(upbeat music) - Welcome to the film, and beyond, I'm your host, Alan Tracy. - And I'm Rahana Power. - And today we have Taylor Clement with us. - Hello, look. - Hi. - Film maker. - Welcome, Taylor. - Thank you for having me. - Absolutely, we're very excited to have you. And learn all sorts about you. So, diving in before we get into the film of it all. Can you tell us something fun, unique, interesting about yourself? - Yeah, okay, so something fun and unique. I don't know if it's too fun, but I'm actually two years sober from alcohol. A little bit over since, is that on Christmas was my date. So, since doing that, I got really into winter cycling and just like cycling in general, bicycling. I got into paddle boarding, really just like the lakes that are by here. That's my place. I love to paddle the lakes and to bike, basically just like, once I quit drinking, it was like, what do I do with my time? 'Cause you know, like with the pandemic, especially that's when like we weren't doing anything and a lot of just like sitting at home and you would pretty much drink. So, turned into like, and then it's just like a huge part of the like climate here, you know, especially in Minnesota. A lot of time spent in Wisconsin too. So, yeah, I was like, what do I do with my time now? So, yeah, I was like, okay, exercise. And yeah, winter cycling, which I never, I was another thing is that I'm not a person that loves the cold. Like I grew up just like hating it here. So, getting out and, you know, not having the vice anymore has just been such a cool thing and really helped me just kind of like get out there more and meet people and all of that. So, yeah, that's my. - Awesome. - Well, that's fabulous. And wait, I don't know the proper, I think way to, not congratulations, way to go. - Good job. - Oh, yeah. - I don't know. Whatever's the right way to, yeah, the good things. And that's really, the winter cycling thing is really interesting to me. 'Cause yeah, I see people, like we live on a trail that actually goes out to like Lake of Isles and everywhere. And there's like big groups of cyclists that come through even now that it's 20 degrees, at 15 degrees out. And I'm like, what? This is a thing. So, is that, do you do that with like a group or are you just like, I'm going to cycle when I want like, like on your own? - Yeah, I do it on my own. I haven't really broken into any groups. Like, I think I just saw, maybe it was NPR or some, there was a story on Instagram that was like a group of people that did, you know, went all the way out to, I think like, Minna Tonka or something or the, yeah, they went pretty far out to that big lake that's out there like, blanking on it. But yeah, it's, that's where they went. And it was like a full day thing. Not really my thing. I'm very, very specific, like, don't want to go out too long and make sure I bring all my stuff. Don't, you know, I worry still about the cold and, you know, if I start to sweat, I'm like, oh, that's not good. You know, I got to get the, you know, my layers and everything, I actually had, my winter bike was stolen out of my garage last year. Yeah, so yes, if I had to then, you know, just bike indoors. And actually, luckily last year, it wasn't that bad. So I could, you know, use my other bike. It wasn't like super snowy, but you got to have the good tires. And I mean, I had studded tires. Those are like necessary when it's super icy, going out on the lakes. And then also like the fat tire. I was like, do I get fat tire? Do I just stick with the mountain bike? But I guess like fat tire is really like, it helps you skirt over, over the snow. So that you're not like digging into it. 'Cause I tried going on the lake, like with my, you know, standard mountain bike tires. And you just go, you cut right in and you just like get stuck immediately. Oh, no. Look around all embarrassed. So it's been a lot of like trying things on my own and taking a lot of risks. Like winter cycling and paddleboarding was some two things that I had always wanted to try. The paddleboarding was all brand new to me. Didn't grow up with that kind of stuff, you know? So it was like, yeah, getting like out on the water for the first time and then actually also standing up. All of that was just totally brand new. So, yeah, navigating it by myself is kind of how I prefer it. But, you know, like again, social media is great. You know, you talk to a lot of people and meet a lot of people that way. But yeah, haven't done any like group stuff 'cause it just seems like it would be too stressful 'cause I feel like I'd be at the back, you know what I mean? I'd be like, I gotta go home guys. (laughing) - Yeah. - It's too cold. - Yeah, no kidding. Yeah, I will admit, I love paddleboarding. I've fallen in love with even just like the whole concept of it. I've done it a few times on the tiniest of scales. But I love that, like I love when you see people on paddleboards out on the lake with like their dog on the end. Do you do that at all or have you not tried that yet? - I've tried it. I got, actually it was me and my husband and the dog, all three of us were on the paddleboard up at the cabin over the summer, it was impressive. 'Cause yeah, like all the stuff going on, like we had family there. So the dog was like, you know, it was like, is she gonna do it maybe? 'Cause I haven't done it myself. That's where I'm worried about like bringing her down to the lake and then like actually getting her on the paddleboard and I'm worried if she jumps off 'cause she can't swim. - Oh, yeah. - Yeah, I mean, she can like do the paddling thing but she needs to be like chest height, like water, you know, level. So yeah, I haven't actually, that was one of the reasons why I did the paddleboard 'cause I wanted to have all that space so that she could be on there with me. But then, you know, it was all of the fear of even starting and doing it myself and then it was like, okay, now I have to incorporate the dog, okay, how she's gonna jump off, I have to get her a life jacket, all that stuff. But I was able to do it and she did fine. She did so good. So I'm excited this summer to actually get her and she's senior dog now, she was like 11. So she should be pretty chill. She can still jump up and get going, but yeah, I think she'll be a lot more chill and I won't have to worry too much. Plus the lakes are really shallow. Like, you know, there's so many ways to just like get to the shoreline going on big lakes. I haven't done any river paddling, but like being on a big lake is scarily, even Badei Macrosca, like being out there on the paddleboard, if it's like rough and choppy, it's quite intense. It's just like, oh, like actually you're actually getting the sport as opposed to just like my, you know, so yeah. - Oh, no kidding. All right, I could talk about that stuff all day, but that's not why we're here. Can you tell us a little about what you do in the film world? - Oh, yeah, you know, lately with film, I've been pretty lax. Like my last thing it was pre-pandemic where I did like an actual, we were gonna do, you know, our own no-budget feature film and it fell apart because of the pandemic hit. So it was like just this huge, you know, it was demoralizing in a way. It was like, okay, we raised all this money. We actually, we did like a Seaton Spark and it was all crowdfunded. Yeah. And then so we got to that point and it totally fell apart 'cause there was just no way we could keep, we had like elderly people and there were a lot of people who were like going through their own transitions in life. So it was like we just have to stop. And then yeah, unfortunately had like a falling, kind of a falling out. It's up in the air with that, but more of a falling out with the producer that I was working with. So they just didn't, didn't pan out. So, you know, really just been sticking with photography lately 'cause that's where, you know, like I've been enjoying the creative side of it. I felt like, you know, once I got out of school, I jumped into photojournalism and then I did some like marketing stuff. And it was just not, you know, not really the thing for me. I really love the creative side of it and, you know, getting to know my flow and, you know, 'cause you have like all these big ideas, especially in film school. And so you get to the point of actually like seeing them and if you don't have that amount of time, you know, to like actually like see what your work looks like. It's just kind of, I'm very grateful for the time that I've had where I've been able to just focus on photography. So yeah, the last thing that I did, I was doing like a multimedia specialist work for Bloomington Public Schools. So I did, it was actually like award-winning work 'cause where I was like, you know, this is something that I could totally do is documentary. We did some like, it was a monthly vlog with the superintendent. So it was a very interesting project. They, I think they got, you know, some grant money outside of COVID to kind of pursue that. So it was like, we can just, that I can do whatever I want. It was very, very cool. So yeah, those turned into really fun projects. And it was the closest I really like got to film. So lately I've been doing, you know, focusing on my photography, doing photography lessons, doing photo walks, trying to sell my prints, please buy my prints. (both laughing) 'Cause that's just where, you know, it fills the most raw where it's like if someone can have, you know, my art and put it up on the wall. It's like, that's my vision, you've got it. Whereas like with film, it's, I love the wet duck analogy 'cause it's just like, it's on, you know, water off your back and then it's gone. And you just don't see it ever again. Hard to go back and, you know, rewatch things that you've made. That would be something that I would do while, you know, when you're in the project, you can rewatch it. Couple of months later, it's like, oh, that was so cool, but then it's just gone. So that's kind of something that I've really liked with photography is like, I can see all my work and, you know, prints are expensive, but I can still print some stuff here on my printer and whatever, but yeah, that's just been kind of my thing and definitely beyond that, I've been working on scripts. I have, you know, lots of ideas. I write things and then it just kind of me. And, you know, especially having that project, I know my belt, the failed movie, it's very daunting 'cause you just kind of like go, is this gonna, is this even gonna come to fruition for anything and knowing how much it all costs and knowing how much work it takes, especially when you take it all on yourself. Yeah, that was like the issue was having all of the roles, all of the duties, we were very sparse, very limited crew, you know, obviously no budget. So it was like, I'm gonna do everything and the, you know, like my co-producer, she'll do whatever she can do, but it was, you know, hiring crew and paying crew and, you know, creep and not post production, but as much post as we could do, I still have the footage. So maybe we could do something with it, but yeah, exactly. You're telling me there's a chance. There's a chance. I have rights to it. Okay, there you go. Yeah, as long as you have final cut, you're good. I know exactly what you mean 'cause I just wrapped, we just wrapped a short film, not a feature, but I can only imagine 'cause I've made one short film and it was, or one feature and it was like unscripted and no budget, of course, just very, yeah. Challenging, I'll say. It's super challenging. Yeah, it's not really. Yeah, did you ever get to like done with production, done, done or was it? No, yeah, we were about like a third of the way through shooting and it just, that was when it all hit. It was like the next shoot we had planned was with, it was a family dinner scene. So it was like all of the elderly folks in a close space. And I was just like, this is blowing my mind. Like what do we do? Do I just, do we go for it? And I was like, no way. I could be possibly with the risk that was involved. And then there were people who were like, you need to have like COVID guidelines and have, that was the other thing is we didn't really have safety. I was really, I really wanted an intimacy coordinator. It was an interesting thing 'cause the script was written by the co-producer and she also wanted to act in it which was something I was like, you know, not super sure about. So it was kind of like the pseudo, let's try it while we were doing it. So like a lot of the shoot days, it was like, this is our rehearsal. And yeah, so like she was acting in it. This is just a whole can of worms but it was just not really the thing that-- - We don't have to get into it if you don't like that. Yeah, that's okay. - And now we're moving forward. So I did see that you worked with Charlotte Marie Bailey on a film, is that right? - I did. - Yes, that was crazy. - Like essentially before it all struck, I'm assuming is when you guys shot it I think, right? - Yeah, it must have been 2019. - Yeah, 'cause I was checking it out. It looks like it's the one with the glasses for 2020 vision, sort of speaking. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. They had those weird glasses I made everyone in their films. So can it just be glasses? Not just this pair of glasses. I mean, we're getting a weight on this, or-- - Yeah, no, that didn't make any sense to me at all. That was my first time doing anything Z-Fest related. - Oh really? - I was like, wait, we have to have glasses and didn't quite figure it out until like the end of the production is like, oh, you can get like, yeah. It was good though, I've had a lot of fun. Charlotte was awesome, that was so weird to look back on that. And it's like, that was long ago. Oh my God, it's like five, almost five years now. Yeah, so that was good. She needed somebody to kind of like shoot the commercial part of it. So she wanted somebody else to do that part and to film it, just so that it would look completely, you know, like it wasn't shot by the person who was shooting the Z-Fest film. So it worked out really well. I had a lot of fun and definitely that was my entry into the film industry here. - Very cool. - Yeah. - What I have to ask is from one DP to the next, what did you shoot on? What was your camera? Oh, I was shooting on my Sony A7R II. - Oh wow, a 7R, okay. - Yep, it was a choice at the time. Everybody I knew in the school was getting the A7S. And so I was like, well, I'll get something a little different, you know, and that camera's awesome. It's great for photography. - Right. - It's definitely, you know, shooting S-Log on it was interesting, you know. - Which S-Log was it? Was it like two or three of that? - I think it was cool. - Okay, wow. - Definitely it was one of them. It didn't have like, you know, it was pretty flat and there wasn't much, you know, you could do to fix it, which was interesting. And then we shot with a, some opponents filter. So it was, you know, to make it look even extra dreamy. - Yeah. - So I was, you know, excited to see where that would go, but it definitely was, I wasn't gonna be the one to edit the end-to-color correction and grading. So. - Oh, who was that? - Oh my gosh. - Do you know what I guess I don't know. - That was so long ago. - Well, we'll put the link in the show notes. So yeah, you're fine. - Yeah. - So people can check it out. - Yeah. Yeah, no. The A7R2, that was my go-to. And then I was shooting on the Rokinon Cine prime lenses. - Ooh. - Yeah. - Those are very-- - Can you focus then? - Yeah. - How are you doing? - Ooh. - Tricky. - What was your aperture? - I mean, I would always try to shoot, you know, I would shoot pretty, pretty shallow. But yeah, I would try to stick with the 35 millimeter and just do, you know, pretty shallow. So like, I got a, just a slider, a motorized slider. - Okay. - So we kind of helped with some moving in and yeah. So like, it was very, very subtle movements. A lot of experimenting with that. And lots of different locations. We had a lot of locations. Restaurants and we were shooting a lot though at her cabin or her house actually. It was like a cabin. They did like maple syrup and they had chickens. So that was the plot of the movie was that it was like a woman who just lost her husband and she was pregnant. And basically just going through that, but in Minnesota and Wisconsin. So kind of like, you know, hitting on all the dry. - Wait, which film? - This is for better feet. That was the one that. - Oh, it's a bittersweet. Okay, not for dream killer. Okay, good. - Right, right. And that's the camera that I stuck with was. - Okay. - Yes. So that's what I always used. I never really, I rented or anything like that. So that's the one that I used for dream killer. That's what I use for bittersweet. Yeah. And then once I got into the marketing, that's when I got my FX3 and was sticking with that after. Yeah. - Nice. I have an A7S3. So basically an FX3, just a few differences, of course. Yes. - Yeah. And like, that's the thing too, is I never really got into like the gear head side of things. So, you know, like I love cinematography, but I don't, you know, really, really get into the nitty-gritty is of like what the camera is or, you know, anything like that. It's just like, I know what works. That works for me. I'm gonna keep doing that. - Right. I like that you've had kind of experience across a lot of different things. That's, you've done sounds like marketing ads and corporate maybe type of things and film. Like do you have, I guess with obviously photography is kind of where you've landed currently, but do you have like, trying to think of the right way to put this like, you want to focus on the art more and, but at the same time you want to make money. Like how do you balance that type of approach to your career, I guess? - Hey everyone. We've got 20 plus episodes up for you now on our Patreon with lots of fun chats. Some really great guests. - Yeah, and join for free and get extra episodes for as little as $5 a month. You can join in the link in the show notes. Check us out at patreon.com/filmandbeyond. - Yeah, the money side is new 'cause that, you know, originally I was like, this is more like, especially with photography. It was like my hobby. And I never wanted to, you know, blow up or do anything like that. So yeah, like to manage that is, has been interesting. Especially with social media. It's like, that's kind of where I hope to grow from there. But yeah, like there's, it's just the side hustles, you know, to kind of make, keep it going. Otherwise, yeah, it's tough out there for sure. Like, right now I'm definitely in between jobs. So like, I've been, you know, applying to a lot of different things just to have that security and which is so tough 'cause it's like, I really wanna get into more film and, you know, like I said, I have my scripts. I have a lot of ideas and even documentary, that's my favorite. I love documentary. So yeah, like that's, it's up in the air, you know, you kind of just go where the water takes you, right? The, not necessarily the path of least resistance, but yeah, that's, it is not easy. That's the one thing I wanted to make like clear or to put it out there for people 'cause I don't know what they see when they see me. It's like, I, you know, it's very, very hard if you wanna actually tell your story and, you know, there's so much that filters it out. In film school, it was that first entry into it. You, you know, you make your documentary, you show it to your professor, and then they start tweaking it. And it's like, that's not my idea anymore. It's tainted with you. So it's just so like, you know, again, like I said, I would love to and do a dream of, you know, telling more stories and hope to kind of marry that with my photography. 'Cause there's still obviously lots of storytelling, lots of video that goes into like my social media. But yeah, like, oh, if I could just get to that point of, you know, like I've got my, my script, my idea and I mean, yeah, it's... - I feel your pain because it's like you're behind the camera, but you have to be in front of the camera to show that you're behind the camera. It's like, you have to, you promote yourself, promote your brand, I suppose, is one way they put it. So it's just kind of like, well, where, like, how, how do I present myself that way or whatever? Yeah, so I feel you on that. - Yeah, it's been an interesting process. And you know, it's just like you just kind of take it one day at a time and keep moving through. Just hope that something pays off. You keep pitching, you know, reaching out to people. Hope that someone bites to something. You know, I've been trying to at least just submit more of my photography to magazines and try to get out to coffee shops and just anywhere so that I can, you know, like, here's my stuff. This is me, does that mean-- - Art shows, too, or-- - Yeah, I would, for sure, would love the eye, anything like that. And I've been looking at, like, things like Art of Whirl and, you know, those, but there's still, you know, you have to, it's not like too steep, but it's a couple hundred dollars where you have to, and then you also have to have your prints and have some kind of a setup. So it's also a financial thing to get into that. - Yeah, so there are a lot of cons in town, so they have a lot of artists' alleys, so typically they're more fan-based art, but yeah. - Yeah, so you-- - Oh, no, go ahead. - No, you go ahead. I was in relation. (laughs) - I was gonna say, you mentioned that you, like, as you've really started to focus more on your photography, you also do, like, lessons. - Yeah. - Is that, do you have, like, whole little, like, glasses, kind of a thing, or, like, virtual lessons, or how do you go about that? - So, this is a new thing that I'm doing, but yeah, so I wanna be able to do one-on-ones, but basically, yeah, just, like, giving tips and tricks for photography. I got really into, like, intentional camera movement, so just, like, long exposures, sweeping motions, and just, like, that really was something that people liked online, so it was like, oh, okay, and people were like, how do you get that? So that's where, again, with social media, it kind of helps you follow that path. It's like, oh, that's what people really like, so I'm gonna do that. So yeah, like, the plan is to have actual lessons in the spring where people will come out with me, and I can do virtual as well, but, you know, there's, I feel like, just kind of endless opportunities there. It's just about, like, how do you get people to want to keep coming back? So yeah, it's just, like, spreading out, having more things that people can come to. So, like, Patreon, you know, like, that's a new thing for me, super brand new, so it's like, there's not a whole lot over there, but the goal is to have more people come to that. Yeah, so the plan would be to, you know, help anyone with, like, I've had a lot of people who say that they just use their phone for photography. It's like, okay, well, we can, you know, we can still work with that, but basically just, like, even in the smallest amount, like, if you're sharing your knowledge anywhere, you're, it's going from one mind to another, and, you know, there's, and it's just like, you know, it lives on outside of you, so that's my goal, and my plan is like, anywhere that I can have people come and, you know what I mean? Like, it's just, it's all brand new. It was, this last year, it was just a lot of, like, building my account. I went from, like, 300 followers to, I think, 1,400, so it was like, oh, that's amazing for me. It was just, like, this brand new thing, so, yeah, just kind of like, hopefully, that's what a lot of it is. It's like, hopefully. Do you find that, I mean, it's either way you're looking at it, whether it's photography or filmmaking. I mean, it's, it's holistically art. Do you find that one inspires you in, for the other at all, or once you're kind of focused on one, like, right now you're focused on photography, like, you're pretty, like, I don't want to say silo can't think of the term, but, like, you're just super hyper-focused on that, and it's not necessarily bringing any ideas where you're like, oh, I could do a documentary about this, or I could, like, expand, like, what I'm focused on right here. - Yeah, so, I mean, like, I've had ideas of ways to kind of incorporate the photography, like, an idea for, at least for ZFest, it was about at the beginning of January, and I was like, oh, I could totally just draw something together, but just like, you know, nature. - With your phone, no, I'm just kidding. - There you go. Hey, the phone is actually pretty dope. I don't know, like, compared to the FX3, I was like, oh my God, because I got the new, I don't even know what phone that is, but one of the newest iPhones, and it shoots pretty well, so, you know. But, yeah, I really thought about doing something that was, like, nature-focused, and that is what I was hoping when I went to school, I wanted to do more, like, wildlife and stuff like that, so it's just like, you know, I had, like, a longer lens, but it was only a 200 millimeter, wasn't quite good enough for wildlife photography. - Oh, that's not enough for wildlife. - No, it's not, it's not, 400 is, like, the worthy one for photography. Yeah, it's just not enough, and also it was a crop sensor. - Oh, well, that kind of makes it 400. - It kind of did, yeah. It was like, what is this right now? - 1.5 times 200, carry them out. - Yeah, this is too much, carry them out. - Yeah. Yeah, so that would be something that, you know, like, I've been thinking of incorporating, 'cause I'm trying to think of what you had said earlier, made me think of something. But basically, like, you think you know, and you probably do, it's like, for example, if you wanna shoot a documentary, or, you know, you wanna write a book, and it's just, like, really, really hard to do that. And so, like, it might not look like how you want it to, but the point is to at least get something out there. So, like, if you wanna write a book, but you can only offer an ebook for free on your website. It's, you know, it's like, "Oh, I don't wanna write an ebook." And even for me, it's like, that's something that I'm also working on. It's an ebook of just, like, my photos and then doing the, like, a little bit of poetry, 'cause that's what I've also done in the past. So, and just probably the caption that I put under the photo, but just to create, like, some kind of nice ebook, and then it's free. So, it's like, I wanna make a movie, I wanna make a documentary. How do I get there from where I'm at right now? And, you know, can hope for some... Don't know if that is a little cool, but maybe some kind of a miracle could happen, or, you know, and you still keep putting yourself out there and pitching, but, like, to, like, that hyper-focusedness is to, you know, really stick to, like, that work all in one kind of, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, I know, I did watch your documentary here or it was the one, I think it was from your, maybe your school days, that I couldn't tell. - Mm-hmm. - Outpatients, was it? - Oh, yes, yeah, that was, I think. - About prescription drugs and, you know, talk about your process with that. Like, I don't understand maybe it was school, but, yeah, did that help develop or did your documentary passion or, also, you mentioned that someone else may have made some adjustments to your films, so let us know, like, did that, so, you know, I don't know. - Yeah, yeah, so that process was very, it was my favorite documentary that I've, like, done. - It was well done, I liked it, yeah. - Appreciate that, yeah, it was a lot of, like, footage from archive.org and just, like, random thoughts. - It was going through a lot at the time, it's a very personal documentary for me, 'cause I've, you know, known a lot of people who had addiction issues and my dad was actually someone who dealt with a lot of prescription drug use, alcohol use, so it was like, this is such a personal project for me, so perfect. And I had a friend who, miles, was the guy at the end, the third interview. - On the latter's? - Yeah, on the latter painting, painting the garage. - Yeah. - Yeah, that was just kind of all spur of the moment and just pieced it together from there. So that one, actually, it didn't really get touched too much by my, it was just my professor who took my other projects and was like, "Yeah, I don't know if I like that. "Maybe this is the way you want it." And he would just, like, grab the keyboard and do stuff for me. - Great teacher definitely learned a lot from him, but that was, that was a lot to take in, 'cause it was like, that was, like, you know, you would make a save, you'd have your previous save, but it's like, this is the guy who's telling you that's the way to do it. So it's like, okay, I think I'll leave it, even though I hate it, you know, so, but that, you know, I didn't really have a whole lot of, and he respected the vision with that one, I would say. - What's good? - Yeah, yeah, it was definitely my favorite of anything that I've worked on just because it was so personal and what it originally was, like, long clips, like the Bill Maher stuff, like, I just played out the whole thing. And so that was something that he had suggested my professor. He was like, don't do that, we want it shorter so that you can keep people interested. So that was something that stuck with me. It's like, okay, how do I keep people interested? 'Cause I love forcing someone to watch something. Like, I just think that's awesome. It's like, no, you should watch the whole thing. Like, I don't want to parse it. - Gotcha. So you like to keep the context in it, not just like you said, Parsono, based on what you want to cherry pick out of it. - Yeah, yeah, the context is, I just think so important. - Absolutely, yeah. - The music to, like, just the vibe. - Yeah, yeah. - That's kind of the, and it's so long. I haven't even watched that in so long. - It's new to me, so I was like-- - Yeah, yeah, of course. I was like, oh my God, you watched that. - Oh! (laughs) But yeah, it's trying to think of like, what else was in there 'cause-- - John Oliver clips. - John Oliver, yep, and it was really hard because I wanted to show all the sides that I saw, I guess, which was support for pharmaceuticals and the real impact that they can have on somebody and then, you know, someone who's just like, does not agree with them. That was my favorite. Everybody loved the line where he, I think he was like, but he was like, fuck Reagan. And it was just like-- - Oh, right, right. - That was the thing that-- - Yeah, I remember that one. He was just like, Reagan. It was just like, on the ladder, I was just like-- - Oh, this is so good. - I could see that getting a laugh and like a theater or something. - Oh, for sure. Yeah, 'cause he, you know, like, that was my foray into like using my Zoom H6 just for audio capture. So I remember having a lot of issues that day and he was super quiet at points. I don't know why it was just like, it would fluctuate so much and then it would flatten out instead of-- - Oh no. - Going all the way. Yeah, so I had to lower all the audio 'cause I was just being super new into it. So it was when he said that part, it was so quiet. So we had to do a lot of tweaking just to get it to be audible. - The audio, nowadays, you could probably get it to where you want it, but now, but back then, it was just, and we're saying like five years back then, you know, it's like-- - Oh yeah. - Oh my gosh, no, I mean, that was, while I was still in school, so that was a while ago. It was right after I got my new camera and I got the Zoom and yeah. - Is this an E7R two days? Is that the new camera then? Okay. - Camera, yeah, yeah. I didn't actually, I didn't have anything that I could shoot on. So that was a big goal too, going to school was to get, get my hands on something. - Something, right, mm-hmm. - It was just like, go play. That was what my professor said. It's like, oh, I can go play with a camera, that's not mine, that's so cool. So, yeah, it was not even something that I thought I would ever do going into film. Even as much as I loved it, I was going to school for biology and had been doing creative writing. So it was like, something happened. You know, I had personal stuff in my life and I was like, screw it, we're gonna do film. And, yeah, super happy I did, 'cause I got the opportunity to do the documentary. 'Cause after that year, they cut all those programs at that school. So, and they like combined theater and film into one thing. Yeah, so very, very lucky. They had, I think they had a graduate program too that had also been cut, but there was just like one student hanging on still, but it was like they were just dropping like flies, like all the programs, all the people. So it was a very interesting time. I feel very lucky to have gotten in. It was just such a really, really, really cool people. It was the first time, 'cause going from biology, the sciencey stuff into art, 'cause I had done some creative writing, but it didn't feel the same. It was still pretty dry. So getting into the community, a small community, it was just like, oh, I can be creative. And it still is really hard to be like, like call myself an artist, which is, I'm sure that's much more common, but it's like, I never thought I wouldn't follow that path. So that's why part of the figuring everything out now is just so like, wow, I'm so fortunate, but holy crap, what do I do? - Yeah, so you're focused on your photography right now, really trying to grow and expand with that. Do you have, like, I wanna say plans, but ideas for, I'm thinking specifically documentary, 'cause that sounds like really where your passion filmmaking-wise is, but anything where you're like, okay, well, in the next five years, I would love to make this or attempt this or try and pick this back up. - I mean, I've always wanted to do part two, two outpatients where it would be the, not necessarily part two, would probably be like a lot of part one, kind of expanded into a full piece or something that's about 40 minutes. - Very relevant now, especially if you talk about insurance and prescriptions and you name it, yeah. - Yeah, and it's just like, you get so overwhelmed with all of the possibilities and then also the work that goes into it, 'cause it's like, oh, I could just go and interview anybody and I could, you know, 'cause all my experience is just like doing it by myself. So it's just like, I know that it would be easier to do with other people. So it's just like, then you have to plan with like photojournalism and everything. So used to just going out and getting the thing and then turning it into something. And that's kind of how that was in a lot of ways. Like what I like about documentary is that no planning. Like you just, you get the interview, you get the footage and then you kind of throw it into a story from there, which is-- - Right, yeah, like-- - It's much more preferable, sorry. - Right, I was just gonna say, I did one documentary short and it was just about a fighter and the idea was he was gonna return to the Octagon and it was, but that day never really came and there had to be a point where I had to stop making, you know, shooting things. So, and then find the story within that. So it was just, yeah, it's like, how do you go about finding your story? Is it just based on the content or do you normally have kind of a mean idea, I suppose, in mind? - Yeah, there's something of an idea 'cause I've seen so many things. I don't really do a lot of that, like writing it out, planning, I'll write the interview questions and, you know, especially depending on what it's for. The last, like the stuff that I did that, you know, got the national recognition for Bloomington Public Schools did a lot of like little ads for their BCCA, Bloomington Career and College Academy. So that was like, my idea was to make those more documentary based and have just an interview and then footage, you know, on top of it. It's very like, you know, the classic package for news is just you get your interview and you shoot your footage and then you come up with something out of that. And so I've tried to explain what it is to, you know, obviously to my employer and to other people before, like, how do I do it? What is that? And I don't really know it, so it's kind of like just this flow once it starts to happen. So like, I do design the interview questions a little bit so that I'm getting really, really interesting answers. And, you know, I also like to ask the interview, ask my questions so then I can kind of, 'cause when I'm there, then, you know, you feel everything and then you throw it on the timeline, you cut all your little sound bites and then it's just like, it's like a song, basically. 'Cause then you're just like listening to the flow of the things that they say. And also, you know, again, like you're saying, Ellen, with context, that is something that I really don't even worry about. It's like the proof is in the pudding or whatever. Like if it's there, it's gonna come out. So like, one thing that I think about often that when I worked at, for WDIO up in Duluth, that was my first job. We did a story for, it was a sort of nursing home that up in like Hill City in Minnesota, which is like super rural. And the story was about how they were having issues. They were being told that they couldn't run, basically, because they were running out of a house and it was very not a classic traditional nursing home. So they were getting shut down. That was the story. And nobody told me prior, you know, like you need to make them look good 'cause it was a news story. So I just ended up shooting the place. And getting to work, they looked through my footage and they were like, wow, this place looks horrible. It's like you made this place look horrible. And I was like, that was the place, dude. Like it was just an interesting, you know, it's like that it will speak for itself, you know? So that's why I like to, if I'm shooting the footage, I also like to know what those interview questions are and what is gonna come out of the things that they're saying. So you can get that vibe and know what you're going for. 'Cause it was like, nobody told me, this is just, this is the place. I mean, and so they sent another photographer, like the chief photographer, they sent him up to actually get more footage 'cause they were like, oh, your footage makes this place look like crap. I think, you know, he saw what it looked like. So it was just, yeah, that's what I would say is like, you know, to have the knowledge of the content, especially those interview questions, super vital. - Yeah, I did, did they, not that they didn't believe you, but what didn't they get about the footage that made it, it looked bad, you know, when it was just the footage. I mean, does that just, - Yeah, it was just like a weird reaction, I guess, when it's like-- - Like, why would you do that to this place to me? Like, what did I do? - Yeah, exactly, I still think about it to this day. Like, it's very, very interesting to me 'cause it was something that at the time I said, I wanted to, you know, save the footage 'cause I thought it was a very interesting story. The reporter that was on it, he was very green. And, you know, I think that was kind of the issue. It was like, I had a vision for the story and he was trying to say that they were in the wrong. And it was like, it's super gray and super hard to like put it into perspective. It was one of those things where it's like, what is, what's gonna happen next? And what is my opinion on this? Like, I don't even know my opinion on this. So that's kind of it too, is like you're discovering how you feel about something as you're pulling it out. So it's like, I'm just gonna tell people what I think about it. And you're gonna, you know, you're gonna watch this and it's gonna be, you know, an ad or a documentary, but it's literally, that's just what I think. And that's part of it too, with like the photography lessons and stuff, there's a lot of insecurity to that. And I think that, you know, you just have to, you're not telling people how to do it. It's literally just my process. Like I'm just telling, telling people my process. - You're not a professor from the place, but yeah, I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. - No, not yet. - They need it, the program died, so. - My God, kidding. - Well, can you tell us how people can get in touch with you if they maybe want to work with you on a documentary or if they wanna take photography lessons or if they just wanna check out your photography. - Yeah, they need to train up a person, yeah. - Yeah, for the same sense film. - I really just want a beautiful nature print. I wanna take a look at your stuff. - Yeah, I mean, check out, I mean, for sure Instagram, that's my go-to place 'cause that's where I am all the time. My website, my Patreon, super brand new. So if you start on that, you will be getting so many little gifts. It's something that you pay for, but at this point, since it's so new, you're not gonna be paying 'cause it'll give you free things and all of that. That's the new place for basically just to be able to get in touch with me. That's what I would love to be able to get to. Like, I don't know yet, but with Instagram, like it's, I feel like we're always so accessible now. It's like this, there's no way to turn that off. So that's something that I'm kind of slowly working towards is like, yeah, I'm on Instagram, but I want you to go to my website. I want you to be on my Patreon, come to my Discord. That's also new. - Oh, a Discord. - Yes, yeah, so to be able to have a place where it's separate, so you meet community. Yeah, I'm on threads too, and then blue sky is that new one. Yeah, so I'm over on those threads is interesting where I get a lot more reach. It's just like this brand new thing. Yeah, it's so surprising 'cause I was like, I'll just post a photo over here and see what happens. And the first one wasn't that crazy. But yeah, I kind of had a little bit of experience with it, 'cause I also do have my little private account, but it's my recovery account for quitting drinking. It helped a lot with quitting drinking, so I would post to threads from there. And one of my things, it just like blew up, got like 3000 likes, it was like, holy crap. Okay, so there is something here. I guess like if I hadn't had that, I wouldn't have known that there was something there. Yeah. And so yeah, like, threads is interesting. Instagram feel like it's just like dying slowly every day, but that's, I'm still trying that. I'm trying to bring life to it a little bit. - It's a photo-based app, so it's like, that's where it started, so, you know. - Yeah, that's what's going on. - Yeah, no, it's totally, like they changed the grid was the craziest thing. - Oh, yeah, that was wild. - Yeah, it's like, I don't think, I mean, it should, there should be the option to, you know, do whatever you want with it. Like, yeah, it's so interesting that it's gotten the way that it is now, and then with the algorithm, I feel like I'll be like talking to myself sometimes with it. It's like, why is it showing me this? And that's what a lot of it is, like, why am I asking, why is it showing me this? Like, it just is, like, I shouldn't be wasting time wondering why I'm seeing this post. So- - They're all chasing TikTok, that's what's going on. - Oh, God, yeah, and so, that's something, is I avoided TikTok because of the addictive nature of it. I just could not, couldn't do it. It would be like way too much time spent, yes, exactly. So, yeah, I never did TikTok, except like recently now, with all of this, I was like, should I get a TikTok? Oh my God, maybe, I don't know. But yeah, it's still trying to be on all of the socials. And if, yeah, certainly email me, you can always, it should have my phone number on my website. You can call me, tell me- - I'm interested in your Discord now, so. - I'm gonna find that. - Yeah, I'm still Discord. - Okay, 'cause I have very, very little knowledge on it, and my husband is super into that kind of stuff. - See a gamer. - He is, yeah, he does, like, old school RuneScape stream, right? - Oh, okay. - I don't know what that is, but okay. - Yeah, no, RuneScape, I'm not into that, but he has been doing it and has, like, this account that he's been doing for, since, like, high school or something. Like, since he was, like, 12 years old, it's the same account, so he's, like, built up everything and has quite a bit of, I have no idea, but it's, like, the odds of getting things, like, you'll just, like, mine for stuff. And it, like, it just is, it takes forever. So, he's been able to find things that are super rare and, um, so he's trying to, like, tell people how to do it now, too, which he's, like-- - Oh, I see, okay. - Oh, okay. - Oh, so you have a Twitch also? - He does, yeah. - Okay, he streams. - He does, he streams, he's all into it, yeah. - That is. - Oh, yeah, he's, uh, he's awesome, he's-- - Are you streaming? - No. - Oh, okay. - No. - Yeah, I do, I do game, though. I do my-- - Okay. - I love to play Fallout 4 is my thing that I've been playing a lot lately. - That would be nice. - 'Cause it just, it mirrors life right now. I'm just, like, waiting for-- (laughing) - Oh, no. - Life to life. (laughing) - I know, not really. - Great series, I like the series a lot. - Oh, yeah, yeah, it's super awesome. New Vegas is great, that's probably my favorite, but Fallout 4 has been so fun just playing the DLCs. I'm in Far Harbor right now, that's what I've been. - I'm more of a cyberpunk gameplay or so, hence, I mean, you got Keanu Reeves, so it's kind of like, eh. - Yeah, no, that's really, yeah, yeah. - I'm more like Sonic the Hedgehog, so, you know, - Absolutely. - After all of that. If it's not 1992 Sega, then I don't know what we're doing here. - It was a Mortal Kombat 3, right? - Yes, yes, you blow in the cartridge, hit it, get it in there. That's my idea of a solid video game right there. - Yes, right in it. - All right, well, Taylor, last question, the big one. What do you want people to remember most about you? Whether it's from your filmmaking or from your photography? - Or in general. - Oh my gosh. - Or yeah, in general. - In general. - Just your filming, no, I'm just kidding. - Only that. - Right, well, that's, I think too, with trying to come up with my movie or my documentary, it's like, what is this thing? Like, I have my memoir, I want, you know. Yeah, I don't know, I just think that it would be really cool if people could look at, you know, my legacy and see, like, you don't have to do the traditional way. And to, you know, like, push boundaries and to stand up for yourself, that kind of thing. I think that's probably the most important thing, especially now with AI, is that individuality. Do you stand out on your own, right? 'Cause it's just so hard lately. Like with, yeah, like I said, with AI, and I don't really know, but it just seems like there's a lot less creativity that's solely ours. So that's what I would love for people to see is like, wow, she, you know, ruffled feathers or something like that. Like, it wasn't just, yeah. Like, I would very much, and I guess I'm just thinking of this, now you're helping me a little bit. 'Cause it's like, yeah, I really want to push boundaries, ruffled feathers, stand up for myself and be different, but to just for people to hear the things that I have to say, 'cause that's what we all want. It's like, listen to me, I want to, you know, but yeah, that would be my legacy is that I would hope that people would see that I'm somebody who doesn't, doesn't bend to the traditional, if that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, absolutely, I love it. Well, thank you so much for taking the time and hanging out with us. It was really lovely having you on. You appreciate it. - No, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. It's been cool and I was kind of like surprised a little bit, we'll just say that. I was like, oh, they're asking me to be on the podcast, so cool myself. - Absolutely. - Yeah, no, it means a lot. So I really appreciate it and definitely don't be strangers and hopefully we see each other out and about in the community a little more. It's, I feel like so. - After this minus sub zero weather will definitely be. - Yeah. (laughing) - Right. - We'll go back out. - We'll go back out. - Back out around people, excited for spring, will be nice to be out, yeah, for sure. - Exactly. - Yeah, and check out the Discord also. - But yeah, you can certainly watch, I was so surprised you watched all my old stuff too. I was like, ah! - Whatever's on YouTube, it's just like-- - Yeah. - You can bring it right off, yep. - Oh, yeah. - All right. - And to all of our listeners and viewers, this is the new filming game. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
