out in the mountains and it inspires me and stuff like that. I'd feel more inspired. And it's just one of those like lies I sort of tell myself, you know, and I'm kind of bummed out or I've had a slow week or something. But I, there is like sort of a challenge when there's not as many peers in your

network, you know, within like arm's reach where you can just see them actively doing something and have organic conversations with them about the work they're doing. I mean, we talked about Instagram and not having that community earlier. And that is true, like you do miss a little bit of the conversations you have on there, but it's very different than living in the same town. It doesn't replace that. You know what I mean? Not being on like being on Instagram in a small town doesn't replace just being in a bigger city with more people, you know.

Seth Lowe (29:27.982)
So there's still like that truth of being in a small town and only a couple of people like you around you, you it just makes it, you become more competitive and less peer like, I think sometimes. Sometimes what's, yeah, sometimes. And then in other instances, you become this network that works together on projects. Greenville is a very interesting space because we have a really strong tight knit community and

We all know each other and people are moving in and we're getting introduced. And I think the coffee game is really strong where we're all working and supporting each other and then trying to bring each other on projects. And so I found that face to face to me is invaluable if I can meet someone and get to know them and get to know what they want to do and what they have done.

and then start piecing together this puzzle of what it could look like is very powerful. I I work with people, I still work with people in my market that I was peers with 10 years ago. We've all grown together and all of our careers have just continued to elevate. And so I think there's a lot of value in meeting people that are around, getting to know them, be known, work.

on small projects, do free things together. I've done so many shorts and ridiculous projects with all these people and then we're working together, you know, 10 years later. wherever you are, find the people and stick close to them. But now I say that, but I also have friends, they are friends that do the same thing that I do and they can never hire me and I can never hire them because we're just, we're, you know, we can't. But then.

we're also bidding against each other on projects. And it's just, that's just part of it. And if they win a project, I've literally texted friends, hey, I heard you won this project. I'm super happy for you. But it downside, I'm, I have literally walk outside and I just scream into the air that I lost it, you know? But it's, it's, it's just part of it. And I'd rather, I'd rather have that. But then at the end of the day, go grab dinner with them. And we're all laughing about it.

Seth Lowe (31:49.334)
Now, if I am not working at all, I'll feel terrible, but thankfully I haven't reached that point yet. Yeah. Yeah, there's, mean, there are people around me that do what I do and we're friends. I mean, sometimes we compete against each other and I mean, sometimes I win the job, sometimes they win the job and there's no hard feelings. We're still good to go get a beer afterwards, but it is different though, I guess is what I'm trying to say where like, there's not...

you're still fighting with each other a little bit maybe in the sense that maybe not fighting with each other. That's a horrible way to say it. I guess I don't know if at least where I live or at least in my community, a lot of us are probably at the same level in some regards. So I don't know if we're always pushing each other to the next level. And so maybe it's just a glass ceiling within my area or do you relate to that at all? We've got some pretty

pretty great people here. so we're also, we're two hours from Atlanta, two hours from Charlotte, and we're in a unique place that work, that comes in town, or a lot of us work in Charlotte or in Atlanta, we're brought to these different places, but we're brought together. it's, I feel like Greenville might be a unique place because there are people who are below me who don't,

have as, know, haven't been in the industry as long, but then I also could have coffee with someone who, know, with John Carrington, who has been on this podcast and someone who I would say is an incredible, talented person in the market. And he might be an exception. There's some other people, but I, yeah, I don't know how much, Greenville might just be in a special spot.

but it's still, it is still really small. We all still know each other. Yeah. You guys have a good, a good community there for sure. But glass ceiling wise, as far as how your talent is not maybe on the biggest projects or the better projects, that's one thing that I'd like to figure out. And I do have friends in communities that are small. And, and even I've done this in Greenville where you have big high hopes that you could bring.

Seth Lowe (34:11.767)
projects to your city, I have found a glass ceiling with that. And that's a producer hat. So I have wanted to do bigger lifestyle shoots for clients here in Greenville and I brought some to Greenville. But what happens is I don't have all the crew or all the equipment or everything that I need that I can get in a big city at the level that I'm trying to produce.

that takes me to that city. And that's been a really challenging issue that I would love to, I should, you know, solve, but there are glass ceilings with the talent and availability of a town. Like if you can't source the lenses in your town, you gotta ship it in or, you know, if you need, like we don't really have a Steadicam Ops.

Like we, yeah, we definitely don't have that. Yeah. People, we have to bring people from Charlotte or Atlanta. And, that's a perfect example of something that's highly specialized that the market is not provide like there, just, the need is not here. And so they're the people who live in that world are in Charlotte and Atlanta. And I have to go to them on bigger projects or talent, man, like talent. There's, there's barely anyone here, but I get,

tons of people from Atlanta or some from Charlotte, but mostly Atlanta is like the big talent hub of the Southeast. But it's just, yeah, that's another challenge is there is a point where in your small market, you can only make something as big as you can as much as your little community can support. And so you do have to consider that. And I do find myself having to go to Charlotte or Atlanta to staff that or accrue that or make it.

at that level. Do you think there's, I mean, with that in mind, I guess, do you think there's something to be thoughtful of? Like if you're trying to put together a production in a small town, and let's say, you like a lifestyle or a narrative type production, do you think you almost have to like kind of figure out what's the sort of the maximum potential of your local network and then just aim for like 10 % above it?

Seth Lowe (36:34.774)
rather than, know, because then you can be successful versus like, if you're like, yeah, we can make something as good as they make in Atlanta, which is not realistic. It doesn't mean your ambition is necessarily wrong. You you want to make something great, but turning it down, turning down your ambition, which sounds lame, but really dialing back like your expectations to just like that five or 10 % over what's realistic. Do you think that sets you up for better, for more success? Yeah, 100%. I...

directed, I wrote and directed a short film. It's called Bible Man and it's a fake movie trailer. the local market, pulled every single person we could into that project. And then we also, that 10 % above was bringing people from Charlotte, the steady cam op or bringing, we went to Atlanta and got the anamorphic lenses that we needed. you know, we,

The 10, I guess that's to answer your question. Yes, figure out where the ceiling is and then supplement it with those out of market things that would make your market that much better. And then maybe you'll find an opportunity for some business that has been missing in your market. Maybe there's a spot for that, you know, to fill. There's some people and.

our market that realized that there's not enough anamorphic lenses. So they went and bought some and they're getting some work out of it. But that's my business hat. But on a creative hat, yeah, 100 % believe that you should find where, how much can your market handle or do together? Like figure out how much you can do and then push it. Because if you're not gonna push it, you're gonna stay where you're at. And you don't wanna stay where you're at. Over the years,

everything you do to push yourself is just going to put you in that next level that you wanna be in and it doesn't happen without that pushing.

Seth Lowe (38:37.632)
I think when you choose that 10%, you have to be really careful with where you choose it almost. It's like a bucket. As you were saying, I'm kind of thinking about projects I've produced, directed here with local clients. And I've always kind of, OK, what's the 10 % thing I can do? sometimes it's like, OK. Because I own a lot of gear. have cameras, lenses, lighting, sound, all the things. it doesn't mean I mean that I just hire on local people to help run the stuff. There's no dedicated like.

sound guy here. There's no full time gaffer here. So sometimes like with the client, I'm like, OK, the extra 10 % this time I'm bringing a gaffer in from Chicago and we're going to get like a two ton truck or whatever. the extra 10 % this time is we're going to get sound design and color done for this because it'll really make this project, you know, it'll make a difference here. So you almost have to be kind of choosy and like pick like a bucket because you can't just like pull in like the two ton truck and expect your

you know, a local people to know, like to know how to use that if they've never been around it before, you know, if you've got a few local PAs or you know I mean? Or it's just, have to be really like conscious of where you spend that 10 % and how it's going to make a difference on your project. And you might have to try a few different categories too, like as you go through projects and see what, it makes a difference for you. And a great person to, to, I'm going to call him out, Grant, who, you know, my brother-in-law, Grant Knauss, he's in Lynchburg, Virginia and

He is a perfect example of someone who's doing this in the small market. He has clients outside of Lynchburg that he goes and pushes himself on, but then he did a feature, he's done a ton of bigger commercial work with me, and then he goes home and he knows, okay, my experience on this project, on this set, I want this thing added. So.

There's something to be said about getting outside of your market and working. And then he's an example of someone who's bringing it in, like he's built out his grip truck and he's built out his studio space and he's created these elements that he thinks, man, my market could really use this. And then he's teaching the local talent how to elevate their own game.

Seth Lowe (40:57.41)
And so if you have someone like that, or if you can be that, it's invaluable. You're literally lifting your market up by doing that. And you can make a lot of money doing it too, because you're being a source of work for others and also invaluable to, know, like that just attracts more work to you. a heavy believer in that. And then I think you hit what I firmly believe, make stuff. If you're not making stuff,

for, know, we've kind of talked a little bit before here about a slow season. You know, if you're slow, that's a great opportunity to make something. If you are busy, make sure what you're making is pushing as much as you can. Like always, always try and, because everything I've ever made has benefited me. And sure, even if it's like a really terrible, not terrible, but boring, quote unquote boring project.

there are ways that you can push yourself. Can you make this lighting look like a spectacular shot or can you make this one thing spectacular? And, or can you refine your producing process a little bit more to the point where you could hand it off to someone and not have to do it again. You know, there's always ways you can push yourself, but I think if you, if you do that and you're, you're going out and you're bringing that back into town, man, you are going to be the rock star of the, of the local community.

Yeah, that's true. That's very true. I was thinking, as you said that when we did the Diageo project last year and we were doing all the fun, like barrel roll transitions in camera versus just having them do it in post, you know, and bring it, just trying to bring that, like, what's that extra little thing we can do on something that's pretty safe, or we can just go a little above and beyond and do something a little fun and a little different and that we're proud of while we're making it, you know, and it was, really tiny. Like you say it out loud and you're like, that's easy. But you know, doing it.

doing it in real time and getting it in camera was really fun. and it turned out so cool too. mean, the intentionality of it, I think is what made it. And it's the creativity that leads you to that idea or going out of the box and going out of the market that helps you be more creative. It only benefits you. So if you can leave, you don't have to move to LA. You don't have to move to New York. Yes, it benefits you in many ways, but I didn't do that.

Seth Lowe (43:24.48)
but I work in New York and LA. So, you know, there are ways to meet in the middle. Yeah, yeah. It's kind of been, as I've said, a little slower for me this past month or so. And I've started working on a new doc project, which has been really fun. And I haven't, I probably should have been putting more time into it than I have, but I'm still getting to kind of know the person I'm filming and stuff, but it's been fun. Like I haven't had time to put anything into a personal work for years between having, you know, kids and traveling for work and stuff. So it's been fun to kind of.

get my brain back on that a little bit. Yeah, and I think it's always good to put yourself in that creative personal project seat. You know, I've got a bunch of kids, I got three kids, so I'm in a season where it's definitely, I've slowed down the more kids I have on doing these personal projects, but yeah, the intentionality is there and the putting.

putting it into the projects that I do have is there. it's only gonna make, maybe it's slower growth at times, but you're still growing. And that's where I wanna be. Do you have to be pretty intentional about finding self-worth outside of work? Yeah, yep. What are some go-to things for you? Besides kids, when you have kids, there's something big that happens where,

I remember when I had my first, so I have three, a seven year old, four year old and a two year old. So I'm in the thick of it right now. So when I had our first, I remember all of my dreams and aspirations of being a big director, doing big feature films shifted to, okay, I don't have to do that. And for someone who doesn't have kids, that might sound like, okay, now I never wanna have kids. But.

But the shift felt natural and it felt very beneficial to me as a human being. And I still know that I'm going to do some bigger projects. Like I've done plenty of projects since then that have been awesome. But the dreams and aspirations changed and the fulfillment of my day to day have changed. And now being able to participate in this little girl's life has been life changing to me.

Seth Lowe (45:45.482)
So I get a lot of fulfillment and then I love my wife and I wanna stay married to her, you know? there's like, she brings me a lot of joy, my wife does and my kids. And then when there are really hard days and they're just not cutting it, I love climbing. I love going climbing. So that's my get outside, go climbing. I got a bike.

that I, you know, not a mountain bike, but a road bike that I'm gonna start trying that out. I'm in good company with you about cycling and biking, but. I did six, I have a gravel bike and a mountain bike. And last Monday, it was that labor day, I did a 62 mile ride. my gosh, that sounds awesome. It was fun. I went with a buddy. It was like an hour drive to this small town where there's this other small town where there was a meetup.

And he was like, hey, I'm going to this group ride. think it's supposed to be pretty chill and fun. And I'm like, okay, that sounds cool. I'll go. And like my pace on like a gravel ride is like probably 15 miles an hour over like 60 miles. And it would be probably what I would average. And we take off and well, I get there and there's like 40 people.

And all of them, or like half of them, like literally half of them have like the Ironman tattoo on their calf. And I'm like, crap, this is not, these are not my people. And so we get on the bikes and I mean, we're literally going over 20 miles an hour into the wind for 10 miles. And I'm just like, literally I'm like five miles in and I'm like, I can't do it. Like, I literally can't do this. I am going to die. And so we get to mile 10 and I'm just like, I finally just dropped back and a

Fortunately, like a few other people kind of started dropping back to him. We formed like, you know, a B group that rode together. It was unreal. I mean, they rode that literally the entire time. They did it in like three hours. my gosh. Yeah, it was insane. And they're they're probably disappointed at their time too. Probably, dude. It was nuts. So that was so I did that on Monday and just really destroyed myself. And then on Saturday, another buddy and I did this ride. There's this local thing. So

Seth Lowe (48:02.994)
it's called Pamba Peoria Area Mountain Bike Association is like the mountain bike community here. And there are eight places to ride here that have about eight to 10 miles of trail per trail system. And they're all like, you know, in three different counties that all kind of conjoined here. That's cool. Yeah. And so there's this challenge called the mug of dirt where you have to ride all of them in one day. So you have to like drive, know, you're driving between these places too.

which takes time because it's in three different counties. And so we decided to do the mug of dirt on Saturday and rode the whole thing. We started at 6 a.m. and got done at 9 p.m. with like literally nothing but like a half hour lunch break. my gosh. I mean, you're in the car, so you have that sort of break in the car, you know, just, it was, we were absolutely dead. Yeah, yeah. Did you get the t-shirt? Not yet. I think, I don't even know if, I think you get a t-shirt or maybe it's like a beer mug with the logo on it or something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So yeah, it was- To commiserate together whenever you see it. That's awesome. Yeah, we finished in the dark, just the two of us. And we're like, it's like a GPS thing. It's not like a single, you just have like one month to do it. You have to do it for one day. So it's like a GPS log brace, but it's fairly anticlimactic finish. No, but I think your point is still remains. So you got to do something outside of what we do for a living to make sure that you're still human. I know some people that all they do is film and-

they're always working on their next project. And I think they don't have kids. And a lot of them are single. And so I think that's sure, you know, go for it. That's a hustle that you, that's like the time to hustle. But if you are in a place where you're married or you're with a significant other, or if you got kids and you can't be in that space, it's okay. From one...

person to another, it's okay that you're not always doing that. But if you're never doing it and you're living in the excuse and you're mad at yourself, then you need to own up to it and get your butt in the chair and start writing, you know, or start working on it and like stop excusing yourself. But if you are doing it and you just don't have all the time, like there's seasons for a reason. And some of my favorite directors,

Seth Lowe (50:27.766)
found their stride in their 40s and 50s. And that's my, I hope I live that long, but I honestly do have a dream that is not gonna just go away. And I do have intentions to do some bigger projects like the Bible man as a feature, it's a whole nother podcast story, but to do these ridiculous comedies and projects. And I'm okay if it's when I'm 45 or 55 or

You know, like that there's a season I'm gonna keep building my career where I can. Yeah. I think for me, I always like to find outside things that at least correlate in the sense that there's, it requires risk, it requires the potential to fail, requires a little bit of struggle.

and has reward because I think those things overlap with what we do as freelancers and as creatives and you have to take a risk, you have to put yourself out there, you have to try an idea. You have to be willing to fail and be wrong and your idea to suck or your photo to suck or whatever. And there has to be the potential for reward. And so for me, biking is really great at that. Working on projects around the house are great at that. Kids are kind of a good example of that. Like it takes risk to have kids and there's times where you fail and there's definitely reward.

So, you know, I think being conscious of how those things overlap and kind of weave together and can make you a better creative and a better filmmaker is really important. Yep. You need to be filled up in some way, shape or form because the best storytellers, the best creatives I know have inlets for their output, know, inputs for the output. Yeah. Man, I just want to go back to the Instagram thing again, because I keep thinking about it so much. Like, it has been like...

slower for me this year and not in a bad way. Like I've had projects it honestly it's probably been almost normal. The past couple of years were just so crazy busy that I'm back to like this year is kind of just pre the past couple of years. So it's kind of like just a normal year again but it feels slow in the context of last year that was just absolutely relentless. And I think I'm not like I'm not upset or it's been a great year in the sense that I've gotten back into hobbies that I had let.

Seth Lowe (52:51.382)
fade like playing guitar. My time, I've had so much time with my kids this summer that I did not have last year, which was awesome. And those are highly valuable things. And I think the biggest difference and how I feel about it is the fact that I'm not on Instagram. Like straight up, not being on Instagram, I am completely okay with where I'm at right now and not running around like a crazy person. Yep. Yep. Now try LinkedIn. It's worst.

I actually only get on LinkedIn when I get an email and it says, Zach Millsaps updated his profile. And I like click on it for three seconds and I'm like, LinkedIn sucks. And then I like close it. Zach Millsaps is the worst. So for context, that's that's that is the only place that I put myself out there. And that's just because I've actually gotten work out off of LinkedIn and it's the cesspool of corporate content. But there's something to be said about putting yourself out somewhere.

to show that you're a real person. But that does not have to be LinkedIn. You could be fulfilled. Man, I would love to meet someone who does not struggle with these feelings about Instagram. And maybe you could get a podcast with them just to, how to be content with your life and career while browsing Instagram. I will say that having not been on Instagram, like,

So obviously I haven't been posting this show as much. I went from being like, intentionally, originally I start out every week knowing like once I got through 10, I'd probably go to like an every other week format. Just, you know, for the amount of time it takes to do it. And it's hard to, I travel for work. I'm often interviewing people who travel for work. So it's just hard to make it happen sometimes. Getting off Instagram, it's really hard to find people and bring them on the show. So I might have to like create like a half hour window a week where I just like download it, do show research.

delete the app again or something. Because that is like the one area But that's purpose. You're adding a job to, so my job, I actually use a Chrome extension to turn off the LinkedIn feed and turn off all of the LinkedIn news. And so when I get on LinkedIn, all I see is post. And well, I just see myself. I just love looking at myself on LinkedIn. I see post, so I get on LinkedIn to post and then,

Seth Lowe (55:18.152)
I'll occasionally turn it off to just browse the feed for a minute, just to like and comment on a couple of things. And then I turn it off and I move on. And it's removing that addictive nature behind it. That has helped me because then, for instance, if you're, can find a Chrome extension, maybe I haven't looked this up, so I don't know. But for Instagram, if you use it on desktop, you can just turn it off and then you go and you start looking people and connecting, like pull up a great DP that you know, and just

see who he worked with, did he work with this director, now reach out to that director, know, there's a purpose and then you're not sitting there in the doomsday scroll and feeling, starting to feel bad about yourself. So I'm all about use it as a tool, don't be the tool. I think the difference there is that like LinkedIn was built for a browser first. And so you can still do, you can still navigate and like quickly figure someone out or figure out what's going on in the browser. Instagram in the browser is horrible. Like it is just a

garbage experience. They're just doing, I don't even know why they do it. I guess just probably to help. I have to. Yeah. I'm sure something to do with like Google search something. don't know. Who knows? Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. It's a terrible experience. Okay. It's no, I think I'm just going to have to do like a 20 every Monday for 20 minutes, Instagram or something like that. Yeah. Just, just, just take a pill before you do, you know? Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I've got plenty of thoughts on,

using AI. Well, know, honestly, on I was actually thinking about that earlier. You know what I haven't? You know what I haven't seen in my feed in a while is a bunch of hoopla about AI content. Have you? Yeah, but I follow all those people, so it's I mean, yeah, like I see AI stuff, but it hasn't been like. I don't know.

Like the doomsday-ness of it seems to have kind of worn off, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Yeah, yeah. I think it's people are finding its place as a tool and not a replacement. Memes. Yeah, memes. That's all anything ends up being. that's its tool. What's your AI tool of choice? I love Claude. Anthropix Claude is the best text generator right now. I was using that one for...

Seth Lowe (57:44.06)
I was paying for that one and I liked it. Have you played with Grok at all? I have not. No, not yet. Not yet. So I think you need to give Grok. Grok is pretty awesome. OK, yeah, I'll have to give it a try. But I Grok is so fresh. I haven't haven't dove in. I got really into open source for a minute where I had all these open source models on my computer and was using those. But that's it's just the race is so interesting. at the end of the day, what I needed was something that I can upload.

and use for my producing role. So I, for instance, I'm shooting, we're doing 40 videos that are TikTok ads for 10 products. It's this massive ordeal and all of the ideas came from AI. The whole schedule came from AI and what took me three hours to get all of this set up would have taken me probably

weeks, you know, so I'm just finding those opportunities of how can I do this? And you know, my hourly rate goes up significantly because I'm charging as it takes, you know, but I'm just not telling them how the process is coming out. So, why would, mean, who cares if they're happy? cares if you- yeah, yeah. No, they don't, they don't care. They know it's still a lot of work. So it's not-

I mean, it's not like you only spent three hours on it. You have like a decade of experience and then the past six months of like screwing around with different AI tools and you put all of that time together to spit out an idea just more efficiently. I know what a good idea is. I know what a good schedule is. So it's, yeah, there is that criteria of- You made like a hundred schedules and made a hundred videos and yeah, you're just refining the-

the output time of it. Exactly. And that's why I don't think it's going to replace what we do. it's man, I'm like I charged a couple thousand bucks to write a script and I used AI to do it. This is last year and it took me an hour, you know, to write it. And it was 90 percent there. But I needed to be that extra 10 percent to to to get it to what it needed to be. Yeah. And, you know, just stuff like that, that it was.

Seth Lowe (01:00:10.582)
It's stupid how. So I've tried to find ways to do to do that and still getting there. Hey, Zach, I appreciate you coming on today. It's been fun catching up and just hearing what you're up to. This has been so great. And shout out to everyone who is in a small market just like me. You that's just trying to live the dream and let's do this. Let's live the dream together. Am I right? Yeah, dude. It's pretty awesome to be able to like have a career and keep the lights on with.

doing something that literally didn't exist like before our generation in our towns. It's insane. Yeah. I think about it all the time. Yeah. That we can do this no matter where we live and make a good living doing it. I'm super thankful. It's freaking amazing. Yeah. So great. Thank you. Have a good one.

Hey, thanks so much for tuning in to this week's episode of The Solo Creative. If you enjoyed it, I hope you share it. And you can connect with us on Instagram at thesolocreativepod. Hit us up with any questions or suggestions for show guests. Thanks and have a week.