Filmmaking Unpacked
Filmmaking Unpacked is a podcast by Ross Morin that explores the psychological, philosophical, and practical challenges faced by filmmakers and creative people. Blending textbook, self-help, philosophical essay, and memoir formats, it is structured as 26 chapters, similar to a college semester. The show is intended for use in high school, college, and graduate courses, and is especially aimed at those who didn’t get the film education they wanted. Ross Morin writes, performs, and produces the series, which is released under a Creative Commons license with optional donations.
Episodes
Ch 26. What Was the Point of this Podcast?
Zen and the art of filmmaking.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 25. Does My Identity Impact What I Can (and Can't) Say?
The entire podcast has been building to this question. Let's get to work.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 24. Why Do the Representations in My One Film Matter?
It's just one little film - what difference does it make?Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 23. Should I Be Authentic in my Creative Work?
Maybe I shouldn't be true to myself after all...Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin. Guest: Dr. Simon Feldman, author of Against Authenticity: Why You Shouldn't be Yourself.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the proje
Ch 22. Am I Being Truer to Myself by Holding On or Moving On?
Am I betraying myself by revising my work?This episode would not exist without the collaborative input and writing of Dr. Simon Feldman. Check out his book, Against Authenticity: Why You Shouldn't be Yourself ahead of next week's episode.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCom
Ch 21. My Film Is "Offensive" - Now What Do I Do?
Oops, I committed a moral wrong with my film. I think...Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 20. Should We Value Creative Intent? (part two)
Wait, that's not what I meant...Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 19. Should We Value Creative Intent? (part one)
It's about what I say it's about - right?Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 18. How Can I Productively Make the Most of Feedback?
You mean there's still MORE to do?Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 17. Can I Make a Movie Just for Me?
Just let me cook, baby!Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 16. Should I Aim to Be a Perfectionist?
Why settle for anything less?Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 15. Should I Listen to This Podcast? (Welcome to Season 2)
After all, there sure is a lot of content out there...Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 14. Why Should I Make a Film?
It's so easy to forget.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 13. When is it a Good Thing to Leave Things Open Ended?
It’s good to ambiguous. … Or is it?Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 12. How Can I Give Feedback More Effectively?
We don’t need to be jerks in order to be honest.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 11. Is Any Reaction a Good Reaction?
It’s no big deal to get a big reaction - if all you want to do is get a big reaction.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 10. How Do I Know If I Have a Good Idea?
As the seeds blow across the terrain, let's see if any take root.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 9. Should I Have a Brand or Production Company?
I mean, it certainly seems cool, right?Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 8. Why Does My Film Have "Politics"?
Our choices leave us no other option.Author’s note: This episode concludes a mini-arc of episodes starting with episode 4.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out F
Ch 7. Why is My Film Biased (Even if I Don’t Want it To Be)?
Description: One lens. One whiteboard marker. What’s objectivity anyway?Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 6. What Do We Mean When We Talk About a Film’s “Politics”?
Let’s disentangle some controversial buzzwords.Shownote: Oxford Languages defines “politics” as: “The assumptions or principles relating to or inherent in a sphere, theory, or thing, especially when concerned with power and status in a society.”Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution
Ch 5. How Can I Better Respond to Critique?
We don't have to be monsters.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 4. Why Am I So Defensive About a Critique of My Film's Values?
Let's accept our emotional reactions first; then we can act rationally.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 3. Should I Write What I Know?
Let's see what we can take away from this common piece of advice.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 2. How Do I Know if I'm Overthinking Something?
Let's start off with a question we can apply to all the episodes that follow.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
Ch 1. Introduction: How do I Know if I'm a "Neck Up" or "Neck Down" Filmmaker?
Welcome to the pilot episode of Filmmaking Unpacked.Written, performed, and produced by Ross Morin. Music by Sean Morin.Filmmaking Unpacked © 2026 by Ross Morin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 For more information, including how you can support the project, check out FilmmakingUnpacked.com.
