Wasatch Mountain Film Festival

Tag: Interview

  • Q&A: Zoya Lynch

    Q&A: Zoya Lynch

    Zoya Lynch directed 2021 WMFF features “Motherload”. We asked her a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    Sony A7siii and some lenses!

    What item can you not live without?

     

    My 35 mm prime lens

    How do you choose music for your films?

    Whenever I hear a new song that I like, I write it down in my phone and save it for the right moment.

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Bossy

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    Jordan Manley

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

    I was filming my mom skiing for a short film. She loves jumps and really wanted to do one lap in the kids terrain park. I was follow-camming her off a little jump and she ended up going huge and ended up crashing. She broke her leg, blew her knee and had to get a toboggan ride down. It was crazy!

    More About Zoya Lynch

    Zoya Lynch is an award-winning photographer & filmmaker based in Revelstoke BC. She has earned recognition for her work with commercial contracts and featured photos in several reputable publications in the action-sports and travel industries.

    Photography and filmmaking allows Zoya to translate her deep reverence for the natural world through a tapestry of light-filled moments. She is constantly seeking to combine the wilderness and stories of human connection, achievement and wonder.

    Zoya studied Documentary Film Production at Langara College, which has lead her to work on several film projects. Most recently, she directed and edited a 10 minute film titled “Kindred”, which was an official selection at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2018.

     

    Zoya loves all aspects of film and still photography, from the summit shot to the quiet moments in-between. She finds balance through artfully capturing wedding, family and lifestyle photography that brims with authenticity and imagination.

  • Q&A: Nico Hambleton

    Q&A: Nico Hambleton

    Nico Hambleton directed 2021 WMFF feature “Lock Down Rock Up,” the story of a young man named Jerome Mowat taking us through the challenges he faced as a front-line paramedic during the global pandemic and how he used climbing as an escape. We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    Canon C500 MK II with it’s beautiful full frame sensor! Canon L Series Primes and Canon 70-300mm. Fuji XT-3 on a Ronin M gimbal. DJI Mavic Air 2. Ropes/ascenders/Petzl ID. Food and a few other bits and bobs!

    What item can you not live without?

     

    Lots of food and water. And a nice refreshing beer to finish the day!

    How do you choose music for your films?

    In Lock Down Rock Up I used my multi talented brother and he composed the music to the film. It’s a luxury when you can have your own composer rather than getting music off the internet and in this case it really payed off!

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Be nice and approachable – You get so much more out of your team and contributors that way. And then it’s easier to give direction and get super creative with shots!

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    Industry friends who have helped me get to where I am and who give me pointers of help 🙂

    Favorite on-set memory?

    Filming Jerome in the back of an ambulance on blue flashing lights! And having those moments where everything falls into place such as the beautiful sunset shots with Jerome and the drone!

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

    So many to choose from but one that springs to mind was a 10 pitch multi pitch in France. A huge golden eagle flew past us within metres of us. It’s surprising how big they are and their huge claws! If that wasn’t worrying enough, we then had vultures salivating whilst watching us hungrily. Then adding to the drama I was belaying my 2nd on the last anchor in a bee’s nest! The descent was pretty mental too!

    More About Nico Hambleton

    Nico is a lighting cameraman and film maker who specialises in documentary filming, but also has experience across a broader spectrum of projects such as entertainment, sports and live/pre-recorded studio.

    Hugely passionate with extreme sports, his favourites being climbing, skiing and kitesurfing. Lock Down Rock Up was his first adventure/outdoor film and plans on making a lot more!

     

    For more info check out his website www.nicocam.com

  • Q&A: Dana Frankoff

    Q&A: Dana Frankoff

    Dana Frankoff directed 2020 WMFF features “Voice Above Water” We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    Currently in my camera bag is my SonyA7iii, ND filter, batteries, more batteries, a battery charger, lens cloth and cleaning kit.

    What item can you not live without?

     

    I like to live without all of it sometimes, forces you to be in the moment.

    How do you choose music for your films?

    For Voice Above Water my friends from the band Lucius graciously let us use one of their songs to play during the credits.

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Rolling with the punches (“rolling” pun intended, “punches” pun not intended ;).

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    My godfather who’s edited documentaries for as long as I’ve known him and still gives me the best storytelling advice.

    Favorite on-set memory?

    Filming Wayan at sunrise with a volcano behind him and dolphins jumping out of the water and laughing with the DP about how that shot would be “too much” for the film.

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

    We took a speedboat from Bali to Nusa Pineda minutes after the whole crew met for the first time.

    More About Dana Frankoff

     

    Dana Frankoff is a filmmaker in Northern California who has helped make academy award-wining films come to life. Her directorial debut, “Voice Above Water” is a short documentary that combines her passion for protecting the ocean and storytelling. Her overall goal as a filmmaker is to tell emotional stories that motivate people towards living a sustainable lifestyle and help make the world a healthier place.

  • Q&A: Samuel Crossley

    Q&A: Samuel Crossley

    Samuel Crossley directed 2021 WMFF features “Free as Can Be”  We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    While filming Free As Can Be, many shoot days consisted of me tagging along with Mark & Jordan as they went sport climbing for the day. I have a 70 liter backpack and don’t mind hiking with it full of gear. Still, since my production gear needed to share space with climbing gear plus a rope, it needed to be versatile, small and light. I used the Canon 1D-X ii paired mainly with just two lenses – a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS and a Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS. For sound I used an on camera shotgun mic and two Tascam DR-10Ls recording internally. And because I don’t mind bringing extra tools to fill up the bag I also usually brought along a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, Canon 50mm f/1.2L, and if legal, a Mavic 2 Pro drone. If you’re into lists, here is the gear used to film sport climbing in Free As Can Be. Production Gear Canon 1D-X II (3x) 256gb CFast cards Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II 82mm Circular Polarizer and step up rings Rode VideoMicro x2 Tascam DR-10L Climbing Gear 70m static Big Wall Harness Gri-gri Left ascender Adjustable Foot stirrup) Carabiner with pully Two lockers Three alpine draws.

    What item can you not live without?

     

    My new Canon R5. I love it and the new lenses are better and lighter!

    How do you choose music for your films?

    I go through hundreds of songs on music licensing websites and services like Bopper, Artlist, Premium Beat, etc. Finding the right song isa long process of trial and error because plugging in a song into an edit is riddled with tests that are easy to fail. But when I find the perfect song that passes the tests and enhances the emotion of a scene, it’s so worth the trouble. The next film project I work on, I’d love to collaborate with a composer.

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Integrity

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    Chai Vasarhelyi Chin

    Favorite on-set memory?

    Mark was a joy to film and he often offered a dinner to Jordan and I that he calls “Stand-up Mex.” Back in his day, he had a group of friends that would rotate cooking duties. When it was his turn to cook, he’d prep a bunch of ingredients for a loaded quesadilla and, and lay it all out on a long table. Folks would get in line and make their quesadilla, moving down the table and at the end of the line, he’d cook it for them. Since everyone was standing as they tricked out their taco, he called it Stand-Up Mex. Today, it looks a little bit different, cooking quesadillas for us in his van. Luckily his van is one you can stand up in. There is something so lovely about being cooked for. So that’s one of my favorite onset moments that doesn’t make it in the film.

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

    Before I committed to making a film about Mark and Jordan, I had spent some time making images together.

    More About Samuel Crossley

     

    Known for his work on the Academy Award winning documentary, Free Solo, Samuel enjoys safely documenting athletes as they push themselves in remote areas and high risk situations. Big mountains and tired climbers fuel his creativity as he travels full-time. Samuel lives his professional life as an openly gay man and is passionate about revealing the diversity and human stories within the climbing community.

  • Q&A: June Zandona

    Q&A: June Zandona

    June Zandona directed 2021 WMFF feature “Deep Waters.” We asked her a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    For this project, DP Haley Watson and I put together a kit that could be super light and portable since this film saw us traversing a huge lake in a boat, hiking up mountains, paddle boarding, running up biking trails etc. We shot on 2 Sony A7s II (which we owned to allow for a flexible shooting schedule and small budget) and a Ziyhun crane 2 gimbal, as well as a handful of go pros.

    What item can you not live without?

     

    The item I can’t live without is probably my waterproof notebook so I can track all the ideas and to do lists involved in doc shooting.

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    I think the most necessary character trait for a director is adaptability, hold things loosely and be ready to pivot to find the best solution.

    Favorite on-set memory?

    My favorite on set memory was camp dinner the night before our paddle with our all women crew right on the shore of the lake in Stehekin. I became such good friends with the team and just am in awe of all of them. Also the hillsides outside of Wenatchee covered in wildflowers when we were shooting Whitney and her family mountain biking was pretty magical.

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

     

    The craziest thing that happened was our rental boat died in the water, right out of the gate at 4:30 am. We were in the pitch black, in the remotest part of the lake, and having to decide whether or not to throw in towel after just starting. Luckily our stills photographer Jess Alderson is super knowledgable about boats and was able to get it started back up and kept it running throughout the day. It was a really tense start to the day, but a better wake up than coffee!

  • Q&A: Antoine Cottet

    Q&A: Antoine Cottet

    Antoine Cottet directed 2020 WMFF features “Pamir to Karakoram- cycling the world’s highest roads”.  We asked them a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    We were recently robbed whilst cycling through Tanzania just before Christmas, so the contents of my gear bag will be changing for the next trip. For Pamir to Karakoram, however, I used a Canon 5D Mark IV camera with a Manfrotto Be Free tripod for all the static time lapses and many of the frames where Clare and I are both visible. We managed to get our hands on the then newly-released OsmoPocket and a lot of the the footage whilst cycling and the time lapses with…

    What item can you not live without?

     

    The DJI Osmo Pocket. It is the most polyvalent object in my gear bag by a long way. The image quality is amazing for such a small camera and the stabilisation means we can use it to get great footage whilst walking and cycling. It is also really small so it means we can film discreetly without it feeling invasive for the people around us. The sound quality is also pretty top notch which is an added bonus.

    How do you choose music for your films?

    For us the music is really important in portraying the spirit of the countries we travel through to our audience. We tried to find music that is traditional to those countries that we travelled through and also that reflects the energy and rhythm of the section of film where it features.

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    Our film was influenced by the ski-mountaineering documentary Zabardast. We first saw this film in a film festival in Chamonix and for us it captured the whole spirit of the adventure so perfectly. With our own film, though it is obviously a very different adventure (and film budget!) we tried to capture the experiences we were living in the same authentic way they were portrayed in Zabardast.

    More About Antoine Cottet

     

    We are a Scottish/French couple who are always on the lookout for our next adventure. This trip combined our love of cycling, mountains, remote places, and interacting with people. We knew this was a once in a lifetime journey (or so we thought…), and so Antoine, a passionate photographer already, decided it was time to take on the challenge of making his first film. All of the footage was shot by Antoine (or by me under his direction) and he was also heavily involved in the post-production process.

  • Q&A: Graeme Meiklejohn

    Q&A: Graeme Meiklejohn

    Graeme Meiklejohn  directed 2021 WMFF features “Blind Faith” and “Left Right Left.” We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    Current personal camera is the Sony A7Siii, Sigma Art series lenses, DJI Ronin SC2. Thats my general everyday carry and then an Inspire 2 strapped to the outside of the bag.

    What item can you not live without?

     

    In my camera bag? Probably the A7Siii. In my life? Probably food.

    How do you choose music for your films?

    I always look at the film holistically first and try to whittle down the genres to what will best service the story, then move down to the scenes and apply the same thing but with the genre filter in place.

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Patience and perseverance

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    Tough one. I have been lucky to have worked with alot of great people on alot of great projects. Jeff Thomas and Andrea Wing when they/ I were at Origin was very influential. I came to directing via cinematography so I look up to a lot of people in that space.

    Favorite on-set memory?

    Any-time I have waited on a mountain top for the sun to break at sunset because I had a “hunch” that it would do so. 

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

     

    Watching a Blind guy attempt to ski some of Whistler Blackcomb biggest in bounds lines.

  • Q&A: Michael Menten

    Q&A: Michael Menten

    Michael Menten directed 2021 WMFF feature “Northbound.” We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    Northbound was shot on a RED Scarlet with Leica R Primes, an Inspire 2 Drone w Zenmuse X7 and a Black magic pocket cinema 4K as a b-cam for the tight shots. Our biggest issue with this shoot was fighting the elements from above and below. Every piece of equipment was packed in a pelican hard case.

    What item can you not live without?

     

    My fly rod.

    How do you choose music for your films?

    I set the tone with my editor and usually let him/her take the first crack at the music selection. Usually, I am pleasantly surprised with the outcome as they are the ones with an objective opinion.

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Big picture thinker.

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    No one in particular but YETI Presents has always inspired me to tell stories of like minded people.

    Favorite on-set memory?

    Watching the first fish being hooked from a monitor. it is rare to see footage of steelhead being hooked on the fly. It took us 3 days of searching for that one moment. I didn’t even care that we did not land it.

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

     

    We were jetboating up a river that had barely any water due to the freezing temperatures. There was a tree that fell across the river and we had to jump over it with 30K of equipment in the boat.

  • Q&A: Richard Sidey

    Q&A: Richard Sidey

    Richard Sidey directed 2021 WMFF feature “Spellbound.” We asked him a few questions, see our Q&A conversation below:

    What is in your gear bag/kit?

    An SLR with some big glass, a compact drone and 360 cam

    What item can you not live without?

     

    My Jandals

    How do you choose music for your films?

    By establishing good working relationships with talented composers.

    Most necessary character-quality for a director?

    Being able to anticipate what will happen next

    Who has been most influential in your directing career?

     

    Dziga Vertov

    Favorite on-set memory?

    Filming a Humpback whale interacting with my team for several hours whilst undertaking research on a small boat in Antarctica

    Craziest on-set/en route to set adventure?

    Getting blown backwards whilst Sea Kayaking in 150kph winds in Southern New Zealand, trying to reach shelter.

    More About Richard Sidey

    Richard Sidey is a conservation and wildlife filmmaker / photographer based in Wanaka, New Zealand.

     

    Living in this picturesque alpine town and local adventure hub, Richard naturally sources artistic inspiration from his surrounding environment. Environmental themes and a strong connection to nature are clearly evident in his work. A keen adventurer, bike-packer and paragliding pilot, Richard is rarely seen far from the wilderness.