International Women’s Day: Atomos Filmmakers

Carrie Stalk:

1. Who is your favourite female director/cinematographer? what do you like most about her work?
   • At the moment, I’m fascinated by the work of Rina Yang. She is a cinematographer based out of London who specializes in music video and commercial work. But her work isn’t just based upon basic film-school techniques, she pulls in her portrait painting and still life background to really create a unique, bold image. When you look at her projects, each of them showcase a sense of control, much like a painting: intensely thought out in color, blocking and overall look, yet wholly original.

2. When did you first arrive at the idea of making movies?

   • Growing up I was never interested in what people would typically think as “classic cinema.” Without fail, what made any film memorable to me was the positive associations I drew from it— whether it was from the story, an introspective realization, or the shared experience of watching it with another person. When I went to college, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life. But my love for working with my hands, creative problem solving, and fascination with entertainment drew me to join the film club at my school. Through that I quickly fell in love with the process of filmmaking and the privilege to have a tangible final product that showcases all of the hard work that went into the piece.

3. What do you like the most about making a movie?

   • Anyone who knows me knows I love to be hyperbolic when retelling a story. So it was only natural that that dovetailed into filmmaking. A large part of making movies, and capturing a story in general, is learning when to embellish (either visually or within the plot) to heighten a certain emotion in the viewer. Much like comedy, it’s all about timing and using deft hand to persuade the audience to come on a journey with you, while effectively telling a story that they can connect to. I’m endlessly fascinated by this balancing act and learning how to create a product that has a lasting impact on people.

4. What tips do you have for other female filmmakers out there?

   •   The best advice I can give to female filmmakers, and frankly anyone who is not a cis-man, is to not subscribe to the idea that it’s inappropriate to ask for what you want. It is always a good thing to advocate for yourself, whether that be negotiating a rate or cold-emailing a new potential contact. Don’t make yourself small to make others feel comfortable, because your only responsibility is to yourself, your progress, and your career.

5. Have Atomos products played a significant role on your film sets and how?

   •  Atomos monitors have played a significant role in my much of my series and short-form content. At times I have been placed in less than ideal situations and been handed cameras that struggle to produce a quality image without significant lighting help. Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of being able to control the conditions in which you are shooting and the ability to record more imaging information in a more friendly codec on Atomos recorders have saved me in these situations more than once. The recording capabilities of the Ninja V and Shogun have unlocked and expanded the video capabilities of these otherwise low-end cameras, allowing me to achieve our desired look in post.

 

 

 

Elle Schneider:

1. Who is your favourite female director/cinematographer? what do you like most about her work?
   • My favorite female cinematographer is Maryse Alberti. She works across a wide variety of genres, bringing documentary sensibility into her narrative work, and narrative sensibility into her documentary work, and often shoots visually unique projects with an artistic edge.

2. When did you first arrive at the idea of making movies?

   • By the time I was a senior in high school, I knew I wanted to go into filmmaking either as a director/cameraperson or as a costume designer; my mother sewed her own clothing growing up, and so Halloween was always a big deal in my house. I was also a huge STAR WARS nerd and the prequels got me pretty fired up. Since I was never enthralled with sewing machines, ultimately I decided to pursue directing and camera. It took me a long time to realize that women were underrepresented behind the camera, because as a teen CLUELESS, WAYNE’S WORLD, and AMERICAN PSYCHO were just as iconic amongst my peers as Indiana Jones or James Bond, and some films I loved like VELVET GOLDMINE were shot by women. It wasn’t until I was out of college that I started to understand that there weren’t really fewer women in film as there were fewer opportunities for women to make movies.

3. What do you like the most about making a movie?

   • I love the teamwork and camaraderie that goes into filmmaking, which can be a total artistic joy, and working with the right team, from costume to production design to props to color, can elevate your film into something special that just your vision alone couldn’t have created.

4. What tips do you have for other female filmmakers out there?

   • My number one piece of advice for all filmmakers is to learn how to edit, and then how to shoot. The more you understand the pipeline of making a film from start to finish, the more you can make your own projects and give yourself an opportunity both to learn and stand out, even when you’re working with a low budget or don’t have access to a crew.

5. Have Atomos products played a significant role on your film sets and how?

   •  I’ve used Atomos products on my sets for a few years now, and whether just as a spare screen for a department head, or recording raw from a camera to transform its quality, the features and versatility of Atomos’ monitors make them a great asset to have on a production.

 

 

 

 

Emily Skye:

1. Who is your favourite female director/cinematographer? what do you like most about her work?
   • Reed Morano is my inspiration, she’s a mother, DP and Director. I am also a single mother, who Directs and DPs my work, I’m constantly told I can’t do both, but watching Reed go against the current gives me an extra boost of strength to keep fighting. I love how she lights her sets and her camera movements she chooses. She has a very intimate raw feel.

2. When did you first arrive at the idea of making movies?

   • I fell in love with Cinema at the age of 6, watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind started my love of Sci-fi and since then my mom couldn’t get the family camcorder out of my hands, I then used my brothers as my actors for the majority of my childhood. It was when I was around 18 that I discovered I can be a working Director after working on the set of Miami Vice, watching Michael Mann Direct was my moment of knowing I can do this a career and I didn’t need to be afraid to go for it.

3. What do you like the most about making a movie?

   • I love being able to work with likeminded filmmakers, I love the collaboration, watching the words come to life. I love seeing worlds come to life and knowing I have a part in it.

4. What tips do you have for other female filmmakers out there?

   • Do you, don’t listen to the negative. Be uniquely you and go for it. You are worthy of all your goals and are capable. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, we have a wonderful film community that will help you. Just ask.

5. Have Atomos products played a significant role on your film sets and how?

   • I love Atomos and they have been playing a wonderful role in my productions and editorial shoots. I love being able to shoot up to 5.9K ProRes RAW right from the Ninja using my LUMIX s5.

 

 

Katerina Mia:

1. Who is your favourite female director/cinematographer? what do you like most about her work?
   • My favourite female director would have to be Sofia Coppola. I find her visual style to be not only incredibly beautiful, but the degree to which she seeks to make the camera feminine in the way she frames and portrays her characters is something that inspires me deeply. One quote by her that I feel like echos the way I approach filmmaking is “that’s the way I work; I try to imagine what I would like to see” – Sofia Coppola.

2. When did you first arrive at the idea of making movies?

   • I first arrived at the idea of making movies when I was 15. I set out to make a documentary about the generational differences in Cuban cultural and political identity among Cuban Americans, Cuban exiles, and Cubans that still call the island home. This is a topic that is really near to me as being Cuban-American and growing up immersed in both cultures is a big part of my own identity. While I initially set out to make the project with the interest of content in mind, I quickly fell in love with many aspects of filmmaking and have been set on it ever since.

3. What tips do you have for other female filmmakers out there?

   • One tip I would have to female filmmakers is to stay true to your ambitions and continue to develop your own voice and visual style that is unique to you. This is something that I am still working on and I know I will continue to mature in this as I continue throughout my career– I am just at the start of it all!

4. Have Atomos products played a significant role on your film sets and how?

   • The Atomos Ninja V has really transformed my workflow and brought up the overall quality of my image. The flexibility my rig provides is one of the most important factors in the execution of my work. It allows for me to pay attention to details on a new level through the features on the OS interface as well as using a bigger screen has stepped up the precision that goes into executing the composition of a shot without having to compromise the quality of the footage as the Ninja V unlocks the full potential of my camera.