Episode 115
Experience-Based Hiring & AI Tools (ft. Livalittle)
Most of this show is about winning clients. This episode is about the people who make the work possible and the systems one filmmaker built around lifting them up. JD Gonzalez runs Livalittle, a boutique, POC-owned production company in Brooklyn, and he joined Dario and Kyrill for a conversation that is equal parts hiring philosophy, community building, and a surprisingly deep dive into building your own software with AI.
In Episode 115, JD walks through his philosophy of experience-based hiring, how free filmmaking workshops became his best networking tool, what it took to break into New York after moving from Denver, the very real logistics of filming in the city (freight elevators and all), and how he taught himself to build his own production apps and a custom CRM with Claude Code. It all lands on one idea: with AI, with branding, and with your career, you get out what you put in.
Key Takeaways
- Experience-based hiring flips the question. Instead of who has the most experience, JD asks who will gain the most from the role, then gives them that next step.
- Rotating crews builds a wider network. Lifting new people up turns each hire into a future referral source rather than a repeat booking.
- Mentorship is built into the job. Everyone JD hires is responsible for training the person under them, which scales his reputation as it scales the crew.
- Free workshops are his best marketing. Crafting the Image positions him as an expert, builds crews, earns rental-house partnerships, and vets talent in a low-pressure setting.
- Film education should not sit behind a paywall. Giving knowledge away pays back in network and goodwill, a conviction rooted in his own film-school debt.
- Breaking into a market is about consistency, not time. The tactics that built his network in Denver worked the same in New York; it just took longer to be remembered.
- Owning a camera still opens doors. An Alexa Mini LF signals investment in the craft, and consigning it at a rental house earns income and deepens a key relationship.
- NYC gear logistics are a job of their own. Box trucks, overnight parking, 1912-era freight elevators, and insurance that nearly tripled what he paid in Denver.
- A strong, searchable brand wins direct-to-client work. JD paid for the livalittle.com domain, invested in a hand-drawn wordmark, and ranked on Google with zero ad spend.
- You can build real production tools with Claude Code. JD shipped a previz app, a gear-list manager, and a custom CRM, keeping his files on GitHub to avoid platform lock-in.
- With AI, you get out what you put in. First-thought output is only a starting point; your perspective is the one asset AI and competitors cannot copy.
Timestamps
Experience-Based Hiring: Lifting People Up to Build a Network
Most production companies find a core crew they trust and stick with them. JD Gonzalez does the opposite, deliberately. Livalittle is built around what he calls experience-based hiring: instead of asking who has the most experience, he asks who will gain the most from the experience. If a camera assistant is ready for their first HBO credit, JD wants to be the one who gives it to them. The people he lifts up carry his name into every room they enter afterward, and that goodwill keeps cycling back as referrals, favors, and crew recommendations.
It is a striking inversion of how most of us think about vetting and managing talent, and it does not come at the cost of quality. Everyone he hires is qualified and ready; they are simply being given their next step rather than their hundredth repetition. He also makes mentorship part of the job: when you work under JD, you are responsible for training the person under you. It is a culture-first approach to growing and investing in your team that doubles as a business development engine.
“It is not who has the most experience, it is who will gain the most from the experience.”
JD Gonzalez, LivalittleFree Workshops: Marketing Through Education
JD’s secret networking weapon is not a cold-email sequence. It is a free, two-day, eight-hour-a-day workshop called Crafting the Image, where he teaches filmmakers how to turn story into technical, managerial, and creative decisions. He is adamant that film education should not sit behind a paywall, a conviction that comes from starting his career 100K dollars deep in film school debt.
The workshops give back more than they cost. They position him as an expert, earn him partnerships with rental houses (he now runs them with Aria Rental in New York, including virtual production training on their volume), and act as the perfect low-pressure vetting ground: invite people in, see who shows up hungry, watch how they work, and hire accordingly. He once built an entire 15-person short film crew from a single workshop. For anyone rethinking how they generate opportunities, it is a masterclass in new ways to generate leads and finding work in your local community.
From Denver to New York: Breaking Into a Bigger Market
Three and a half years ago, JD moved Livalittle from Denver to Brooklyn. The biggest lesson? Nothing about his approach had to change. The same tactics that built his network in Colorado, showing up consistently, giving value, and having honest conversations about where he was at, worked in New York. The difference was patience: in a city that size, it simply takes longer to be remembered.
He was candid about the contrast between markets too: New Mexico’s union infrastructure and incentives, Colorado’s union gap, and New York’s everything-everywhere sprawl. His experience echoes a lot of what we covered in breaking into new markets. The fundamentals of relationship-building are market-agnostic, even when the market is the most competitive one in North America.
Cameras, Consignment, and the Realities of Filming in NYC
One surprise: owning a camera still opens doors. JD moved to New York with an Alexa Mini LF and initially kept quiet about it, but once word got out, heads turned. Owning serious gear signals you have invested in your craft, and it slots you into a producer’s mental folder of owner-operators. Smarter still, he consigns the camera at his rental house, earning income while they handle certification and maintenance, and deepening a relationship that feeds him work and workshop space.
Then there is the New York reality check: no space to store C-stands, Brooklyn auto insurance that nearly triples what he paid in Denver, PAs doing box-truck pickups the day before every shoot, 1912-era freight elevators, and brownstone stoops that laugh at your carts. It is a vivid reminder that production costs are deeply local, the same forces we break down in our guides to videographer day rates in Toronto and how much a video costs.
Branding That Wins Direct-to-Client Work
JD studied graphic design before film, and it shows. He paid 3,000 dollars for the livalittle.com domain because he knew the name was catchy and would rank, and in Denver he hit the top of Google search results with zero ad spend. His hand-drawn wordmark logo took six weeks to develop and deliberately weaves in elements representing diversity. The payoff: nearly every client who finds him through the website compliments it immediately, telling him it is clear he takes his work seriously.
His direct-to-client model is lean by design: no middle layers, payroll handled in-house, and clients welcomed into the directing process even when it means extra work. It is proof that a strong brand identity is a sales asset, not a vanity project, something we have explored in working on your personal branding and our conversation on adaptability, sales, and SEO.
Building Your Own Tools with Claude Code
The most forward-looking stretch of the episode: JD taught himself to build full software applications using Claude Code, starting from “what is an API?” and ending with two working products. PrepViz is a scene-design and previsualization app that lets cinematographers block characters and cameras in top-down 2D, flip into 3D with accurate focal lengths, and even track the sun for any location and date. Pre-Checklist tackles the unglamorous side of prep: versioned gear lists, resources, invoices, and shareable checklists that kill the endless Google Sheets shuffle. He has also built a custom CRM with automation baked in, and because everything lives in his own files on GitHub, he is not locked into any one AI platform.
His advice for anyone curious: it is real work, and the better you know the tool, the better the result. Be specific and deliberate, exactly like directing a crew, which is why he thinks directors and team leaders are naturally suited to it. And when everyone has access to the same AI tools, the differentiator is the same as it has always been: your perspective. First-thought output is just a starting point; the story and intention you bring is what makes it yours. It is a far more grounded take on AI than the panic cycles we have tracked since Sora and the future of video production, and it picks up right where the AI conversation with Bee Video Productions left off.
Whether you put that thinking into apps, branding, or the work itself, the lesson holds: you get out what you put in. If you are a Toronto brand looking for a team that puts the work in every day, explore our video production services or request a competitive quote.
“No one can steal your perspective. With AI, branding, or your career, you get out what you put in.”
JD Gonzalez, LivalittleFrequently Asked Questions
What is experience-based hiring?
It is JD Gonzalez’s approach of hiring for who will gain the most from a role rather than who has the most experience. Everyone he brings on is qualified and ready; they are given their next step, and in return they carry his name into future rooms as referrals and recommendations.
How do free workshops help a production company grow?
JD’s free two-day workshop, Crafting the Image, positions him as an expert, builds relationships with rental houses, and acts as a low-pressure vetting ground for new crew. He once assembled an entire 15-person short film crew from a single workshop.
How do you break into a competitive market like New York?
Consistency, not time. The same relationship-building that worked in Denver worked in New York; it simply took longer to be remembered in a city that size. The fundamentals are market-agnostic.
Can you really build production software with AI tools like Claude Code?
Yes. JD taught himself from “what is an API?” to shipping working products: PrepViz for previsualization, Pre-Checklist for gear lists, and a custom CRM. Keeping his files on GitHub avoids lock-in to any single AI platform.
Does AI change what makes a filmmaker stand out?
Not really. When everyone has the same tools, the differentiator is your perspective. First-thought AI output is only a starting point; the story and intention you bring are what make the work yours.
The Hosts
Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov are the co-founders of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company, and the hosts of Creatives Grab Coffee, a weekly show about the business of video production.
About
Creatives Grab Coffee is a podcast about the business behind video production: sales, strategy, pricing, team building, and everything that happens off camera. New episodes every week on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Lapse Productions is a Toronto-based video production company serving tech, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing clients with corporate, promotional, testimonial, event, and recruitment video. Not sure who to hire? Start with our guide on how to choose a video production company.
Livalittle is a boutique, POC-owned video production company based in Brooklyn, New York, founded by cinematographer, producer, and director JD Gonzalez. It focuses on story-driven commercial and documentary work and on experience-based hiring that builds accessibility in the film industry. Learn more at livalittle.com.
