Clapboard Jungle (2020) The Film Buff Review

[00:00:01]
Introduction and Setting Context

• The podcast episode is introduced as part of the AKA Padds Film Buff Podcast, hosted by Peter A. DeLuca.
• It is episode number 1,100-something, recorded in Philadelphia, PA, near City Hall, an iconic landmark for the host’s creative inspiration.
• The host clarifies a weekend routine: documentary discussions happen on weekend nights, while animation content is featured on weekend mornings. The podcast targets both kids (morning segments) and adults (evening segments).

[00:01:12]
Philadelphia as a Symbolic Backdrop

• Philadelphia symbolizes revolution, creativity, and the birth of some of the best ideas, which connects metaphorically with the documentary content to be discussed.
• Host references Philadelphia’s City Hall as a uniquely magnificent structure, surpassing other famous landmarks (Capitol Building, Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty) in personal significance.

[00:01:56]
Discussion of the Documentary: Clapboard Jungle (2020)

• Directed by Justin McConnell, the documentary is highlighted as a significant focus of the episode.
• The documentary title “Clapboard Jungle” is noted as unusual and somewhat confusing; “clapboard” explained as the filmmaking tool used to sync scenes and retain organization during production (commonly called a “clapper”).
• Host emphasizes how essential such tools are in the filmmaking process and shares how he uses clappers in his own productions.
• Justin McConnell’s documentary is praised early on for storytelling, pulling the audience emotionally into his journey.

[00:02:33]
Strength and Style of Justin McConnell’s Storytelling

• Justin is described as an “absolute professional” with a compelling personal narrative that makes the viewer root for him.
• The host admires Justin’s open self-reflection about his professional shortcomings, such as not being “much of a company guy” and being sometimes difficult to work with.
• This “come to Jesus” moment in the film, occurring around 20 minutes before the documentary ends, adds authenticity and vulnerability.
• Final scenes show Justin’s film release and positive public reception, concluding on a hopeful note without grandiose aspirations for major awards.
• The documentary depicts a realistic indie film journey with modest success rather than blockbuster glory.

[00:04:40]
Host’s Personal Resonance and Relatability

• Host relates deeply to Justin’s experience, reflecting on his own mid-20s life balancing creative ambitions with real-world responsibilities (e.g., having a girlfriend with a child).
• Realization that pursuing a dream sometimes requires compromise or pivoting is a key theme.
• Host sees parallels between his career in illustration/comics and Justin’s filmmaking path, emphasizing the grind and complexity behind creative work.
• The documentary clarifies the tension between creative passion and practicalities in an artistic career.

[00:06:34]
Expectations vs. Reality of Justin’s Post-Documentary Influence

• Host hoped Justin would build a larger social media presence or become an inspirational figure in the filmmaking community, but this did not materialize as anticipated.
• Justin’s approach is contrasted with the host’s own, which is more desk-bound and less about public appearances or travel.
• The host acknowledges the emotional toll and potential disappointments inherent in filmmaking as evidenced by Justin’s journey.

[00:07:48]
Physical and Emotional Challenges of the Subject

• Visible physical changes in Justin (weight gain and fluctuations) are interpreted as markers of the stress and hardship of the filmmaking process.
• Audience expectations of “heroes” in documentaries clash with the raw, human vulnerability Justin portrays.
• The host discusses the elusive quality of camera presence and charisma, noting that Justin’s on-screen persona sometimes appears self-defeating rather than heroic or larger-than-life.
• This lack of “heroic presence” affects the emotional engagement despite rooting for him personally.

[00:09:04]
Personal Conflict and Artistic Dedication

• The host describes a personal reaction to Justin’s style—initially seeing him as “unserious” or overconfident—highlighting a tension many creatives feel between artistic idealism and commercial practicality.
• Despite doubts, Justin’s documentary includes endorsements from numerous respected filmmakers who offer balanced views on his struggles and achievements.
• The documentary reveals a universal theme in filmmaking: the clash between art as commerce and art as pure expression.

[00:10:20]
The Artistic vs. Commercial Duality in Filmmaking

• Host reflects on how many acclaimed directors (e.g., Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola) emphasize art over commerce, highlighting that the “art” designation often comes only well after release, if at all.
• Immediate focus during production and release must be on “making the effing product,” showcasing the pragmatic side of creativity in film.
• The documentary’s message underscores that success in filmmaking includes preparation, persistence, and the acceptance of commercial realities.

[00:11:02]
Competitive and Changing Landscape of Film Distribution

• The content market is competitive but expanding with new platforms such as Tubi and Shudder providing opportunities for indie filmmakers to get funding and distribution.
• The host notes personal connections with filmmakers who operate in Justin’s “lane” and states that creating a quality product remains the key to success.
• Justin’s social media presence, however, disappoints the host by lacking the expected energy and educational content that could inspire a wider audience.

[00:12:23]
Summary of Justin McConnell’s Filmmaking Expertise

• Justin McConnell is affirmed as an excellent storyteller and filmmaker with impressive communication skills.
• The documentary “Clapboard Jungle” stands as one of the best filmmaking documentaries available, serving as a strong testimony to the hardships and realities of indie filmmaking.
• The host expresses admiration for Justin’s ability to convey the multifaceted nature of film production, garnished by supportive testimonies from industry veterans.

[00:13:24]
Closing Remarks

• The podcast episode closes with appreciation for the documentary and enthusiasm for the ongoing journey of storytelling and filmmaking.
• Host reaffirms the value of sharing authentic creative struggles and encourages listeners to engage with the film and the filmmaking community.

Key Takeaways Table

Keywords

• Indie Filmmaking
• Justin McConnell
• Clapboard Jungle
• Documentary Storytelling
• Film Production Tools (Clapboard/Clapper)
• Artistic Struggle
• Philadelphia City Hall
• Film Buff Podcast
• Creative Perseverance
• Film Industry Art vs. Commerce

Conclusion

The discussed episode offers a nuanced examination of Clapboard Jungle and Justin McConnell’s filmmaking journey. It highlights the emotional and artistic realities of independent filmmakers, underscored by candid personal reflections from both the subject and the podcast host. The documentary is championed as a vital resource for aspiring filmmakers, emphasizing perseverance, honest self-assessment, and the complicated interplay of art and commerce in the film industry.

00:00:01
Quiet on the set. Camera speed. Down production. Take one. Action. It’s the weekend. It’s night time. And it’s time for class, AKA Padders, cuz we do documentaries here on the weekend nights. Weekend days, you guys know is animation. That’s right. In the morning on the weekends, we do the kids, and at night we do the adults. Welcome back. Peter A. DeLuca here. Episode uh 1,100 something. We’re rocking and rolling on the AKA Padds Film Buff Podcast. Coming to you from the one and

00:00:38
only, the greatest city in the world, Philadelphia, PA. I’m uh I live right near City Hall. And it’s it’s one of the most magnificent structures uh one could imagine to to live around. And you you you might be thinking of like the Capitol Building or the Eiffel Tower. Maybe even Statue of Liberty. Maybe you uh you you live right off the uh water there. But [snorts] no, AKA Padders, it is City Hall. And we got something Speaking of just like revolution and fighting and the best ideas went, right?

00:01:12
The the These are the things Philadelphia represents for me. Justin McConnell here. So the this dude makes a documentary. 2020. It’s called Clapboard Jungle. It’s one of the worst titles. >> [laughter] >> Uh I like the jungle position for for this title, right? But clapboard? I I I I I had to look up if that was what these things were called, the the little clapper. Like now, we use a clapper here in in the intro and outro of the Film Buff Podcast. I I call them clappers. But I guess it’s a clapboard because you

00:01:56
you can write on it. Uh it essential tool for film production and and and documenting your work as you go along as you’re shooting. Uh I do I do all the like audio clappers between my YouTube stuff and and the the film off watches I’ll say take one or take two or take three. Sometimes I’ll either reference a previous take like take this from take two as and cuz we just record, you know? Like we’re not spending money on film. We’re everything’s digital so I I take advantage of it.

00:02:33
So Justin McConnell outside of a in my view an an absolutely confusing title has has weaved in my view a masterpiece of a documentary here. This is one of the the best We’ll we’ll say like from the earth to the industry professional film documentaries and and Justin in my eyes is an absolute professional. 15 minutes in, the way how this guy just tells his story it pulls you in. You root for the guy. But you know what’s coming. Right? I mean it’s called Jungle. And Justin sells himself and he tells

00:03:26
you about his life so well you want you want this kid to win the Palm d’Or by the end of all of this. And he even has I mean I give Justin so much credit here where he has a little bit of a come to Jesus moment. Uh you know, what we’ll say like 20 minutes to go it in the doc and sorry I I I didn’t take any notes while while watching this. Where he says he may not have known as much as he thought he knew, where his knowledge and maybe maybe even the way he worked and that maybe like he was

00:04:05
too difficult. Wasn’t much of a company guy, wasn’t wasn’t much of a uh I will help you get this thing done guy. He he comes to terms with that and then the we’ll say like the final act of the documentary we see this film of his get released and we see lines of the people and and we’re ending in like a happier note, but it in no way is this like an Oscar run, a Golden Globe run, uh a award season run movie. This is just a movie that that got released, that has a little bit of hype,

00:04:40
little bit of attention and some of that could be the the manipulation of Justin himself. I I really don’t care because it’s such a good feeling watching this guy go through it, get something out of it and then uh you know what what I do is the documentary wraps up and I’m just like sitting there thinking about this this kid and and his life and there’s so much of like the film buff and what I do on YouTube and you know, we can say my illustration, my comic book career that lends itself

00:05:14
directly to this. In my mid-20s though, right? Like I had the revelation some of this was because at the time I had a girlfriend with a kid. I need I I needed to to have a life and have a career. Uh I needed to like back away from this dream, this idea I was pursuing and even to this day I don’t know how all of my stuff adds up. I I want to say I think Justin may have uh come to terms with like you know, like he came to my what I realized Justin came to realize much later in life. It doesn’t discredit it.

00:05:55
I’m just explaining to you guys how I relate to it and there’s so much of my heart that goes out to this kid. So very similar and and scroll down. Or just type in Kid Icarus on aka pad.com but very similar to Kid Icarus when I looked up Justin on social, I was hoping I’m not thinking he’s going to have 100,000 followers but I’m thinking he’s going to be maybe in like the tens of thousands. He was going to be more regular, more targeted. Even more inspiring stemming out of this

00:06:34
documentary because I would I would kill to get something like this made for myself just to be able to sketch out for people what the grind is like, the things you have to know, the things you have to study, where where you have to go, where you have to travel. You know, Justin in this and you see it, he fully embarks into the travel part of this or getting in front of people’s faces. I always said that’s not me like that that’s not Peter A DeLuca. We’re we’re doing it from a desk and and that’s how we’re

00:07:09
doing it and it gets as big as you like I capped it and and I I gave restrictions because I kind of know what’s on the other side of it and it is there there’s nothing but truth and reconciliation and disappointment on the other end when it doesn’t quite click and Justin tries to be you know, he tries to be as positive and um like influential and and inspiring as possible and some Some it comes off as authentic and some it doesn’t. And the reason for that is, well, physically, you know, like Justin even says in this,

00:07:48
like he he gained weight. And we see kind of like the signs in the weight shifting. I don’t know how long uh this this was even shot for, but we see a little bit of fluctuation of weight uh in his body, in his face, uh in his arms. And we want our heroes, cuz Justin is our hero in this. We want our heroes to be weapons, weapons of truth and destruction. Uh we we want our heroes being able to fight, and be able to go through a wall, get over a wall. We want our heroes to save us. And I just feel like as a hero, Justin

00:08:27
uh his presence within the lens, within the camera, uh this is a part of filmmaking. We talk about this. We talk about how the camera loves certain individuals. And it’s so hard to discern it, to dissect it, to determine it, to describe it, but we know it when we see it. I feel like I should have been more drawn to Justin as Justin. Uh to me, he should have been a superhero. He should have looked a little bit like a superhero. And I’m not saying he’s wearing a superhero costume. I’m just saying his presence on camera.

00:09:04
Uh a lot of this self-defeating, and when when I cycle back to how personal this documentary was for for me to watch, that’s a lot of what I ran away from. I ran away from guys like Justin. Because I just saw them as unserious people, or people who uh thought they knew everything, and didn’t didn’t just want to make a product, and crank something out, and learn the craft. Where everything is this art art art stuff. But he does this incredible job. He gets I mean he gets 100 other filmmakers high

00:09:41
and low giving these rock solid testimonials. He he you know like he contrasts his struggle to what they’re doing. And in my view what a lot of these individuals when they make it there, Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, the list goes on. They always I mean even Francis Ford Coppola around uh Megadoc and and Megalopolis. Go go listen to the Megadoc documentary that that we did not that long ago. Where they will tell you they’re making art uh they’re not in commerce. They are here to make a film. Uh they they always

00:10:20
spew out the word art. And they don’t understand or maybe they do and it’s just a part of the the gimmick. It’s a part of the the the tale that they have to tell. But things are determined as art way later. Way later. So it’s it’s never as you’re making the movie. It’s never as you’re releasing the movie or or like the first wave of audiences are engaging the movie. Art will come later. But for now make the effing product. And and there’s there’s slots for filmmakers high and low.

00:11:02
Uh You know like someone of of the position that the how competitive content is right now. But I feel I feel so much of it as like a boom because I like Tubi and Shudder and and the list goes on and on. There’s all of these places that will give you money for your movie if you just make a good movie. Uh I might be naive in that perception, but I do have friends that are in Justin’s lane. Uh some of them I met through this podcast alone. Uh of the episodes found some of these people and they reached

00:11:36
out to me and we became online friends. You got to make a good product. We don’t see Justin get to that. He doesn’t realize that. But I was highly disappointed in his social media. I I just thought it would be more energetic, more creative, more of a knowledge dump than anything. But what a amazing documentary. Going back to the first 20 minutes, 15-20 minutes, you see how good of a storyteller Justin is. I would trust this dude with any of my stories, any of my scripts, ideas, thoughts.

00:12:23
Uh I would trust him to get it done. And I want to say that’s the best position to put there for this documentary. It is a hell of an advertisement for Justin’s storytelling capabilities. Uh this is one of the best filmmaker filmmaking documentaries, period. It really is. Film Buff Podcast, I love you. Rock and roll, guys. Have a good weekend. Okay, that’s a wrap.

PETER A DELUCA AKAPD

AKAPAD is a versatile thinker known across Philadelphia, Europe, and even in the vast Multiverse as The Electic One. By day, he excels as an IT Mastermind, assisting individuals, both big and small, with a wide range of simple and complex solutions. In contrast, he is also a talented illustrator, a passionate comic book enthusiast, a creative content creator, and an active live streamer. Additionally, his podcast, “AKAPAD The Film Buff Podcast,” boasts an impressive catalog of over 500 episodes available on nearly every major platform.