Daily Inspiration: Meet Jim Issa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Issa.

Hi Jim, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My career started as an actor here in Atlanta. In 1994, my friends and I co-founded The Whole World Theater; an improv comedy troupe that still performs on Spring Street. After hundreds of sold-out shows, we decided to create our own TV show. At that time, I started working for a small production company called Burst Video/Film. Fran Burst was my mentor and encouraged me to take the lead in producing the TV show. We bought our own gear, figured out how to shoot and edit them ourselves, and invited everyone affiliated with Turner Studios to have a look. We SOLD A SHOW!

After a run with Turner, we pitched CastleRock Television and partnered with them to create a TV pilot for Fox. Well, that kinda sucked, but we all learned a lot about making TV, and most of the core team went our separate ways. I stayed in Atlanta and started producing and editing television commercials.

In 2000, I co-produced the feature “Made Up”, starring Brooke Adams, Lynne Adams and directed by my friend Tony Shalhoub. I also had a role in the movie and an amazing adventure filming in Massachusetts. Here, I met one of my producing partners, Mark Donadio.

After a couple of years of learning the industry, auditioning for random made-for-TV movies, and editing other people’s commercials, I took my stab at directing and never looked back.

In 2004, I directed the short film “Moved” for the 48 Hour Film Festival and beat over 650 films from around the globe to win the Grand Prize. From there, my commercial directing career took off, and I was offered to direct my first feature film. “Good Intentions” with Luke Perry, LeAnn Rimes, Elaine Hendrix, and two of my favorite actors I: Jon Gries and Jimmi Simpson. I learned a lot from these two. My biggest directing lesson came from Jon Gries. On about day 20, we were rehearsing the scene, and right before they called “roll camera” I told Jon to “have fun with it”. In front of everyone, he told said “No, no no. You don’t get to say ‘have fun’ and expect me to figure it out in front of everyone while the camera is rolling. Tell me what you want and I will make it great”. He was absolutely right; I gave him the direction and the scene was great.

“Have fun with it” is what people say when they want you to do their job for them. I never used that phrase again.

After “Good Intentions” I focused on family and continuing my commercial directing career. I started working more on National campaigns and being more involved in the creative process, as well as production. In 2015, I directed my next feature: “The House Sitter” with Mark Donadio in Massachusetts. After five weeks and five blizzards, we made a fun thriller and it was picked up right away for Lifetime.

In 2015, I went on staff at BBDO, one of the worlds largest advertising companies as a Senior Producer and Director. In 18 months, I shot over 50 commercials and grew exponentially as a director and producer.

In 2017, I moved over to another agency in Atlanta called 22Squared as Director of 22Pictures, leading the agency’s in-house production department. Here I learned how to steer a project from client brief, prep, shoot, and delivery. I became an expert on making sure everyone says “yes” at every step of the way to achieve the best work possible.

Our team at 22Pictures anticipated and created guardrails along the way to make sure we were maximizing every client dollar and putting it on screen. This workflow emphasized production value, boosted revenue, and streamlined the process to a faster deliverable, and calmer workflow.

In 2020, I went back to freelance directing with my production company Nice Hat Productions and been shooting national campaigns for Fortune 100 companies and enjoying raising one of the coolest daughters in the world.

Next year, I am returning to my roots and directing the comedy feature “Bolio: The Spirit of the Mustang”. I am excited to bring this hilarious comedy to my home state of Georgia and spend a month laughing on set with some of the best crew in the country.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a director is a challenge in so many ways, mostly it’s the isolation. There is only one director on set, and very often all you hear is “yes” to your ideas, so you have to surround yourself with people you trust will be honest with you and call you out if your idea isn’t the best.

I remember on the first day of my first movie, one of the actors making a corny joke, and everyone was laughing because he was a celebrity. I turned to my cinematographer and whispered, please don’t ever let me lose touch with reality like that. About two weeks in, I noticed everyone laughing at my corny jokes and had a real come-to-Jesus with myself and my process.

I surround myself with the most amazing crew and producers in Atlanta. I value their perspective and experience so much that it’s me laughing at their dumb jokes because in my eyes, they are the true celebrities.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Before I started directing, I was an actor and an editor; and prior to all that, I had been playing drums all my life. Those skills have helped me be a very precise and efficient director who knows what I want and how to get that performance.

Having been an actor for years, I generally know what I want in each scene and play the parts along while watching the monitor. If the actor’s timing and my timing are off, I know something doesn’t feel right, which I have to decide if the actor’s choice is better than mine or if they are “off beat”. I can’t help it, I feel rhythm in everything I do, and that precise timing makes the difference in a joke landing or getting lost in the edit.

This foundation based in timing also translates to the edit room. I had an editor once told me that the human eye can’t register removing six frames off an edit. I asked him to move the music over six frames, and the entire scene felt off. I explained that is exactly how our internal rhythms feel when we don’t land the joke at the exact beat.

Later in my career, when I started working in advertising, I was mentored by Matt Silliman, who taught me how to understand the workflow and communicating of an ad agency. This honest support has helped me become a much better Producer and stay engaged throughout the entire creative process, which in turn has made me a better director.

How do you think about luck?
There is a line in Tom Hank’s book “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece” in which one of the actors describes his purpose: “Be present and honest, and let go of any expectations”. This is how I live my life. I feel that we are given lucky breaks all the time, but we are too in our heads and self-absorbed to see those opportunities. We hold on to what we think we want too tight to see what might be a better opportunity.

I also pray for a greater will to happen than just my own. So whatever universe, or God, or nothingness that you believe in, you are at least putting yourself out there to receive better opportunities that you can imagine for yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jimissa.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jim_issa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimissa
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimissa/