Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Nate Miller | Episode 1251
Nathaniel “Nate” Miller went full-time as a potter in 2026 after twenty years of filmmaking and video editing. Nate’s Burbank, CA studio makes handcrafted functional ceramic housewares with a playful taste of science fiction and futurism.
Clay Call
Lets hear from YOU! Click HERE.
SPONSORS
You can help support the show!
GRPotteryForms.com
Number 1 brand in America for a reason. Skutt.com
For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com
Nate, I know that you have been involved in helping to grow social media for the entertainment industry, but also it’s been something you’ve been doing for yourself. And when I asked you, has it been working, and you said 1000%! You’ve really been using it to grow your own following, so to speak. And so I’m curious about a couple things. How important is the first three seconds of any reel or any type of video on social media?
I think those first three seconds are really important. I think people on social media is gonna, I think people on social media are gonna drop off pretty quickly if you don’t have anything to hook them in.
On your Instagram feed you’ve got catchy comments that are put in emboldened letters right before you even click on it. In using a visual hook like that, what do you feel that does for engagement?
I think it’s important to, if you give some, sorry, let me try and think of this in as concise a way as possible. I think you want to give the audience exactly what they’re expecting you to give them. So if you’re going to offer something, you need to deliver on that.
How important is planning and organizing beforehand?
I plan and organize everything down. Yeah, I plan and organize everything definitely. It’s very important.
Do you have a short storyline that you bring to the table for each video?
Yeah, I write everything out beforehand and I’ll record my voiceovers 1st and then I will structure everything to that.
You said in The Potters Cast that you use and have all the pro tools. Is that totally necessary?
No, I don’t think that’s necessary. I already know how to use all that stuff, so it’s just easier for me. I mean, you can make reels on your phone, but I have all, I got the Adobe Creative Cloud, and so I do everything in there. That’s just what I’m used to.
How important is actual movement for a reel to be getting traction?
I think it’s pretty important to keep it flowing and keep it punchy. I keep, I don’t, I try to make soothing content, but even though it’s soothing and I still have rapid edits and I don’t linger on any shot very long.
In your bio you say “A place for ceramics and ceramic adjacent thoughts”. Is it important to have like a theme of things that you talk about?
I like to have a theme and I like to keep it consistent in that you at least somewhat know what you’re going to expect. I mean, I guess I don’t like using market speak too much, but I try to have a brand at least a little bit. I think if you watch my videos, there’s a certain cadence that you can expect in my voice. There’s a certain kind of music you can expect, and you can expect me to be talking about pottery or something related to my pottery work or my family life or something at least lightly philosophical in that way.
Book
Designa: Technical Secrets of the Traditional Visual Arts by Adam Tetlow
Contact
Instagram: @nate_miller