We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Scott Rice a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Scott , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I started making action-comedy movies when I was 12 years old with my father’s VHS camcorder. We didn’t have any way to edit, so I had to cut the camera where I thought a cut would be. That meant I only got ONE TAKE at each shot. Talk about pressure! Even though this was a major obstacle, it forced me to be very deliberate about how I told a story. I couldn’t change it after I’d shot it, so I planned diligently everything I was going to do. I wrote and rewrote dialogue. I storyboarded. I rehearsed with the actors, both their performances and the mini-stunts and sight gags we pulled off. That all taught me the power of preparation.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Inspired by the work of Steven Spielberg, I decided I wanted to be a film director at age 9. After my time as a studio art and film major in college, I worked for Activision as an animator and art director. I then headed to graduate film school in Austin, Texas. After several award-winning years on the film festival circuit and getting my films distributed, I built up directing credits on TV series and commercials. Today I own a production company called Two Shot West. Through sophisticated storytelling and strong messaging, we create high impact, high production value broadcast commercials, documentaries and narrative content. My values are quality, creativity, collaboration, integrity, and fun. I’m also a college professor, and I enjoy nurturing the next generation of filmmakers through a producing course I co-teach at the University of Texas with Matthew McConaughey.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

For me, service is the mission. There are three things I serve in my career as a filmmaker: the story, the message, and people.

In the case of narrative filmmaking, I’m serving the story. I’m serving the emotional impact of that story through character, theme and plot. I’m not thinking about my own style or my own career ambitions. I’m just totally focused on how best to tell the story. The creative decisions I make are wholly in service of that story.

When it comes to commercials, my focus is on the messaging. What clarity can I bring to the message? What images or tone might strengthen the message? In the case of public service announcements, some of which are about saving lives, this becomes particularly critical.

Perhaps most importantly, I enjoy serving people. This might be my commercial clients, or my executive producer in the case of movies or television projects. How can I be a good collaborator? How can I make people feel appreciated? How can I do my best to serve their goals?

In the case of my teaching, the people are my students. How can I be encouraging and teach them in a way that promotes the best learning? How can I offer experiential learning opportunities, like bringing them on set to see my crew in action? This process is especially fulfilling to me.

Overall, the creative journey is just that — a journey. It’s about the stories, the messages and the people I encounter. It’s not about the final product, though that is important. It’s about the adventure I go on with each project. And the best thing is this: The film or commercial work naturally reflects that adventure if your heart is in the right place. The mission of service shines through.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Quality and integrity are the keys to my reputation. I started my own production company so I could leverage both to maximum effect. If you aren’t in charge, this can be hard to do.

So being at the top, and being the hardest working person on a shoot sets the tone. You are leading by example. You are saying “quality matters.” That raises the game of everyone working for you. I think my clients know they are getting incredible value when they work with my company – because I come prepared and I work hard, and so does my crew.

Integrity is a huge part of reputation, too. Genuinely caring about the work and the people. Following through on promises. Over-delivering. Being good to those who work for you. All of this creates loyalty, and the stronger the loyalty, the more likely I’ll be able to work with the very best in the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://twoshotwest.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottricedirector/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottricedirector
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottricedirector/
• Twitter: https://x.com/scottricefilms
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ScottRiceDirector
• Other: https://www.scottricedirector.com/