Sometimes in The Cinema Psychos Show we have a lot of fun and ask the question, “Who in their right mind gave money to the filmmaker to make this schlock?”
This series is all about Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with Brian from The Cinema Psychos Show
When did you start podcasting?
The Cinema Psychos Show wasn’t where I started. I began “officially” podcasting in 2016. Prior to that, I had dabbled in the world of live internet radio. I was a co-host of an internet radio show called “Daggervision Films Horror Talk Radio” with a former filmmaking partner of mine named Johnny Daggers.
It was something that we produced live and then was repurposed by the network we were part of as a podcast.
I like to think of it as the “proto-cinema psychos show.” Very much geared toward reviewing a movie or bringing on a filmmaker or celebrity to discuss their work. It really got my feet wet in the world of producing a solid show.
What made you think about starting a podcast?
So as an indie filmmaker, one of the biggest challenges that we face is how to get the word out about our work. Most of us do not have the budgets available to do proper marketing pushes to find and educate our audiences about a film screening the same way that a studio would.
In 2015, I had just finished making a documentary. Despite it being in a few film festivals and publicized through social media, people were not aware of or coming to the screenings.
It was around the same time that I read an article by Kevin Smith who was then the host of a podcast called “Smodcast.” In the article he outlined how podcasting was really becoming a great tool for filmmakers to market their work.
The idea was that the audience cultivated through the podcast would become a devoted fanbase, thus, breaking through oversaturation in the film industry.
I also was in a bit of a creative funk. I had a 9-5 job at the time that did not necessarily stretch my legs creatively. And I also did not want to dive into a new film since I knew that the costs and time associated with it would be quite significant.
So, podcasting seemed like a much more doable thing, given the time and costs for entry being fairly low … 6 years on and that isn’t exactly accurate.
What’s the name of your show and what is it about?
My show is called “The Cinema Psychos Show.” It is primarily a movie review podcast.
In each episode, my co-host, and fellow indie filmmaker John Wooliscroft and I discuss either a movie, a film topic, a filmmaker retrospective, or a guest with some tie to the film industry.
We bill the podcast as a hybrid of serious film criticism and vulgar comedy.
At the time that I was creating the idea for the podcast, I saw that there were really two camps of movie podcasts. On one end, you had people who were all comedy but light on any substance related to the movie they were reviewing.
On the other end, you had some really prestigious and very serious discussions about all the subtext involved in a movie, but they felt extremely dry and boring.
I wanted my podcast to be somewhere in the middle. There are some episodes where we quite literally break down a scene in a film and pull out subtle details, analyzing what meaning they have to the overall story.
And then there are other times when we have a lot of fun, especially with a bad movie, and ask the question, “Who in their right mind gave money to the filmmaker to make this schlock?”
What’s your podcast setup for The Cinema Psychos Show?
The gear we use has evolved over time. Prior to the pandemic, we recorded everything in person using a Tascam dr70d 4-track recorder.
I have a collection of different mics that I use. If we are in person, I’ll use an ATR2100 and a set of CAD Dynamic mics. When the pandemic started, we had to move to an entirely remote workflow.
The current mic I use for this setup is a Neewer 700 that plugs into a Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen.
When we went remote, I experimented with a bunch of different solutions (zoom/skype/etc.), and the solution we landed on was using Cleanfeed. It gave us the best sound quality, which for me, was extremely important.
Now, since Libsyn Connect is available in beta, we’ve been using that and are really enjoying its functionality and ability to give you separate tracks for post-production.
For editing, I’ve always used Adobe Audition.
How have you promoted The Cinema Psychos Show?
The promotion has been probably the hardest part. I’ll be the first to say that I’m still learning the best way to publicize my show. When I started, I tried to be everywhere (ie. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook groups/pages) but it became a bit of a struggle to maintain all of that.
So what I’ve done now is focus on one or two platforms. Instagram has shifted to being the primary one. I’ve also started experimenting with TikTok using the reels that I create for Instagram. And, of course, we have a website.
I’ve also tried to make it a priority to guest spot on other podcasts with a similar niche.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
I wish I knew just how much time and energy actually goes into producing a podcast. I think because it is audio-only, we tend to think that producing a podcast is fairly easy. You sit down, grab a mic, and just start talking.
But after nearly 250 episodes, I can tell you that the recording part is without a doubt the quickest part of the process. The time that goes into researching an episode, outreach to guests, editing, and then, of course, promotion all require the same amount of effort that we give to choosing the right mic and recording.
Hosted by indie filmmakers Brian Cottingtom and John Wooliscroft, The Cinema Psychos Show, is a hybrid of serious film criticism and vulgar comedy. In each episode, they discuss either a movie, a film topic, a filmmaker retrospective, or a guest with some tie to the film industry. A podcast of substance, laced with comedy, it’s niche podcasting at its finest. Give it a listen on Apple or Spotify today!
Taking a break from filmmaking, Brian Cottington first looked at podcasting as a way to market his films. Soon enough, he and fellow indie filmmaker John Wooliscroft were hosting The Cinema Psychos Show! By combining a love for film and an appreciation for unflinching (raunchy) comedy, they are now in their 6th year and still going! There’s no time like today to get started with YOUR podcast and Libsyn makes it super easy with our comprehensive How to Start a Podcast Guide. Then, when you are ready, we have the best podcast hosting plans around!
