Shana at Work

Current position: Director of Photography on “The Right Stuff, ” a documentary series about NASA Shuttle Astronauts in Training, for TNT, and Camera Operator on “Parks and Recreation” (Amy Poehler’s new show) for NBC. 

College & degree: BA, Film Production from Loyola Marymount University 

Internship: I worked for free as an office and production intern for a “behind the scenes” and documentary production company, ZM Productions. It was a pretty good experience and I ended up working for them in a paid job for a year and a half just out of college as the Assistant Editor, Camera Assistant, and sometimes Camera Operator on a documentary called “Hearts of Darkness – The Making of Apocalypse Now.” Working on that film was a great “finishing school.” Also, I’m still in touch with alumni from that company – most of whom are doing quite well in the business!! (A-list feature directors, editors, A-list reality producers – all are my ZM alumni friends!) 

First job in the entertainment industry: After the above, my first paid job was syncing 16mm dailies on a Kem flatbed for a small independent documentary in the basement of some building at night. Lonely, dark, creepy, cold, but I was making money!!  

Big break: I shot “Breathing Lessons,” an ultra-low budget documentary about a man who lived in an iron lung for most of his life. Sleeping at the director’s parents’ house, working with zero crew, and being my own camera assistant loading her own mags (this was back in the day when we still shot FILM!), and experiencing an amazing documentary production experience – bonding with the filmmaker and the subject – all led up to our most amazing achievement on that film: Bringing home the Oscar! Best Documentary Short 1996. This was a pivotal moment in my career, as it solidified my choice to be a cinematographer. “I’m a ‘real’ cinematographer now”, I told myself. People liked my work and that was enough to prove to myself that what I do is valued, appreciated, and socially important.

Eureka moment: This one’s in the “I learned by process of elimination what I DON’T want to do with my career” category. Early in my career I’d been shooting documentary and student film projects for free. To make some money, I worked as a camera assistant. BUT, as a woman and as a person with little experience in the Assistant Camera world, I ended up getting hired on 2nd unit on low budget films – MANIAC COP 3 and FRIDAY THE 13th PT 9, for example. And realized soon after a few weeks on these various projects that being an Assistant Camera was, for me, not as creative as I’d liked it to be. And though most DPs I met and worked with were very cool and excellent mentors, occasionally, I ran into some who were very disrespectful toward women and their crews. On one or two films, I worked with, well, difficult DPs, and I wanted to scream (but didn’t), “I’m a DP, too, damnit, and if you’re a jerk and can do this, I can do this, too!” I learned a lot from watching how people worked with each other on those shows. So I quickly quit the AC thing and focused on shooting, DP’ing anything and everything I could get my hands on. I was very poor for a couple years there, but it seemed to be the right choice for me at the time and I really never looked back.  

Career path: Film School – shot about 20 student shorts (on 16mm film), working with different directors with incredibly different tastes, directing styles, and aesthetics. Then, worked on “Hearts of Darkness: The Making of Apocalypse Now.” Then was an AC for about 6 months. Hated it. BUT I met the director of “Breathing Lessons” on the set of one of these low budget films (a Roger Corman-esque Civil War psychodrama starring Corbin Bernsen, FYI). We went on to shoot two films before “Breathing Lessons.” Then continued to shoot indie docs, student films, industrials – anything anyone would pay me for. At one point I was paid by a filmmaker in the form of an old Mac Plus computer (3 yrs old at the time probably worth $500 if that). I thought that was AMAZING. All this time paid the bills working as a freelance Assistant Editor for National Geographic, meeting successful documentary filmmakers along the way who were VERY supportive of my DP career and who encouraged me and my cinematography every step of the way. ”Breathing Lessons” won the Oscar in 1997. Continued shooting features, documentaries, commercials, reality shows until today!  

Worst job (or day) in entertainment industry: Wow, that’s a hard one. I don’t like to admit my mistakes, but there was a scene from a student film about 23 years ago that I underexposed by about 5 stops that was completely unusable. Not really sure what I was thinking, and admittedly I took a leap of faith that just didn’t turn out right. I learned to be responsible for my mistakes, try to rectify them sensibly and deal with a justifiably angry director. We reshot the scene and it turned out beautifully.  

Best job (or day) in entertainment industry: Best day SO FAR (I know there will be other best days to come!) has been the Oscar win in 1997 for “Breathing Lessons.” It was an incredible boost to my confidence and really an incredible honor. The director won the award, but being the cinematographer on the film gives you certain bragging rights too! And some good photo ops, too!!  

Best thing about your current job: I love collaborating with directors and producers to come up with the right aesthetic for each individual project. One project can be S16 film shot in traditional verite style, while another is a crazy fast moving multi camera reality shoot, while another uses Super8 film, HD, lipstick HD cameras, and other toys to mix it up visually. I love telling stories and there are so many tools/toys/gadgets out there to play with!! Playing with cool toys, photographing great images, travelling the globe, working with dear friends, meeting incredible people, and being handed the responsibility to tell their stories accurately and with respect. It’s an awesome job!!  

Worst thing about your current job: Worst thing? That it won’t last forever!  My freelance work is always such an impermanent venture. We do our projects, then move on to the next one. In a way, that keeps my life exciting and I never do the same thing twice, but it also gets a little anxiety-producing when things are slow and you don’t know where your next job/meal/mortgage payment will come from! Brush with greatness: A true honor for me has been working with a documentary mentor of mine, Michael Apted, on an ongoing documentary project called “Married in America.” His body of work speaks for itself and he’s just an amazing director and collaborator. It’s a pleasure working with him.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: PERSEVERANCE BABY! I’ve always said that perseverance is 99% of this business. If you want it badly enough, STICK WITH IT! Treat everyone you meet in the business as a potential colleage, friend, collaborator, connection. YOU NEVER KNOW when that person you met standing in line at a film festival who you handed your card to will call you to work with them on some project. Or their friend is looking for someone. NETWORK! Always have cards on you with your CURRENT info – no crossed out old phone numbers or handwritten info!  And keep your head up after being rejected or ignored. 99.9% of the time NOT PERSONAL! If you believe it, it will happen. It might take years, but it’ll happen. Oh, and also – if you have to take a day job, try to do SOMETHING within the business. It’ll keep your head in the game and not remove you from the scene. I mean if you HAVE to take a sales job to make ends meet, maybe it’s at an industry related company, you know? Lastly, enjoy the journey! It’s a hell of a ride!  

Next move (or next five moves): I’d like to shoot another narrative feature film. I also would like to be shooting more commercials. I’ll continue to work on new and ongoing documentary projects. I’d also like to get going on my vegetable garden. And I’d like to get married and have a child, which will be a challenge with what I do for a living, but as with my work, if I want it badly enough, I’ll find a way for it to work!! Good luck out there!!

Shana and Michael Apted

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