Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast17 Kesä 2025

IFH 807: Making Your Own Damn Movies: Inside Dave Campfield’s Troma-Fueled Filmmaking Path

When two Daves walk into a podcast, you don’t expect to stumble upon a meditation on art, failure, persistence, and horror-comedy. But that’s exactly what happened in this electric and delightfully unfiltered conversation with Dave Campfield, a filmmaker, actor, and host of the Troma Now Podcast, best known for his work in the cult Caesar and Otto comedy-horror film series.Dave Campfield is a fiercely independent filmmaker whose journey from a now-defunct film college in New Mexico to directing his own cult horror satires has been a long and winding road paved with hustle, humor, and horror.We start in the sand-colored surrealism of Santa Fe, where adobe buildings and the ghost of City Slickers set the stage for Dave’s early filmmaking dreams. In the land of tumbleweeds and tumble-down gym studios turned sound stages, Dave cut his teeth not just on film but on the art of adaptation.

The college no longer exists, but the memories—like chalk lines under studio lights—remain vivid in his story. “It was like going to school on Tatooine,” he says, laughing, but behind that joke is a bittersweet nod to the ephemeral.From there, Dave walks us through the illusion of success—early meetings with Universal and New Line Cinema where hopes were dangled like carrots in front of eager young dreamers. The industry, he quickly learned, speaks its own coded language: familiarity, marketability, and sometimes, plain deception. One mentor told him to “say you're young, from the streets, and have a dark comedy,” regardless of truth. Dave gave it a shot but came away with the haunting realization that "they were intrigued enough to keep me on leash, but not enough to make it happen."That experience seeded his first real film, “Dark Chamber,” a mystery-horror project which deliberately bucked slasher formulas. It took five years to make—five years of blood, sweat, and overdrafts. And yet, when the studios responded with, “We wanted something more familiar,” Dave knew he was swimming upstream. Still, he sold the film to a small distributor, endured its repackaging as something it wasn’t, and got it onto Netflix. A win—just not the one he envisioned.

But here’s the heart of it all: Dave didn’t stop. He pivoted, not with bitterness, but with evolution. “I decided I wasn't going to be one of those people waiting for opportunity. You had to make it happen on your own.” And so, he leaned into comedy horror—a genre he describes as “Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein, but for the splatter generation.” Thus, Caesar and Otto were born: two absurdly lovable doofuses bumbling their way through massacres, monsters, and paranormal mayhem.One of Dave’s secret weapons is loyalty to what’s real. Whether recounting how Lloyd Kaufman forgot him (then remembered) or editing commercials for the Philadelphia Pet Expo, he keeps a kind of grounded magic about his craft. He shares a deeply personal new project, “Awaken the Reaper,” born from a decade of introspection and struggle, calling it “the most personal thing I’ve ever written.” He says, “It’s about being stuck—feeling like every day you’re not moving forward—and finally getting out of your own way.”All along, Dave’s been quietly building a reputation for casting future stars before they break—Trey Byers (Empire), Peter Scanavino (Law & Order)—and hosting a podcast that thrives not just because of brand synergy with Troma, but because he genuinely knows how to talk to people. “They’ve never rejected an episode,” he remarks. “I tease Troma a lot, and they’re always game. It’s a beautiful collaboration.”The conversation wraps not with grandiosity, but a recognition that even the smallest cult followings can keep a creator going. “My fanbase is small, but intense,” Dave says with pride. “I can rattle them off on two hands.” Maybe that’s enough. Maybe that’s everything.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

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IFH 400: Film Riot: How to Build a Youtube Empire with Ryan Connolly

Well, we made it. #400! I couldn't have imagined that when I started this little podcast back in 2015 that we would ever get here. I say "we" because I couldn't have done it with the IFH Tribe's love and support over the years. I am humbled, grateful, and honored to have the privilege to serve you all. Thank you for everything guys.As promised I wanted to make this episode special and today's guest will do just that. We have filmmaker and founder of the legendary Film Riot Ryan Connelly. Ryan launched Film Riot on Youtube back in 2006 and has been helping indie filmmakers create killer VFX for their films ever since.Ryan has shot over 15 short films and has taken his followers on the journey of how he made them. I've been a big fan of Ryan's for a long time and just love what he has created with Film Riot. Hustle respects HUSTLE!We discuss so much in this conversation. From creating Film Riot to when he'll make his first feature film to how our industry will survive the Coronavirus. I just loved having Ryan on the show.Enjoy my EPIC conversation with Ryan Connelly. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

31 Heinä 20201h 35min

MOTIVATION: Blaze Your Own Filmmaking Trail

This is your weekly dose of filmmaking motivation. Be well, stay safe and of course, keep on hustling!- Never stop chasing that dream that is burning in your belly.- Your limitation—it's only your imagination.- Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you.- Sometimes later becomes never.- Great things never come from comfort zones.- Success doesn't just find you.Share this with a filmmaker that needs to hear it.Proud Member of the IFH Podcast Network (www.ifhpodcastnetwork.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

28 Heinä 20202min

IFH 399: The Wrong Kind of Women in Hollywood with Naomi Mcdougall Jones

Today on the show we have award-winning filmmaker, actress, author, speaker, women in film activist and force of nature Naomi McDougall Jones. Many of the IFH Tribe might remember Naomi from her first appearance on the show talking about her distribution adventures with her film Bite Me. You can listen to that episode here: Making Money Self Distributing Your Indie Film with Naomi McDougall JonesBite Me, is a subversive romantic comedy about a real-life vampire and the IRS agent who audits her. The film premiered at Cinequest, won Best Feature Film at VTXIFF, and then went on to the innovative, paradigm-shifting Joyful Vampire Tour of America in summer 2019, a 51-screening, 40-city, three-month, RV-fueled eventized tour that involved Joyful Vampire Balls, capes, a docu-series and a whole lot of joy. Naomi's first book, The Wrong Kind of Women: Inside Our Revolution to Dismantle the Gods of Hollywood, is now available wherever books are sold in hardcover, audiobook, and e-book. It debuted as the #1 New Release on Amazon. It is a brutally honest look at the systemic exclusion of women in film—an industry with massive cultural influence—and how, in response, women are making space in cinema for their voices to be heard.Naomi has been a vocal advocate for bringing gender parity to film, both on and off-screen. She has spoken at film festivals and conferences around the world and written extensively on this subject. Naomi's TEDTalk on these issues and what to do about them, "What it's Like to Be a Woman in Hollywood, has been viewed over a million times. Enjoy my eye-opening conversation with Naomi Mcdougall Jones. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

24 Heinä 20201h 20min

Annoucing the IFH Podcast Network for Filmmakers

The IFH Podcast Network makes it easy for you to discover, connect, and engage with industry-leading filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, all in one place. We curate the best podcasts that will help you on your filmmaking and screenwriting journey. You can listen to any of our shows on your favorite podcast platform. #IndieFilmUnitewww.ifhpodcastnetwork.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

23 Heinä 20203min

MOTIVATION: Why You Stop Yourself From Making Your Indie Film

23 Heinä 202011min

MOTIVATION: How Bad Do You Want Your Filmmaking Dream?

21 Heinä 20203min

NEW PODCAST: The Filmmaking Motivation Podcast with Alex Ferrari

Welcome to the Filmmaking Motivation Podcast with Alex Ferrari is a podcast dedicated to helping you get off your butt and make it happen for yourself. We all need a push on our filmmaking journey from time to time and this show does just that. Filmmaker and host Alex Ferrari (who also hosts The Indie Film Hustle, Filmtrepreneur, and Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcasts) drops weekly episodes that are part inspirational, part motivational, part raw truth bomb and part kick in the butt. These short motivational episodes will help you kick start your day. Never stop chasing that filmmaking or screenwriting dream. The world needs to hear your voice. It is your responsibility to put it out into the world. Keep on hustling!Proud Member of the IFH Podcast Network (www.ifhpodcastnetwork.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

21 Heinä 20204min

IFH 398: Big Budget Visual Effects on a Micro-Budget with Kevin Good

Today on the show we have low-budget visual effects master Kevin Good. Kevin is a freelance cinematographer, VFX artist, and director. He has worked on diverse projects from creating television pilots for Fox Television Studios to shooting interactive feature-length films for the U.S. Army.His work has been featured in the Independent TV Festival in Los Angeles, the New York Television Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Edinburgh International TV Festival, the Festival Internacional de Televisão in Rio de Janeiro, the Boston International Film Festival, and others. Kevin now balances his time between teaching at Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts, freelance production work, and developing his own crazy projects, many of which are featured on his site.Kevin Good’s debut feature, Dinner with the Alchemist premieres at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood as part of the Dances With Films festival. Dinner with the Alchemist is a masterclass in low-budget filmmaking and using visual effects to create scale and production value.Enjoy my eye-opening conversation with Kevin Good. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

17 Heinä 20201h 13min

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