Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jason “The Vern” Hemming. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jason “The Vern”, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of my favorite things growing up was listing to story book records and cassettes. For anyone younger than 35, cassettes were those things you saw mentioned in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and even that is dating myself quite a bit for that reference. Before I saw movies like Gremlins and Ghostbusters, or watched episodes of Star Trek or Scooby -Doo. I was heavily into listening to audio book adaptations of these classics. These shortened versions usually had a narrator and sometimes the voice actors didn’t match the original actors, but they made my imagination soar. Afterward I started listening to more full audio dramas from the past, including episodes of Burns and Allen, The Shadow and the classic War of the Worlds.

When I got older and started editing and creating podcasts including Cinema Recall. I have heard that a friend and colleague was doing live script read recordings of classic movies. After I made a guest appearance doing voice work for Plan 9 From Outer Space. I asked if I could turn it into an audio drama. Not knowing anything about mixing, I put together the best version I could. It took me well over 6 months to complete and even though it wasn’t easy. It was a lot of fun putting that project together.

Plan 9 from Outer Space was originally for someone else’s podcast but for my next project. I wanted to direct the actual voice actors myself. I got a lot of great friends together to perform a radio play version of the classic horror film,Night of The Living Dead. One of the actors involved was an actual actor who reprised her role from stage. Editing took a long time but since there was a script it was easier to edit.

Even though I was having fun with editing these last two projects. I wanted the narrator for my next one to be an actual character instead of one that just tells listeners the actions or the plot.. For my audio adaptation of Clue, I decided that Mr. Body would be a great story teller. Since he is only featured for just a little bit before he is murdered. He could talk about the other characters like he is bitter for having one of them get him killed.

Between Plan 9 and Clue. I had some paid editing projects, including a few seasons of an audio comedy sitcom called, Fours a Crowd. I learned a lot on how to mix the levels of voice actors better than before. For Cinema Recall, I was having guests come on to talk about a movie they like. Than we would record short audio radio plays of iconic scenes. Movies included are Jaws, Wolf of Wall Street, Legally Blonde and more.

As much as I am proud of every single audio drama project I worked on. My most recent work on Reservoir Dogs is my favorite. Adapting Quentin Tarantino’s debut film about a heist gone wrong was something I was intrigued to tackle but I wanted it to stand out. Instead of just having a bunch of male actors reprise the iconic roles. I wanted to just change the gender and have an all female voice cast for this adaptation. This was also the very first time no narration was used, except for one line. I had characters describe action and it was a very rewarding editing project.

My favorite thing about all these radio plays is the collaboration with these great voice actors who are also my dear friends. Many of them are non professionals but they have so much love of film that it becomes infectious. I hope to one day perform an audio drama live on stage with not only voice actors but also foly artists performing sound effects and musicians playing the score.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into podcasting when I submitted the dark comedy, Heathers to be picked as Movie of the Month for a podcast called The Large Association of Movie Blogs and it won. The site had a podcast called The LAMBcast and even though I had a basic mic. I had a lot of fun recording that episode. Afterwards I joined As You Watch and created many fun episodes with that team.

in 2019 I started a podcast for a website called That Moment In. After a year the owner no longer wanted to host the show on his website but said I could keep the name of the show. Cinema Recall is a podcast for movie lovers that enjoys everything from the multiplex to the arthouse. We have done reviews on a wide variety of films. Not just for audio but written and video as well. One of my favorite aspects is to do series on filmmakers or deep dives on a movie. We have shows that highlight the works of David Cronenberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson. As well as deep dive episodes of movies like Mulholland Dr and Barry Lyndon. Not only do I love talking with guests about art. I also love interviewing the many great people who are involved with making them as well. We have interviewed many actors, writers, directors and many more in all aspects of entertainment.

Not only have I done work for Cinema Recall but I have also worked for other podcasts including an audio sitcom series called, Four’s a Crowd, a mental health podcast for drug addiction center called Waisman Method, Episodes for Let’s Chat with Chris Revill, Reel Spoilers and more. I remove dead air and do a good job at making sure conversation flows more naturally. I’m also good at mixing audio to make sure that vocals don’t overpower other clips and make sure I stay in the time constrains as the owner suggests.

I am most proud of all the audio drama projects I have worked on.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My most rewarding thing about Cinema Recall is being able to connect with other great artists who have been on my show and I have been on theirs. It is a huge honor to be involved with the Minnesota Film Critics Assocation and to attend advance screenings and film fests before movies are released to the public, Although we are not huge we have maintained a good level of loyal followers who enjoy what we create. Getting a paid sponsor was very fun and our goal is to achieve more of that without having to alter or change our content to appease the masses.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I still have a lot to learn about building a good audience on social media because I can be very forgetful. I just knew that when I started a podcast all about movies. I wanted to associate myself with other like minded individuals. Since I had a podcast/ YouTube show dedicated to movies. It only seems fitting that I would try and connect with as many movie fans I can . Not only just follow brands on social media and sharing content but also actually listening to their shows and offering feedback when needed. The only advice I can give is to ask many people as you can to be on your show and be sure to reach out to be a guest on other people’s platforms too.

Also find a niche and stick with it. Cinema Recall does love all aspects of film but our brand is more focused on cult films than blockbusters. If you have a show about sports. Maybe just do a series on one team or a player. Whatever you do the most important thing is to create something you love. If you are doing anything just only to make money and you don’t care about what you are creating. You shouldn’t be doing it. I create episodes on topics that I would want to hear be discussed. Not just to have a high view count.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cinemarecall.net/
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• Twitter: https://x.com/cinema_recall
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cinema_recall
• Other: Linktree for our Facebook group, Patreon and other ways to help suppourt us.
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Image Credits

Dallas Smith