Allie and I met in March when she and I were asked to be a part of a gallery show about boxing, organized by Andee Rudloff. Since then, we have seen each other off-and-on throughout the months, but we hadn't had the chance to work together. Deliciously Happy provided that opportunity. Allie was instrumental in bringing the video piece together. She shot footage of me talking about the project and helped me feel comfortable in front of the camera. She edited the final piece, shuffling through hours of footage, finding the right bits to tell a story. She is an absolute joy to work with: I don't think I have ever been around someone who is so genuinely happy, smiling all the time!! For this entry, I asked Allie 10 questions involving inspiration, collaboration, and storytelling. See what she has to say!
1. When someone says they are a filmmaker, what does that mean? Explain to us what you do.
A filmmaker is a storyteller who works with video and audio as a medium, as opposed to the more "plastic arts" like photography, painting, or sculpture. Filmmaking is simultaneously a technical art as well as an aesthetic one. For me, filmmaking is an exciting, creative, and technical endeavor that is constantly evolving and challenging me in terms of the ways in which I can get a story or certain message across to my audience. As far as my process goes: I come up with an idea, script it, shoot, edit, and add color correction and sound design to put it all together into a finished piece.
2. What kind of training did you have?
As an undergrad, I studied Audio Engineering at MTSU, which gave me a great foundation in sound design and recording. I graduated in 2004 with my MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University, where I focused on experimental narrative filmmaking and post-production technologies. As a child, I did a lot of children's theater (acting), which was a crash course on how directors work with actors...and how acting is crucial to the success of any storytelling venture.
3. What inspires you?
My students, actually. They are constantly challenging me on why films need to be made in a certain way...because they don't know the "rules" of traditional filmmaking, they are just doing things according to what they think is the right way. That helps me grow every day -- I certainly learn from their mistakes, but working with young filmmakers forces me to think creatively about problem solving. They're always surprising me.
4. When does a story idea usually hit you?
I get my story ideas from dreams sometimes...other times I'll be driving and listening to a song and an image will pop into my head. I woke up one day a few years back with an image of two girls sitting in a principal's office, bloodied/scraped up and looking totally hopeless...the worst day of their 14 year old lives. That image became the ending of my thesis film -- it was so vivid that it made me want to know why these girls ended up in the principal's office. So all I had to do to write that film was to write out what had happened to them up until that point. But writing is actually usually the most awful, difficult part of filmmaking for me...where I go through countless bad ideas to get to that one good one.
5. What role do you think collaboration plays in your industry?
For most filmmakers, especially narrative ones, collaboration is essential to making a GOOD film...anyone can make a film by themselves, but it won't be good. Usually film crews are composed of "experts"...one person is great at camera work, another is great at sound, another at directing actors...and the talents all come together to make a single great film. For me, I have always struggled with the "I know how to do it myself, so why not do it all by myself" mentality. I love the idea that small crews work quickly and are less intrusive to the acting/performing process. Digital technologies make it extremely easy to shoot on extremely small crews nowadays. In fact, I shot my last film "Camp Safe Haven" in 6 hours with with my friend Andee Rudloff and her nephew - with no crew other than myself and a camera. I cut it the very next day, and the entire effort cost us about $20 (for hot dogs at lunchtime and gas for the car). People who see the film have no idea how many people worked on it, or what equipment I used...but they all tell me they wanted to slug the kid...which is great because the film is about a boy who is out of control and his frazzled aunt who has to get him off to summer camp. So the story always wins, and the process of getting to that story can be difficult and large in scale, or it can be simple and to the point.
6. If you could work with anyone, who would it be and why?
I wish I was born 20 years earlier so I could have worked with American Zoetrope (Francis Ford Coppola's production company) in the 70's. Coppola had some really amazing ideas back then about creating a film studio outside of the Hollywood system, and surrounded himself with some of the country's most talented and inspiring filmmakers...I wish I could have been a part of that. At this point, I would like to see Nashville's filmmaking community come together in a similar spirit of collaboration and collective inspiration. There's no reason Nashville can't be a hub of independent filmmaking...so I hope to be a part of that community growth.
7. How did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I wanted a video camera so badly when I was a kid, but my parents didn't have one. I took a job at Six Flags running sound for a bluegrass band when I was 16 years old, and when I had earned enough money, I bought myself a Sony 8mm video camera. I shot the crap out of that thing!!! It really taught me how to decide what to shoot and how, when to hit record and when not to...and when to keep rolling.
8. What is your favorite part of the filmmaking process?
I love editing...it's really where the story comes together. Before editing, all you have is a bunch of disconnected shots...when you shoot a film, you're exhausted and stressed, you're not eating or sleeping properly, and you are just praying that you're capturing things well enough to give you creative options in the editing room. I really enjoy the process of sitting down and discovering the story long after it's been shot.
9. Tell us about your next project, what are you currently working on?
I have been tossing around a million ideas (again, tons of bad ones to get to the good one). I'm currently freelancing as a video producer and editor, doing short web videos for various clients. That's been a lot of fun, because I get to try out new equipment and techniques on short projects. I would love to continue working on my own films, perhaps delving into the experimental art cinema I was exposed to in graduate school...film can be so artful and beautiful, but many people have difficulties connecting to experimental film. Perhaps they see it as too intellectual, or they are only looking to "turn off" their brains for a while and enjoy something simple and fun. I hope to make films that not only entertain people, but make them see the world around them a little differently.
10. If someone came up to you and said, "I want to be a filmmaker." What would you say to them?
You can be anything you want to be if you are determined enough...the world needs more diverse storytellers in all mediums! I happen to love filmmaking, and I can see right away if someone has that passion as well. I didn't grow up in a "film" family...my parents are both working in the health care field. But I knew I wanted to make films and I went out and did it. I run into a lot of students who think they want to make films, but once they find out how difficult it actually is, they lose interest. That's when you know that something is not right for you...I guess it's like falling in love. When it's the right thing, you fall deeper and deeper in love every day. I can't imagine doing anything else!
Allie Sultan has over ten years of experience working as a picture and sound editor for films, documentaries, reality tv, and visual effects. She completed an MFA in cinema from San Francisco State University in 2004, and has worked with some of Bay Area's finest film companies and organizations, including ZAP (Zoetrope-Aubry Productions), Berkeley Sound Artists, the Bay Area Video Coalition, and Tippett Studio. Her new video production entity, Green Scoot Films, produces short videos for the web. Allie teaches film production and editing at the Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville and Vanderbilt University, and serves as a board member for FilmNashville and Women in Film and Television-Nashville. She can be reached at allie@greenscootfilms.com.
Allie is AWeSomE!!!! I love seeing her work. Great story on her, Lindsey!
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