The gap between a good short film and an award-winning one is smaller than you think.
Host Bob Degus — Oscar voter, producer of Pleasantville, and 30-year Academy member — is here to help you close it.
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"The stories we tell our-selves as a society, shape who that society becomes. We need to be telling better stories. Your story!"
~Bob Degus
Olympic athletes have world-class coaches.
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Tony-winning stage actors have trusted mentors. The best filmmakers in Hollywood have people in their corner who know exactly what the industry is looking for.
So why should emerging filmmakers figure it out alone?
The Hollywood Film Coach exists to change that. This is the insider knowledge that used to live only in Hollywood screening rooms — now available to any filmmaker with a story to tell.
What You'll Learn on the Podcast
After screening more than 3,000 short films as an Oscar voter, Bob Degus knows exactly what separates the films that get noticed from the ones that don't. On the podcast and in the companion essays, he breaks down:
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What makes a short film story work — and the single most common reason films fall short
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How festivals and award committees actually evaluate films
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The craft decisions that signal a filmmaker ready for the next level
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What to do when your film is finished — festivals, funding, and distribution
Short films aren’t just stepping stones to something bigger. They are an art form onto themselves. They’re one of the purest form of visual storytelling—distilled, intentional, and powerful.
About Bob
Early in his Hollywood career, Bob Degus ran production at Chanticleer Films, where he helped produce more than 40 short films — generating five Oscar nominations during the period he oversaw it, including two he personally produced, one starring an unknown actor named Brad Pitt.
He went on to serve as a production executive at New Line Cinema, overseeing more than 25 films including Austin Powers, Friday, and Set It Off, before producing the feature Pleasantville, which earned three Academy Award nominations.
For thirty years he has been a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, screening more than 3,000 short films in the process — and mentoring the next generation of filmmakers through the Academy's Gold Rising program.
He knows what the industry looks for. And he's here to tell you.
Your story deserves to be seen. There's no better moment to start than right now.
Today, the world is drowning in “content”—fast, forgettable, and disposable.
But what we create here isn’t just “content.”
We make cinema.
If you see filmmaking as an art—not just a hustle for views—then you’ve found your place.
