Full Transcript for Framing the Invisible: An Intimate Conversation with Cinematographer Alicia Robbins

three she 33 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:40.479 graduated with an MFA from the American Film Institute. Alicia 34 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:44.039 will be returning to Bridgeton to shoot season four later 35 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.960 this year. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, 36 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:53.479 fellow DP David Smith. Alicia, Welcome to the podcast. 37 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.039 Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. 38 00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:59.360 You know, you're in some excellent company. We've had some 39 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:03.080 wonderful camera women, cinematographers. You know, we've had a lot 40 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:05.479 of people from the industry on the show here, and 41 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.719 a lot of them were pointing to you. You were nominated, you. 42 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:13.240 Know for this. Wow, that's great, that's cool. 43 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:16.479 No, I know we've caught you in a good time 44 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.759 because you're kind of on hiatus right now. You're enjoying 45 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:22.159 some summer family time. 46 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:24.520 Oh yes, yes, a long hiatus. 47 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:28.680 Well we'll call it hiatus because it sounds better, doesn't it. 48 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:31.280 Yes, it does sound better than saying I'm out of 49 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:32.159 work for a while. 50 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.280 Well, anyone in the industry will understand that. 51 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:39.039 Oh yes, they can relate. 52 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:44.240 Well, let's talk about your story. You're California girl. Now, 53 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:46.360 of course you're right in the middle of business there 54 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.719 in Hollywood. You were actually born in San Diego, not 55 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.800 too far away, but you grew up in Trustville. It's 56 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.719 a place i'd never heard of, got Trustvill, Alabama. So 57 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:58.120 why did your parents move? What was the story behind that? 58 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:02.039 Don't you My parents they were already they were Southerners, 59 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:05.960 so they were they were born in Alabama. So what 60 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:09.199 took them to California was my dad enlisted in the Navy, 61 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:13.439 and then after the four years that he did in 62 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:16.399 the Navy, he ended up the whole family wanted to 63 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:20.040 stay because they loved San Diego so much, so they 64 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:22.560 ended up living in San Diego for I think it 65 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:26.360 was about twenty one years. And after twenty one years, 66 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:30.759 they decided that they missed home and family back home 67 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:34.000 and picked up and moved back to Alabama. And I 68 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:38.160 was four years old at the time, so that's why 69 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:38.639 I ended. 70 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:39.879 Up growing up in Alabama. 71 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.519 My siblings are quite a bit older than I am, 72 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:45.839 so my brother is seventeen years older than I am, 73 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:47.759 and my sister is nine years older. 74 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.120 Than I am. Of course, she wouldn't want me to 75 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:50.160 say that out loud. 76 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:56.360 Because people think we're twins. So they had already been 77 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:01.319 living in California and felt very much like California kids. 78 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.519 So my brother stayed in California when we moved to 79 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:08.879 Alabama because he was already twenty one years old, but 80 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.399 my sister, being a teenager, had to come with us 81 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:12.680 kicking and screaming. 82 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:15.879 But for me, as a. 83 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.199 Four year old, it didn't really bother me moving to 84 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:24.680 Alabama and growing up in Alabama. And I did enjoy 85 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:27.839 my life in Alabama. I had a great school that 86 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:29.920 I went to, really great friends. I went to the 87 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:32.519 same school from kindergarten all the way through senior year. 88 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:35.519 But yeah, that's all how we ended up back in 89 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:35.920 the South. 90 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.399 Do you remember anything up until the time you moved. 91 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.319 I think my earliest memories was something like age four. 92 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.000 So did you remember anything from being in San Diego 93 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:47.079 at all? 94 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:47.600 I did. 95 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:53.399 Yeah, I remembered, Well, there was this dirt mountain that 96 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:55.879 was right next to us, and as a kid, I 97 00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:59.000 always thought it was so huge because you're a tiny 98 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:03.800 little person. And I remember I would crawl over to 99 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:05.759 that mountain and kind of just sit in the base 100 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:08.040 of it, and I would play in the dirt a lot. 101 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:12.920 Like. I loved the dirt, and I liked the ice plants. 102 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.519 Apparently my mom would have to grab me before I 103 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:18.839 would start grabbing the ice plants. It's like a succulent 104 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:21.480 and I would try to eat them. 105 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:26.040 So I'm would try to eat the ice plants. So 106 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:27.720 I kind of remember playing around in. 107 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:32.319 The dirt a lot of times. I'm wondering, am I 108 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:37.639

actually remembering these memories or is it because my dad 109 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.399 was really big on taking video eight millimeter film sorry, 110 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:45.000 our whole lives, and so I have all of this 111 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:50.519 recollection as a child through these eight millimeter videos. So 112 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:53.600 sometimes I'm wondering, am I remembering it or am I 113 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:57.600 just remembering the video of me doing that activity. 114 00:06:57.639 --> 00:06:59.160 So it's kind of hard to know. So I feel 115 00:06:59.160 --> 00:06:59.680 like I have a. 116 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:04.000 Ton of memories from age zero to four or five 117 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:08.000 years old, but I yeah, I'm not really sure if 118 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:09.920 that's really in my head or if that was from 119 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.160 the eight millimeter content. 120 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:15.439 Well, it could be that you have a photographic memory 121 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:16.519 that would apply today. 122 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:20.839 Yes, I know I have a little bit of that. 123 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.879 I don't know if it's truly a photographic memory. But 124 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:32.800 visual I do remember visuals more than anything else. I 125 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.120 can almost remember if I'm watching something that I shot. 126 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:39.879 For instance, I can picture the whole setup of how 127 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:42.480 we were in the space. For the most part, I 128 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:45.199 might not remember every single light in there, but I 129 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:47.439 do remember, oh yeah, that's right, we were here and 130 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:49.800 there and dada da and that was on the wall 131 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:50.399 and blah blah. 132 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:52.319 So there is some of that there. 133 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:56.040 So yeah, maybe maybe that's what's going on? Is I 134 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:58.279 just I do have some of a somewhat of a 135 00:07:58.279 --> 00:07:59.240 photographic memory. 136 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:02.680 Sounds like some influence there. If your dad was a 137 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:07.480 keen videographer as we would call him today, Yeah, did 138 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:11.240 something run up with encouraging you to play around with cameras? 139 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:15.800 Not really, no, I mean he he always was. He 140 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.480 was always using a film well because there's digital wasn't 141 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:20.639 out yet anyway, So he was always taking photographs and 142 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:25.279 he was always taking eight millimeter video. And I know 143 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:27.879 that my sister and brother they were playing a lot 144 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:32.240 with the eight milimeter and even doing some stop motion skateboard. 145 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:33.879 Movies that they put together. 146 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:36.960 So they were playing with the camera. But for some 147 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.759 reason with me, Oh, here's part of the problem. So 148 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:45.559 eight millimeter was mostly in San Diego when he was 149 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.879 shooting with that camera. Once we moved to Alabama, he 150 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:53.440 still had the eight millimeter camera, but there was something about, well, 151 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:56.440 things were transitioning over to VHS for the most part, 152 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:00.720 so there weren't as many places to develop the eight millimeter, 153 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:03.480 and I think he was finding that it was becoming expensive. 154 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:09.039 So I remember in Alabama that camera didn't really come 155 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:14.000 out anymore. I noticed that, and once in a while 156 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:19.399 we would get to borrow my aunt's VHS camera and 157 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:24.679 we would shoot recitals or dance recyitles, plays, whatever with 158 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:29.240 my aunt's video camera on VHS. And sometimes I would 159 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.480 play with that, like I'd film my friends or film 160 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:32.960 my dog. 161 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:36.399 You're always filming your pets. 162 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:41.080 But it wasn't about like, Ooh, that camera that looks 163 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:42.720 so cool, I want to learn how to use that. 164 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:48.120 It was just more of wanting to create a little 165 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:51.080 bit of storytelling in front of the camera and getting 166 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:53.360 my friends to do silly little things. But I just 167 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:56.320 didn't really associate that with, oh, I'm filmmaking. 168 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:00.440 That wasn't in my head at all growing up because 169 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:01.759 I grew up in a musical family. 170 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:02.639 You did. 171 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:04.759 Indeed, music was our background. 172 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:08.799 Yeah, yeah, absolutely, it was the soundtrack to your life. Literally, 173 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:10.039 wasn't it? As the nsil? 174 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:15.519 Oh yeah, I could hear the voice that is like 175 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:19.320 a cacophony of voice students and piano students all at 176 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.120 the same time while I'm doing my homework in the 177 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:26.919 living room, and you just you're able to continue to 178 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:31.720 work through that, through that noise. I can still hear 179 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:33.759 that because that's what I grew up with because my 180 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:37.600 dad would be teaching advanced piano students in one room 181 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.399 and my mom

would be teaching either beginner piano students 182 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:44.799 or voice students in the other room, and then they 183 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:48.279 couldn't really hear each other, but all that music would 184 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:50.519 be going through our air vents and I would be 185 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:55.000 hearing it all together in the living room trying to 186 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:56.200 do my math work. 187 00:10:56.840 --> 00:11:01.240 So yeah, yeah, I was. 188 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.679 Very much used to being around music all the time. 189 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:07.840 And then, plus, since they were piano teachers and voice teachers, 190 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:10.960 I also took piano. It was weird though, because I 191 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.440 didn't want to take voice as much. I just wasn't 192 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:17.759 into singing as much as I was playing piano, so 193 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:20.240 I only took a few little voice lessons here and 194 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:26.240 there from my mom, But piano I did the whole run, 195 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:29.240 from very beginning all the way through senior year. 196 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:32.960 And then into college as well. 197 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:37.559 I ended up being a piano performance minor in college. 198 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:39.080 So do you still play? 199 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:41.000 I do I still play. 200 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:46.000 I don't play as nearly nearly as much as I 201 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:52.399 probably should. My background was being classically trained, and honestly, 202 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:56.240 I got a little bored with playing classical music and 203 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:00.919 reading music, and so it was over the last few 204 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:04.679 years I decided to dive more into chord structure and 205 00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:11.399 understanding jazz, and that reignited me wanting to play piano again. 206 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:16.000 Is learning how to read fake books and improvising around 207 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:20.480 chord structures. So I am playing again, but I'm not 208 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:22.639 really playing my classical music. 209 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:28.480 I'm more focused on learning jazz. Yeah. So, but I 210 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:29.759 do still play. 211 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:32.279 And sometimes once in a while I'll pull out one 212 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.559 of my big rock modon off pieces or something and. 213 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:38.080 Oh, that's fabulous and try to plunk. 214 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:39.559 Away with it and it's not very good. 215 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:46.279 So well, with such a background in music, there is 216 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:48.960 that something that you might have considered as a child 217 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:51.639 or not, something you actually wanted to make a career 218 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:51.919 out of. 219 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.120 Yeah, as a little kid, yes, I thought, ooh, I 220 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:58.799 want to be a concert pianist, because that's just sort 221 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:00.919 of what I knew. It's almost like when you you're 222 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:02.600 asking kindergartener what do you want to be when you 223 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:07.879 grow up, and they're all firefighters, doctor, whatever, What's. 224 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:09.000 What's the other main? Oh, teacher? 225 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:11.840 They always want to be a teacher, and and I. 226 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:13.759 Thought, well, I want to be a concert pianist. 227 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:18.720 But it's not until you start growing up that you realize, oh, 228 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:20.799 that is a really. 229 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:22.480 Difficult thing to become. 230 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:27.519 I'm definitely not putting enough practice into it if that's 231 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:29.559 truly what I want to be. And you don't you 232 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:34.360 start realizing that when you're a teenager. And so I 233 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:36.240 was just I was really trying to think about, Okay, 234 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.840 what would I what would I want to do in 235 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:42.240 music then? And there was there wasn't really anything that 236 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:44.600 appealed to me. I didn't want to be a music teacher. 237 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.159 I didn't want to be a musician. That just wasn't 238 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:53.000 I still loved playing piano, but it wasn't something that 239 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.600 I wanted to do professionally. But one thing that I 240 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:03.919 did find fascinating starting kind of in middle school. This 241 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.320 is a fun fact. So I was like the poetry 242 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:09.399 reading festival champion for about eight years straight. 243 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:12.000 And I know this sounds like what is that? 244 00:14:12.279 --> 00:14:16.679 So it literally is taking not poems that you've written, 245 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:24.399 but taking famous poetry and reciting it, and you are 246 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:28.519 judged on how you're interpreting interpreting that poem and how 247 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:29.320 you're reading it. 248 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:31.080 Can you put music to it? 249 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:32.600 No? 250 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:37.120 No, music, No, so it's it is just an oral 251 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:43.919 dictation of this this poem. And I ended up winning 252 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:48.360 county for I think it was seven years in a row. 253 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:50.000 Whyn't that in your IMDb? 254 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:50.360 I know. 255 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.879 So I liked I liked public speaking. 256 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:01.120 I really enjoyed speaking in public and so the

poetry 257 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:03.840 thing started leading my mom realized, Oh, she's really good 258 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:06.120 at this. She can do public speaking. Why don't we 259 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:08.120 look at some other things that might be interesting to her. 260 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:13.159 So we started finding speech writing contests, so you would 261 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.960 be writing a speech about some sort of subject. Because 262 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.919 I was a decent writer too, I could compose papers 263 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:24.519 and stories pretty well. So I started entering speech writing. 264 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:27.399 Contests that you then also get up on the stage 265 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.840 and you do your speech. 266 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:32.799 And I started winning some of those too, and those 267 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:35.159 are great because a lot of them had prize money. 268 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:37.759 So I ended up winning some money here. 269 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:40.320 There doing these speech contests. 270 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:44.039 So that started making me realize, oh, maybe I want 271 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:46.799 to do something with public speaking. 272 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:48.159 Maybe that's news anchoring. 273 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:51.000 Maybe I want to be on camera as a news 274 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:55.000 anchor where I'm having to communicate. So that's the road 275 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:58.240 I started to go down after high school. I was 276 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:04.799 looking for communications programs at colleges that had an emphasis 277 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:09.159 in like news and broadcasts and things like that. 278 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:14.080 Well, now you're making a living behind the camera. Did 279 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:17.399 you ever think, you know, did you like the idea 280 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.200 of being on camera? Did you ever think, well, that 281 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:20.240 that's where I should be. 282 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.919 Not as an actor, but as as potentially a news anchor. Yes, 283 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:27.320 I thought that that was appealing to me. I thought 284 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:28.639 Barbara Walters. 285 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:29.559 Was the Bee's knees. 286 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:30.399 I think so. 287 00:16:32.039 --> 00:16:35.919 And it wasn't until Vanderbilt that I realized, Okay, if 288 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:38.399 I really want to hone in on this and be 289 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:43.519 like a Katie Kuric or a Barbara Walters or someone 290 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:46.679 like that, then I've got to hone in on communications 291 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:50.840 as well as political science and potentially do a double 292 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:55.080 major in both of those. And I started to take 293 00:16:55.720 --> 00:17:02.480 POLYPCI classes and realized I absolutely hated them. 294 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.200 I did not enjoy them at all. 295 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:09.200 And I was then I started rethinking my choice. And 296 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:14.039 luckily with Vanderbilt, you're not choosing your major first year, 297 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:17.200 so it's not like you go in freshman year and 298 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:19.279 you say, Okay, I'm this major. They give you a 299 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:21.960 whole year to figure out what your discipline is going 300 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.480 to be. So after that first year, I thought, well, 301 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:28.240 I've already taken all these classes with communications. I'm going 302 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:31.000 to stay with that anyway, because I think there could 303 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:35.599 be something still in broadcast that might be interesting to me, 304 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:41.440 maybe not maybe not news anchoring, but something. And then 305 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.440 I still loved piano, so I focused on a piano 306 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:49.160 performance minor with that communications study. And it really wasn't 307 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:53.359 until I started volunteering at the Vanderbilt Television station. They 308 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:57.079 knew I had a a kind of a speaking background, 309 00:17:57.119 --> 00:17:59.519 so they would give me little segments to go out 310 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:03.759 and be like a little anchor, the on the scene 311 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.799 kind of thing. And I know I've talked about the 312 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:09.960 story before because this is literally the transition from being 313 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:13.400 in front of the camera to behind it. I had 314 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:15.839 to go out and shoot a little segment for Vanderbilt 315 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:21.640 Television and my camera person didn't show up, and I'm like, uh, well, 316 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:23.720 I really got to go shoot this though, because this 317 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.160 is what's happening in Da Da Da Da, and the 318 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:30.160 station manager gave me a crash course on the camera, 319 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.960 which was very similar to my aunts of VHS. By 320 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.319 the way, but I realized at that moment that I 321 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:40.319 had been shooting my aunts VHS wrong and now I 322 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:42.440 know why that footage as a kid looked like crap. 323 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:47.799 So the station manager gave me a crash course on it, exposure, focus, zoom, 324 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:49.640 all the things that you need to. 325 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:51.200 Know where the record button is. 326 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:54.319 And I went out and shot my own segment and 327 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:59.839 I loved it because I'm creating a story visually, having 328 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:02.319 a put that together so that they

can cut something 329 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:06.440 together for this little news program. And I told the 330 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:09.759 station manager, I said, okay, I'm way more interested in 331 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:11.519 shooting with the camera than being in. 332 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:12.000 Front of it. 333 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:15.599 And so he actually was kind of guiding me, like, okay, 334 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.160 well then here, let's show you how to edit on 335 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:19.759 our edit bay as well. 336 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:21.480 And it was like a reel to reel. 337 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.880 So VHS to VHS kind of system, so you have 338 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:27.519 to know exactly how you want to edit something. And 339 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:33.039 so I started to just create more content through Vanderbilt Television. 340 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:37.480 And that isn't like in the communications department or music 341 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:42.079 department at all. It is a side thing that's just 342 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:47.759 a hobby. And that's where I really started to at 343 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:51.400 least practice a little bit of what you would maybe 344 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.720 call filmmaking. And I say that in quotes because I 345 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.480 wasn't really making stories yet. 346 00:19:56.759 --> 00:19:59.640 Well, you know, our friend Gretchen Wilson described you as 347 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:05.720 there tech minded. You can actually explain incredibly complicated pieces 348 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:08.240 of gear as though you were describing a potato peeler. 349 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:11.960 That's great, Oh my gosh, okay, cool. 350 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:16.880 So I can imagine that you know, one camera to 351 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:19.720 another really didn't matter. You would figure it out, take 352 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:20.839 it upon, figure it out. 353 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:24.440 Yes, that's true. 354 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:29.799 Absolutely, And then of course, like after after helping out 355 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:32.839 with the TV station, I was figuring out things that 356 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.039 maybe they didn't quite figure out how to do. 357 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:37.279 It's weird. 358 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:40.799 I'm technical to a point. There are some things that 359 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:43.440 I still need help. 360 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:44.720 With or I have to ask about. 361 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.160 But yeah, I mean, for the most part, I'm very 362 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.720 I think Gretchen's probably thinking about when I was teaching 363 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:59.480 three D three D rigtech and three D engineering at Reality. 364 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.240 I was teaching some classes over there, and I think 365 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:06.640 she was in one. So, yeah, that is a complicated 366 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.319 subject at that point, though I had worked with it 367 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:12.799 so much that it was like the back of my 368 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:13.720 hand at that point. 369 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:17.319 Well, it sounds as if she'd been on the other 370 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:20.640 end of your tuition because she said she absolutely loved 371 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:25.079 your simple approach to complicated situations and openness to admit 372 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.599 it's easier than some people. 373 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:28.039 Making it interesting. 374 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:32.880 Wow. So we know where your talents lie clearly well 375 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:36.440 obviously with all the productions that you've done. But I'm 376 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:40.079 wondering if your parents might have been thinking or trying 377 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:42.960 to steer you into some form of music or musical 378 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.920 theater or something like that, or did they leave your 379 00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:47.200 mind alone, They. 380 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:50.160 Left me alone. 381 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.279 They I don't know if they really wanted me to 382 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:55.000 be a musician, because it was a struggle for them 383 00:21:55.200 --> 00:22:00.279 their whole lives. It was a struggle financially. To remember, 384 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:02.519 at one point they had fifty students. They had a 385 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:06.440 lot of students, but even still it was not as 386 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:09.000 lucrative as most professions. 387 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:12.039 So I don't think that they really. 388 00:22:12.599 --> 00:22:15.880 Yeah, if I'd said I want to be a concert pianist, 389 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:19.240 they would have supported me one hundred percent. But I 390 00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:21.160 think they were always hoping that I was going to 391 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:26.880 find something maybe a little different, that we consider to 392 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:30.160 be a little more stable. And of course I go 393 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.559 into filmmaking, which, in their minds, as a musician, is 394 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:34.319 more stable. 395 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:38.319 Yeah, and yes. 396 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:42.279 In many regards, it is, at least with camera, because 397 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:45.920 there's there's so many aspects of camera that you can do. 398 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.680 You can be an assistant, you can be you can 399 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.240 work in lighting, you can work in gaffing, grip. 400 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:54.880 There's so many parts of cinematography. 401 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:57.400 That you could have a job, and you could take 402 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:02.359 many jobs freelancing all over the place. So in some regards, yes, 403 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:05.039 it is a little bit more stable than just being 404

00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.519 an outright musician or music teacher. 405 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:10.559 But yeah, they kind of left it up to me. 406 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:15.279 And they knew that by me picking Vanderbilt and going 407 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:19.799 to Vanderbilt and that it was a school that wasn't like, Okay, 408 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:21.200 you have to know exactly what you want to do 409 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:23.759 when you get here. They knew that I would find 410 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:27.799 my way when I was there, and they would have 411 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:31.960 been happy with any and all of whatever I decided. 412 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:37.240 When I decided that cinematography was the path for me, 413 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:39.720 they were actually really excited about that. They thought it 414 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:44.000 was a perfect choice for I guess what they noticed 415 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:48.480 My abilities included including technical stuff, and I was like 416 00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:52.160 a kind of a technical kid, Like there was once 417 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:54.119 in a while I would come up with these ideas 418 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:57.279 about some weird invention and I'd be like, oh, I 419 00:23:57.279 --> 00:23:59.480 wouldn't it be really cool if we could create trains 420 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:02.880 that were propelled by magnets, And my parents are like what. 421 00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:06.759 And then I would take my magnets and show them 422 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:08.720 and I draw out a weird little design of like 423 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:12.160 how this might work, and then I guess at one 424 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:14.680 point that was something that was created and like, oh 425 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:16.160 I thought of that when I was like eight. 426 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:20.799 You should have painted it right there. And then. 427 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:26.079 But again, the engineering aspect of it is not something 428 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:28.519 I would be interested in at all. 429 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:30.359 My husband is. 430 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:32.839 More of an engineer, and I see what he has 431 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:36.680 to do to put camera systems together and how he 432 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:41.119 has to CAD and program C and C machines and 433 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:42.960 know how to three D print and all this stuff, 434 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:46.240 and I'm going, oh, no, I am not interested in. 435 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:47.440 That at all. 436 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:50.759 I just like the creative aspect, No, a little bit 437 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:54.440 of the technical, but no, when it really comes down 438 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:56.480 to engineering, that is not my brain. 439 00:24:57.000 --> 00:24:59.839 And I can imagine in the nature of the job 440 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:02.319 you had to get a band aid out from time 441 00:25:02.319 -->

00:25:03.480 to time and fix something. 442 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:08.599 Oh yeah, of course, and especially with the all the time. Yes, 443 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:10.400 because I have a. 444 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:13.240 Lot of my own gear too, and so a lot 445 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:15.799 of my indie projects for many years was always being 446 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:17.559 shot with my own gear because it was just more 447 00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:21.640 cost effective. And so yes, a lot of times you're 448 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:27.640 having to fix the things that you broke. And then 449 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:29.559 even like with the three D training that I did, 450 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:32.559 the three D engineer and rigtech stuff, a lot of 451 00:25:32.599 --> 00:25:36.519 that was figuring out how to pull something apart and 452 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:40.680 maybe reroute some cabling so that it triggers something and 453 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:42.880 it works and blah blah blah, And I. 454 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:43.640 Had to do a lot of that. 455 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:45.200 So yeah, you just have you do have to have 456 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:49.920 at least a solid understanding of the mechanics of how 457 00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:52.799 a system is working and how the signals are flowing 458 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:57.480 so that you can potentially fix it if it's if 459 00:25:57.480 --> 00:25:59.519 it's not working. So yes, no, I have had to 460 00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:02.680 put band aids on plenty of pieces of gear. 461 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:06.400 Well, the gaff tape, yeah, or gaff tape. 462 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:06.640 Yeah. 463 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:10.720 If we were to meet the young Alicia Robbins as 464 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:13.720 a child, what would she be curious about apart from 465 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:16.000 the camera and so, well, what else were you curious 466 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.680 about in school and at home? Out of school? 467 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:24.960 Yeah, I mean I still loved performance based anything, playing piano. 468 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:31.400 I was in musicals and plays. As a kid, I 469 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:33.480 was a swimmer as well. I was on swim team 470 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:39.920 from age seven through senior year of high school. Anything 471 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:42.920 that was outdoor base, being out of my bicycle with 472 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:43.599 my friends. 473 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:45.359 And this is Alabama too, so. 474 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:51.960 You're not wearing helmets, and and my dog is running 475 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.599 around with me everywhere I go, so and no cell phone, 476 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.119 so it's just like your parents give you a few 477 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:02.119 bucks to go buy something and you end up at 478 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:05.680 the ice cream shop on your bike, and then you 479 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:07.200 just know that you got to be home before dark, 480 00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:12.319 like that's kind of the rules. And it was lovely 481 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:14.480 at least. The summers were just so much fun and 482 00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:18.640 there was a lot of freedom. We had long summers too. 483 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:21.880 As a kid, I think we had just about a 484 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:25.160 full three months off and I know that doesn't really 485 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:27.680 exist anymore with kids now. I think they get like 486 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:31.039 maybe two months if that. But we would get a 487 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:36.079 full three month long summer. And I can still smell 488 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:40.839 the chlorine from the local swimming pool that I was 489 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:46.039 at pretty much every single day in the summertime, eating 490 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:50.400 fun dip, and my dog would just be smuffin would 491 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:52.759 be sitting right outside the gate the whole time. I'd 492 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:55.160 be at the pool all day long, and she would 493 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:58.359 just sit there and wait for me all day long 494 00:27:58.599 --> 00:28:00.880 until it was time to go home, when she would 495 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:04.680 escort me back home. I think that's why my parents 496 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:06.440 didn't worry about me so much, because they were like, 497 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.519 as long as she has muffin with her, then she's good. 498 00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:12.400 Oh that's wonderful. I love that story. Every child needs 499 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:14.599 a muffin, I know. I know. 500 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:16.480 She was so sweet. She was such a good dog, 501 00:28:16.680 --> 00:28:18.000 very very smart. 502 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:21.880 She knew how to watch traffic so she knew how 503 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:25.039 to cross roads and super smart dog. 504 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:26.920 And she was my little babysitter. 505 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:32.079 So would do your friends have called you adventurous, bit 506 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:34.599 of a tomboy or mischievous? 507 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:40.039 No, I was definitely Even though I loved outdoors and playing, 508 00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:43.599 playing in the wilderness, riding bikes, I wasn't really a 509 00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:47.319 tomboy though I still my bicycle. I think I painted 510 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:51.039 like pink and blue, and I had streamers, and I 511 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:58.480 liked my cute little dresses and actually, yeah, well, we 512 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:01.359 couldn't really afford to buy Mebi's because those were always 513 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:05.599 really expensive, so we would buy like Barbie knockoffs. 514 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:08.680 I don't even know what they were. 515 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:10.759 Or I would get like a hand me down barbie 516

00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:13.960 from a friend or something like that, but like real 517 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:18.559 barbiees were really expensive, so I think I got one 518 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:22.880 or something, but I actually I liked more animal based toys, 519 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:27.039 so I liked my little Pony. So I was a 520 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:30.319 little bit of a girly girl but still love to 521 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:31.480 play outside and. 522 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:36.440 Make believe and create stories in my head. 523 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:39.279 And I would always try to get my friends to 524 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:43.559 play these stories with me, like, oh my gosh, now 525 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:45.720 I am thinking about all these funny little memories. There 526 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:48.559 was this one game that we'd always play called Dimensions. 527 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:52.000 We called it Dimensions, and it was literally like you'd 528 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:57.680 be in the grassy field in our backyard and we 529 00:29:57.720 --> 00:29:59.559 would talk about how like, well, if you step over 530 00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:03.599 this line and you're approaching a whole other dimension, and 531 00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:07.839 then we'd described what that dimension looked like, so very 532 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:11.400 sci fi. Yeah, I don't know where we got that from. 533 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:13.759 I must have just seen Close Encounters or something, and 534 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:17.039 I don't know, I don't know where we got that from, 535 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:19.680 but we played Dimensions and that was one of my 536 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:21.440 favorite storytelling games. 537 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:23.880 Were actual, real ponents to play with. 538 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:27.119 Not really I did take some horseback riding lessons when 539 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:32.559 I was about nine for a brief period. It just 540 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:36.160 it wasn't as fascinating to me as I thought it 541 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:38.000 was going to be. But my parents let me try it. 542 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:40.319 I was like, I'm going to try horseback riding, and 543 00:30:40.359 --> 00:30:42.000 so they're like, sure. They found a place where I 544 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:44.960 could take lessons, and I did a few of them, 545 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.440 but it was a little scary for me working with 546 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:53.680 these big animals, and I was too intimidated, I think, 547 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:57.200 to really stick with it. Plus are because they were 548 00:30:57.200 --> 00:31:00.519 pretty much like, okay, if I showed interest and anything 549 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:02.079 at all, they'd let me try it. 550 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:03.559 And they would see if it would stick. 551 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:06.200 And if I didn't show interest in anymore, they would 552 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:07.880 ask me, so, do you still want to do this? 553 00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:09.880 And I would say no. So there was a few 554 00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:10.599 things I started. 555 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:14.079 I started gymnastics when I was a little girl, and 556 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:16.839 I did I think three classes, and I did not 557 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:18.480 like it because it hurt. 558 00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:22.480 It just hurt. 559 00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:24.920 I felt like I was going to be bruised all 560 00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:26.559 the time, and I was kind of tall, so it 561 00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:30.440 probably wasn't gonna work anyway. But when they put me 562 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:34.240 in dance class, so like tap in jazz ballet that 563 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:38.839 I gravitated towards and so I did that from five 564 00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:41.680 years old all the way up again through actually some 565 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:44.839 in college too, So I did enjoy dance. 566 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:47.200 So no, I wasn't early a tomboy. 567 00:31:47.240 --> 00:31:47.599 I was. 568 00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:52.079 An outdoorsy, girly girl, which is still kind of how 569 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:52.720 I am now. 570 00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:58.039 Well, it sounds as if you had confidence as a 571 00:31:58.119 --> 00:32:00.240 child as well. I'm wondering if that came from the 572 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:04.880 family's performance background. You know that you developed too, Yes, 573 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.519 the self confidence with your public speaking, and that must 574 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:10.640 have helped you as you were getting into the industry. 575 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:17.079 Oh, yes, absolutely, My parents were really good at instilling 576 00:32:17.319 --> 00:32:23.240 self confidence in all of us growing up. And yes, 577 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:25.400 and doing the performance aspect of having to be in 578 00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:27.559 front of people, that's a very vulnerable state. 579 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:31.519 I remember having to do piano recitals. 580 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:34.240 That was one of the hardest things for me, and 581 00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:36.839 I was a really good pianist, but for some reason, 582 00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:39.480 playing in front of an audience was. 583 00:32:39.400 --> 00:32:42.400 Always so difficult. But it was really good practice. 584 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:46.480 And yeah, getting into the film industry, you do have 585 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:50.839 to have that confidence behind the artistry to make your 586 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:53.720 case for why you want to shoot something a certain way. 587 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:58.960 So I do think that those skills were developed early on, 588 00:33:00.359 --> 00:33:02.680 and I was able to bring that into to my 589 00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:03.759 practice now. 590 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:07.680 And do you see the difference

between how you did 591 00:33:07.720 --> 00:33:11.240 get across your message then to persuade people, that's how 592 00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:13.640 you wanted to do things, as opposed to now when 593 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:16.599 you've got such a track record, it means people are 594 00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:19.000 going to accept it more readily. Do you see a 595 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:20.559 difference in your delivery? 596 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:22.039 Yeah? 597 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:27.400 Absolutely, I'm thinking about early in my career. Yeah, because 598 00:33:27.400 --> 00:33:31.319 you're not going to always be able to sway someone 599 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:37.680 towards a visual style for because you could because you 600 00:33:37.880 --> 00:33:42.440 are wanting it that certain way, Like how do I 601 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:44.599 explain it? Like I'm trying to figure out what it 602 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:48.799 is that I did then to finally sway someone. A 603 00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:50.440 lot of times I would just have to back it 604 00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:56.559 up with showing examples from other films I had done this, 605 00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:01.240 or find an article about a DP that had done 606 00:34:01.240 --> 00:34:03.920 it this certain way. So I would have to use 607 00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:09.280 research that I found to back up my ideas. Whereas 608 00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:13.159 like now I can talk about, well, this is how 609 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:17.119 I had done something and it worked really well, and 610 00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:19.440 they're not going, oh, well, what. 611 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:21.079 Independent project was that? 612 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:25.159 It's now I did that on something big and substantial, 613 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:28.480 and so I don't really need to have all of 614 00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:32.800 that material to back up the claim for why I. 615 00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:35.519 Want to do something a certain way. I think that 616 00:34:35.559 --> 00:34:38.000 would be the biggest difference is, Yeah, I'm not. 617 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:41.519 Having to show as many examples. I think there's a 618 00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:45.360 little bit more trust, at least from directors and producers 619 00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:50.920 that what I'm offering up to them visually is something 620 00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:52.599 that's probably going to look pretty good. 621 00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:56.119 Yeah, it's solid and it's proven. You've been there, you've 622 00:34:56.119 --> 00:35:06.480 got the badges. Yes, And I'm back with the cinematographer 623 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:10.400 Alicia Robbins. And Alicia starts by telling us what she 624 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:12.239 used to watch when she was younger. 625 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:16.159 Oh, my gosh, I watched so many different kinds of 626 00:35:16.199 --> 00:35:20.840 things because well, my mom loved she loved like thrillers. 627 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:24.320 So we ended up watching a lot of Alfred Hitchcock 628 00:35:24.440 --> 00:35:33.280 Presents and old horror movies like The Blob, Twilight Zone, 629 00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:35.800 all that. She loved thrillers, and that was kind of 630 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:39.360 like a weekend thing that we'd do, like Friday night 631 00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:42.400 or Saturday night. We'd watch these scary things and have 632 00:35:42.519 --> 00:35:46.920 pizza and then But then I was also loving because 633 00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:51.159 she loved them, and so did my dad. Musicals, So like, 634 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:53.440 Singing in the Rain was like one of my favorite 635 00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:54.440 movie ever. 636 00:35:55.840 --> 00:35:59.880 South Pacific, And I know that's kind of a kind 637 00:35:59.880 --> 00:36:02.000 of a dorky little musical. 638 00:36:02.039 --> 00:36:04.039 But how about Oklahoma. 639 00:36:04.599 --> 00:36:07.639 I liked Oklahoma. Carousel. 640 00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:11.960 I thought was it was dark and sad, but I 641 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:17.079 loved Carousel. I kind of saw all of those musicals 642 00:36:17.159 --> 00:36:22.880 growing up because my parents watched them, But I didn't 643 00:36:22.920 --> 00:36:28.719 really start loving filmmaking, or at least noticing the story 644 00:36:28.760 --> 00:36:31.840 aspects of filmmaking, until I was really paying attention to 645 00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:34.239 early Spielberg right. 646 00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:37.000 And noticing how it was shot, and started paying attention 647 00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:39.840 to things and then then sitting them. Yes, all of 648 00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:43.039 the credits right, you'd hope. 649 00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:48.000 So maybe not as a kid, but like Jaws, Close 650 00:36:48.119 --> 00:36:52.400 Encounters et a lot of that early Spielberger work. I 651 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.920 was really fascinated with and loved it, and I still 652 00:36:57.960 --> 00:37:00.440 love it to the day. I mean, Close Encounters definitely 653 00:37:00.440 --> 00:37:02.159 one of my favorite films of all time. 654 00:37:04.039 --> 00:37:06.039 But yeah, I've talked about. 655 00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:07.480 A little bit too of the first time that I 656 00:37:07.519 --> 00:37:10.840 really kind of noticed cinematography. Again, I didn't know until 657 00:37:10.920 --> 00:37:14.960 later that it was a cinematography that was affecting me. 658 00:37:15.079 --> 00:37:18.519 But it was a secret garden and it was the 659 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:20.800 one that Roger Deacon shot, and it. 660 00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:22.440 Was just so beautiful. 661 00:37:22.440 --> 00:37:26.599 And I always noticed that about it, how beautiful it was, 662 00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:31.280 just the scenery and in the light of the space. 663 00:37:31.400 --> 00:37:33.159 And I did notice that as a kid, and I 664 00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:35.400 would watch that movie over and over and

over again. 665 00:37:37.320 --> 00:37:39.440 I think I ended up breaking my VHS tape of 666 00:37:39.480 --> 00:37:41.199 it because I watched it so much. 667 00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:45.079 So it didn't get stuck in there, did it. 668 00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:46.639 It might have if it might have gone stuck in 669 00:37:46.679 --> 00:37:48.480 there and I pulled it out and it's all shredded. 670 00:37:48.519 --> 00:37:49.440 That's what happens. 671 00:37:50.800 --> 00:37:53.920 That's what did happen. Thank goodness. We moved on from then, Yeah, 672 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:58.039 thank goodness, Tue, were there any women in the industry, 673 00:37:58.360 --> 00:37:59.920 you know you were paying attention. 674 00:37:59.639 --> 00:38:04.639 To well, because I didn't really get into film until 675 00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:11.639 later at Vanderbilt and then coming out to AFI, So 676 00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:18.159 growing up, no, I didn't have female filmmakers that I 677 00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:18.880 even knew of. 678 00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:23.840 So it wasn't really until AFI. 679 00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:29.119 That I even saw that there were like women cinematographers 680 00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:33.239 out there. I mean, it's still really low. It's like 681 00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:39.119 six percent of working dps are women and I remember 682 00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:42.119 when Catherine Bigelow was like the first director to win 683 00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:47.440 an Oscar Female Oscar winner for directing, And so that's 684 00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:51.800 very new for at least in the film industry, for 685 00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:55.079 women to even be at a level where you could 686 00:38:55.760 --> 00:38:58.119 be like, oh my gosh, that that person. I want 687 00:38:58.159 --> 00:39:01.239 to be like that person. They are inspiring to me. 688 00:39:03.079 --> 00:39:08.119 There were definitely ones that visited AFI that you go, oh, wow, Okay, 689 00:39:08.119 --> 00:39:10.679 this person has been doing it for a long time 690 00:39:11.400 --> 00:39:15.800 and they're still at it, and there they are working 691 00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:20.599 and being successful. And I know we had Lisa Weegand 692 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:25.039 come in and gave us, gave a lecture, Amy Vincent, 693 00:39:25.840 --> 00:39:32.199 Nancy Schreiber, So you realize that, oh, this could this 694 00:39:32.280 --> 00:39:36.800 can definitely be a path for a female cinematographer. Obviously, 695 00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:38.360 it just you knew it was going to be a 696 00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:41.920 tough road ahead, and I do believe that it is 697 00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:45.639 easier now than when I. 698 00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:46.320 Was at AFI. 699 00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:48.280 I was at I was there two thousand and one 700 00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:52.639 and two thousand and three, and you could tell that 701 00:39:53.239 --> 00:39:57.360 it was still very much a boys club when it 702 00:39:57.400 --> 00:40:03.039 came to cinematography. But that is that's been changing over 703 00:40:03.079 --> 00:40:08.000 the years, thankfully. So yeah, there wasn't a lot of 704 00:40:09.320 --> 00:40:16.639 women storytellers, filmmaking storytellers that I was going, Oh, my gosh, 705 00:40:16.719 --> 00:40:19.400 that their work, That's what I want to see. My 706 00:40:19.920 --> 00:40:26.519 inspirations were like Spielberg, you aim mean hi, I know, 707 00:40:26.800 --> 00:40:30.159 I know. Well, for just his films, I loved them 708 00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:30.719 so much. 709 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:33.239 But one of the big. 710 00:40:33.079 --> 00:40:36.360 Influences for me too was that turned me on to 711 00:40:36.440 --> 00:40:42.559 cinematography was Wally Fister, who he's won an Oscar in cinematography. 712 00:40:42.559 --> 00:40:44.559 But when I first got to meet him and work 713 00:40:44.599 --> 00:40:47.880 with him, it was before he was famous, and he 714 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:52.000 was actually shooting a movie in Alabama. So I ended 715 00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:55.559 up being a PA on this film, and this was 716 00:40:55.559 --> 00:40:57.719 a time that I knew that, Okay, I want to 717 00:40:57.719 --> 00:40:59.079 do something in filmmaking. 718 00:40:59.079 --> 00:40:59.880 I just didn't know what. 719 00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:04.400 And being a PA on that film and getting to 720 00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:09.159 watch him made me realize, Okay, maybe it's cinematography, because 721 00:41:09.159 --> 00:41:13.280 that looks really fascinating to me. I like the aspects 722 00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:15.719 of what he's having to create on set, He's dealing 723 00:41:15.719 --> 00:41:18.000 with the lighting, the camera, and so it started to 724 00:41:18.039 --> 00:41:22.079 register that, oh, cinematography. Maybe maybe it's not directing, because 725 00:41:22.079 --> 00:41:23.519 I thought, oh, maybe I want to be a director. 726 00:41:24.519 --> 00:41:28.239 But it was cinematography that I was interested in. So 727 00:41:28.440 --> 00:41:33.519 he was a really big influence for me deciding that 728 00:41:33.519 --> 00:41:35.159 that was the path that I wanted to do. 729 00:41:36.079 --> 00:41:38.599 So just join up those dots for us from when 730 00:41:38.639 --> 00:41:43.599 you graduated from AFI and into your first jobs, was 731 00:41:43.719 --> 00:41:46.400 Pete that PA job Gimerally one of the early ones. 732 00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:48.840 But what was the step that you took when you 733 00:41:48.880 --> 00:41:50.760 actually graduated? Where were you heading? 734 00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:54.199 Well, it's actually so that's what's so nice about it 735 00:41:54.239 --> 00:41:56.760 is the job that PA Job was while I was 736 00:41:56.800 --> 00:42:00.760 still at Vanderbilt. So it was a summer in between 737 00:42:00.760 --> 00:42:04.400 my sophomore and junior year that this movie came through 738 00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:07.000

Alabama and I was able to PA on it for 739 00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:10.599 the summer. And so after that summer, I knew that 740 00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:13.679 cinematography was something I was interested in, and so Wally 741 00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:16.199 was the one that advised me to try to start 742 00:42:16.360 --> 00:42:19.960 building a portfolio of work. And so while I was 743 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:23.559 at Vanderbilt my junior and senior year, that's what I did. 744 00:42:23.599 --> 00:42:26.920 I worked on building up a portfolio that I could 745 00:42:26.960 --> 00:42:29.599 submit to AFI because he had gone to AFI and 746 00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:32.960 he said that was a great path, and so I 747 00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:34.199 figured I'd do the same thing. 748 00:42:36.079 --> 00:42:37.880 And that yeah, that's what I did. 749 00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:42.639 I ended up building a decent enough portfolio to apply 750 00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:45.320 and I got in. So I went right out of 751 00:42:45.360 --> 00:42:51.119 my senior year to AFI. So yeah, that was actually 752 00:42:51.280 --> 00:42:54.079 before going to my master's program. 753 00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:56.519 And so then what next? 754 00:42:56.800 --> 00:42:59.960 Oh yeah, after AFI? Oh my gosh, scrounging. 755 00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:03.440 What kind of jobs were you doing just to make 756 00:43:03.559 --> 00:43:04.960 ends meet? 757 00:43:05.639 --> 00:43:06.480 Gosh? Everything? 758 00:43:06.519 --> 00:43:09.719 I was doing electric work. I ended up working on 759 00:43:09.800 --> 00:43:13.239 a few Hallmark movies being an electrician. That was kind 760 00:43:13.239 --> 00:43:17.079 of one of the best gigs. It paid a whopping 761 00:43:17.280 --> 00:43:23.239 like two fifty a day or something, and so electric work, 762 00:43:23.280 --> 00:43:26.719 and then I would try to do camera operating where 763 00:43:26.719 --> 00:43:29.840 I could, so even if it was for unscripted doc 764 00:43:29.960 --> 00:43:35.639 style reality or just going to have to shoot an interview. 765 00:43:36.880 --> 00:43:42.119 But it was always just scrounging and scraping by to 766 00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:46.039 figure out how to make ends meet after you graduate AFI, 767 00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:49.559 because you're already you're living in Hollywood or wherever your 768 00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:56.119 apartment is, You're having to pay this astronomical rent. Student 769 00:43:56.159 --> 00:43:57.960 loans are kicking in in six months that you have 770 00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:02.599 to pay back. It's just it's crazy how much money 771 00:44:02.679 --> 00:44:06.039 you have to make, Like right out of school and 772 00:44:06.119 --> 00:44:08.559 I wasn't. I wasn't making I went into a lot 773 00:44:08.559 --> 00:44:12.840 of debt, a lot of credit card debt, a lot 774 00:44:12.880 --> 00:44:14.519 of deferment on my loans. 775 00:44:15.119 --> 00:44:17.440 But you know, you see either that or you go 776 00:44:17.440 --> 00:44:17.760 get a. 777 00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:21.599 Full time job somewhere, maybe at a rental house or 778 00:44:21.880 --> 00:44:24.960 who knows where. But you get that full time job, 779 00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:27.880 and are you going to be able to freelance? Then 780 00:44:27.920 --> 00:44:30.400 are you going to be able to take that little 781 00:44:30.440 --> 00:44:34.280 passion project movie that's going to help build your resume? 782 00:44:34.960 --> 00:44:38.800 So I didn't do a full time job anywhere, even 783 00:44:38.800 --> 00:44:43.719 though that might have been helpful financially. I just continued 784 00:44:43.760 --> 00:44:47.599 doing the freelancing, taking anything and everything I could. 785 00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:52.639 Looking for a feature. I did get a. 786 00:44:52.599 --> 00:44:55.480 Feature kind of right out of the gate, super low budget. 787 00:44:55.480 --> 00:44:58.280 It was like fifty thousand dollars, but we shot on 788 00:44:58.320 --> 00:45:01.639 sixteen millimeter film and it was a little horror movie. 789 00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:04.280 And I thought, okay, well that's that's great. I can 790 00:45:04.320 --> 00:45:06.400 at least get that on my resume. I've done a feature. 791 00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:08.719 And I did that like as soon as I graduated. 792 00:45:08.719 --> 00:45:09.920 I think it was in that first year. 793 00:45:11.280 --> 00:45:14.280 That was pretty grown up. Then shooting sixteen right up. 794 00:45:14.559 --> 00:45:14.880 Yeah. 795 00:45:15.079 --> 00:45:15.559 Yeah. 796 00:45:15.360 --> 00:45:19.639 The director was he was really wanting to do sixteen milimeters, 797 00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:21.719 and I was all about it because at least at 798 00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:25.559 Afi had been practicing shooting film. We had sixteen milimeter 799 00:45:25.639 --> 00:45:27.920 projects and thirty five millimeter projects that we had to do, 800 00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:31.719 so I had at least been practicing it, and so 801 00:45:31.800 --> 00:45:35.920 I felt fairly confident at knowing how to shoot sixteen 802 00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:37.480 and expose properly for it. 803 00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:41.719 So yeah, that was that was really fun. 804 00:45:41.920 --> 00:45:43.639 I got to be really creative with it, and I 805 00:45:43.639 --> 00:45:46.360 got to do some really funky shots with it, and 806 00:45:47.320 --> 00:45:49.800 so that was helping to build my resume and my reel. 807 00:45:49.920 --> 00:45:52.800 So I was always looking for, Okay, what can I 808 00:45:52.880 --> 00:45:56.480 shoot next that I can add to my reel because 809 00:45:56.480 --> 00:45:59.559 I knew that it was really about that reel and 810 00:45:59.599 --> 00:46:03.239 being able to show people your work and that you 811 00:46:03.320 --> 00:46:06.639 could think bigger than maybe what the project really was. 812 00:46:07.480 --> 00:46:10.920 So part of my goal was thinking about, Okay, what 813

00:46:11.039 --> 00:46:13.679 do I eventually want to shoot and what kind of 814 00:46:13.719 --> 00:46:19.760 style am I looking for in my future reel? And 815 00:46:19.800 --> 00:46:21.320 so what I would try to do is even if 816 00:46:21.320 --> 00:46:25.440 I took a tiny, tiny, tiny, little project, short whatever, 817 00:46:26.159 --> 00:46:28.639 I would make sure that I could at least get 818 00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:32.599 two to three shots that were for me that were 819 00:46:32.840 --> 00:46:36.199 these really amazing shots that I knew I could add 820 00:46:36.239 --> 00:46:37.199 to my reel. 821 00:46:38.880 --> 00:46:40.840 That would make it that would look. 822 00:46:40.679 --> 00:46:44.360 Different from anything that I had shot before, just to 823 00:46:44.400 --> 00:46:48.400 continue to build that variety, that variety of work that 824 00:46:48.440 --> 00:46:49.280 people could see. 825 00:46:49.800 --> 00:46:52.880 So I did that for years and years. 826 00:46:52.519 --> 00:46:56.400 And so every year I was pretty much recutting a 827 00:46:56.519 --> 00:47:01.000 new reel because I was always working to build on 828 00:47:01.079 --> 00:47:04.119 that and to add something better, take away something that 829 00:47:04.239 --> 00:47:06.599 was old, add something new. So every year I was 830 00:47:06.639 --> 00:47:10.239 probably changing my reel, and I did that for many years. 831 00:47:11.519 --> 00:47:13.559 I think our listeners might get the impression of a 832 00:47:13.679 --> 00:47:18.000 very strong willed and single minded, ambitious young woman. Would 833 00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:18.519 that be fair? 834 00:47:19.199 --> 00:47:23.679 Yes? Yeah, I knew that in order. 835 00:47:23.599 --> 00:47:31.239 To succeed at this job, I really couldn't have an 836 00:47:31.280 --> 00:47:33.800 alternative for a career. 837 00:47:34.280 --> 00:47:35.639 I needed to hone. 838 00:47:35.480 --> 00:47:37.199 In on what it was that I wanted to do, 839 00:47:38.199 --> 00:47:40.960 and there might be some indirect paths there, like when 840 00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:42.880 I did the three D work for a little while, 841 00:47:42.920 --> 00:47:47.519 but that still had the goal of getting myself on 842 00:47:47.639 --> 00:47:51.840 bigger productions so that A yes, I could make some 843 00:47:51.880 --> 00:47:54.800 more money, but b, which is probably the more important 844 00:47:54.800 --> 00:48:00.199 part of it, watching bigger, more famous DPS. 845 00:48:01.360 --> 00:48:04.320 Giant sets. 846 00:48:04.519 --> 00:48:09.559 So I was able to continue my learning by working 847 00:48:09.599 --> 00:48:14.719 in other departments, but with still that tunnel vision goal 848 00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:20.039 of eventually I'm going to be a DP on hopefully 849 00:48:20.039 --> 00:48:22.920 bigger projects, Like you still never know if you're going 850 00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:24.840 to get a break in your career no matter what. 851 00:48:24.880 --> 00:48:26.719 It doesn't matter how many years you're putting into it, 852 00:48:27.480 --> 00:48:30.400 you may not get a break, which is unfortunate. It 853 00:48:30.480 --> 00:48:34.440 really is about an align alignment of stars luck, and 854 00:48:34.840 --> 00:48:37.400 when that luck happens, you do have to be ready 855 00:48:37.400 --> 00:48:41.320 for it. So there is that part. But yeah, I 856 00:48:41.360 --> 00:48:48.079 never really had an alternative to cinematography. It was always 857 00:48:48.559 --> 00:48:51.320 that was always the goal. That was always what I 858 00:48:51.360 --> 00:48:53.760 saw at the end of the tunnel. 859 00:48:54.639 --> 00:48:57.519 Sounds like you have a motto of staying ready so 860 00:48:57.599 --> 00:48:58.960 you don't have to get ready. 861 00:48:59.360 --> 00:49:04.000 Yes, exactly, and knowing what you can take too. So 862 00:49:04.960 --> 00:49:08.639 I think about if I had gotten the opportunity in 863 00:49:08.679 --> 00:49:11.559 twenty eighteen, which was the year that I kind of 864 00:49:11.559 --> 00:49:17.920 had my break into bigger television, I wouldn't have been 865 00:49:17.920 --> 00:49:22.719 ready for that eight years prior. I think I would 866 00:49:22.760 --> 00:49:25.880 have been ready for it, maybe three four years prior, 867 00:49:25.880 --> 00:49:28.800 but like eight years prior to that, I probably wouldn't 868 00:49:28.800 --> 00:49:31.119 have been ready for it, and I wouldn't have succeeded 869 00:49:31.119 --> 00:49:34.599 at it, which then is what launched my career after that. 870 00:49:36.800 --> 00:49:42.239 So it's really knowing where your abilities are and whether 871 00:49:42.320 --> 00:49:46.280 or not you can fulfill the tasks that are given 872 00:49:46.320 --> 00:49:48.719 to you. And it's that whole ten thousand hours thing, 873 00:49:48.840 --> 00:49:52.119 like you really do have to put ten thousand hours 874 00:49:52.159 --> 00:49:56.400 into your craft to feel like you're an actual expert. 875 00:49:56.519 --> 00:49:58.480 And when when you really think about it, ten thousand 876 00:49:58.519 --> 00:49:59.840 hours is about. 877 00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:04.480 Five five years straight of work. So you're not going 878 00:50:04.559 --> 00:50:08.920 to be ready for a big break five to eight 879 00:50:08.960 --> 00:50:10.519 years into your career. You're just not. 880 00:50:11.320 --> 00:50:15.360 You haven't done enough hours in the practice to be 881 00:50:15.480 --> 00:50:19.559 able to think ahead three steps, Like that's the thing 882 00:50:19.639 --> 00:50:21.199 is like once you start doing this over and over 883 00:50:21.199 --> 00:50:24.280 and over again, you're able to think like four shots ahead, 884 00:50:25.440 --> 00:50:27.760 which helps keep you on task, which helps with the 885 00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:31.440 AD department. Like half of our job isn't just creating 886 00:50:31.480 --> 00:50:36.320 these images. It's about management. It's time

management and knowing 887 00:50:36.400 --> 00:50:40.280 how to get all the shots that you need to 888 00:50:40.400 --> 00:50:43.480 put the story together. That is very much what our 889 00:50:43.599 --> 00:50:49.119 job is and that just takes years and many many 890 00:50:49.119 --> 00:50:53.360 hours of practice to get to that point. So yeah, 891 00:50:53.440 --> 00:50:55.920 I mean you have to. And luckily when I did 892 00:50:56.320 --> 00:50:58.880 finally get that break, I had. 893 00:50:59.360 --> 00:51:01.119 Absolutely put ten thousand. 894 00:51:00.840 --> 00:51:06.760 Hours in probably probably more like fifteen, so I. 895 00:51:05.800 --> 00:51:09.880 Was I was ready at that point, But yeah, I was. 896 00:51:10.880 --> 00:51:14.960 I felt like I had the skills I needed to 897 00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:16.440 succeed at that job. 898 00:51:16.559 --> 00:51:21.719 To become an expert in anticipation. Yes, you know, when 899 00:51:21.760 --> 00:51:24.920 you start a career often we have to make sacrifices, 900 00:51:25.679 --> 00:51:28.039 and you know, the career path doesn't go in a 901 00:51:28.079 --> 00:51:32.719 straight line. I wonder if what sort of sacrifices you 902 00:51:32.800 --> 00:51:35.199 had to make because you didn't compromise by the suends 903 00:51:35.239 --> 00:51:36.800 of things. You just went you know, this is the 904 00:51:36.800 --> 00:51:40.199 path I want to take, and I am going straight there. Yeah, 905 00:51:40.440 --> 00:51:42.199 you know, I'm not going to go on waitress or 906 00:51:42.320 --> 00:51:43.800 you know, become secretary or whatever. 907 00:51:44.880 --> 00:51:45.119 I mean. 908 00:51:45.119 --> 00:51:51.519 I'm sure that relationships suffered. I didn't. My husband and 909 00:51:51.599 --> 00:51:53.800 I we finally, and luckily he was a good friend 910 00:51:53.840 --> 00:51:54.119 of mine. 911 00:51:54.119 --> 00:51:57.239 I was. I've known him for over twenty years, but 912 00:51:57.280 --> 00:52:00.000 we didn't start to date about until ten years until 913 00:52:00.039 --> 00:52:06.199 our friendship. I know that just and I didn't get 914 00:52:06.199 --> 00:52:08.079 married until I was thirty five years old, So I'm 915 00:52:08.119 --> 00:52:12.159 sure that that's part of what suffered, is not being 916 00:52:12.199 --> 00:52:19.519 able to be a little more relationship slash family oriented 917 00:52:20.840 --> 00:52:23.519 goal oriented towards like, oh, I want to have a family, 918 00:52:23.559 --> 00:52:25.840 I want to have kids, to dead like that. Because 919 00:52:25.840 --> 00:52:29.639 of this tunnel vision of my career, fifteen years goes 920 00:52:29.639 --> 00:52:31.400 by and all of a sudden, you're thirty five and 921 00:52:31.440 --> 00:52:35.639 you're going, oh, okay, now what and you're still not 922 00:52:35.719 --> 00:52:40.360 ready for family and all of that. So I'm sure 923 00:52:40.480 --> 00:52:48.599 that part of my life was sacrificed at the same time, 924 00:52:49.119 --> 00:52:52.519 and I don't I'm always hesitant about talking about this 925 00:52:52.599 --> 00:52:57.119 a little bit. I don't regret that though, Like looking 926 00:52:57.159 --> 00:53:01.599 back now, I'm realizing that the way that my husband 927 00:53:01.639 --> 00:53:04.559 and I are and our lifestyle that we have now, 928 00:53:04.679 --> 00:53:07.159 we probably I think we are better off the fact 929 00:53:07.159 --> 00:53:11.840 that we never did have kids. At the time, I 930 00:53:11.880 --> 00:53:15.159 felt like, oh my gosh, how I'm missing this part 931 00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:17.960 of a very important aspect of life. 932 00:53:19.159 --> 00:53:23.039 And I'm now forty four and now I'm. 933 00:53:22.920 --> 00:53:27.920 Realizing I didn't miss that aspect of my life. I 934 00:53:28.000 --> 00:53:31.360 just took a different path and that was the correct 935 00:53:31.360 --> 00:53:31.960 path for me. 936 00:53:32.800 --> 00:53:36.559 Any wish I had moments, well, not. 937 00:53:36.639 --> 00:53:38.719 Really, because I also try not to live by that 938 00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:46.320 as well, because there's you can always still try to 939 00:53:46.360 --> 00:53:50.199 have those moments in the future. I feel I've always 940 00:53:50.239 --> 00:53:53.119 been a big advocate of travel, and even when I 941 00:53:53.239 --> 00:53:57.960 was financially unstable, I would still make a lot of 942 00:53:58.000 --> 00:54:00.599 effort to try to get out and travel. Yes, it 943 00:54:00.599 --> 00:54:02.559 put me in a credit card debt. I talked about 944 00:54:02.559 --> 00:54:03.639 my credit card debt. 945 00:54:04.119 --> 00:54:05.159 Some of that was because I. 946 00:54:05.119 --> 00:54:10.159 Wanted to travel, but I did it anyway, And I'm 947 00:54:10.159 --> 00:54:14.159 not recommending that anyone necessarily takes that path, because when 948 00:54:14.159 --> 00:54:16.920 you do finally have to pay all that off, it can. 949 00:54:16.760 --> 00:54:17.719 Be really hard. 950 00:54:18.599 --> 00:54:20.440 It can be really hard, and it can take many 951 00:54:20.519 --> 00:54:25.480 years to pay all that down, and I honestly, I'm 952 00:54:25.519 --> 00:54:29.960 probably suffering from that even now a little bit. If 953 00:54:30.039 --> 00:54:33.519 I'd been maybe just a little bit better about saving 954 00:54:34.280 --> 00:54:37.599 right out of AFI and for those first ten to 955 00:54:37.639 --> 00:54:42.440 fifteen years of my career, then maybe I'd be in 956 00:54:43.559 --> 00:54:45.920 a house that I really want to be in and 957 00:54:46.360 --> 00:54:46.960 things like that. 958 00:54:47.199 --> 00:54:50.159 So but at the same time, then I wouldn't have had. 959 00:54:50.079 --> 00:54:53.880 Those experiences of travel like I ended up going to Italy. 960 00:54:54.039 --> 00:54:57.199 I ended up My husband and I when we first 961 00:54:57.199 --> 00:55:00.039 got together, we went to Thailand for a month. That 962

00:55:00.159 --> 00:55:04.079 is not a cheap trip, but we're like, this is important. 963 00:55:04.159 --> 00:55:07.320 It's important that while we're young and able and can 964 00:55:08.199 --> 00:55:12.719 explore and have these adventures. Let's do it while we 965 00:55:12.760 --> 00:55:15.800 can't while we can do it, And so I'm happy 966 00:55:15.800 --> 00:55:18.320 that I did that, even if it did put me 967 00:55:18.360 --> 00:55:22.840 maybe in a little bit more of a financial predicament. 968 00:55:24.280 --> 00:55:27.920 But now you have passed that, right, I'm past it. 969 00:55:28.039 --> 00:55:31.559 Yes, I've totally caught up and been able to pay 970 00:55:31.559 --> 00:55:34.679 off student loans and everything with at least because of 971 00:55:34.719 --> 00:55:37.960 the jobs that I've had over the past five years now. 972 00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:41.599 So I'm very grateful for that. Absolutely. It's just it 973 00:55:41.679 --> 00:55:44.719 is risky though, because you just don't you don't know 974 00:55:44.800 --> 00:55:49.039 if you're going to get a break into bigger movies, 975 00:55:49.079 --> 00:55:49.920 bigger television. 976 00:55:49.960 --> 00:55:51.039 You don't know if you're going to get that. 977 00:55:51.199 --> 00:55:56.079 So if you go into debt because you're wanting to 978 00:55:56.119 --> 00:55:58.400 travel and have these experiences, then you just have to 979 00:55:58.440 --> 00:56:02.199 know that you're you're taking you are taking a risk 980 00:56:04.320 --> 00:56:06.360 with no guarantee that you're going to be able to 981 00:56:06.400 --> 00:56:09.119 like really get ahead in the future. But I was 982 00:56:09.159 --> 00:56:11.119 also one of those where I don't need to have 983 00:56:11.199 --> 00:56:16.119 a big house, Like I'm very happy being in a 984 00:56:16.199 --> 00:56:19.679 thousand square feet That is fine, especially with not having 985 00:56:19.760 --> 00:56:22.079 kids and stuff. I can live in a thousand square 986 00:56:22.079 --> 00:56:24.079 feet very comfortably with me and my husband. 987 00:56:24.719 --> 00:56:27.960 We'll get a cat, and yes, and two cats exactly. 988 00:56:29.119 --> 00:56:32.039 So I'm never like, oh, I've got to have this 989 00:56:32.360 --> 00:56:34.920 three thousand square foot home mansion, that's my goal. Like 990 00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:37.840 that's never been a goal of mine anyway. So I 991 00:56:37.960 --> 00:56:41.280 kind of knew even when I was taking these travel 992 00:56:41.320 --> 00:56:45.559 adventures that Okay, yeah, maybe I'm never buying a two 993 00:56:45.639 --> 00:56:48.639 million dollar home in Los Angeles? Okay, am I okay 994 00:56:48.679 --> 00:56:51.480 with that? And yes, I was absolutely fine with it. 995 00:56:52.400 --> 00:56:55.840 Well, you know, we know that life is unscripted and 996 00:56:55.880 --> 00:56:59.639 that's the fun part o, right it is, Yes, But 997 00:56:59.760 --> 00:57:02.679 what would you say were those turning points, those breakthrough 998 00:57:02.719 --> 00:57:04.920 moments you talked about which we all hope to get, 999 00:57:05.039 --> 00:57:07.199 and you clearly have made a few of them, because 1000 00:57:07.880 --> 00:57:11.159 in so many industries, one thing tends to lead to another, 1001 00:57:11.199 --> 00:57:15.280 but you can you identify the ones that where you thought, gosh, 1002 00:57:15.320 --> 00:57:21.039 I've arrived, yes, and having done this project, then it 1003 00:57:21.079 --> 00:57:23.760 puts me in a very good position to get something, 1004 00:57:24.079 --> 00:57:26.360 you know, even higher up in the ladder and continue 1005 00:57:26.360 --> 00:57:31.519 to climb the ladder. Yes, I remember those moments. 1006 00:57:30.840 --> 00:57:34.239 Oh absolutely, because it was one particular job. So it 1007 00:57:34.360 --> 00:57:39.159 was I got hired as the sea camera operator slash 1008 00:57:39.239 --> 00:57:43.840 additional cinematographer for a show called for the People, which 1009 00:57:43.880 --> 00:57:50.719 was a Shondaland show in twenty eighteen. So and from 1010 00:57:50.840 --> 00:57:53.519 that job, because I did a whole season on that show, 1011 00:57:53.559 --> 00:57:56.360 and I would get bumped up to DP pretty often. 1012 00:57:57.000 --> 00:57:59.599 I would bump up on double up days and then 1013 00:57:59.719 --> 00:58:03.000 if the because they didn't have alternate dps on that 1014 00:58:03.159 --> 00:58:06.639 so if the DP had to go to UH production 1015 00:58:06.760 --> 00:58:10.559 meetings or scouts things like that and UH, then I 1016 00:58:10.559 --> 00:58:13.159 would step up for that day in DP. So I 1017 00:58:13.239 --> 00:58:15.760 ended up dpaing quite a few days on that show. 1018 00:58:17.079 --> 00:58:20.400 And from there, because that was a Shondaland show what 1019 00:58:21.519 --> 00:58:22.239 it was called. 1020 00:58:22.039 --> 00:58:24.440 For the People, it only did two seasons. 1021 00:58:24.480 --> 00:58:28.199 It was a law drama, and yeah, I was it 1022 00:58:28.239 --> 00:58:29.800 was kind of bummed that it didn't get picked up 1023 00:58:29.840 --> 00:58:31.719 for a third season because I thought it was actually 1024 00:58:31.760 --> 00:58:37.599 a pretty cool show. But from there, Gray's Anatomy was 1025 00:58:37.760 --> 00:58:40.280 looking for a new DP to come in and alternate 1026 00:58:40.960 --> 00:58:44.280 and they called over to for the People because all 1027 00:58:44.320 --> 00:58:47.599 those producers talk to each other and they had heard 1028 00:58:47.639 --> 00:58:53.880 about me doing the see camera slash additional cinematography and 1029 00:58:53.920 --> 00:58:56.039 they asked if I wanted to come over and shoot 1030 00:58:56.119 --> 00:59:00.639 a couple of standalone episodes, so it's like main Unit 1031 00:59:00.719 --> 00:59:04.000 was shooting, they had these little side episodes that were 1032 00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:05.960 being shot and they

needed a DP to come and 1033 00:59:05.960 --> 00:59:08.639 do those, and so I ended up doing two episodes 1034 00:59:08.679 --> 00:59:12.840 for them in season fifteen, and they liked the work 1035 00:59:12.840 --> 00:59:14.880 that I did and then hired me the next year 1036 00:59:15.000 --> 00:59:20.599 full time as the alternate alternating DP for Grey's Anatomy. 1037 00:59:20.719 --> 00:59:22.840 So that was literally the. 1038 00:59:22.719 --> 00:59:27.159 Break, going from for the People to two years of 1039 00:59:27.559 --> 00:59:31.400 Grey's Anatomy. And at that point, now it's like, Okay, 1040 00:59:31.519 --> 00:59:36.480 I've shot twenty episodes of network TV. My next opportunity 1041 00:59:36.599 --> 00:59:42.039 was with Netflix, which was a mini series, and then 1042 00:59:42.400 --> 00:59:45.639 Shondaland called back up again and I went to Bridgerton. 1043 00:59:45.840 --> 00:59:50.360 So yeah, that was specifically the job. That was the 1044 00:59:50.400 --> 00:59:51.000 big break. 1045 00:59:51.719 --> 00:59:55.119 I would imagine once you get into Shondalanda, the door 1046 00:59:55.199 --> 00:59:57.840 is open then and it may open again. 1047 00:59:58.519 --> 01:00:00.559 It is open if you do good job. 1048 01:00:00.639 --> 01:00:03.519 Yeah sure, yeah, clearly you did. 1049 01:00:03.840 --> 01:00:08.239 Yes, yeah, absolutely, yes, it is yeah, they do. They 1050 01:00:08.239 --> 01:00:11.079 do like to hire within their network of people that 1051 01:00:11.079 --> 01:00:16.679 they know and trust, so that's great. And Shondaland is 1052 01:00:17.079 --> 01:00:22.400 constantly creating new content. Uh and and and yes, I 1053 01:00:22.719 --> 01:00:25.199 believe that they try to keep it within the family. 1054 01:00:26.000 --> 01:00:30.199 So yeah, I'm very happy that now being on Bridgerton too. 1055 01:00:31.599 --> 01:00:34.760 If they do all eight books, then. 1056 01:00:35.239 --> 01:00:38.320 I may have a job for a while. It's just great. 1057 01:00:39.119 --> 01:00:44.400 So so lots of experiences, but lots of memories too 1058 01:00:44.679 --> 01:00:49.400 that you're harvesting along the way. Any moments that you'd 1059 01:00:49.440 --> 01:00:52.000 like to share with us that really stand out that 1060 01:00:52.679 --> 01:00:56.760 have been significant to your career and will always be. 1061 01:00:57.920 --> 01:01:02.280 Yeah, well, I mean I have talked about the story 1062 01:01:02.320 --> 01:01:04.840 in the past, but I can't not mention it because 1063 01:01:04.880 --> 01:01:08.760 it it just it's so key. It's so key, and 1064 01:01:08.840 --> 01:01:14.239 it's and it is the reason why you do your 1065 01:01:14.280 --> 01:01:19.480 best on every single job that you ever do. So 1066 01:01:20.280 --> 01:01:23.719 before for the People, the Shawn Delanchow, it was about 1067 01:01:23.760 --> 01:01:26.559 two years prior to that, I ended up getting a 1068 01:01:26.639 --> 01:01:30.679 day playing job on a Disney show

just for one night, 1069 01:01:31.039 --> 01:01:33.599 one night shoot, coming in as like the d camera 1070 01:01:33.639 --> 01:01:39.960 operator and Christian Subalt was the DP on it, who 1071 01:01:40.320 --> 01:01:43.760 just long story short, was the DP on for the People, 1072 01:01:45.079 --> 01:01:49.360 and I did the one night with him as this 1073 01:01:49.719 --> 01:01:54.320 additional camera operator. But that night, like I brought it 1074 01:01:54.440 --> 01:01:58.159 up to him and told him, look, I'm a DP. 1075 01:01:58.800 --> 01:01:59.760 I went to a Fi. 1076 01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:02.960 I've been shooting for fourteen years, however many years it 1077 01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:05.559 was at the time, and I told him, I said, 1078 01:02:05.599 --> 01:02:07.159 if you need help at all, because I could tell 1079 01:02:07.199 --> 01:02:10.039 that it was just such a big day, Like I 1080 01:02:10.079 --> 01:02:11.559 saw what they were trying to put together. It was 1081 01:02:11.559 --> 01:02:14.679 like this whole concert thing. And I told him, I said, 1082 01:02:14.679 --> 01:02:17.280 if you need help at all, just with maybe pre 1083 01:02:17.400 --> 01:02:21.800 lighting a little something, doing an insert whatever, let me 1084 01:02:21.880 --> 01:02:25.400 know because I might be able to help you out. 1085 01:02:24.679 --> 01:02:29.159 And he was like, oh, interesting, okay, well yeah, let 1086 01:02:29.199 --> 01:02:31.320 me think about that. And then sure enough, like an 1087 01:02:31.320 --> 01:02:34.039 hour later, he goes, hey, can you could you go 1088 01:02:35.000 --> 01:02:38.400 outside and maybe light the front with some electricians. 1089 01:02:38.400 --> 01:02:40.079 We need to get this and that da da da. 1090 01:02:40.159 --> 01:02:43.840 So throughout the evening I started hopscotching a little bit 1091 01:02:43.880 --> 01:02:45.840 where I would go and pre light something a little 1092 01:02:45.840 --> 01:02:48.239 bit and he would go look at the shot, see 1093 01:02:48.280 --> 01:02:50.760 how it was, we'd shoot it. And we did that 1094 01:02:51.039 --> 01:02:55.280 for pretty much the rest of the night and wrapped 1095 01:02:55.360 --> 01:02:58.679 up the day. Told him thank you so much, so 1096 01:02:58.800 --> 01:03:01.719 happy to work with you, blah blah blah, and that 1097 01:03:01.880 --> 01:03:04.079 was really the last time I had worked with him, 1098 01:03:05.239 --> 01:03:08.039 and I thought, okay, well that was cool. That was 1099 01:03:08.159 --> 01:03:11.199 a really fun evening I got to be a little 1100 01:03:11.199 --> 01:03:14.119 more creative. That was awesome and I and that was 1101 01:03:14.159 --> 01:03:18.760 the last I had talked to him until two years later, 1102 01:03:18.880 --> 01:03:23.079 twenty eighteen, Sean aland that shann Aland show was calling 1103 01:03:23.119 --> 01:03:26.440 over to the Union to ask if they had any 1104 01:03:27.280 --> 01:03:30.840 ideas of who may be a good

sea camera operator 1105 01:03:30.880 --> 01:03:36.119 slash additional cinematographer, so someone who has cinematography background that 1106 01:03:36.199 --> 01:03:40.519 would be interested in the show, and they had called 1107 01:03:40.559 --> 01:03:43.599 Stephen Poster, who was the president at the time, and 1108 01:03:43.800 --> 01:03:46.599 also at that time, I had just won an Emerging 1109 01:03:46.639 --> 01:03:52.880 Cinematographer's Award through the Union, and Stephen Poster was like, yes, 1110 01:03:53.000 --> 01:03:55.039 I know exactly who you should talk to. Her name 1111 01:03:55.079 --> 01:03:57.599 is Alicia Robbins. She just won an ECA. She's done 1112 01:03:57.599 --> 01:03:58.320 some work for me. 1113 01:03:58.559 --> 01:03:58.920 I had. 1114 01:03:58.920 --> 01:04:00.599 I had done a little bit of work for Stephen 1115 01:04:00.639 --> 01:04:02.880 Poster on like a green Screen Day on one of 1116 01:04:02.920 --> 01:04:07.559 his movies, and Christian goes, oh, oh my gosh, I 1117 01:04:07.639 --> 01:04:12.880 remember her. Okay, yeah, I remember that. If she had 1118 01:04:12.920 --> 01:04:15.199 not been there that night, I would not have made 1119 01:04:15.199 --> 01:04:19.360 my day. So those that's what I'm talking about, like 1120 01:04:19.400 --> 01:04:23.400 the alignment of stars all happening at the same time 1121 01:04:24.199 --> 01:04:28.119 where I had made an impression on this DP, which 1122 01:04:28.239 --> 01:04:32.079 paid off two years later when I was referred to him, 1123 01:04:32.400 --> 01:04:36.159 which then got me that Shondalanchow and the rest is history. 1124 01:04:36.880 --> 01:04:42.280 So yeah, it's just you just never know, like where. 1125 01:04:43.599 --> 01:04:47.320 Where that break is going to come from, and who's 1126 01:04:47.400 --> 01:04:51.840 watching and who's paying attention, and so yeah, it's just 1127 01:04:51.880 --> 01:04:55.280 it's really important that even if you're just doing a 1128 01:04:55.400 --> 01:04:59.519 day job for someone, that you don't treat it like 1129 01:04:59.599 --> 01:05:02.880 it's just a one day gig for a paycheck. And 1130 01:05:02.920 --> 01:05:05.400 I'm sure that I had done that before. 1131 01:05:05.480 --> 01:05:06.079 I know I have. 1132 01:05:06.199 --> 01:05:08.920 Not everyone can be one hundred and ten percent every 1133 01:05:08.960 --> 01:05:12.639 single time on a job. It's very difficult. Like sometimes 1134 01:05:12.639 --> 01:05:16.679 you just maybe your stomach is off, maybe your foot hurts. 1135 01:05:16.360 --> 01:05:18.880 Like you never know. I understand that you're never. 1136 01:05:18.760 --> 01:05:20.559 Going to be one hundred two percent all the time, 1137 01:05:20.719 --> 01:05:25.079 but you sure as well you need to try. You 1138 01:05:25.119 --> 01:05:27.000 need to try to do one hundred and ten percent 1139 01:05:27.320 --> 01:05:28.280 every single time. 1140 01:05:28.760 --> 01:05:30.079 What makes you jump out

of bed? 1141 01:05:30.159 --> 01:05:30.400 Now? 1142 01:05:30.760 --> 01:05:33.239 My cat waking me up at four am because he 1143 01:05:33.360 --> 01:05:40.559 wants breakfast way too earth just kidding, that is true. 1144 01:05:40.239 --> 01:05:45.519 That's reality creatively a new show. 1145 01:05:46.000 --> 01:05:49.280 Honestly, just if I know I'm gonna be going on 1146 01:05:49.360 --> 01:05:52.519 to a new show, and just starting that first day 1147 01:05:52.840 --> 01:05:55.320 of pre production is so much fun to me. It's 1148 01:05:55.519 --> 01:05:58.719 because it's so intimidating too, because you're going in, You're 1149 01:05:58.800 --> 01:06:02.960 meeting probably your direct your producers, You're ad, you're meeting 1150 01:06:02.960 --> 01:06:04.880 a lot of these people for the first time. You 1151 01:06:04.920 --> 01:06:07.119 don't know what their personalities are going to be like, 1152 01:06:08.840 --> 01:06:11.360 you don't know who you might have conflicts with, or 1153 01:06:11.400 --> 01:06:13.440 who you're going to have to manage a little bit more. 1154 01:06:13.840 --> 01:06:18.000 And I know for some people that sounds horrible, like wait, 1155 01:06:18.599 --> 01:06:21.239 that's what gets you out of it. I find it fascinating. 1156 01:06:21.280 --> 01:06:21.800 I love it. 1157 01:06:21.880 --> 01:06:25.000 I love going to meet who my new team is 1158 01:06:25.639 --> 01:06:29.719 and how am I going to create with these people 1159 01:06:29.880 --> 01:06:33.719 and how do I manage these different personalities so that 1160 01:06:33.760 --> 01:06:35.400 we're creating the best content. 1161 01:06:35.559 --> 01:06:38.400 So yeah, really. 1162 01:06:38.199 --> 01:06:43.519 Starting a new show, that's like the best first day 1163 01:06:43.000 --> 01:06:47.760 for me is just going into prep and then once 1164 01:06:47.760 --> 01:06:51.639 I'm in production, I'm very happy to wake up at 1165 01:06:51.760 --> 01:06:53.840 well maybe not super happy, but for the most part, 1166 01:06:53.840 --> 01:06:55.639 I'm very happy to wake up at five am to 1167 01:06:55.679 --> 01:06:56.639 go shoot something cool. 1168 01:06:57.480 --> 01:07:00.119 It's that's a fun thing. Is that being an on 1169 01:07:00.159 --> 01:07:02.719 a network shoot of shandavan something like this. You've got 1170 01:07:02.719 --> 01:07:05.679 the budget, so you can be as creative as you 1171 01:07:05.800 --> 01:07:06.079 can be. 1172 01:07:07.400 --> 01:07:11.159 Yes, yes, yeah, that is absolutely true. And I came 1173 01:07:11.199 --> 01:07:15.880 from very low budget independent filmmaking. Literally, the movie that 1174 01:07:15.920 --> 01:07:18.920 I was shooting right before that, shandaland Break, was like 1175 01:07:18.920 --> 01:07:22.159 a two hundred thousand dollars movie. So I went from 1176 01:07:22.599 --> 01:07:26.000 shooting out of my cargo van to then having like 1177 01:07:26.679 --> 01:07:30.440 four ten ton grip trucks or whatever. 1178 01:07:30.119 --> 01:07:33.719 The sizes were, so it was a big jump. 1179 01:07:34.719 --> 01:07:37.920 And then yeah, you're realizing, oh my gosh, I now 1180 01:07:38.000 --> 01:07:41.320 have the ability to push that light source through the 1181 01:07:41.320 --> 01:07:44.039 window and it stays consistent all day. I'm not having 1182 01:07:44.119 --> 01:07:47.280 to figure out, Okay, when will the sun be lighting 1183 01:07:47.280 --> 01:07:51.679 the window, and then doing the coverage around that. You're 1184 01:07:51.719 --> 01:07:56.599 controlling it. You're controlling the light. You're able to, yeah, fine, 1185 01:07:56.639 --> 01:07:59.400 tune it to what it is that you're seeing in 1186 01:07:59.440 --> 01:08:01.320 your head. And you try to do that as much 1187 01:08:01.320 --> 01:08:04.199 as possible. With the independent stuff too. You just have 1188 01:08:04.280 --> 01:08:06.840 to be more sneaky about it. You got to figure 1189 01:08:06.840 --> 01:08:09.679 out how to like time your day so that you're 1190 01:08:09.679 --> 01:08:12.000 getting the light that you want, and you're having to 1191 01:08:12.840 --> 01:08:18.359 work with smaller units in creative ways, so you're still going. 1192 01:08:18.079 --> 01:08:19.800 For that look and independent. 1193 01:08:20.000 --> 01:08:24.000 It's just way harder, way harder to do it on 1194 01:08:24.079 --> 01:08:28.479 independent budgets. Yeah, it's nice to have the bigger budgets 1195 01:08:28.560 --> 01:08:31.800 to play with the tools that you need to. 1196 01:08:33.279 --> 01:08:34.520 Get what you're imagining. 1197 01:08:34.960 --> 01:08:38.000 And you are going back to Ridgeton, Yes. 1198 01:08:37.880 --> 01:08:39.960 Yes, going back to season four. 1199 01:08:40.039 --> 01:08:43.199 Yep, October. Did you say right now? 1200 01:08:43.239 --> 01:08:48.159 We're hoping October. Nothing's been set in stone, so sometime 1201 01:08:48.239 --> 01:08:49.119 this fall is what. 1202 01:08:49.439 --> 01:08:50.359 We're talking about. 1203 01:08:51.640 --> 01:08:53.760 I never know I'm doing anything until i'm literally on 1204 01:08:53.800 --> 01:08:55.640 a plane, so I just don't. 1205 01:08:56.479 --> 01:08:58.760 I never say dates until I'm in the air. 1206 01:09:00.399 --> 01:09:03.079 What does unless you Roberts do in her downtime then, 1207 01:09:03.640 --> 01:09:05.920 even the long summer hiatus. 1208 01:09:05.640 --> 01:09:06.359 Yes, goodness. 1209 01:09:06.760 --> 01:09:09.239 I love camping. I have a little camper called a 1210 01:09:09.319 --> 01:09:11.840 taxi cricket. It's amazing, So my husband and I try 1211 01:09:11.840 --> 01:09:13.920 to get out in that as much as possible. 1212 01:09:15.159 --> 01:09:16.319 I'm a big bike rider. 1213 01:09:16.800 --> 01:09:23.399 Love I love road cycling as well as mountain biking, exercise, 1214 01:09:24.479 --> 01:09:25.640 hanging out with my cats. 1215 01:09:26.279 --> 01:09:28.760 I took up guitar this last. 1216

01:09:28.560 --> 01:09:31.359 Year, so I've been playing guitar now for about a year, 1217 01:09:32.399 --> 01:09:36.279 so that's kind of a new hobby. But yeah, anything 1218 01:09:36.319 --> 01:09:39.840 that gets me outdoors, paddle boarding. 1219 01:09:39.560 --> 01:09:40.920 I enjoy that. I don't get to do that. 1220 01:09:41.279 --> 01:09:41.920 Just swim. 1221 01:09:42.439 --> 01:09:45.359 I try to not as often as I would like. 1222 01:09:45.560 --> 01:09:50.520 I feel like my shoulders have suffered over the years 1223 01:09:50.560 --> 01:09:55.880 from so much camera operating, and swimming kind of hurts 1224 01:09:55.880 --> 01:09:59.000 them a little bit. So I can't swim the way 1225 01:09:59.039 --> 01:10:00.600 that I used to. I can still do it, I 1226 01:10:00.680 --> 01:10:04.359 just I'm not doing it as often because there is 1227 01:10:04.399 --> 01:10:06.920 a great pool near me that I could use every 1228 01:10:06.920 --> 01:10:10.239 single day. I just it's a little much on the shoulders. 1229 01:10:11.239 --> 01:10:15.680 But yeah, biking and camping and anything outdoors I'm happy with. 1230 01:10:16.279 --> 01:10:17.720 And it sounds if you've been doing a lot of 1231 01:10:17.760 --> 01:10:20.319 podcasting too, because you shot Bridgeton. 1232 01:10:20.760 --> 01:10:24.920 Yes, yes, lots of hype around this last season. So 1233 01:10:25.359 --> 01:10:28.000 been lucky to get doing a lot of podcasts. 1234 01:10:28.000 --> 01:10:28.479 Been great. 1235 01:10:29.399 --> 01:10:31.800 So you've become a podcaster, I guess. 1236 01:10:31.800 --> 01:10:35.479 So I mean you do another show though, so we 1237 01:10:35.520 --> 01:10:36.479 have some more subjects. 1238 01:10:37.439 --> 01:10:40.279 Yeah, well, you've got a lot of content right there, 1239 01:10:40.359 --> 01:10:43.279 and you know when you get to these bigger projects, though, 1240 01:10:43.319 --> 01:10:46.760 I'm wondering with it. You have all this experience, you 1241 01:10:46.920 --> 01:10:51.039 have that advantage of anticipation, But how do you enjoy 1242 01:10:51.079 --> 01:10:51.960 the pressure? Viddle? 1243 01:10:53.560 --> 01:10:54.359 Oh? 1244 01:10:54.439 --> 01:10:56.640 Yeah, because it is a lot of pressure. It's very 1245 01:10:56.640 --> 01:11:04.760 stressful because you have to I mean, you have to succeed. 1246 01:11:04.800 --> 01:11:06.079 You can't fail at it. 1247 01:11:06.119 --> 01:11:07.800 You got to make it look good, and you've got 1248 01:11:07.800 --> 01:11:09.119 to be on time, and you got to get the 1249 01:11:09.159 --> 01:11:11.840 story told. So there is a lot of pressure there, 1250 01:11:12.800 --> 01:11:16.800 and you're also fulfilling so many different visions. It's not 1251 01:11:17.039 --> 01:11:19.840 just the vision of like the showrunner, but it's also 1252 01:11:19.960 --> 01:11:22.399 just the vision of the schedule making sure that you're 1253 01:11:22.800 --> 01:11:28.680 abiding by what that ad has scheduled. I do

enjoy 1254 01:11:28.800 --> 01:11:30.800 that aspect of it, the kind of the. 1255 01:11:30.720 --> 01:11:33.479 Political side of it. I think it's kind of fun. 1256 01:11:33.520 --> 01:11:36.720 I find it challenging at first, it's stressful, and then 1257 01:11:36.760 --> 01:11:40.840 I think about, Okay, how do I manage this, How 1258 01:11:40.840 --> 01:11:46.239 do I make it so that this schedule is adhering 1259 01:11:46.319 --> 01:11:49.439 to the vision that we talked about, and what can 1260 01:11:49.479 --> 01:11:55.159 I do to make it easier for everyone? Or so 1261 01:11:55.239 --> 01:11:58.079 I try to I try to make it a fun challenge, 1262 01:11:58.199 --> 01:12:01.479 even the pressure. Try to make it a fun challenge 1263 01:12:01.840 --> 01:12:03.680 and try to see it just in a different light 1264 01:12:03.800 --> 01:12:07.800 that it's not just a pressure cooker, but that it's 1265 01:12:07.880 --> 01:12:12.199 actually a way to figure out how to manage people 1266 01:12:12.720 --> 01:12:18.359 and fulfill what they're hoping to see so and then yes, 1267 01:12:18.560 --> 01:12:20.560 I make sure that I go home and I try 1268 01:12:20.600 --> 01:12:24.119 to like maybe do some yoga at night, maybe do 1269 01:12:24.199 --> 01:12:27.239 some yoga, do some stretching, take care of myself on 1270 01:12:27.279 --> 01:12:30.560 the weekends. That's also really really important. I try to 1271 01:12:30.560 --> 01:12:34.600 not do any work if possible when I'm shooting on 1272 01:12:34.680 --> 01:12:40.359 the weekends, I take two days off and I sight see, 1273 01:12:40.479 --> 01:12:44.960 I bike ride, I eat good food, I have a 1274 01:12:44.960 --> 01:12:47.920 glass of wine, like I indulge. 1275 01:12:48.359 --> 01:12:50.359 I might go get a massage, whatever it is. 1276 01:12:50.960 --> 01:12:53.560 But I make sure that I had those two days 1277 01:12:53.880 --> 01:12:56.600 to do whatever it is that I really want to do. 1278 01:12:57.760 --> 01:13:00.479 And that helps when you go back Monday morning to 1279 01:13:00.640 --> 01:13:02.760 manage again all that pressure that you know you're going 1280 01:13:02.800 --> 01:13:03.079 to have. 1281 01:13:04.000 --> 01:13:07.479 Absolutely you have to take the lid off the pressure cookingdnial. 1282 01:13:07.560 --> 01:13:10.720 Oh yes, absolutely. Yeah. 1283 01:13:10.800 --> 01:13:15.640 I'm sure There's been plenty of cool moments in your career, Alicia. 1284 01:13:15.800 --> 01:13:19.520 So to round off, I'm going to give you an example. 1285 01:13:20.079 --> 01:13:23.199 Seawana Hagen, your mate, was on the show recently, and 1286 01:13:23.239 --> 01:13:25.960 she talked about a train ride she took with Meryl Street. 1287 01:13:26.600 --> 01:13:29.159 Huh they want to shoot with They met up with 1288 01:13:29.239 --> 01:13:33.640 the Michelle Obama and how cool it was working with 1289 01:13:33.680 --> 01:13:34.399 those two women. 1290 01:13:34.880 --> 01:13:36.159 Yeah, that's amazing.

1291 01:13:36.600 --> 01:13:39.000 What would your most cool moment be? 1292 01:13:40.000 --> 01:13:42.800 Oh, my gosh, my most cool moment. I actually have 1293 01:13:42.840 --> 01:13:46.079 a couple. And it's still it's early in my career 1294 01:13:46.640 --> 01:13:49.720 because you're still a little starstruck when you see people. 1295 01:13:51.560 --> 01:13:52.920 When I was working on Don on the Planet of 1296 01:13:52.960 --> 01:13:55.760 the Apes as a rig technician, I was always a 1297 01:13:55.760 --> 01:14:00.079 big fan of Andy Serkis and and I knew he 1298 01:14:00.239 --> 01:14:04.079 was Caesar, the main ape, but I hadn't seen him yet. 1299 01:14:04.079 --> 01:14:06.600 I'd already been on the show a few days and 1300 01:14:06.680 --> 01:14:08.880 we hadn't seen him yet. We were shooting other segments 1301 01:14:09.560 --> 01:14:12.720 and I was sitting there messing with my little three 1302 01:14:12.800 --> 01:14:15.039 D rig and all of a sudden, I heard this 1303 01:14:15.119 --> 01:14:18.720 horse clomping up behind me, and I turned around and 1304 01:14:18.720 --> 01:14:20.680 it's Andy Serkis on top of the horse in his 1305 01:14:20.760 --> 01:14:23.560 full MOCAP suit, and he's just looking down at me, 1306 01:14:23.600 --> 01:14:25.720 and he already had like the Caesar face, like. 1307 01:14:25.960 --> 01:14:28.520 Just and I was like staring at him. I think 1308 01:14:28.560 --> 01:14:29.840 my mouth was open. 1309 01:14:29.600 --> 01:14:32.640 To going ooh, He's probably looking at me like, who 1310 01:14:32.720 --> 01:14:37.560 is this weird camera person? But it was just so 1311 01:14:37.720 --> 01:14:42.760 exciting to see him in person because I was a fan, 1312 01:14:43.039 --> 01:14:46.560 and what's So funny about that is I just recently 1313 01:14:47.359 --> 01:14:49.840 had a full circle moment with him because I got 1314 01:14:49.880 --> 01:14:52.920 to go to the premiere of Bridgerton in New York. 1315 01:14:53.199 --> 01:14:54.920 They were screening the first. 1316 01:14:54.640 --> 01:14:58.600 Episode, which was one of mine, and Andy Serkis is 1317 01:14:58.640 --> 01:15:01.880 actually married to one of the actors, and so he 1318 01:15:02.079 --> 01:15:05.840 was there. He was at the screening, and I got 1319 01:15:05.840 --> 01:15:08.880 to meet him at our wrap at the party afterwards, 1320 01:15:09.520 --> 01:15:11.720 and I told him the story. I told him that 1321 01:15:11.760 --> 01:15:14.319 I worked on his movie and that I was this 1322 01:15:14.439 --> 01:15:16.920 rig technician and da da dah, and and then I 1323 01:15:16.960 --> 01:15:19.000 was like, and guess what, So I shoot this show 1324 01:15:19.039 --> 01:15:21.359 now and that's you just watched one of my episodes. 1325 01:15:21.399 --> 01:15:23.079 And he's like, oh my gosh. Wow. 1326 01:15:24.800 --> 01:15:28.600 So that was super cool just to have that full 1327 01:15:28.680 --> 01:15:29.800 circle moment. 1328 01:15:32.039 --> 01:15:33.359 And then another moment that. 1329 01:15:34.840 --> 01:15:39.279 Way way back, I was doing a documentary in Africa 1330 01:15:40.199 --> 01:15:44.600 and we were shooting it was it was an organization 1331 01:15:44.720 --> 01:15:48.479 called I Think Opportunity Opportunity International, and it was about 1332 01:15:48.520 --> 01:15:52.520 giving micro loans to women business owners so they could 1333 01:15:52.600 --> 01:15:57.840 start their own business. And it was sponsored by British 1334 01:15:59.159 --> 01:16:02.319 banks and even royalty. 1335 01:16:02.319 --> 01:16:05.279 So Princess Anne was the one that was I think 1336 01:16:05.279 --> 01:16:05.800 the head. 1337 01:16:05.640 --> 01:16:08.800 Of the foundation. So I actually got to meet her 1338 01:16:09.279 --> 01:16:13.720 and film her in Africa while she was meeting a 1339 01:16:13.720 --> 01:16:18.199 lot of these ladies that were getting these microfinance lends. 1340 01:16:18.279 --> 01:16:20.439 That was pretty cool, Like, you rarely get to meet 1341 01:16:20.520 --> 01:16:25.479 royalty when you're doing filmmaking and camera work, so when 1342 01:16:25.520 --> 01:16:28.680 you get to meet like a princess, that's pretty cool too. 1343 01:16:29.399 --> 01:16:32.159 That's wonderful. I'm sure there are lots more stores that 1344 01:16:32.199 --> 01:16:34.640 we could tell and oh, yeah, we should have another 1345 01:16:34.680 --> 01:16:37.640 episode this listen. Maybe I should get a couple of 1346 01:16:37.640 --> 01:16:40.279 you on, maybe get you on with Shaner and you know, 1347 01:16:40.680 --> 01:16:43.119 we could do a reminiscing episode. 1348 01:16:43.600 --> 01:16:47.119 Oh that's fun, the cool moment episode. 1349 01:16:47.199 --> 01:16:51.880 Yes, well, Ulsia, enjoy the rest of your summer and 1350 01:16:52.000 --> 01:16:55.239 good luck with the next season of Bridgeton. Thank you 1351 01:16:55.880 --> 01:16:58.359 and thank you very much for taking time to come 1352 01:16:58.399 --> 01:16:59.079 on the podcast. 1353 01:17:00.119 --> 01:17:02.119 Of course, thank you so much for having me. This 1354 01:17:02.239 --> 01:17:02.760 was amazing. 1355 01:17:06.319 --> 01:17:08.720 And some news now from a friend of the show, 1356 01:17:09.039 --> 01:17:10.880 cinematographer Gretchen Worson. 1357 01:17:11.479 --> 01:17:14.960 Hey, Chris, thank you. I am very excited to announce 1358 01:17:15.000 --> 01:17:19.880 the launch of the Lady Camera Guy websites. It is 1359 01:17:20.479 --> 01:17:23.800 going to be check full of links, resources to products 1360 01:17:23.800 --> 01:17:27.079 and helpful information. It's a lot like the Lady Camera 1361 01:17:27.079 --> 01:17:31.600 Guy Instagram, but it's expanded with so much more information 1362 01:17:31.960 --> 01:17:35.000 to help people who are just starting out. We are 1363 01:17:35.199 --> 01:17:39.720 also launching a monthly newsletter which people can sign up 1364 01:17:39.760 --> 01:17:44.000 for on our website by entering their email address and 1365 01:17:44.079 --> 01:17:48.760 just simply clicking sign up for our newsletter. So check 1366 01:17:48.840 --> 01:17:53.119 us out on Ladycamera Guy dot com. That's the website, 1367 01:17:53.319 --> 01:17:57.239 follow us on Ladycamera Guy on Instagram, and make sure 1368 01:17:57.279 --> 01:18:01.319 to sign up for our newsletter for even more information 1369 01:18:01.439 --> 01:18:02.039 and content. 1370 01:18:02.960 --> 01:18:05.800 And if you scroll down the show notes accompanying this episode, 1371 01:18:05.840 --> 01:18:09.960 you'll find links to Alicia's social media and also to 1372 01:18:10.119 --> 01:18:14.199 her IMDb and her website. And if you're listening on 1373 01:18:14.239 --> 01:18:17.640 Apple Podcast, you'll also find the full transcript of each 1374 01:18:17.720 --> 01:18:21.960 episode of art. Just scroll down the show notes below 1375 01:18:22.199 --> 01:18:25.600 the show notes and there you'll find the complete transcript. 1376 01:18:26.039 --> 01:18:28.000 Also in the show notes you'll find a link to 1377 01:18:28.079 --> 01:18:31.199 our social media so you can follow us on Instagram. 1378 01:18:31.279 --> 01:18:34.640 Leave your comments and questions suggestions for guests. As always, 1379 01:18:34.800 --> 01:18:37.680 we love to hear from you. If you prefer email, 1380 01:18:38.079 --> 01:18:43.239 our address is Hollowell Studios at gmail dot com. My 1381 01:18:43.359 --> 01:18:46.560 thanks again to my guests this week, Alicia Robbins and 1382 01:18:46.680 --> 01:18:49.359 to you for listening. I'll be back next week when 1383 01:18:49.399 --> 01:18:52.600 my guest will be the British wildlife and pet portrait 1384 01:18:52.760 --> 01:18:56.039 artist Lucy Joyce. So I do hope you'll join me 1385 01:18:56.119 --> 01:19:02.520 then