February 16, 2016 8:05 pm

StarTalk Radio Gets Filmed for “What’s a Podcast? A Documentary Film.”

Today’s guest post is by Jeanne Holden, the producer of the upcoming documentary, “What’s a Podcast? A Documentary Film” (Release date: Winter 2017.) Jeanne and her crew filmed us while we were recording an upcoming StarTalk Radio podcast on 2/11/16.

What’s a Podcast? A Documentary Film tells the story of how podcasting is changing – and saving – lives, as well as how we consume media. Scott Holden, host of the podcast That Man on FatMan, a show devoted to his hero, celebrity Kevin Smith, brings us through his journey to podcasting and introduces us to podcasters and podcasts that have given people a voice and a way to listen to media without gate-keepers, along with the ability to join new communities with similar ideas. The film features podcasters like Kevin Smith, Ralph Garman, Anthony Cumia, Kelly Carlin, Artie Lange, Kevin Allison, Scott Thompson and, as of February 11, 2016, Neil deGrasse Tyson!

The day could not have gone smoother for What’s a Podcast? A Documentary Film. All of the background T’s were crossed and schedules finally brought together with the help of StarTalk’s Helen Matsos (Co-Executive Producer), Lindsey Walker (Producer), and Jeff Simons (Social Media Director) and combining efforts to ensure our film crew had everything we needed for a clean interview with the Neil deGrasse Tyson (Host and Co-Executive Producer).

The crew at The Anthony Cumia Show (where StarTalk Radio is recorded, on the West Side of NYC) opened things up for our team at 11:30 AM, giving us the space we needed and cutting our set up efforts in half by allowing us access to the pre-lit green-screen studio space. Everyone was caffeinated and eager to meet Dr. Tyson for the long-anticipated documentary interview, and before we knew it he arrived and the interview was in full swing! Scott Holden worked his interview magic with Dr. Tyson by asking him some background questions. Neil was very receptive and jovial throughout, adding funny anecdotes and keeping their meeting very loose and casual. Directors of Photography Damian Kulikowski and Michael Joseph Consolmagno didn’t miss a beat and continued to bring the conversation and picture to life, along with Cameron Holden grabbing B-roll throughout.

We are so grateful to Dr. Tyson, who was so cordial and unassuming. He instantly put us all at ease, making it a fun and educational experience. We are so honored for his involvement in the project and thank his entire team for being supportive boosters for What’s a Podcast? from the beginning. We cannot wait to share the finished project with every “STAR” in the galaxy!

– Jeanne Holden, Producer
ThatMan Productions, LLC
Whatsapodcastmovie.com