Creating the definitive list of cinemas greatest spy movies.
"...one thing always rings true and that is you have to love what you are talking about."
Today Cam & Scott, the creators of SpyHards Podcast share their story of film reviews podcast.
► Tell us about you and your podcast
SpyHards started, like many podcasts, during the days of the COVID-19 lockdowns. My co-host (Cam) and I (Scott) had been friends for several years at that point, after originally meeting at a Star Trek convention and both shared a love for the James Bond movies. During the start of the lockdown I began re-watching the Bond movies and chronicling my experience to Cam through text as I live in London, England and Cam lives in Vancouver, Canada. Then at some point I asked if we should do a podcast about it.
This was the original idea, a show talking all about our favourite 007 moments however it soon dawned on us that:
There are already a ton of James Bond podcasts.
We aren't doing anything original.
This led us to brainstorm and expand our scope somewhat. We decided that instead of pigeonholing ourselves to just Bond, we would look at the wider world of spy cinema, and as for the originality issue, our goal for each episode would be to focus on a new movie and ask "is this one of the greatest spy movies of all time?"
So, this led us to what is now known as SpyHards Podcast. Every week we tackle a new spy movie, changing from decade to decade in our quest to create a list of the greatest spy movies ever made. We call this list "The NOC List" which is our tortured acronym for "Need-To-See Official Classics". We bounce from movies like the James Bond's and the Jason Bourne to film noir spy films of the 40s and cold war thrillers of the 70s/80s, basically if there's a spy movie in existence, and we can access it, we will cover it eventually.
The show itself has also evolved in the two years since its inception, we now regularly interview stars from both in front and behind the lens of the spy movies we discuss to get their perspective on the process. With guests like John Glen, Nicholas Meyer, Colin Salmon, Jacqueline Bisset, John August, Dan Mindel and many more!
Our listeners' demographics are varied, but there's one thing they all share and that's a love of spy movies.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
Both Cam and I have been listening to podcasts for many years and Cam has been producing and starring in podcasts since the late 00's so he is proficient in the editing process and also what goes into producing a fun and engaging show.
Our main goal is the creation and curation of the aforementioned NOC list. Aside from that, we also want to bring awareness to the filmmaking process through our 'SpyMaster Interview' series with actors, directors, screenwriters etc., and also we want to highlight lesser known spy movies and bring them in to the discussion. Many people consider James Bond and Jason Bourne to be the benchmark, but when you dig deeper into the genre, you find all the movies that inspired them and sometimes, did it better.
The show started in August 2020.
Our first episode didn't take long at all to release, with Cam's background in podcast production and my background in marketing and radio, it came together pretty quickly.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
We release at least one episode every week, and we haven't missed a week since we started. Nor do we intend to. We feel consistency is very important, not only to the listeners but to ourselves. As such, the episodes tend to take a couple of days to turn around.
As we are based in different countries from one another, we have found a sweet spot in between our time off from work to get together and talk about movies.
Our show is funded partially by us and partially by our supporters on patreon, this allows us to run the show without advertisements and keep the content focused on what our listeners want to hear. Patreon.com/spyhards
► What do you gain from podcasting?
We currently don't have any form of sponsorship, though we would be open to the concept if it were to arise and would naturally fit a programme about spy movies. We haven't sought any out but we are happy to discuss the possibilities. Therefore our main source of revenue is the Patreon page where listeners can get bonus reviews and film commentaries each month.
Podcasting has benefited us in a number of ways, not only do we have a fantastic group of listeners that chat with us through multiple social media outlets all about spy movies, we've created real life friends from the experience. Plus, getting to interview all of these fantastic people about their time working in film and their passion for spy movies is really a joyous experience. Without SpyHards, I would not have had to the opportunity to talk to John Glen or Maryam d'Abo and for that I will be forever greatful.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
As for editing, we use Zencastr to record remotely (as we are in different countries) with Audacity running back up recording of our audio. The editing is done via both Audacity and Sony Acid. For the tech side, we both currently use Blue Yeti microphones but are in the process of upgrading our tech to Shure MV7s with Focusrite 2i2 interfaces as we both are very particular about the sound of the show and want it to be as crisp and professional sounding as possible.
With guests, it's usually a mix of reaching out via social media and contacting their representatives directly to pitch the show.
We prepared each episode by watching the film and doing extensive research about its creation, reception and legacy to make sure listeners learn about the film as well as hearing our thoughts on it. We will often interact with our listeners online whilst preparing to review a film to get their perspectives on it and sometimes work those into the show. If we are interviewing an actor, director etc. we will often ask online questions from our listeners to put to the stars and give them credit in the episode. This is great because not only do they come up with some excellent questions, it means more people are involved with the show!
All the interviews are done via ZOOM or on the rare occasion, in person.
► How do you market your show?
Our listeners usually find us either through searching online for spy movie podcasts, James Bond etc. or they find us through one of our social media outlets.
Listenership breaks down to about 25% Apple Podcasts, 20% Spotify, 20% Google Podcasts and the rest spread out amongst the other podcatchers. We don't pay for advertising and we aren't backed by a podcast network, so finding new listeners can be a struggle when you haven't got proper backing but we hope word of mouth, good use of social media and the quality of the show will do the trick and it hasn't let us down so far.
Looking at our last two years, we have been on a constant upwards trajectory for listeners and followers etc, which we are of course keen to keep going!
I think social media is the most effective way of reaching a wider audience. At times it can feel like you are screaming into the void but that's okay, if you are screaming, you are clearly passionate about it. I'd like to think that passion shows through with the amount of time we spend on the show, not only on its creation but on trying to share it with others.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
We have been asked before, what advice we would give someone looking at podcasting, and it's not an easy subject to give a blanket answer to as there are so many variables. But, one thing always rings true and that is you have to love what you are talking about. If you don't, it becomes work and if you are an independent podcaster like ourselves, you won't be making much, if anything at all to start off with. So this is where love comes in.
I would also add in, work to create a community with your listeners, find out what they want and get them talking to each other. They are your biggest promoters and also the greatest way of getting feedback.
► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?
Website: https://www.spyhards.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyHards
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spyhards
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/spyhards