We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeff Perreca. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeff below.

Jeff, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken is going from writer to writer/director.

After years of writing screenplays and pilots and having varying degrees of success like winning contests and optioning scripts, I found myself at a crossroad.

I didn’t have any reps (agent or manager) and staffing on a TV show is close to impossible without them. (Though I do know a few who’ve done it.)

Mostly, I was tired of writing stories and having a computer full of PDFs. When I was younger, I used to make movies all the time. In fact, I made a few movies in lieu of writing papers in high school.

Yet, when I came to Los Angeles, there’s this sense that you have to wait for permission. After you get a manager… After you get an agent… After you find the right producer… After you cast a star…

Then, you can make the thing you love so much.

And so I had a hit a point with my stack of pdfs where I just said f**k it. I’m going to make a movie.

And I did. In 2019, I made my directorial debut with a short film called Talentless.

Was it easy? Oh my gosh, no. Did I know what was I doing? Ha ha, that’s cute.

I essentially taught myself how to block, compose, edit, color and deliver a film. Additionally, I was smart enough to go out and find collaborators in areas that were not my strengths (like cinematography, sound, composing and of course, acting).

Then, I worked a full-time job, plus several freelance gigs for months saving up every penny to self finance everything. The shoot consisted of three days across 9 locations where I was pulling 18-20 hour days. My cast and crew were also tireless workers, but their days were more like 12 hours. Reason I put in the extra time is because when you’re leading the ship and everyone is relying on you that often means putting in the extra hours for glamorous things like payroll, craft services and making sure all your permits for the next location are in order.

By the end, I had invested countless hours, a lot of money and plenty of blood, sweat and tears.

Was the risk worth it?

I’m happy to say the short won awards, played in festivals all around the globe and helped me land a directing fellowship with the BlackMagic Collective.

Today, I’ve directed five shorts and am working on my feature debut as a writer/director.

So yes, the risk was worth it.

However, I want to offer one final caveat. Had the short not gotten into any festivals, lead to zero awards or not helped me get into a fellowship, the risk still would’ve been worth it.

Too often, we believe it is the result of what we do that matters the most. But results are dependent on so many factors outside of your control. Any art is subjective and you’re hoping that someone else’s taste and interests align with yours to deem it worthy.

To me, the risk was worth it, because I no longer had just a pdf. I had made something that I was proud of. I had gained several skills that I never possessed. I made friendships that still endure to this day. And I got to do the thing I loved and moved out here to do.

It was scary. It was hard. It nearly broke me. And yes, it was a risk.

But the lesson I keep learning in life is that the more we’re uncomfortable, the more we push ourselves past what we believe our limitations are, the more we discover just how much we’re capable of.

Jeff, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Jeff Perreca and I’m a writer/director.

My stories all fall within the grounded genre space where big ideas are brought to life through relatable characters and thought-provoking themes.

I have made several short films, many of which have won awards and played in top-tier festivals around the world.

My screenplays and pilots have placed in and/or won multiple contests.

I developed a TV show with J-Lo’s Nuyorican Productions and Blumhouse.

Most recently, I was named a fellow in the BlackMagic’s First Frame Initiative and Directing Actor’s Lab.

I had the terrible honor of optioning the first script I ever wrote to Worldview Entertainment. It lead me to believe this whole Hollywood thing is easy. Uh… it’s not.

My day job also mirrored as my film school as I work in Advertising as Writer/Creative Director. I’ve worked on close to a hundred commercials across sets big and small. Most recently, I was at Twitter where I got a frontrow seat to all the recent craziness that just went down. (Needless to say, I will never be purchasing a Tesla.)

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Being a director is like being the manager of any company. In fact, it’s very similar to being a Creative Director in Advertising, which is something I have plenty of experience with.

Here’s the thing, I initially failed at being a leader and boss. I think we all do. Here were a few things I learned on the fly:

– Appreciation costs you nothing but a little time and energy. You can pay someone all the salary in the world, but if they don’t feel appreciated or believe their voice doesn’t matter, you will never get them working at their full potential. Tell someone they did a good job. Make sure they know you understand the value they bring to your project or company. Most importantly, listen to them. Not every idea has to be yours. That’s the mark of a small leader who thinks ego can mask insecurity.

– Words matter. You might be tired. You might be firing off your one-thousandth email. But your words and what you say will impact others in ways you never imagine. So choose them carefully.

– Lastly, and this is the most important, people respond more to inspiration than fear. I have had several bosses in Advertising who tried to use fear as a tactic to increase performance. We all have heard stories of the director who stomps around on set and screams at everyone. That’s lazy leadership. (Again ego trying to mask insecurities.) Especially with creativity, if you can inspire someone, get them to understand and be excited for your vision, they will be infinitely happier and the final product will be better for it.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I will just say that we live in an era where you can find almost endless resources, whether it be websites like YouTube, podcasts, books. Before investing a lot of money in seminars and various online degrees, see how far you can get on your own with free resources, before turning to more costly and traditional avenues. 

Contact Info:

• Website: jeffperreca.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/jperreca