Michael Thelin takes us on his journey coming up as a trader on the CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange), explains what that unique environment was like on the inside, how he managed the rollercoaster of stress and euphoria, and the personal life lessons he took from the experience. He then opens up about how he pivoted to become a writer and director, lived on unemployment for a year as he grinded away, and finally had his breakthrough when he sold a show to NBC. He explains how he built his own path to success through networking, staying creatively focused on producing high quality work, and never taking a vacation. He talks about how he landed fortune 500 commercial clients like BMW, Amex and Coca Cola and landed production consulting work for Warner, Universal and Fox. He then talks about the projects that won him Clios and Emmys and shares some behind the scenes mishaps. He then explains how he built his business, “MTP”, a film and television production consulting company that he scaled to over 20 staff, which now oversees the production of Google’s premium streaming content that is competing with Netflix and Amazon. He explains how he built his business with a location independent infrastructure so he can run it remotely while traveling the world. He then shares his creative process for co-writing and directing his first feature film Emelie, which released theatrically in 2016. He shares what it was like on set directing the film, explains the incredible stress level and how he managed to stay focused and complete the project to critical acclaim. Full Show Notes Available at www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #32: Winning Emmys, Directing Feature Films and Running a Production Consulting Firm While Traveling the World with Michael Thelin
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Michael Thelin
Michael Thelin is a Clio and Emmy award winning commercial & feature film director. His work has been shown theatrically, on broadcast and cable television networks as well as at top tier film festivals such as SXSW and TriBeCa. He has directed projects for brands ranging from Amex, Coca Cola, Ford and BMW. His debut feature film, which he directed and co-wrote, “Emelie”, opened theatrically in 2016 and has since become one of the top rated thrillers on iTunes and Netflix, has received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and many other outlets, earning it an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Michael is also a location independent entrepreneur. He is the founder and owner of MTP, a film and television production Consulting firm which has overseen the production of over 50 original shows and 20 films for Google as well as producing content for Universal, Warner and Fox. His team has overseen the production of Google’s premium streaming content that is currently competing with Netflix and Amazon. He has scaled the company to a team of over 20 people and he can run his business and manage his team completely remotely while traveling the world.
What You'll Learn
- How to build and run a location independent production company
- How to merge being a talented creative with being a good entrepreneur
- How to write and direct a critically acclaimed film (and behind the scenes drama ☺
Links From the Episode
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Watch Michael’s Critically Acclaimed Feature Film “Emelie”
WINE SHARED ON THIS EPISODE
BOOKS MICHAEL RECOMMENDS
APP MICHAEL RECOMMENDS
YOUTUBE ORIGINAL SERIES AND SPECIALS MENTIONED
EVENT IN WHICH MATT AND MICHAEL PARTICIPATED
MICHAEL’S TOP 3 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
MICHAEL’S TOP 3 BUCKET LIST TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
LOCATION WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
CITY WHERE MICHAEL IS FROM
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED
Check Flight Prices to Any of These Destinations
CONTACT MICHAEL
Time Stamped Show Notes
[03:39] MICHAEL’S BACKGROUND AND CHILDHOOD INTEREST IN FILMMAKING
- Growing up in Chicago
- Using VHS camcorders as a kid
- Societal pressure to move away from the creative arts
[05:26] MICHAEL’S EXPERIENCE AS A CBOE TRADER AND MARKET MAKER
- Michael’s interest in trading
- Inside the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) as market maker
- Emotional conditioning and ‘hazing’ Michael experienced
- Navigating a high stress, high intensity, high pressure environment
- Personal growth takeaways from options trading he applied to the rest of his life
[11:18] TRANSITIONING INTO FILM AND TELEVISION
- Michael’s decision to leave options trading
- Being unemployed for a full year working on a pilot show
- Never taking a full vacation
- Selling his first TV show to NBC
- Learning to manage budgets and production staff
[15:56] BEING A TALENTED CREATIVE AND A GOOD BUSINESS PERSON SIMULTANEOUSLY
- Merging fiscal and creative priorities in filmmaking
- Creating a pilot and selling it to NBC on a shoestring budget
- Utilizing a distinct visual style and producing consistent, high quality content
- The springboard effect from selling his first show
- Working for Universal, Warner and Atlantic filming music concerts
- The crucial importance of networking and business relationships
- The importance of taking every opportunity very seriously
- Being a creative but not getting caught in the ‘self-employment trap’
- Building and scaling MTP, a film and television production services company
- Hiring an all-star team and creating location independence
[30:57] OVERSEEING GOOGLE’S YOUTUBE PREMIUM STREAMING CONTENT
- Google competing with Netflix and Amazon with original series
- A-List actors choosing to do You Tube shows
[36:21] WINNING EMMY’S AND CLIOS
- Networking and relationship building to increase opportunities
- Shooting an interactive campaign in Tennessee
- The snafu that almost blew the shoot
- Internal Producer vs. Director tensions
- The importance of maintaining positive energy and being an inspiring leader
[39:50] CO-WRITNG AND DIRECTING THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FILM “EMELIE”
- How Michael identified an original story that he was excited about
- Michael’s writing process for a screenplay
- Telling the story he wants to tell as a director
- What for Michael makes a great screenplay
- How he structures his day when he is writing
- How he puts all of the pieces together to make a successful film
[52:55] HOW MICHAEL OPTIMIZES HIS PRODUCTIVITY AND MANAGES STRESS
- How Michael structures his work day
- The importance of working out and staying healthy
- Intentionally structuring down time each day
- Working on the weekends just like the week days
[55:36] BEHIND THE SCENES OF DIRECTING “EMELIE” AND MANAGING STRESS
- How being on set directing feels like sprinting a marathon
- Never being able tell the full story and drama behind shooting a film
- How producers shield directors from drama on set
- Using tunnel vision to get through stressful things on set
- The importance of doing due diligence with your team on set
- Relieving stress by hearing the problems in the lives of his friends
[1:01:38] BUILDING SYSTEMS AND STAFFING A LOCATION INDEPENDENT COMPANY
- The true amount of work that goes into building a business you can run remotely
- Hiring for “culture fit”
- The importance of diversity to Michael when hiring
- The key to managing a distributed team remotely
- The progression of building a team and getting to location independence.
[1:07:02] THE LIGHTNING ROUND
- #1 book that Michael recommends
- #1 productivity app that Michael uses
- Why Michael travels
- Michael’s top 3 favorite travel destinations
- Michael’s top 3 bucket list destinations
[1:11:22] CONTACT MICHAEL
- Watch Michael’s film Emelie
- Contact Michael
