I think all of those things have an impact on me and my creative process. Films are almost perfect art, in the sense that it doesn’t take too much effort to experience and watch a film from anywhere in the world, so I want as many people as possible to watch my work. But I also have to use what I have when budgeting and make a film that feels fresh. It’s a lot of balancing, but the best films manage to stick the landing.
As a part of our series about “Filmmakers Making A Social Impact” I had the pleasure of interviewing Ian Kammer.
Born and raised in a small, rainy Pacific Northwest town, Ian Kammer left to attend Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. With a background in still photography, his approach to visual storytelling is guided by a delicate balance of cinematography, character development and art direction. His work has been recognized with wins and short-lists at the Clios, D&AD, AICP, Cannes Young Director Awards, Porsche International Student Advertising Film Awards, and Vimeo Staff Picks.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
Igrew up in a small town in Washington State, a little north of Seattle. My dad is an artist; he converted a part of our garage into a studio/darkroom, so I grew up surrounded by a lot of art books, cameras and art materials. My parents were supportive of anything creative and artistic, which meant a lot of family trips to museums and movies. Growing up, our vacations were always going to the Oregon and Washington coast or a national park, which I don’t think I fully appreciated at the time, but I’m grateful for those experiences and how they’ve helped build my outlook on life/nature over the years.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always loved storytelling, specifically visual storytelling. Every Friday would be a movie night and my parents would usually share their favorites from the 70s. They would pitch STAR WARS and JAWS to me and my sister and we would be hooked. Later I would get my friends together to re-enact the scenes on the playground, so that was probably when things were slowly getting started. In high school, I got more into photography but was more interested in making my images cinematic so it was a natural shift getting into filmmaking around that time.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?
The first time I flew in a helicopter was in Nepal. I was working as a documentary cameraman covering the aftermath of the earthquake in May 2015. It was a stunning experience to fly above the countryside and up to a small mountain village. When we landed, the crew swung the door open and I had to quickly jump out with my gear, set up the camera and start filming, feeling like I was in my own movie. I worked my way deeper into the village, filming interviews and B-roll when I was invited to have tea with an older couple in their house. It was an extremely humbling experience to make just a small connection with people I would never have met if I wasn’t there filming.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
I’ve been fortunate to PA on commercials and music videos from directors I grew up admiring and the experience was invaluable. I worked on an MGMT music video helmed by Tom Kuntz and had a couple of opportunities to pick his brain and watch him direct. There’s a kind of confidence and assertiveness that influential directors have that’s motiving to watch.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I think my parents and their support helped get me to where I am today. Any parent would be cautious with their child trying to make it in such a competitive industry, but I feel like they understood the value and drive I had and have always supported it.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I wasn’t much of a boy scout growing up, but “always be prepared” has always felt like a good universal life rule. Overthinking can be a bit of a burden for some people, but as a filmmaker, it’s a valuable trait to have. The most important quote that’s always helped me is just “trusting your gut” and fighting for it when you have to.
I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
One, clearly seeing someone look the way you do and live the way you’re accustomed to impacts how seen you feel as a person in our society. Seeing yourself in these projects means society and culture see you back. And to many, being acknowledged feels like being approved of, or understood.
Two, it’s equally important to have folks from the communities you’re showcasing behind the camera making creative and executive decisions. There’s no replacing having someone present from, for example, the AAPI community give direction on a project about the AAPI community. No one from another racial or cultural background could have the same lived experience to draw from. Trying to guess, rather than shooting for authentic storytelling, misses the mark.
Three, I think we sometimes live in community pockets or bubbles in our day-to-day and don’t necessarily have access to all manner of cultures in one town, with the exception of port cities or massive urban areas like NYC or Los Angeles. Diversity in film and on television reminds us there is more than one kind of life, be it culture or lifestyle, than the one we’re accustomed to. Our “average” isn’t necessarily a worldwide “norm” — I’d go so far as to say there is no one norm. Sometimes, we need to be reminded.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I recently finished a short horror film called Safe and Sound that’s currently on the festival circuit. It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work from really talented collaborators. I’m also developing an older short film into a micro-budget horror feature. I think the viewership shift to streaming services and the need for content is an exciting place to be for genre filmmakers.
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
Being able to work with really talented and passionate people and share credit with them. Filmmaking is a collaborative medium and being able to work with talented cinematographers, musicians, graphic designs and actors, all in one experience, is something I’m proud of.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
Take your time with your concepts and stories. Too often I’ve rushed a project because I just wanted to shoot something or make a contest or festival deadline and those projects always ended up feeling underwhelming.
This is an inverse of the previous answer, but shoot as many projects as you can and just keep busy. Even though I was taking my time on projects in the past, there were stretches where I wasn’t as productive and could have used the resources around me to shoot more personal projects.
Try not to get too caught up in your influences. When I was in film school I tried my best to shoot projects and spec commercials that looked like my favorite directors, and in the end, I feel like they suffered because I wasn’t making them my own and putting my own POV in them.
Try to learn as many aspects of filmmaking as possible, not just the technical stuff. I spent a lot of time in the camera department in film school, but I feel like I missed out on some valuable experiences not ADing or producing and learning more about production as a whole beyond my projects.
Filmmaking is a collaborative experience and the more heads tackling a project the better. Try to keep in touch with people you trust and get along with as much as you can. You never know when you’ll need to ask a favor that could make or break a project.
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example of what you mean?
I think all of those things have an impact on me and my creative process. Films are almost perfect art, in the sense that it doesn’t take too much effort to experience and watch a film from anywhere in the world, so I want as many people as possible to watch my work. But I also have to use what I have when budgeting and make a film that feels fresh. It’s a lot of balancing, but the best films manage to stick the landing.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Try to get more people to follow the golden rule.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why?
The recent push towards space travel has been really exciting to watch, I’d love to pick the brain of anyone in that world over lunch.
How can our readers further follow you online?
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!