In this episode, we have a conversation with Whistleblower, Documentarian, and Author Michael McCray. We talk about the upcoming Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival, the art of pitching, the film industry’s role in Whistleblowing, social media building user’s psyches, the 30 data points rule, MK Ultra, Whistleblower protection laws, Julian Assange, Elon Musk’s bid to acquire Twitter, and much more!
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About Michael McCray
In 1995, Michael McCray blew the whistle on $40 million in waste, fraud and abuse at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Clinton Administration. As a result, he became a leading public interest advocate for civil and human rights, including free speech and whistleblower protections. McCray is a 2007 recipient of the "No FEAR Award" in Washington, DC. In addition, he received statewide recognition for outstanding work in peace and social justice in Arkansas. The OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology honored him as an ARKANSAS PEACE & JUSTICE HERO in 2008. Most recently, McCray is a 2021 recipient of the Cliff Robertson Sentinel Award Recipient for his advocacy with the ACORN 8 from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). A former national board delegate for Georgia ACORN, McCray was the spokesman for the ACORN 8, the national board members that blew the whistle on a multi-million dollar embezzlement at the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). His breakthrough book RACE, POWER & POLITICS—Memoirs of an ACORN Whistleblower tells the inside story of ACORN. An author, speaker, and public interest advocate, McCray has made numerous media (radio and television) appearances including CNN (Lou Dobbs Tonight) and FOX News (Glenn Beck Show). A highly sought-after public speaker, McCray makes memorable contributions to conferences, events, and conventions that welcome his "tell-it-like-it-is" storytelling style and audience engagement. He combines Fortune 500 corporate experience and public interest advocacy by speaking on motivational topics including whistleblower protection, business ethics, and corporate integrity. McCray co-founded the International Association of Whistleblowers (IAW) and served as General Counsel for the Federally Employed Women Legal Education Fund (FEW-LEF), which champions equal employment opportunity. In addition, he is a member of the No FEAR Coalition, which promotes and supported the passage of the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act (No FEAR) of 2002—the first civil rights law of the 21st Century. McCray is also the co-founder of the Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival, an annual conference on Capitol Hill. The Whistleblower Summit is the largest gathering of whistleblowers and won a “Best Festival” Award for innovation in Arts, Culture, and Film at Fest Forums (Santa Barbra) in 2019. An alumnus of Georgetown Law, Howard University, American University, and Florida A&M University, McCray has a diverse educational and professional background, including Fortune 500 Corporate experience in marketing at Johnson & Johnson, Personal Products Company, accounting at Honeywell Information Systems, and investment banking at SunTrust Bank. However, McCray pursued his passion for public service and community economic development when he worked for the Federal Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) Program, a White House Economic Development Initiative for the Clinton Administration. He continued his desire for community empowerment by working for various community and faith-based development organizations, including T.D. Jakes Ministries (i.e., Metroplex Economic Development Corporation). Currently, McCray is a seasoned advertising executive with nearly 15 years of progressive experience in marketing. He learned the business by conducting focus groups, special event management, new business development, and account services at Advantage Communications, Inc. (ACI). Advantage was a pioneering multi-cultural advertising agency in Arkansas, McCray managed local, regional and national accounts like Hope Credit Union and General Motors. Most recently, McCray was a brand manager for The Design Group, where his portfolio included marketing higher education, tourism, hospitality, and small business brands such as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Saracen Casino Resort and Mays, Byrd and O’Guinn Law Firm and the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission. McCray received a Davey Silver Award for the Hope Credit Union “Better Banking-Better Lives” advertising campaign In 2018. Links:
Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival Website Acorn 8 Race, Power & Politics by Michael McCray (book) Acorn 8 website Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (book) Whistleblower Week All the President’s Men (film) Erin Brockovich (film) Serpico (film) CBS Whistleblower (tv series) The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pengagon Papers (film) A Civil Action (film)
About the MAKE IT Podcast
The MAKE IT podcast is an audio platform for the Voice of the Filmmaker Program. We offer a variety of educational, aspirational, and entertaining content that promotes the success of creatives across the filmmaking community and the film industry. Our Filmmaker Conversations with industry professionals are dedicated to sharing the advice, knowledge, and insights of experienced filmmakers while exploring what it truly means to be an independent creative in the highly competitive world of filmmaking. Each filmmaker conversation is backed by thoughtful research that allows us to uncover the raw, authentic truths behind each filmmaker's journey. Through our Indie Talks, we share our thoughts and perspectives on navigating independent film from the perspective of Advisory and Executive Producers. We discuss topics that are relevant to filmmakers across a wide spectrum of filmmaking perspectives, and we do our best to uncover hidden truths and new developments in the film industry. Our goal is to help filmmakers avoid the pitfalls and obstacles on the business side of film so that their filmmaking creativity can thrive. Our Industry Insights provide bite-sized actionable advice that filmmaking professionals and creatives of all kinds can use to keep their heads up as they continue their filmmaking journeys. With advice sourced from the filmmaking community, we build upon the wisdom of our filmmaking guests to provide our audience with truly aspirational and inspirational content. The Mistakes in the Making series gives our filmmaking friends an opportunity to speak directly to our filmmaking audience to share a specific lesson they've learned through a mistake they've made. We are firm believers that mistakes can be the gateway to success when we open our hearts and minds to learning from them, sharing them, and using them to Be Better.
This and all other episodes of the MAKE IT podcast are brought to you in partnership with Women in Film and Television as part of the Voice of the Filmmaker Program. Please help us keep the conversation going.
In this episode, we hear from a brilliant SWIFT Summit panel of female filmmakers and creatives - Kd Amond (AZIF Productions), Elisabeth Donaldson (Rattled, 2020), Tammy Hyler (Smashville Entertainment), Vicki Yates (News Channel 5), and Sarah Zanotti (Faye, 2021, AZIF Productions). We learn about the Bechdel Test, why it matters and why it's becoming easier to pass, the empowerment movement for women in film, the age of consent, and overcoming your fear as a female creative.
About the SWIFT Summit
The Southern Women in Film & Television Summit (SWIFT) provides a unique forum for unifying the creative objectives of women residing in Southern states via professional advancement, mentorship, and collaboration. The event will assemble luminaries from all areas of the entertainment industry to explore a variety of topics that greatly impact women: from human rights and women’s leadership to storytelling across platforms. Three days of inventive programming with inspiring conversations, new ideas, and innovations that are shaping the future for women in all aspects of entertainment and the empowerment of the next generation of emerging creatives.
About Tammy Hyler and Smashville Entertainment
Smashville Entertainment is a music management and publishing company based in Nashville, Tennessee, affectionately known to the locals and the Nashville Predators as “Smashville”. Award-winning songwriter Tammy Hyler is the CEO and owner of the company, along with a silent investor. Hyler runs the day-to-day operations, including signing and management of the artists, as well as film and television development.
Hyler is also a staff songwriter/producer under Smashville Entertainment’s publishing division.
About KD Amond
Kd started her career in the film industry as a PA before moving into editorial. Her production credits include The Best of Me, Terminator Genesys, Scream Queens, The Big Short, Geostorm, The Free World, and Baywatch. Kd is also an award-winning screenwriter. In 2018, Kd directed her first feature film Five Women in the End, starring Michael Cudlitz and Corri English, now available on VOD.
In 2019, she teamed up with Sarah Zanotti to form AZ if Productions. Together they’ve produced three features: Rattled,Faye, and The Unraveling. They even set a record: Faye is the first American feature film in history to only star one actress on screen and the first one-woman horror film. Faye is now available on VOD and digital as well. Kd also enjoys sipping Elijah Craig barrel proof and watching Rupaul’s Drag Race.
Instagram and Twitter @azifproductions
About Sarah Zanotti
Sarah Zanotti is an actress and screenwriter currently based out of Nashville, TN. She is a co-founder of AZ if Productions, where she has co-written and starred in two feature films, Rattled and Faye. Together Sarah and Kd have written seven screenplays. Sarah graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in songwriting and writes and records her music for Whizbang Inc., a sync and licensing company. She’s somewhat of a queso connoisseur, but she doesn’t want to brag about it. If you would like to contact her, you can call her mom…because she fired her agent. Fun fact: Outside of AZ if Productions, Kd and Sarah are besties who enjoy sipping Anejo tequila and watching RuPaul's Drag Race at least once a week. Sarah is a panelist on Vivid Scenes (Explore Film Techniques of Color, Costume, Casting, Composition in creative writing.
About Vicki Yates
Vicki Yates is an American Award-winning Broadcast Journalist, Anchor, and Reporter currently working as a news anchor for WTVF News Channel 5. Before joining the NewsChannel 5 team, Vicki anchored and reported at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for five years. She also worked as assistant News Director, reporter and Public Affairs Director at WMJC Radio in Detroit.
About the Bechdel Test
The Bechdel Test is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The test is named after the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel. It has come to be used as an indicator for the active presence of women in the entire field of film.
About the MAKE IT Podcast
The MAKE IT podcast is a platform for the voice of independent filmmaker. We offer a variety of educational, aspirational, and entertaining content that promotes the success of creatives across the filmmaking community and the film industry.
Our Filmmaker Conversations with filmmaking professionals are dedicated to sharing the advice, knowledge, and insights of experienced filmmakers while exploring what it truly means to be an independent creative in the highly competitive world of filmmaking. Each filmmaker conversation is backed by thoughtful research that allows us to uncover the raw, authentic truths behind each filmmaker's journey.
Through our Indie Talks, we share our thoughts and perspectives on navigating independent film from the perspective of Advisory and Executive Producers. We discuss topics that are relevant to filmmakers across a wide spectrum of filmmaking perspectives, and we do our best to uncover hidden truths and new developments in the film industry. Our goal is to help filmmakers avoid the pitfalls and obstacles on the business side of film so that their filmmaking creativity can thrive.
Our Industry Insights provide bite-sized actionable advice that filmmaking professionals and creatives of all kinds can use to keep their heads up as they continue their filmmaking journeys. With advice sourced from the filmmaking community, we build upon the wisdom of our filmmaking guests to provide our audience with truly aspirational and inspirational content.
The Mistakes in the Making series gives our filmmaking friends an opportunity to speak directly to our filmmaking audience to share a specific lesson they've learned through a mistake they've made. We are firm believers that mistakes can be the gateway to success when we open our hearts and minds to learning from them, sharing them, and using them to Be Better.
The Film Investment series is a conversational series of 52 episodes geared towards the would-be film investor. Each episode, facilitated via a friendly conversation between hosts and friends Christopher Barkley and Jason McConnell, highlights a unique aspect of the film investment process. In addition to being a great resource for film investors, it serves as a reference for filmmakers regarding the many considerations that must be made when seeking film investment.
This and all other episodes of the MAKE IT podcast are brought to you in partnership with Women in Film and Television as part of the Voice of the Filmmaker Program. Please help us keep the conversation going.
This and all other episodes of the MAKE IT podcast are brought to you in partnership with Women in Film and Television as part of the Voice of the Filmmaker Program. Please help us keep the conversation going.
In this edition of Indie Talk, Chris and Nick review this week in podcast guests, discuss the usefulness of the DISC profile, take on the constant media dog whistles designed to indoctrinate us, and tackle the idea of being yourself at the expense of doing great work or being a good person.
"Be who you are. Find your tribe. Find a mentor."
About the DISC Profile
An individual's DISC profile is the calculated result of the DISC personality test which is based on the emotional and behavioral theories of American psychologist Dr. Willam Marston. DISC is an acronym that stands for the primary traits identified in the profile: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance.
Though the profile leverages four primary traits, it is broken down into twelve dimensions that describe various combinations of these traits (e.g., Dominant/Influence (DI), Dominant (D), Dominant/Compliance (DC)). These combinations provide insights into our behavior and help us to understand how we present ourselves to the world.
Here is a brief description of the four primary traits:
Dominance: Direct. Decisive. High Ego Strength. Problem Solver. Risk Taker. Self Starter.
Influence: Enthusiastic. Trusting; Optimistic. Persuasive. Talkative. Impulsive. Emotional.
Steadiness: Good listener. Team player. Possessive. Steady. Predictable. Understanding. Friendly.
Compliance: Accurate; analytical. Conscientious; careful. Fact-finder; precise. High standards; systematic.
About the MAKE IT Podcast
The MAKE IT podcast is a platform for the voice of independent filmmaker. We offer a variety of educational, aspirational, and entertaining content that promotes the success of creatives across the filmmaking community and the film industry.
Our Filmmaker Conversations with filmmaking professionals are dedicated to sharing the advice, knowledge, and insights of experienced filmmakers while exploring what it truly means to be an independent creative in the highly competitive world of filmmaking. Each filmmaker conversation is backed by thoughtful research that allows us to uncover the raw, authentic truths behind each filmmaker's journey.
Through our Indie Talks, we share our thoughts and perspectives on navigating independent film from the perspective of Advisory and Executive Producers. We discuss topics that are relevant to filmmakers across a wide spectrum of filmmaking perspectives, and we do our best to uncover hidden truths and new developments in the film industry. Our goal is to help filmmakers avoid the pitfalls and obstacles on the business side of film so that their filmmaking creativity can thrive.
Our Industry Insights provide bite-sized actionable advice that filmmaking professionals and creatives of all kinds can use to keep their heads up as they continue their filmmaking journeys. With advice sourced from the filmmaking community, we build upon the wisdom of our filmmaking guests to provide our audience with truly aspirational and inspirational content.
The Mistakes in the Making series gives our filmmaking friends an opportunity to speak directly to our filmmaking audience to share a specific lesson they've learned through a mistake they've made. We are firm believers that mistakes can be the gateway to success when we open our hearts and minds to learning from them, sharing them, and using them to Be Better.
The Film Investment series is a conversational series of 52 episodes geared towards the would-be film investor. Each episode, facilitated via a friendly conversation between hosts and friends Christopher Barkley and Jason McConnell, highlights a unique aspect of the film investment process. In addition to being a great resource for film investors, it serves as a reference for filmmakers regarding the many considerations that must be made when seeking film investment.
This and all other episodes of the MAKE IT podcast are brought to you in partnership with Women in Film and Television as part of the Voice of the Filmmaker Program. Please help us keep the conversation going.