Sarah Jamgotch on Indie Filmmaking, Audio Drama, and DIY Creativity in New York
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Sarah Jamgotch on Indie Filmmaking, Audio Drama, and DIY Creativity in New York

Hey, everybody. Welcome to my guest tonight. I'm Jeff Revilla. I've got an

amazing guest joining me tonight. Award winning indie director and

audio creator Sarah Jamgotch.

She walks through shadows with stories to tell where

silence speaks louder and grief casts a spell. Sarah

Jam got a name you won't forget. She

writes the ache, the glitch, the thread from

audio dreams to low budget film. Her V

cuts through the static and still tonight she's here.

Just hit the light. All my guests tonight with Jeff.

This feels right.

I did a little extended cut on that version because it really kicked in after

the course. Sarah, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me, Jeff. So glad you could be here. Tell

us, where are you calling in from? Where are you at right now? Yeah, I

am in my studio in downtown Brooklyn, New York.

Were you born in Brooklyn, New York? Lived there all your life? No, I was

born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm a Midwesterner but moved here a

few years ago for grad school and stuck around. Was it in

Michigan where you first started to find film and

get involved into the arts? Surprisingly, no. I started

my journey in New York City as an actor,

a writer and a screenwriter here and I've continued that

journey in New York and have been a director,

a producer, a showrunner, all that good stuff in New York. So after

you moved to New York, that's where you kind of got the bug and really

got involved into the arts? Yeah, definitely. And I think it

started when I was a kid. I've always wanted to move to New York City.

I was one of those kids that dreamed of living in the big city.

So it's been a dream and desire of

mine to be here for so long. And so I get to live out every

day, living in the best place in the world. So the move was more

important and the move created the interest in the arts

100%. Yeah. It's like I knew what I was. I didn't know

exactly what I was doing going into New York, but I knew it had something

to do with film and creativity and I'm so glad I found it. Did

you go to school or self taught to become a filmmaker?

I am completely self taught. So it started when I was

actually in long in Covid times a few years ago.

I was dealing with some long Covid symptoms and had a lot of time in

my hands because I was no longer working. And I found this

screenwriting class with my cousin who's also a writer

and we took this class. It was free online

we both loved writing, screenwriting, and I

actually took my feature script that I wrote. I submitted it to

only one festival, and surprisingly, that festival was the

one that made me a finalist. So I think I got the

bug early. I was really lucky. And I've

from since then just ran with it

and now I'm here. Was there a moment back in Covid

or you just happened to stumble across a class or was

there some reason that you're like, oh, that's something I want to try?

Yeah, it was mo. Well, it was my cousin Hogan who,

who really wanted to try it. And I had like an inkling

through the years of wanting to write something but not knowing what,

and it was just like, oh, sure, you know, whatever. I'll.

I'll try this. I'm not sure. I've never screen right. And I

just. Something clicked in me and that was it. So. And then

after that, I've. I've taken other writing classes. I've written other short

films and all of that. Anything jump

out at you that, you know, when you're. When you're writing, like, your creative process

is there. Are you tying in stories from your real life or.

Or things you see just on the streets of New York City? What's kind of

your inspiration for. For your writing? Yeah, so

my inspiration is usually. So I. I also have a

background in social work, so I went to school of grad school for a social

work degree. I worked for a little bit in policy. I have a little bit

of a wild background. I worked on the hill for a while. And

my stories tend to be about the. The stuff we don't

say. I'm really interested in, like, relationship dynamics.

I went to. I had classes on like, trauma and

vicarious experiences, how we all experience different things with trauma.

So a lot of my characters and a lot of my story arcs are about

characters being pushed to the end of their rope.

Unique relationship dynamics, things that aren't necessarily seen

often. And I think that does come from meeting a lot of really unique

in New York City and sort of extrapolating what would

this person's experience be if they were here or what would their, you

know, if it was a friend I had, what if they were in a horror?

And it's just putting these puzzle pieces together and seeing what kind of

happens. And that's one of the things I love about your story, is

it's these two completely separate paths that you might not put

together if you were, you know, if you were writing your own story. You might

not put somebody with Social work and psychology, with a

background in film writing. So that's a very unique

perspective to bring to the storytelling.

And you're taking these stories, you're taking things that you've learned. And

I just. I kind of want to go back a little bit on. On your

studies now. We tried. I tried to get out of you a little bit of,

how did you get into filmmaking? How did you get into. Into psychology

and social work, into your studies?

So it's a good question. I originally was an undergrad in

neuroscience. I found that the brain was really complex and unique.

And I grew up, I think,

wanting just to connect the dots of what was going on in my life,

in myself, to get sort of,

I guess, deep or not. Yeah, I was a child that

had depression and anxiety from a really young age. And

unfortunately, it was, you know, it's genetic. It's. It's something that's kind

of been in my family for a while. So I think going to school to

study the brain was my own attempt to solve

myself and solve the people around me. So

neuroscience hit that scientific part, but I really wanted that human

connection part. And so that led me to social work.

And through social work, I started to find more,

you know, understanding how trauma lives in the body.

What are different experiences that aren't mine that

I can somewhat relate to, getting to meet all these new people in New York.

And so the social work part stemmed from this wanting

to find out answers. And then once I

was in school, it kind of divulged into,

well, there's. I ended up going into policy practice, which is

like macro social work. You know, how do we fix these big issues

in. In the world? Food, insecurity, all these things.

And so that thinking of

myself transformed into how do I help other people?

And what's the best, most effective way to do that? And so that led

me to policy work. And then still through my writing and

through my creative works, I feel like I'm always still

trying to help someone. I'm still trying to connect dots and try to understand this

world that we live in. So you're in the Midwest. You're

thinking neuroscience. You're thinking, I got to get to New York City. And it's

just crazy how when you go back through your past or anybody's past,

and these little moments, you know, bring you to where you're

at today, and you're talking about all these things, you know,

identity and hive mind. And you have a series

or a film called Frequency, and yes,

it's an audio drama Audio drama. Yeah, like a podcast.

And tell us a little bit about frequency and how the creative process that you're

doing with the writing and neuroscience tie

into frequency. Sure, yeah. So frequency, like I

mentioned, is audio drama. There's a couple seasons, it'll be on

Spotify. This is a story about a

burned out neuroscientist like myself. Not burned out,

but, you know, she's burned out. And she escapes from

her past, troubled past with her family and she goes to

rural Appalachia mountains to restore a

decommissioned radio tower. So this is a bit dystopian.

Radio technology is very antiquated.

No one knows what it is, but she's the one to do it. And it's

so interesting to her. And as she's there, she starts to hear

these voices. People are connecting to her. She's

finding that she is not alone like she wanted to be.

And so it's a story about what voices are we listening

to? Why do we care?

What does it mean about us? Are our thoughts our own?

A lot of that sort of thing. And another one that I,

I was looking at your YouTube channel and this is where maybe where I cross

with frequency. I watched a look like it was a little bit of a

series where it was about a secret. And

you could give a secret or take a secret or, or tell us

because. Because that all ties back into what you're talking about. And it

does. It really was a thriller like on the edge of

your seat, hearing these stories. What was the,

what was the, what's the name of that series? And yeah, tell people, give them

a little guide through. Like, what will they experience when they watch

it? Oh, yes, of course. So that series is called the Central

Park Secret Keeper. It's about an older woman who sits in

Central park and she's got a table. It just says, give a secret,

take a secret. And she just waits for people to sit at her

table. And what starts as pretty, you know, innocent,

innocuous things, you know, people. Coming up, she's

learning that there are. She can't not

interact with these people's lives. People are being wronged.

People are not. Aren't getting justice for things that have happened to them.

So she starts meddling, you know, following, doing these

things. And towards the end, I won't give away everything in

the, in the ending, but there's

obviously more to her in what she's doing. She's not

just sitting and writing people's secrets down. There's a purpose.

And she's trying to figure out just as Much as these secret

tellers are trying to unravel their own stories.

Was there an inspiration for that character? Specifically? Because I can

picture you would pass that person a thousand times just

on a bench and just, you know, say hi, and

you would never really think to interact. But somehow you brought

that character to life. Was there a specific

something that sparked that character? That's a good question.

Nothing in particular sparked it, but it's just the

feeling in New York City that you walk by so many

people and you just forget who they are. And it's this

realization that every single person has a life that you're

not even thinking yet. Like they have a whole other perspective and they're

realizing and experiencing life way different than you. And you pass

hundreds of people just going to the grocery store. And it's that

feeling of. Of

similarity, I guess, in New York that we're actually

very similar than we think. So it's all of that kind

of coming together. What do you have in the works? What

are some things that. That we can look forward to that you're working on now

or. Or things that you're so passionate about that you just

can't wait to start working on? Sure. Yes, I. So

Frequency is coming out in October. The first episode episode

will be released on Oct. Oct. 1. I'm also really excited

about this theater production that I'm working on. It's called La

poinciana. It's a 1950s

jazz club bar Mafia story

that I'll be writing and producing as well. But I have a

number of shorts coming out. I have one about a painter

who sort of is losing his purpose and also loses his sight

at the same time. And then I also have a comedy short, which is

a really silly physical comedy about someone trying

to pick up a penny that's stuck to the ground. It's all over the place.

I feel like a lot of my stories have the through line of

myself, but there's generally genres and

mediums that are very different all the time. And we

talked a little bit about this DIY mentality. I talk a lot about

it. I have a theater in Pittsburgh. It's a small place for

independent podcasters to come in and do their shows live. And you're

doing independent filmmaking in New York City, and I kind of wonder what that process

is like. I could imagine the things you have to do to

be able to film in New York, but sometimes you might be able

to do things under the radar if it's not a giant production.

So what is it like moving around

and trying to put a film together in New York City. Oh,

that's a good question. I would say it's a lot of stress,

but it's really fun. It's really like you're tag teaming with a bunch

of other really passionate people and yeah,

you're sort of like running and gunning. We shot at a grocery

store outside in the front, like one of those bodegas.

And we never told the grocery store owner. No one really knew why

we were coming. And we got maybe like four shots in and then this, you

know, this guy comes out, he's like, what are you doing? Why are you here?

So we had to switch it a little bit, do something on the street instead

of in the grocery store. But yeah, it's, it's. I think what

really helps me create indie, low budget stuff is the people

that I work with are absolutely incredible. I work with such

passionate, intelligent, resourceful, you know,

cameramen, camera women, actors, people that

just want to get stuff done. And I, I just gravitate towards

those folks that have the same mentality of like, yeah, there's

constraints, but also know, let's figure it out, let's do it. I mean,

maybe it's not on the rooftop of a bridge, of a building, maybe it's on

a bridge instead and we're just kind of like

brainstorming, figuring out like what can actually be done and

getting to the core of the story itself and how we can still make it.

Yeah, I love that. I grew up in the 80s and 90s. I was a

skateboarder for 20 years. I grew up in punk rock,

indie rock and skateboarding is the same way. Like if you

want to skate a spot, you have to find the location,

avoid the owners, avoid police, and you got to make it happen.

And, and when you're running around filming scenes, you know,

the way that you want to do them in the moment that you want to

capture them, you're doing a very parallel, very similar

thing to like my childhood. So I immediately gravitate

towards anybody flexing the law a little

bit. It, and it's great to see it happen and see things

get created that don't need all that other

intervention. So any other crazy stories where

you showed up to film something and.

Well, iffy. Anything that's, you know, nighttime is a little iffy

just because you don't know who's around or if

some police officer is going to show up. Yeah, things like in Central park,

they don't want certain things done. I had a friend who,

his whole Thing was, he just loved shooting in abandoned

buildings, and so he would, you know, jump fences,

break down things, and just film. And most of the time,

everything was fine. But I think there was once where it wasn't an

owner, but, like, some just concerned onlooker

was like, what are you doing? Why are you here? And all this stuff. But,

I mean, most of the time, it's kind of surprising what you can get away

with for filming. You can just. If you've got a camera, people just are

more in awe of, like, ooh, what's this camera person? And they're. They're more

interested in that versus, like, well, maybe you shouldn't be, you know, under that

bridge doing that. So, yeah.

Oh, I could. I could. The thing I picture in New York City is there's

hundreds of thousands of actors and actresses. There's just. That's a. There's

a. A plethora. And then there's got. There's also a ton of

people who are filmmakers, production, all on that side,

too. There's just thousands of people. So have you ever been

out in a place and cross paths with other people

filming things at the same time? Oh, a hundred percent, yeah.

Yeah. Even before I was in filmmaking, I would, you

see, like, Truth, the huge production companies, Law and Order

movies, Batman, the Blacklist, all these things

just being shot in the city. And what I hear from friends and

from other people who are professional filmmakers is that if you want to

get into the industry, you just go to those sets. Sets, and you just. You're

a PA and you just help out in any way you can, and suddenly you're

on the payroll, and that's how you get into the industry. So it's really

cool to see all these film sets around because that's truly the way people

can, like, move up in the film world. Probably not so

much for actors, but for filmmakers, it's a little easier. You can kind of just

show up on set and they'll kick you out if you aren't supposed to be

there. But usually they're like, oh, yeah, here, grab the sandbag and move it for

me. Did you ever inadvertently get another shot of

another production in your background or as part of one of your stories?

I don't think so. Thankfully, I've had a good enough

distance. I mean, nothing too bad. Yeah, usually if

we. I like to start early, so we claim the space first, and

then everyone works around us. Oh, very nice. How

about any collaborations with people in New York City? Is there people that you'd

like to work with or are working with on upcoming projects. Pixel. Yeah. So

I have a great friend, Jackie Jorgensen, who owns

an entertainment production company as well. She does amazing work

with mostly actors and actors and

writers, where she does a lot of marketing and I

would say, like, improvisational

stories. She has this new thing called filmprov, where

basically an actor and a filmmaker show up at a location,

you get your prompt right there, and then you have like an hour to shoot

something and that's it. So that's been really cool to work with her on

that. She's also doing various other podcasts and

she has, like, series called, like, when you get this, it's like phone call

voicemails of like, hey, when you get this message, I want to tell you this

thing. So it's a really awesome experience to practice

that writing muscle. And then also as an actor

who's kind of new to the game, trying to just do

different characters, different emotions, things like that. So

she's been doing a really great job marketing her her own productions

as well as collaborating with mine. She's been really helpful finding

actors for Frequency for me. So she's definitely one of my

favorite collaborators out there. And where do you see all

this going in three to five years? Do you want to keep building?

Do you want to keep growing? Is there other

interests that you have that you'd really like to work on? That's a great

question. I've been really enjoying

producing over the writing,

directing, acting sort of realm. I find a lot of joy

seeing other people's work get manifested into real

life. And I think I'd like to kind of

own a broader production company where I have

multiple films or projects going on at

once. I'm helping with funding and grant making or in grant funding and all

of that sort of thing. So I'd like to see that happen in a

few years. A separate hobby that I have outside of filmmaking

is barbershop singing. So I'd love to do a

little bit of more musicals, more getting up on stage,

possibly filming those productions as well. But I hope

in the near future I'm stepping into

a producer, executive producer, more director role

than currently right now. That's the plan, at least. A barbershop

quartet slasher film. Ooh, I love

it. Yeah, they show up and things happen,

right? You think you're there for the show?

Well, Sarah, you mentioned Frequency is coming out new season

in October. Where can people find it now? Is there a dedicated website

or just go to your podcast apps. I would head

to the Sarah Berry Jam production on Instagram that's currently

where everything is being created. We're still in the writing

phase. We're still in the voice acting, casting call phase.

So any updates will be on our Instagram, including trailers, any

websites, and any other productions that I'm working on in the moment.

So you can go there. Awesome. And then you said Sarah Barry Jam.

That also reminded me that something about your last

name I read, was it. Is it two names pushed together or

is the Berry Jam There was some sort of play on words

with. With your name, so. Yes. So my last name is

not two words put together. It is Jamgotch. It's Armenian,

actually. I'm through adoption. I'm Armenian,

but my last name is just Jamgotch and Sarah Berry. My

favorite fruits are strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. So I

thought, you know, make another. Make another Berry out of my name and call it.

Yeah, Berry Jamie. That's funny

because I remember reading that. I'm like, oh, that's pretty good. I like the. You

named the production company off that. I. I apologize for mixing up that your last

name is Jamgotch, but the Berry Jam

came from the. That's what you used to name the production company. Yeah.

Yeah. Anything you'd like to leave us with before we get out of here

today, Sarah? What did I. What didn't I cover? Oh, what didn't

you cover? I don't know. That was so comprehensive in only such a

short amount of time. Oh, my gosh.

See, I don't know. I think that was it. We covered

frequency. Yeah. I can't think of

anything. Sarah, thank you so much for joining us. Diy.

Anything always gets my attention. I love what you're doing. I love how

you've created and crossed it with psychology and neuroscience

and all these worlds are coming together in New York City.

Sarah, let's go back to your theme song.

Shadows with stories to tell where silence speaks louder

and grief casts a spell. Sarah Jem Got a name

you won't forget. She writes the ache, the

glitch, the thread from audio dreams to low

budget film. Her voice cuts through the static

and still tonight she's here, Just hit the light.

All my guests tonight with just a few. This

feels right.

Now, I will admit that that song, you. You have a song on your

YouTube channel. Maybe you produce for somebody or directed

or maybe you just shared. I thought I saw the song on my YouTube

channel. Yes. Oh, that's me. That's you. Okay. And it

was kind of like this. I don't know,

I was trying to match kind of the. The energy level with that song,

so I was wondering if I was close. I saw you backstage while the song

was playing. I like watching. Everybody always dances and enjoys the song,

But I tried to get close to. It's not as good as your song,

clearly, but I was. I was trying to match that energy level. So if

anybody wants to hear better music, that kind of sounds like the theme song I

crave for Sarah, check out that song on her YouTube channel.

Thank you very much. Yes. So we did find something we didn't cover, which

was the music. That's true. I don't tend to plug that, but I

probably should do that more. You're right. Anyway, well, thank you

so much. This was great. I'm so glad you could join us.