film, faces, and outback spaces: interview with alice stephens

Cinematographer and virtuoso Alice Stephens has a breadth of experience under her belt. At the ripe old age of 21 she has dabbled in analogue film, music videos, documentaries, short films and promotional videos.

After a debut screening at Flickr Festival, Stephens has hit the ground running, turning her fervency for film into a nine-to-five gig. Co-founding production house Dalliance Media in 2012 has earned her some effusive praise (and a chance to avoid waiting on tables)!

With an affinity for natural landscape and an unrelenting drive, it’s no surprise to see the awe-inspiring list of accomplishments that far surpass most university students.

With her latest project, Granite Hills in post-production stages, we are sure to be caught in a sensory affair of untouched landscape and human habits.

What initially drew you to film?

I have always been a very visual and creative person so initially everything that involved creative thinking and abstract learning I was drawn to from a young age. I always loved acting and performing, so I guess through my passion of acting led to my even stronger passion for filmmaking, so instead of being in front of the camera, behind is where I came to love! I have always loved the cinema and everything to do with the moving image, so I thought why not give it a go.

When did you realize this was something you wanted to do professionally?

When I started to make my own films outside of school I felt in control and completely in my element. When it started to come to me naturally that’s when I thought I could make a career out of it. Doing my hobby and getting paid didn’t seem too bad at all!

How would you describe your style?

I have always been interested in documentaries and films that focus primarily on the individual and interesting angles on an individual’s story. Always questioning what makes people so different and interesting. I have always loved observing and exploring the personality. In saying this I really love cinematography of film and photography and have always loved to shoot an individuals face. I love all the gestures and natural habits that we as humans all have. I find people fascinating so I guess my style is always drawn back to people and why they are who they are.  As I am interested in cinematography I am particularly passionate about the frame itself and the action unfolding within the frame. I feel composition and balance in the frame would definitely be something that makes up my style.

Do you prefer working with digital or analogue film?

This one is a hard one to answer as analogue is obviously a medium that all film makers would love to work with everyday, however the fact that processing and all that comes with analogue film is very time consuming and expensive people are sadly using it less and less. I was lucky enough to have my first experience making a short film recently shooting on Super 16mm film in Rural Victoria called Granite Hills. It was an incredible experience having the opportunity to work with real film, the precious nature of film shows how important it is to pre plan and rehearse before shooting onto film. I love how beautiful film looks, however the scary nature of not being able to see what you have just shot can be quite worrying. Digital is more convenient and less time consuming and it also allows anyone to capture a moment. I can’t say I prefer either, it really comes down to convenience and the fact that analogue film in Australia is pretty tough these days so digital is really all I have the opportunity to work with for now. So unless the Aussie dollar goes down a bit, we won’t have anywhere [in Australia] by the end of June to process, [and] it will have to be sent to New Zealand or LA.

What kind of video camera/camera do you typically work with?

I use a canon DSLR for most of my work, as I cannot only film, but take photos as well. DSLR’s are great as they are compact and light to carry, the 5D mark II and mark III mimic a 35mm full frame sensor which gives a very filmic look to your footage and they are reasonably priced.

What kind of work do you do?

I have done a few short films, a couple of documentaries that have been for uni and school. Outside of uni I have helped on a lot of film shoots as behind the scenes camera, stills photographer and editor assistant. I have a connection with the French Chamber of Commerce so have made a couple of promotional videos for them.  I get involved in as much as I can to not only get experience but to meet as many people in the industry early on.

 Who influences you?

My dad is a great influence on my work etiquette and the way I work around people. There are a lot of different personalities in filmmaking, a lot that clash and some that can really make a great impression on you. I have found that you just have to adjust the way you work and interact around different people. It’s all about compromising especially when things don’t go to plan so having a good balance of personalities on set is very important for the work flow and overall atmosphere on set. The people who influence me in filmmaking most though are people who I have learnt a lot from observing how they work and those who are always wanting to help younger filmmakers by sharing their knowledge including their good and bad experiences. I work well around older people who have had a lot of life experience and interesting adventures through filmmaking and just life in general.

You are the co-founder of Dalliance Media, tell us about launching a production house at such a young age.

I really like doing my own thing and have always been interested in starting my own thing that I could bring in income from instead of doing mind numbing jobs that I have no interest in like waitressing and bar tending. I started up the company last year and have completed three videos for small businesses in Melbourne, and am in pre-production stages for our next promotional video for the French Chamber of Commerce, which is really exciting!

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment I have just finished shooting the 16mm film I mentioned earlier, I was DOP (director of photography) on the film and am just waiting for it to be processed. I am making a music video for the talented Hayden Calnin over the next few weeks that focuses on the idea of memories. I am going to Kenya, Nairobi in June for a month to make a documentary with an American program called Actuality Media, which I am extremely excited about, as I will be DOP again on that one.  In semester 2, I am going to Hong Kong on exchange to study film, which will be another great opportunity especially to learn and work overseas for a semester. A very busy year ahead!

What has been your most exciting project?

The most exciting project I have worked on was definitely my most recent project, Granite Hills. It was so exciting as the director and I had really nursed this project for many months before, so to us it was our baby. People kept saying it was too big for a second year film and that we should save the idea for our third year final film, but we loved that it was going to be a huge challenge and one that required a huge amount of work in both the pre-production stages and the production stages. The weekend was jam packed full of work, but we got it done and when things did not go to plan it always worked out for the better. We were so lucky with weather, actors and crew! We jumped in the deep end, but it paid off. The director Georgina Savage is a very talented girl, she wrote and directed and I was Director of Photography. We also fundraised on Pozible and reached our goal of $2000.

Do you get many work opportunities through your course at Swinburne?

Yes, there are always projects on, but it is really up to the individual to put yourself out there and just help on as much as you can. As soon as you work on a few projects, people to get to notice who you are and ask you back to help on other projects. Swinburne has a great community and once you start to get to know all the Film and Television students from all year levels, the more opportunities you get!

Do you prefer working with models, landscape or inanimate objects?

I love the Australian landscape – it is untouched and so beautiful. In Granite Hills, the Australian landscape played such a strong role in the film; it was more or less the main character in the film. As I mentioned earlier I love to work with people and love to capture a person’s personality and character on film.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever filmed?

I don’t think I have shot anything particularly weird, but I did make a short mocumentary about these very weird characters that lived in the same apartment block in the UK when I lived there in 2011 and the actors were so funny I could not hold a serious face behind the camera which made it very hard to get any usable footage without either me or the actor cracking up half way through a take.

What has been your proudest moment?

Probably my proudest moment was when my year 12 final film got selected to screen at a short film festival in Sydney (Flickr festival). Unfortunately I was not able to go to the festival as I was living in the UK when it was on.

 

Would you happily do this forever, or are there other prospects in the future?

I will definitely keep it as a hobby if I don’t end up in it as a career, but I love to travel and hope to continue to strive in having a small business of my own in the future. I think my passions may change as I get older so whatever I end up doing I hope to work with great people who influence me and work in all sorts of different environments and places. I will never ever work in an office, I know that’s for sure!

What’s the dream?

The dream is to become either a documentary filmmaker or a DOP that does both documentary and abstract narratives.

Tell us a film secret:

When shooting onto analogue film, the DOP cannot move his/her eye from the eyepiece or else the film itself will be exposed. It is very tricky when doing handheld!!

Who is your favorite director?

My favorite director changes from time to time, but at the moment it is two directors – the Coen brothers! My favorite Cinematographer more importantly is Christopher Doyle who is a very successful Cinematographer and an Aussie!!

What is/are your favorite film/s?

I love Amelie, No Country for Old Men and my most recent favorite Rust and Bone – it is incredible.

 Where can we find your work/projects?

You can find some of my recent corporate work here or visit our Facebook page for more details about Granite Hills and its progress. To contact me and see some of my photography visit my blog.