View Transcript
Episode Description
GG Hawkins speaks with Kino co-founders Brit MacRae and Daril Fannin about the broken handoff between post-production and release, and how insecure screeners, fragmented feedback workflows, and fear-based distribution norms undermine independent film. They break down Kino’s evolution from an interactive streaming idea into a secure post-to-delivery platform, explain how they built a film fund around de-risked sub-$2 million features, and use Undertone as a case study for aligning budgets, creative ambition, and profitability.
In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests Brit MacRae and Daril Fannin discuss...
-
Why the current post-production and release pipeline is still built around insecure links, scattered notes, and outdated habits
-
How piracy, leaks, and weak screener security can hurt filmmakers, investors, and distribution momentum
-
The original idea behind Kino and how it pivoted from interactive streaming to a B2B platform for secure screeners, dailies, cuts, approvals, focus groups, and final delivery
-
Why discoverability is one of the biggest problems in independent film, and why indie projects are competing with TikTok and other forms of passive entertainment
-
How fear-based thinking shapes decisions around marketing, exposure, festivals, and distribution
-
What “LVOD” means to Kino and how the company tried to create a window that adds marketing value without cannibalizing TVOD
-
Why MacRae and Fannin believe filmmakers need to think like business builders, not just artists, when raising money
-
How Kino structured its film fund around contained, creatively aligned stories with budgets under $2 million and meaningful de-risking through incentives and exchange rates
-
Why Undertone made sense as a fund project: one location, a contained story, and a production model that matched the script’s scale
-
How equity participation and aligned incentives can help cast, crew, and investors move in the same direction
-
Why iteration, early feedback, and collaborative review should play a larger role in filmmaking, much like they do in tech and animation
-
What kinds of projects Kino is pursuing next, including a Band of Brothers documentary and more genre-focused features
Memorable Quotes:
-
“Something’s not working and we’re going to dig into it.”
-
“Fear makes you stupid.”
-
“Coming to the table with great art is table stakes.”
-
“It’s not about the project, it’s about the people you’re surrounding yourself with.”
Guests:
Resources:
Find No Film School everywhere:
-
📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices