November 2, 2021 • 34 mins
In this episode I chat with the amazing Jessica Tolliver. Take a listen as Jessica shares her story working as a black female cinematographer & director.
Whether you are an aspiring or veteran filmmaker take a listen as Jessica drops some serious jewels of knowledge we all need to hear.
Host: Layne Marie Williams
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Music By: Devin Delaney & Noisefloor LTD
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello, and welcome to the walkie check.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey folks.
Welcome to the walkie
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Check.
I'm cat gross.
Be a script supervisor fromChicago
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And I'm LaMer and Williams, a film director in Los
Angeles, California.
We're super excited to beworking with our friends at
noise floor to bring you themost creative and talented
people out there to share theirexperiences, knowledge, and
power.
On this episode, we do not haveour beautiful cat joining us.
She is working full time on aunion show right now.
(00:41):
So I will be leading thisinterview solo today on the
walkie check.
We welcome Jessica Toliver.
Jessica developed a passion forstorytelling at a young age.
Jessica Toliver has approachedthe film industry with a fresh
perspective and an unparalleledwork ethic.
Taking an entrepreneurialapproach.
She founded her productioncompany, mad Panda lab to ensure
(01:03):
she would have the freedom tocreate films, music, videos, and
promotional content.
Without limitations.
Her drive has led toopportunities working with major
brands, such as the Chicagobulls Nike and the Chicago Cubs
and 2019 Jessica made herdirectorial debut and the short
film slash music video liar,which went on to win best music
(01:24):
video at the various artistsindependent film festival.
Jessica is also a member of theICG local 600 union as a camera
utility.
She has worked on the sets ofpopular series shows such as
Batwoman Chicago PD and Fargo.
The walkie check is sponsored byon-set headsets.
(01:46):
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Speaker 1 (02:04):
This episode is brought to you by our friends at
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Speaker 2 (02:20):
And lay money for Jessica Jessica Taylor.
Hello.
Hello, and welcome to anotherepisode of the walkie check.
Today.
We are here with the one andonly Jessica Tal over what's up,
Jessica?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
What's going on?
What's going on?
That's going on with you?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, it's gone.
Well, you know, where are youfrom originally?
Currently I'm in,
Speaker 3 (02:45):
But I'm born and raised in Glenwood, Illinois,
which is like super south.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
So you were like a true Midwesterner.
I love it.
I love Midwesterners.
We always vibe today.
I want to chat a little bitabout everything that you've
done and you've done a lot.
You've directed, you've workedin camera department.
You're currently working on alot of really big shows.
I want to just chat with youabout what it's been like
(03:13):
working in the industry,especially during COVID and you
know, what are your aspirationsand hopes and dreams and you
know, what, what advice wouldyou give other filmmakers?
So starting there, why don't youtell us a little bit about, you
know, how did you get your startin your career?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Oh, well, I was took an interest in music videos.
That's the thing that kind ofreel me in was especially like
stuff from the nineties, likeMichael Jackson and how, um, I
think the thing that captivatedme the most is that back then
music videos were shortnarratives in a way.
Um, they, yes, they were visualsto the, to the song, but they
(03:51):
also told stories.
Um, and so I would be a kid whowould always just like listen to
cassette tapes and CDs and likeplay music over and over and
over again and come up withdifferent concepts.
And as I got older, I realized Iwanted literally make those
concepts concepts come to life.
And so that's what real to me innow, do I do music videos now?
(04:12):
Not all the time, becausethere's some reality checks that
take place in music videos, likethere
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Brutal.
Yeah.
I feel like at the music videoworld and I also love music
videos, so I'm right there withyou.
I w I would love to do way moreand I feel like it's like one of
those mediums in the filmmakingworld where you gotta like, take
the time to go build within thatworld as well.
Because like a lot of artistsdon't have a budget for music
(04:44):
fitting
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Exactly.
You quickly learn.
There's not a lot of moneyinvolved in music video.
And so as fun as it is, youknow, it's hard to make, uh, an
honest living out of strictlymusic videos, but I will say
it's an amazing segue intofilmmaking.
If you're looking for a place tostart, start with music videos,
cause there's always artists,local bands, there's always
(05:06):
somebody who's gonna want amusic video.
Um, and then also it's, it'sgreat, uh, supplementary thing
to do to, um, every so oftenevery now and then I'm down to
do a music video, especially if,uh, you know, the song is
compelling or if I'm moved bythe song, sometimes it's not
even about the money.
It's just about, you know,having fun to create that short
(05:26):
narrative.
And, um, with music videos,you're able to break a lot of
rules and kind of just be atyour most creative.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah.
I mean, the thing that I lovethe most about music videos is
it doesn't have to be linear.
Nope.
You know, so you don't have tolike worry about continuity the
same way you can beat MOS.
So people can like, it's alittle bit more of like the
environments I've found at leastare a little bit more relaxed.
Um, but you know, I imagine likeonce you get to a place of a
(05:56):
director that I really admire,um, Hannah Lux Davis, I like a
total girl crush on her.
She, um, she, you know, isalways directing music videos
for like Demi Lovato, ArianaGrande day, um, you know, all
those like heavy hitters and popmusic.
(06:16):
Um, and she's at that levelwhere you're just like, yes,
girl, you, you can just dowhatever you want now with your,
with your aspirations andconcepts, you know?
Um, so you can certainly get tothat level, but you know, it
takes the time.
And I imagine a lot of thoseartists have labels that they're
working with.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah.
Sometimes it's good to buildthat relationship with the
artists though, because as theygrow, they tend to take you with
them.
If that's the route you want totake.
Absolutely.
Um, but I know, um, KendrickLamar is one of them.
He has the same squad kind ofdoing his videos and his videos
are amazing.
The ideas and concepts he'scomes up with is dope, but
that's, that's another avenuethat's interesting.
(06:57):
You know, if you really want tofocus on music videos.
Yeah.
I would build that relationshipwith artists that you have that
connection with the best.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
You have any particular artists that you feel
like you have made theinvestment to build that kind of
a relationship with or anybodyyou just love working with.
And that way
Speaker 3 (07:16):
By default, my brother obviously, uh, I I'm a
music artist.
And when I left my full-time jobto go freelance, when I took
that leap, uh, I wanted to dosomething to celebrate that.
And so me and my brother decidedto do the collaboration for, uh,
(07:37):
the short film liar, uh, um, mywebsite now.
And yeah, he came up with thesong and he gave me kind of full
creative control to come up withthe ideal.
And so I just kind of went crazyand did a no R piece.
And that was super duper fun.
So, and the fact that he justhad created, I mean, complete
(07:58):
trust in me to do whatever wasawesome.
So that was, that was great.
So if I had to pick an artist, Iguess that'd be
Speaker 2 (08:04):
My bro, what's his name?
His name
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Is Jason.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Jason and Jessica
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Are, the credits are hilarious because it's like
written by Jason, Tyler, Tyler,
Speaker 2 (08:18):
We'd love a brother, sister duo in this house and we
really do.
That's awesome.
Yes.
Speaking of liar, that'sdefinitely something I'd like to
chat about today.
You directed that, um, that youconcepted it as well.
It sounds like it was a musicvideo for your brother, Jason
lover.
What was some of the challengesthat came up during that as well
(08:39):
as what were some of thevictories?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
One of the challenges at the time, and I had to
quickly learn is I did a lot bymyself and that was a big
mistake, big mistake, I won'tsay, but it was definitely a big
learning lesson.
Like the ideal of not to say itcan be done because it
absolutely can.
But the fact that I decided todirect in DP at the same time
(09:04):
was really rough.
Um, cause you end up kind ofneglecting one side when you're
focused on the other.
It's really hard to do itsimultaneously.
So it's always good to have apartner or somebody that you can
hand over the creative reigns to, if you are going to go that
route because directing is abeast.
And for me to think that I coulddo both, it was really bold of
(09:26):
me.
Definitely.
The Victor uses, I harbored alot of relationships.
When I worked at the camerarental house, I met a lot of
ACS.
I met a lot of just people,various departments.
And so we didn't have a largeenough budget to pay everybody
at the time.
But because of ourrelationships, I always ran over
to their passion projects anddonated my time.
And so when it was my turn, theykind of just jumped right in, no
(09:48):
questions asked.
And that really meant a lot tome.
Cause I knew I was asking a lot,having everybody come out in the
middle of January, in downtownChicago to shoot in the code
with me.
And it just, it showed me thecommunity that we have here and
the fact that we're all kind ofjust rooting for each other and
kind of helping build eachother's passion projects.
(10:08):
So that was a huge victory, oneof the best takeaways.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
And this was Caslow
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yes.
And big shout out to Teslabecause they also don't gear to
the cause.
So yeah, it was the whole thingwas amazing.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
We, uh, we just recently interviewed Kala
Gabriel.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
So that's my boss.
I will work there anymore, but Iwill forever call her boss.
Like,
Speaker 2 (10:33):
That's great.
Awesome.
So you've worked in a lot of,you've worked on a lot of
different productions and yourwork is in my mind, like very
versatile.
What would you say like yourfavorite project recently would
be, would it be liar orsomething that you're currently
working on now?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Um, I think each project is so unique and I think
that's the beauty of filmmakingis there there's each project
and production requires adifferent kind of approach.
It's a different kind ofexperience.
So it's really hard to pinpointa favorite.
Um, I mean liar was a blast anda half, obviously I wrote
(11:12):
something and it would be, if Iwere to shoot it, I need funding
for it.
It would definitely be mygreatest creation yet.
I, I guess the screenplay waswonder child and it was a
finalist in the camera,ambassador, community builders
grant.
I think about the, thescreenplay all the time.
I think about the concept.
I really, really, really want toshoot it.
(11:34):
It's something near and dear tome and it's very personal to me.
Um, we shot a proof of conceptand even that alone was super
duper fun, um, to do so.
Um, yeah, I think it's yet tocome.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, that's the way we wantit to be.
Right.
You know, like always growing,evolving and making the best
work, the next project and youknow, learning from that and
taking that on to the nextthing.
And you know, I'm havingflashbacks of when we worked on
Gallagher rhythm together.
Oh
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Man.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It was so cold.
It was so like,
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Oh man.
Yeah.
Literally for the payroll,
Speaker 2 (12:19):
For the paper route seeing gosh yeah.
Shooting a bicycle, somebodyriding on a bicycle definitely
would love to do that again.
Um, you know, again, I thinkit's just one of those things
where you gotta sorta like, justjump down and figure out what
works and what doesn't
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Do.
It's, it's crazy.
It's like hindsight is alwaysgoing to be 2020 in this.
Like you're always going to lookback at your work and you're
always going to be like, Ishould have approached it this
way, but you can't have that,that hindsight unless you just
do it, just allow yourself tosuck.
I know that sounds, that soundscrazy.
But it's the truth embracesucking for a little while it
(12:59):
gets better.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Absolutely.
Like I feel like, especially ifyou're, you know, a writer or a
creator of any kind, like it'sgonna take some time for you to
foster your voice and, you know,try out different aesthetics and
you know, especially dependingon like where your interests are
, um, you know, you, you're incamera department and um, and
also a director.
(13:22):
What do you love specificallylike about both of those
department
Speaker 3 (13:27):
With camera?
One thing I'm learning aboutcamera back.
Like in the earlier days I was abit of a geared chunky one at
the latest and greatest.
And I always felt like Icouldn't create my best work
without these tools.
And that couldn't be furtherfrom the truth.
Something that I learned isessentially all the camera does
(13:51):
is captures what's in front ofyou.
And that's something reallyimportant to remember, you know,
the sensor size, how many, youknow, the resolution, how many
pixels, it doesn't really matterif what's in front of that
camera, you know, isn't movingor riveting or something like
that.
So it's, it's really importantto equally pay attention to the
stuff in front of it versus thecamera.
(14:13):
And I know that's weird becauseto say that's my favorite thing
about the camera, uh, is, iskind of counterintuitive, but
it's the truth.
Uh, you know, how are you goingto light these people?
Are these people really bringingtheir best talent forward?
Are they really in theiremotions and conveying the
character?
Well production design, that's ahuge, huge, important asset.
You're only as good as yourproduction designer is that on
(14:36):
point, all that deserves asmuch, if not more attention than
what if you're shooting on a redor a menu, like you could be
shooting on a DSLR camera andit'll still look amazing.
If the stuff in front of it isamazing and directing, directing
is awesome because it's for meto be a good director, you have
to be a really greatcommunicator because you have
(14:58):
something in your head and yourobjective is to get it out of
your head to many, manydifferent departments and many
different team members, whateveryour final product is, is a
Testament to how well youcollaborate in communicating
with your team.
And that's kind of one of myfavorite things about directing.
Um, and I feel like neither oneof them can be mastered
cinematography or directing.
(15:19):
I feel like you're always goingto be alive student.
I don't think you can ever sayyou like conquered directing,
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Right.
Can you imagine, oh, that soundslike I don't want that.
I don't want to conquer that.
I want to continue to be astudent.
I know.
Right.
You worked in camera and Janniefor St.
Francis.
What was that process like?
What was it like watching AlexThompson directs?
And now that the movie has gone,gained so much traction, how has
(15:50):
, how has that, how, how haveyou processed all that?
Speaker 3 (15:54):
It's exciting.
I think there's always one ofthe most exciting things to
firsthand witness someone else'strajectory like personally,
knowing that person and seeingthat person grow and seeing that
person on the other side andgetting the accolades that they
deserve.
That's always exciting becausethat means like blessings are in
the same neighborhood or, youknow, you could be up next type
(16:15):
of deal.
So it's always exciting to seethat, um, and to, to kind of be
in the trenches in the beginningwhere he showed me the look book
, he showed me kind of just thesmall PDF of what his vision was
because at the time I worked atCaslow and he was like, Hey, we
really would love to read fromCaslow as a possible.
And can you be used sort of thatliaison to connect us to
(16:36):
production and being a second ACand being part of that up into
seeing the final product on arooftop and screened on like a
rooftop film festival.
And then again, just seeingarticles pop up, not even
through Alex, but just you'relike scrolling and you see an
article and it happens to beabout the production that you,
you know, helped put together.
Uh, all of that is just it'sreally cool.
(16:57):
It's really cool.
So shout out to Alex, that's,that's amazing.
His, his project is anotherTestament to the community thing
too.
A bunch of people volunteeringtheir time, hopping in, um,
doing what they can, if theywere free to Saturday or Sunday,
it didn't really have anybodyfull time like that.
So you're just rotating anybodywho's willing to jump in.
So that was, that was cool.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
What are you currently benching?
Speaker 3 (17:21):
One of my guilty pleasures.
I hate to say it is, um, thisreality show, little women,
Atlanta
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Spicy.
Tell us more.
Oh my God.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
It's just, it's about little people just navigate in
life.
But ironically, one of myfavorite characters, her name's
Ms.
Juicy, and it's her like herconfidence for me and just, she
calls herself the queen ofAtlanta.
She always speaks positivity andstuff like that.
And it's interesting that, youknow, you get that from a little
(17:52):
person.
You would not expect them tohave such a big, big radiant
confidence about them.
But man, I don't know.
It keeps me coming back to watchit.
It's the weirdest thing.
I never thought I would likereality TV.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, I think especially like as filmmakers,
we do need to consume thingsthat feel like it's not work
sometimes.
You know, I think everybodyfeels that way.
That's why reality TV shows andyou know, some of those TV shows
or movies where you can justsort of go on autopilot.
Like it's just, sometimes youjust need to go step into the
(18:27):
television and experiencesomething else.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
That is actually that never thought about that.
Like why do I watch that show?
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Yeah.
Cause then turn off.
You can just like, you know,enjoy and hang out and there's
no end result needed there.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Sure.
It's much.
It's a lot harder to watch itwith the analytical I though.
I know when I watch things likeLovecraft, for example, I was
watching that.
I still try to, I don't knowsome something, well, the fact
that a, it was filmed here inChicago.
That's always in the back of myhead.
Whenever I see kind of trendingshows or shows that are popular,
it's still hard to view it as a,you know, an audience or a
(19:06):
consumer, I should say.
I mean, I always end up watchingit with the analytical I'm
checking the cinematography, I'mchecking the directorial skills
and that takes the fun out of itsometimes.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Absolutely.
Like it can be like, oh wow,that was a really cool shot.
Let me just like reverse andwatch it again.
Oh, it's on a Dolly.
Oh gosh.
I currently started watchingAmerican horror story.
I mean, I've seen bits andpieces of it before, but I'm now
watching the coven and the shotson the mirror are in
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Everything though.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
It's super fun.
I love having a blast watchingit.
Um, I, you know, it's a bunch oflike Stevie Nicks S and like the
woman that plays precious, um,Gabrielle sit a bay.
She's fabulous in it.
And I was so glad to see her.
It's definitely a guiltypleasure kind of show, but I
(20:05):
tell you why Jessica, likewatching the cranes that they
must have used and the steadycams, like some of those shots
I'm like, whoa, how did they dothat?
Speaker 3 (20:16):
It's very stylized.
Yeah.
Lots
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Of like, bird's-eye sweeping one take.
And that really, like, I think alot about the actors, you know,
like, there's this oneparticular scene where Gabrielle
said a bay and some of the othertalent are like standing up on a
balcony and there's clearly somekind of like jib or crane that
like moves towards them.
(20:39):
And then they like perfectly oncue start saying their lines.
And that's just like, that'ssome serious pro hit your mark.
Like, Ooh, buddy, love it.
Hurley goals covered ingoosebumps, just talking about
it because I'm like such a dorkfor that kind of stuff.
And like, that is absolutely thelevel I like want to get to.
(21:01):
And I feel like you are the sameway.
You're like, yes, GIBS.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
I was watching this course about just intentionality
with, um, camera movement.
Like the whole course is like afive-hour course on just, um,
camera movement.
And it goes deep.
It goes deep.
And so it's, it's rewarding tosee shots like that, where
everything to the cue of theactors is on point.
Everything is in alignment withthe movement of the camera.
(21:27):
Um, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah.
I would like love to see likethe BTS of all that, you know,
like, you know, they had many ofpeople on walkie, like probably
so many monitors,
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Like pulling his
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Hair out and he's pulling his hair out.
The director's like, who knowswhere the director was, you
know, somewhere being like andgo, and then like seven other
people are being like, go.
And then like three people arebeing like now, you know, it's
just, it's so fun and crazy whatwe do.
We've got a really love it.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
You know, as we move into like this whole digital age
of like, just downloadingeverything, we do kind of lose
the sense of ETS.
I do like miss that, especiallyon like Blu-ray and DVD discs,
they used to be like a wholelittle section on BTS.
Cause even like, I'll Googlethings, like, for example, I
will be like, how did they dothat shot total is normally not
(22:22):
anything on it.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're like keeping it secret,
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Secret.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
All right.
Let us, who are some of yourfavorite artists and mentors
that have helped you along theway?
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Big mentor of me that really kind of pivoted the way I
looked at Cameron and lightingis, uh, Morgan Cooper, shout out
to coop.
He took five mentees and kind ofjust gave them a bunch of
homework and critique their workand kind of just help them on
their journey.
And I didn't know, at the timethat Morgan Cooper was gonna
blow up, he is the guy thatfilmed, uh, the concept of air,
(23:04):
which peacock picked up, um, the, the dramatic version of the
fresh prince.
Um, now he's a director of thatseries.
The series got picked up and nowhe's in, he moved to LA and it's
crazy.
So that's another one whereyou're like watching their
trajectory like, whoa, he, hewas definitely somebody who kind
of, uh, dug into my lightingside and helped me fine tune it
(23:29):
and help me try to discover, youknow, my, my style and what
resonates with me to peoplewithin the industry that, um, I
often confide in is Tommy Maddox.
He also recently became part ofthe American society of
cinematographers.
He's an ASC member, which isreally exciting.
And Jody Williams, um, herecently shot coming to America
(23:53):
to then now he is working onpower, uh, book four or
something like that.
Um, but both of them, Iappreciate it because they both
have families and really, reallydemanding jobs.
But, um, at any given time I cantext her, call them and they'll
say like, Hey, what's up?
What's, you're having troublewith anything.
(24:14):
What's going on.
Talk to me if I have anyquestions about the industry, if
I'm making any big decisions, itmeans a lot that I can go to
these people who are just soestablished in the industry.
So Cooper, Jodi and Tommy
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Love it.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
It's important to have thosepeople that champion you along
the way.
What are your interests likeoutside of work?
What do you like to do?
And what do you dislike?
Speaker 3 (24:44):
And my partner was talking about that.
Like, what are our identitiesoutside of film?
Because when I watched tutorialsabout film, like that's not a
real hobby.
I have a dog and my lovely momwatches my dog because I work 12
hour days.
So I love my, uh, my winter dogand we do Wiener dog activities.
(25:06):
So
Speaker 2 (25:07):
I love it.
I love animals.
Cuddles are very important.
Yeah,
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I'm very much so.
And he loves his cuddles.
He's not afraid to let me know.
I love to eat.
I don't know if that's a hobbyeither.
Um, a ramen connoisseur.
I love ramen.
I think Chicago's a great placeto be because a lot of ramen
shops are everywhere now.
And so it's like my goal to eatat all of them.
(25:35):
So I have like a list of ramenshops I have at at, and that I
need to eat it and just hangingout with friends.
Um, I love being a good company.
Um, my birthday is thisSaturday, But yeah, honestly,
I'm just gonna like have abonfire and invite friends and
we're just touch
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Rosa marshmallows and marshmallow, maybe drink some
whiskey.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
I already know I'm already there on your birthday
already.
Yes.
So this is a pretty largequestion, but what do you hope
to achieve in this lifetime?
Speaker 3 (26:16):
I think the end game for me is really to make an
impact as a cinematographer.
I think that's, I mean,directing is, is awesome, but my
heart is really incinematography.
And I think one of my, mymotivations or driving factors
is the lack of African-Americanwomen in cinematography.
So like one of my, like ascheesy as it sounds, my, one of
(26:38):
my biggest goals, I think itwould be hilarious to win an
Oscar because I don't thinkanybody would see that.
And they would feel some type ofway of a black woman won an
Oscar for cinematography becausewe have to have a woman at all
when an Oscar we've come close,but we still have not gotten
there after decades of doingthis.
Um, and so just to really makethat mark and just to let
(27:01):
younger women know that it'spossible, and there's a market
for you here in this industry.
I think black women bring adifferent style to send them
photography.
Um, and so that's the end game.
You just really make some noiseas a DP.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
That's so powerful.
That's so powerful.
If you had any advice that youcould give, you know, any women
of color that want to break intothe film industry, especially in
cinematography, what would youtell them?
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I think there's no greater time than now to get
started.
We can easily access things likecameras and lighting and it
doesn't have to be fancy.
It doesn't have to be special.
I think it's a matter again ofjust doing it and fine tuning
your craft and just, justlearning this beautiful behind
the camera.
I know it's beautiful in frontof the camera and I know a lot
(27:49):
of women aspire to be in frontof the camera, but it's a
beautiful thing behind thecamera to Come see what we're
about back here.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah.
I'm I'm so with that, I lovebeing behind it.
You know, like once I steppedbehind it, I was like, oh, this
is the spot where I am meant tobe, you know, like sure can get
in front of it.
Totally get if I need to want tocan happen.
I think that's the case for mostpeople, but man, I love being
(28:20):
behind it.
Absolutely.
What kind of like camera styles,are there any particular lenses
or just geek out with us alittle bit over some gear that
you're currently working with orexcited about?
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Um, so I'm team airy all day being in a position of
working in a rental house andthen just this just shooting
with various cameras, this dish,something about that sensor.
It's just beautiful with theskin tones and just the color
science of it all.
They just, they got it dialed inthat no other camera can quite
(28:58):
bring.
I also love Canon cameras.
I actually am on the market.
I might my buy another cannon.
This would be my fourth Canoncamera.
So I think cannons are veryreliable for the women who are
starting off.
I think grabbing a Canon T2.
I, uh, something simple likethat for a few hundred dollars
(29:19):
is a great starting camera.
It's going to teach you all thebasic elements that you need to
know in order to shoot with thearea, because the camera is a
camera at the end of the day,they all kind of have the same
objective.
Once you kind of wrap your headaround that you can operate with
any camera except for film.
Maybe I feel it was a littleintimidating, but digitalize.
(29:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I mean shooting with film, that's definitely on my
like bucket list.
Um, but yeah, it's just a wholeother beast, you know, we, we
can do it, we'll do it, butit's, it is a whole other
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Beast and pressure.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
And, and there are incredibledigital cameras out there.
What are you working on next?
So on the DP side, I've justseen two rough cuts of two of
the films I shot.
They're really cool.
One of them is called hanging inthere.
If you check my Instagram, Ijust posted some steals of it.
(30:14):
It's a quite dramatic, which Ilove, uh, drama as far as
lighting.
It's like my favorite style andon the opposite end of the
spectrum, there's another pilotthat I shot called at the garden
into a puppet show.
So that's a lot more kind oflighthearted and different,
different style, a little bitmore hierarchy.
(30:36):
So it was fun to see those twocome together.
And I'm very excited for thedirectors
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Yeah.
At the garden.
That's a great spot Sula and ascope point studio, shout out to
grace.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Yeah.
Shout outs.
Very nice.
She's the one that brought meon.
I love that.
That's great.
Yeah.
In both situations, it was, um,both women, who've never worked
with me directly before, butstill dropped my name in the hat
and still vouch for me as ifthey did.
So shout out to grace.
And Amanda was the other personwho just swore up and down and I
was the person for that projectand she never worked with,
Speaker 2 (31:10):
That's amazing.
Love that.
I mean, that's, that's such abig part of this industry is,
you know, people will ask me alot, like, well, uh, you know,
how did you get like this gig orthat gig?
And I'm like referrals, You know, like I, I know that I need to
be like hustling myself outthere more like I've got some
reels that I've just recently,um, I wouldn't say finalized
(31:33):
because let's be honest.
We're always like updating ourreels and always building new
work.
But, um, yeah.
I just have not been putting theenergy into like pushing it out
there to people really.
And I mean, you know, that'spart of why people get agents
and managers, so definitely gotmy eye on that.
But yeah, it's just likereferrals are such a huge part
(31:55):
of landing gigs.
I think, especially once you getto a certain point.
So I love that that's, you know,your last two projects, you
know, so be nice to people, youknow, you never know who
somebody might become.
I've said that before on thewalkie check, like just be a
kind human, be easy to work withand have fun.
Cause like it does matter.
(32:16):
And it's like, why else?
Like, why else do this be inthis industry?
If you're not having a goodtime, you know,
Speaker 3 (32:23):
The days are too long to not.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, you mentioned yourInstagram earlier, so where can
we follow you?
Where can people go and watchyour work?
Speaker 3 (32:34):
The website is, um, Jessica Tyler, dp.com and then
my IgE is Jessica tolerberunderscore DP.
So yeah.
So my name in DP and you'll findme and
Speaker 2 (32:45):
I've got one final fun question for you.
If you could go back in time andgive a pep talk to your younger
Jessica self, what would yousay?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Let's say trust yourself a little bit more
because you might know more thanyou think you do shoot a little
bit more, cause there's so muchmore to learn.
Just don't lose sight of themain goal.
That's I still need to tellmyself that today working in the
industry and the TV shows andother, even other people
(33:18):
projects, that's, it's awesomeand it's rewarding, but also
just don't lose sight of thestories that you need to share.
And the cause, you know, younever know who needs to hear
your story.
Your story is equally asimportant.
You put a lot of long hours intoso many other projects.
So please just don't lose sightof why you pursued filmmaking in
(33:39):
the first place.
Because more times it's not moretimes than not is because you
have a story to tell and that'simportant to leave on this
earth.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That's amazing.
I love it.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for joining us onthis episode of the walkie
check.
Be sure to give us a like andfollow on Instagram and Facebook
after walkie check and at legacyMarine pictures also special,
special, thanks to our executiveproducers, noise floor LTZ.
And we look forward to the nextstep.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Our friends at some craft studio gear one to help
you level up.
If you're looking forprofessional grade studio
chairs, it's easy from heightframe finish and custom canvas
film crab helps you make it yourown.
Hello, and welcome to the walkie check.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey folks.
Welcome to the walkie
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Check.
I'm cat gross.
Be a script supervisor fromChicago
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And I'm LaMer and Williams, a film director in Los
Angeles, California.
We're super excited to beworking with our friends at
noise floor to bring you themost creative and talented
people out there to share theirexperiences, knowledge, and
power.
On this episode, we do not haveour beautiful cat joining us.
She is working full time on aunion show right now.
(00:41):
So I will be leading thisinterview solo today on the
walkie check.
We welcome Jessica Toliver.
Jessica developed a passion forstorytelling at a young age.
Jessica Toliver has approachedthe film industry with a fresh
perspective and an unparalleledwork ethic.
Taking an entrepreneurialapproach.
She founded her productioncompany, mad Panda lab to ensure
(01:03):
she would have the freedom tocreate films, music, videos, and
promotional content.
Without limitations.
Her drive has led toopportunities working with major
brands, such as the Chicagobulls Nike and the Chicago Cubs
and 2019 Jessica made herdirectorial debut and the short
film slash music video liar,which went on to win best music
(01:24):
video at the various artistsindependent film festival.
Jessica is also a member of theICG local 600 union as a camera
utility.
She has worked on the sets ofpopular series shows such as
Batwoman Chicago PD and Fargo.
The walkie check is sponsored byon-set headsets.
(01:46):
The standard of headset andHollywood made with Kevlar
reinforced wiring and waterresistant microphone with a
one-year warranty on allproducts, get your headset and
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Speaker 1 (02:04):
This episode is brought to you by our friends at
Glazer science, their new doublerainbow and rainbow two lights
are now available with the dualrole pixelation.
You have limitless effects foryour next project.
Visit our show notes,superiority yours today,
Speaker 2 (02:20):
And lay money for Jessica Jessica Taylor.
Hello.
Hello, and welcome to anotherepisode of the walkie check.
Today.
We are here with the one andonly Jessica Tal over what's up,
Jessica?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
What's going on?
What's going on?
That's going on with you?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, it's gone.
Well, you know, where are youfrom originally?
Currently I'm in,
Speaker 3 (02:45):
But I'm born and raised in Glenwood, Illinois,
which is like super south.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
So you were like a true Midwesterner.
I love it.
I love Midwesterners.
We always vibe today.
I want to chat a little bitabout everything that you've
done and you've done a lot.
You've directed, you've workedin camera department.
You're currently working on alot of really big shows.
I want to just chat with youabout what it's been like
(03:13):
working in the industry,especially during COVID and you
know, what are your aspirationsand hopes and dreams and you
know, what, what advice wouldyou give other filmmakers?
So starting there, why don't youtell us a little bit about, you
know, how did you get your startin your career?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Oh, well, I was took an interest in music videos.
That's the thing that kind ofreel me in was especially like
stuff from the nineties, likeMichael Jackson and how, um, I
think the thing that captivatedme the most is that back then
music videos were shortnarratives in a way.
Um, they, yes, they were visualsto the, to the song, but they
(03:51):
also told stories.
Um, and so I would be a kid whowould always just like listen to
cassette tapes and CDs and likeplay music over and over and
over again and come up withdifferent concepts.
And as I got older, I realized Iwanted literally make those
concepts concepts come to life.
And so that's what real to me innow, do I do music videos now?
(04:12):
Not all the time, becausethere's some reality checks that
take place in music videos, likethere
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Brutal.
Yeah.
I feel like at the music videoworld and I also love music
videos, so I'm right there withyou.
I w I would love to do way moreand I feel like it's like one of
those mediums in the filmmakingworld where you gotta like, take
the time to go build within thatworld as well.
Because like a lot of artistsdon't have a budget for music
(04:44):
fitting
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Exactly.
You quickly learn.
There's not a lot of moneyinvolved in music video.
And so as fun as it is, youknow, it's hard to make, uh, an
honest living out of strictlymusic videos, but I will say
it's an amazing segue intofilmmaking.
If you're looking for a place tostart, start with music videos,
cause there's always artists,local bands, there's always
(05:06):
somebody who's gonna want amusic video.
Um, and then also it's, it'sgreat, uh, supplementary thing
to do to, um, every so oftenevery now and then I'm down to
do a music video, especially if,uh, you know, the song is
compelling or if I'm moved bythe song, sometimes it's not
even about the money.
It's just about, you know,having fun to create that short
(05:26):
narrative.
And, um, with music videos,you're able to break a lot of
rules and kind of just be atyour most creative.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah.
I mean, the thing that I lovethe most about music videos is
it doesn't have to be linear.
Nope.
You know, so you don't have tolike worry about continuity the
same way you can beat MOS.
So people can like, it's alittle bit more of like the
environments I've found at leastare a little bit more relaxed.
Um, but you know, I imagine likeonce you get to a place of a
(05:56):
director that I really admire,um, Hannah Lux Davis, I like a
total girl crush on her.
She, um, she, you know, isalways directing music videos
for like Demi Lovato, ArianaGrande day, um, you know, all
those like heavy hitters and popmusic.
(06:16):
Um, and she's at that levelwhere you're just like, yes,
girl, you, you can just dowhatever you want now with your,
with your aspirations andconcepts, you know?
Um, so you can certainly get tothat level, but you know, it
takes the time.
And I imagine a lot of thoseartists have labels that they're
working with.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah.
Sometimes it's good to buildthat relationship with the
artists though, because as theygrow, they tend to take you with
them.
If that's the route you want totake.
Absolutely.
Um, but I know, um, KendrickLamar is one of them.
He has the same squad kind ofdoing his videos and his videos
are amazing.
The ideas and concepts he'scomes up with is dope, but
that's, that's another avenuethat's interesting.
(06:57):
You know, if you really want tofocus on music videos.
Yeah.
I would build that relationshipwith artists that you have that
connection with the best.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
You have any particular artists that you feel
like you have made theinvestment to build that kind of
a relationship with or anybodyyou just love working with.
And that way
Speaker 3 (07:16):
By default, my brother obviously, uh, I I'm a
music artist.
And when I left my full-time jobto go freelance, when I took
that leap, uh, I wanted to dosomething to celebrate that.
And so me and my brother decidedto do the collaboration for, uh,
(07:37):
the short film liar, uh, um, mywebsite now.
And yeah, he came up with thesong and he gave me kind of full
creative control to come up withthe ideal.
And so I just kind of went crazyand did a no R piece.
And that was super duper fun.
So, and the fact that he justhad created, I mean, complete
(07:58):
trust in me to do whatever wasawesome.
So that was, that was great.
So if I had to pick an artist, Iguess that'd be
Speaker 2 (08:04):
My bro, what's his name?
His name
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Is Jason.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Jason and Jessica
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Are, the credits are hilarious because it's like
written by Jason, Tyler, Tyler,
Speaker 2 (08:18):
We'd love a brother, sister duo in this house and we
really do.
That's awesome.
Yes.
Speaking of liar, that'sdefinitely something I'd like to
chat about today.
You directed that, um, that youconcepted it as well.
It sounds like it was a musicvideo for your brother, Jason
lover.
What was some of the challengesthat came up during that as well
(08:39):
as what were some of thevictories?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
One of the challenges at the time, and I had to
quickly learn is I did a lot bymyself and that was a big
mistake, big mistake, I won'tsay, but it was definitely a big
learning lesson.
Like the ideal of not to say itcan be done because it
absolutely can.
But the fact that I decided todirect in DP at the same time
(09:04):
was really rough.
Um, cause you end up kind ofneglecting one side when you're
focused on the other.
It's really hard to do itsimultaneously.
So it's always good to have apartner or somebody that you can
hand over the creative reigns to, if you are going to go that
route because directing is abeast.
And for me to think that I coulddo both, it was really bold of
(09:26):
me.
Definitely.
The Victor uses, I harbored alot of relationships.
When I worked at the camerarental house, I met a lot of
ACS.
I met a lot of just people,various departments.
And so we didn't have a largeenough budget to pay everybody
at the time.
But because of ourrelationships, I always ran over
to their passion projects anddonated my time.
And so when it was my turn, theykind of just jumped right in, no
(09:48):
questions asked.
And that really meant a lot tome.
Cause I knew I was asking a lot,having everybody come out in the
middle of January, in downtownChicago to shoot in the code
with me.
And it just, it showed me thecommunity that we have here and
the fact that we're all kind ofjust rooting for each other and
kind of helping build eachother's passion projects.
(10:08):
So that was a huge victory, oneof the best takeaways.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
And this was Caslow
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yes.
And big shout out to Teslabecause they also don't gear to
the cause.
So yeah, it was the whole thingwas amazing.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
We, uh, we just recently interviewed Kala
Gabriel.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
So that's my boss.
I will work there anymore, but Iwill forever call her boss.
Like,
Speaker 2 (10:33):
That's great.
Awesome.
So you've worked in a lot of,you've worked on a lot of
different productions and yourwork is in my mind, like very
versatile.
What would you say like yourfavorite project recently would
be, would it be liar orsomething that you're currently
working on now?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Um, I think each project is so unique and I think
that's the beauty of filmmakingis there there's each project
and production requires adifferent kind of approach.
It's a different kind ofexperience.
So it's really hard to pinpointa favorite.
Um, I mean liar was a blast anda half, obviously I wrote
(11:12):
something and it would be, if Iwere to shoot it, I need funding
for it.
It would definitely be mygreatest creation yet.
I, I guess the screenplay waswonder child and it was a
finalist in the camera,ambassador, community builders
grant.
I think about the, thescreenplay all the time.
I think about the concept.
I really, really, really want toshoot it.
(11:34):
It's something near and dear tome and it's very personal to me.
Um, we shot a proof of conceptand even that alone was super
duper fun, um, to do so.
Um, yeah, I think it's yet tocome.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, that's the way we wantit to be.
Right.
You know, like always growing,evolving and making the best
work, the next project and youknow, learning from that and
taking that on to the nextthing.
And you know, I'm havingflashbacks of when we worked on
Gallagher rhythm together.
Oh
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Man.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It was so cold.
It was so like,
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Oh man.
Yeah.
Literally for the payroll,
Speaker 2 (12:19):
For the paper route seeing gosh yeah.
Shooting a bicycle, somebodyriding on a bicycle definitely
would love to do that again.
Um, you know, again, I thinkit's just one of those things
where you gotta sorta like, justjump down and figure out what
works and what doesn't
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Do.
It's, it's crazy.
It's like hindsight is alwaysgoing to be 2020 in this.
Like you're always going to lookback at your work and you're
always going to be like, Ishould have approached it this
way, but you can't have that,that hindsight unless you just
do it, just allow yourself tosuck.
I know that sounds, that soundscrazy.
But it's the truth embracesucking for a little while it
(12:59):
gets better.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Absolutely.
Like I feel like, especially ifyou're, you know, a writer or a
creator of any kind, like it'sgonna take some time for you to
foster your voice and, you know,try out different aesthetics and
you know, especially dependingon like where your interests are
, um, you know, you, you're incamera department and um, and
also a director.
(13:22):
What do you love specificallylike about both of those
department
Speaker 3 (13:27):
With camera?
One thing I'm learning aboutcamera back.
Like in the earlier days I was abit of a geared chunky one at
the latest and greatest.
And I always felt like Icouldn't create my best work
without these tools.
And that couldn't be furtherfrom the truth.
Something that I learned isessentially all the camera does
(13:51):
is captures what's in front ofyou.
And that's something reallyimportant to remember, you know,
the sensor size, how many, youknow, the resolution, how many
pixels, it doesn't really matterif what's in front of that
camera, you know, isn't movingor riveting or something like
that.
So it's, it's really importantto equally pay attention to the
stuff in front of it versus thecamera.
(14:13):
And I know that's weird becauseto say that's my favorite thing
about the camera, uh, is, iskind of counterintuitive, but
it's the truth.
Uh, you know, how are you goingto light these people?
Are these people really bringingtheir best talent forward?
Are they really in theiremotions and conveying the
character?
Well production design, that's ahuge, huge, important asset.
You're only as good as yourproduction designer is that on
(14:36):
point, all that deserves asmuch, if not more attention than
what if you're shooting on a redor a menu, like you could be
shooting on a DSLR camera andit'll still look amazing.
If the stuff in front of it isamazing and directing, directing
is awesome because it's for meto be a good director, you have
to be a really greatcommunicator because you have
(14:58):
something in your head and yourobjective is to get it out of
your head to many, manydifferent departments and many
different team members, whateveryour final product is, is a
Testament to how well youcollaborate in communicating
with your team.
And that's kind of one of myfavorite things about directing.
Um, and I feel like neither oneof them can be mastered
cinematography or directing.
(15:19):
I feel like you're always goingto be alive student.
I don't think you can ever sayyou like conquered directing,
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Right.
Can you imagine, oh, that soundslike I don't want that.
I don't want to conquer that.
I want to continue to be astudent.
I know.
Right.
You worked in camera and Janniefor St.
Francis.
What was that process like?
What was it like watching AlexThompson directs?
And now that the movie has gone,gained so much traction, how has
(15:50):
, how has that, how, how haveyou processed all that?
Speaker 3 (15:54):
It's exciting.
I think there's always one ofthe most exciting things to
firsthand witness someone else'strajectory like personally,
knowing that person and seeingthat person grow and seeing that
person on the other side andgetting the accolades that they
deserve.
That's always exciting becausethat means like blessings are in
the same neighborhood or, youknow, you could be up next type
(16:15):
of deal.
So it's always exciting to seethat, um, and to, to kind of be
in the trenches in the beginningwhere he showed me the look book
, he showed me kind of just thesmall PDF of what his vision was
because at the time I worked atCaslow and he was like, Hey, we
really would love to read fromCaslow as a possible.
And can you be used sort of thatliaison to connect us to
(16:36):
production and being a second ACand being part of that up into
seeing the final product on arooftop and screened on like a
rooftop film festival.
And then again, just seeingarticles pop up, not even
through Alex, but just you'relike scrolling and you see an
article and it happens to beabout the production that you,
you know, helped put together.
Uh, all of that is just it'sreally cool.
(16:57):
It's really cool.
So shout out to Alex, that's,that's amazing.
His, his project is anotherTestament to the community thing
too.
A bunch of people volunteeringtheir time, hopping in, um,
doing what they can, if theywere free to Saturday or Sunday,
it didn't really have anybodyfull time like that.
So you're just rotating anybodywho's willing to jump in.
So that was, that was cool.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
What are you currently benching?
Speaker 3 (17:21):
One of my guilty pleasures.
I hate to say it is, um, thisreality show, little women,
Atlanta
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Spicy.
Tell us more.
Oh my God.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
It's just, it's about little people just navigate in
life.
But ironically, one of myfavorite characters, her name's
Ms.
Juicy, and it's her like herconfidence for me and just, she
calls herself the queen ofAtlanta.
She always speaks positivity andstuff like that.
And it's interesting that, youknow, you get that from a little
(17:52):
person.
You would not expect them tohave such a big, big radiant
confidence about them.
But man, I don't know.
It keeps me coming back to watchit.
It's the weirdest thing.
I never thought I would likereality TV.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, I think especially like as filmmakers,
we do need to consume thingsthat feel like it's not work
sometimes.
You know, I think everybodyfeels that way.
That's why reality TV shows andyou know, some of those TV shows
or movies where you can justsort of go on autopilot.
Like it's just, sometimes youjust need to go step into the
(18:27):
television and experiencesomething else.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
That is actually that never thought about that.
Like why do I watch that show?
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Yeah.
Cause then turn off.
You can just like, you know,enjoy and hang out and there's
no end result needed there.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Sure.
It's much.
It's a lot harder to watch itwith the analytical I though.
I know when I watch things likeLovecraft, for example, I was
watching that.
I still try to, I don't knowsome something, well, the fact
that a, it was filmed here inChicago.
That's always in the back of myhead.
Whenever I see kind of trendingshows or shows that are popular,
it's still hard to view it as a,you know, an audience or a
(19:06):
consumer, I should say.
I mean, I always end up watchingit with the analytical I'm
checking the cinematography, I'mchecking the directorial skills
and that takes the fun out of itsometimes.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Absolutely.
Like it can be like, oh wow,that was a really cool shot.
Let me just like reverse andwatch it again.
Oh, it's on a Dolly.
Oh gosh.
I currently started watchingAmerican horror story.
I mean, I've seen bits andpieces of it before, but I'm now
watching the coven and the shotson the mirror are in
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Everything though.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
It's super fun.
I love having a blast watchingit.
Um, I, you know, it's a bunch oflike Stevie Nicks S and like the
woman that plays precious, um,Gabrielle sit a bay.
She's fabulous in it.
And I was so glad to see her.
It's definitely a guiltypleasure kind of show, but I
(20:05):
tell you why Jessica, likewatching the cranes that they
must have used and the steadycams, like some of those shots
I'm like, whoa, how did they dothat?
Speaker 3 (20:16):
It's very stylized.
Yeah.
Lots
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Of like, bird's-eye sweeping one take.
And that really, like, I think alot about the actors, you know,
like, there's this oneparticular scene where Gabrielle
said a bay and some of the othertalent are like standing up on a
balcony and there's clearly somekind of like jib or crane that
like moves towards them.
(20:39):
And then they like perfectly oncue start saying their lines.
And that's just like, that'ssome serious pro hit your mark.
Like, Ooh, buddy, love it.
Hurley goals covered ingoosebumps, just talking about
it because I'm like such a dorkfor that kind of stuff.
And like, that is absolutely thelevel I like want to get to.
(21:01):
And I feel like you are the sameway.
You're like, yes, GIBS.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
I was watching this course about just intentionality
with, um, camera movement.
Like the whole course is like afive-hour course on just, um,
camera movement.
And it goes deep.
It goes deep.
And so it's, it's rewarding tosee shots like that, where
everything to the cue of theactors is on point.
Everything is in alignment withthe movement of the camera.
(21:27):
Um, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah.
I would like love to see likethe BTS of all that, you know,
like, you know, they had many ofpeople on walkie, like probably
so many monitors,
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Like pulling his
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Hair out and he's pulling his hair out.
The director's like, who knowswhere the director was, you
know, somewhere being like andgo, and then like seven other
people are being like, go.
And then like three people arebeing like now, you know, it's
just, it's so fun and crazy whatwe do.
We've got a really love it.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
You know, as we move into like this whole digital age
of like, just downloadingeverything, we do kind of lose
the sense of ETS.
I do like miss that, especiallyon like Blu-ray and DVD discs,
they used to be like a wholelittle section on BTS.
Cause even like, I'll Googlethings, like, for example, I
will be like, how did they dothat shot total is normally not
(22:22):
anything on it.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're like keeping it secret,
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Secret.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
All right.
Let us, who are some of yourfavorite artists and mentors
that have helped you along theway?
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Big mentor of me that really kind of pivoted the way I
looked at Cameron and lightingis, uh, Morgan Cooper, shout out
to coop.
He took five mentees and kind ofjust gave them a bunch of
homework and critique their workand kind of just help them on
their journey.
And I didn't know, at the timethat Morgan Cooper was gonna
blow up, he is the guy thatfilmed, uh, the concept of air,
(23:04):
which peacock picked up, um, the, the dramatic version of the
fresh prince.
Um, now he's a director of thatseries.
The series got picked up and nowhe's in, he moved to LA and it's
crazy.
So that's another one whereyou're like watching their
trajectory like, whoa, he, hewas definitely somebody who kind
of, uh, dug into my lightingside and helped me fine tune it
(23:29):
and help me try to discover, youknow, my, my style and what
resonates with me to peoplewithin the industry that, um, I
often confide in is Tommy Maddox.
He also recently became part ofthe American society of
cinematographers.
He's an ASC member, which isreally exciting.
And Jody Williams, um, herecently shot coming to America
(23:53):
to then now he is working onpower, uh, book four or
something like that.
Um, but both of them, Iappreciate it because they both
have families and really, reallydemanding jobs.
But, um, at any given time I cantext her, call them and they'll
say like, Hey, what's up?
What's, you're having troublewith anything.
(24:14):
What's going on.
Talk to me if I have anyquestions about the industry, if
I'm making any big decisions, itmeans a lot that I can go to
these people who are just soestablished in the industry.
So Cooper, Jodi and Tommy
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Love it.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
It's important to have thosepeople that champion you along
the way.
What are your interests likeoutside of work?
What do you like to do?
And what do you dislike?
Speaker 3 (24:44):
And my partner was talking about that.
Like, what are our identitiesoutside of film?
Because when I watched tutorialsabout film, like that's not a
real hobby.
I have a dog and my lovely momwatches my dog because I work 12
hour days.
So I love my, uh, my winter dogand we do Wiener dog activities.
(25:06):
So
Speaker 2 (25:07):
I love it.
I love animals.
Cuddles are very important.
Yeah,
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I'm very much so.
And he loves his cuddles.
He's not afraid to let me know.
I love to eat.
I don't know if that's a hobbyeither.
Um, a ramen connoisseur.
I love ramen.
I think Chicago's a great placeto be because a lot of ramen
shops are everywhere now.
And so it's like my goal to eatat all of them.
(25:35):
So I have like a list of ramenshops I have at at, and that I
need to eat it and just hangingout with friends.
Um, I love being a good company.
Um, my birthday is thisSaturday, But yeah, honestly,
I'm just gonna like have abonfire and invite friends and
we're just touch
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Rosa marshmallows and marshmallow, maybe drink some
whiskey.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
I already know I'm already there on your birthday
already.
Yes.
So this is a pretty largequestion, but what do you hope
to achieve in this lifetime?
Speaker 3 (26:16):
I think the end game for me is really to make an
impact as a cinematographer.
I think that's, I mean,directing is, is awesome, but my
heart is really incinematography.
And I think one of my, mymotivations or driving factors
is the lack of African-Americanwomen in cinematography.
So like one of my, like ascheesy as it sounds, my, one of
(26:38):
my biggest goals, I think itwould be hilarious to win an
Oscar because I don't thinkanybody would see that.
And they would feel some type ofway of a black woman won an
Oscar for cinematography becausewe have to have a woman at all
when an Oscar we've come close,but we still have not gotten
there after decades of doingthis.
Um, and so just to really makethat mark and just to let
(27:01):
younger women know that it'spossible, and there's a market
for you here in this industry.
I think black women bring adifferent style to send them
photography.
Um, and so that's the end game.
You just really make some noiseas a DP.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
That's so powerful.
That's so powerful.
If you had any advice that youcould give, you know, any women
of color that want to break intothe film industry, especially in
cinematography, what would youtell them?
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I think there's no greater time than now to get
started.
We can easily access things likecameras and lighting and it
doesn't have to be fancy.
It doesn't have to be special.
I think it's a matter again ofjust doing it and fine tuning
your craft and just, justlearning this beautiful behind
the camera.
I know it's beautiful in frontof the camera and I know a lot
(27:49):
of women aspire to be in frontof the camera, but it's a
beautiful thing behind thecamera to Come see what we're
about back here.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah.
I'm I'm so with that, I lovebeing behind it.
You know, like once I steppedbehind it, I was like, oh, this
is the spot where I am meant tobe, you know, like sure can get
in front of it.
Totally get if I need to want tocan happen.
I think that's the case for mostpeople, but man, I love being
(28:20):
behind it.
Absolutely.
What kind of like camera styles,are there any particular lenses
or just geek out with us alittle bit over some gear that
you're currently working with orexcited about?
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Um, so I'm team airy all day being in a position of
working in a rental house andthen just this just shooting
with various cameras, this dish,something about that sensor.
It's just beautiful with theskin tones and just the color
science of it all.
They just, they got it dialed inthat no other camera can quite
(28:58):
bring.
I also love Canon cameras.
I actually am on the market.
I might my buy another cannon.
This would be my fourth Canoncamera.
So I think cannons are veryreliable for the women who are
starting off.
I think grabbing a Canon T2.
I, uh, something simple likethat for a few hundred dollars
(29:19):
is a great starting camera.
It's going to teach you all thebasic elements that you need to
know in order to shoot with thearea, because the camera is a
camera at the end of the day,they all kind of have the same
objective.
Once you kind of wrap your headaround that you can operate with
any camera except for film.
Maybe I feel it was a littleintimidating, but digitalize.
(29:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I mean shooting with film, that's definitely on my
like bucket list.
Um, but yeah, it's just a wholeother beast, you know, we, we
can do it, we'll do it, butit's, it is a whole other
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Beast and pressure.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
And, and there are incredibledigital cameras out there.
What are you working on next?
So on the DP side, I've justseen two rough cuts of two of
the films I shot.
They're really cool.
One of them is called hanging inthere.
If you check my Instagram, Ijust posted some steals of it.
(30:14):
It's a quite dramatic, which Ilove, uh, drama as far as
lighting.
It's like my favorite style andon the opposite end of the
spectrum, there's another pilotthat I shot called at the garden
into a puppet show.
So that's a lot more kind oflighthearted and different,
different style, a little bitmore hierarchy.
(30:36):
So it was fun to see those twocome together.
And I'm very excited for thedirectors
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Yeah.
At the garden.
That's a great spot Sula and ascope point studio, shout out to
grace.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Yeah.
Shout outs.
Very nice.
She's the one that brought meon.
I love that.
That's great.
Yeah.
In both situations, it was, um,both women, who've never worked
with me directly before, butstill dropped my name in the hat
and still vouch for me as ifthey did.
So shout out to grace.
And Amanda was the other personwho just swore up and down and I
was the person for that projectand she never worked with,
Speaker 2 (31:10):
That's amazing.
Love that.
I mean, that's, that's such abig part of this industry is,
you know, people will ask me alot, like, well, uh, you know,
how did you get like this gig orthat gig?
And I'm like referrals, You know, like I, I know that I need to
be like hustling myself outthere more like I've got some
reels that I've just recently,um, I wouldn't say finalized
(31:33):
because let's be honest.
We're always like updating ourreels and always building new
work.
But, um, yeah.
I just have not been putting theenergy into like pushing it out
there to people really.
And I mean, you know, that'spart of why people get agents
and managers, so definitely gotmy eye on that.
But yeah, it's just likereferrals are such a huge part
(31:55):
of landing gigs.
I think, especially once you getto a certain point.
So I love that that's, you know,your last two projects, you
know, so be nice to people, youknow, you never know who
somebody might become.
I've said that before on thewalkie check, like just be a
kind human, be easy to work withand have fun.
Cause like it does matter.
(32:16):
And it's like, why else?
Like, why else do this be inthis industry?
If you're not having a goodtime, you know,
Speaker 3 (32:23):
The days are too long to not.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, you mentioned yourInstagram earlier, so where can
we follow you?
Where can people go and watchyour work?
Speaker 3 (32:34):
The website is, um, Jessica Tyler, dp.com and then
my IgE is Jessica tolerberunderscore DP.
So yeah.
So my name in DP and you'll findme and
Speaker 2 (32:45):
I've got one final fun question for you.
If you could go back in time andgive a pep talk to your younger
Jessica self, what would yousay?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Let's say trust yourself a little bit more
because you might know more thanyou think you do shoot a little
bit more, cause there's so muchmore to learn.
Just don't lose sight of themain goal.
That's I still need to tellmyself that today working in the
industry and the TV shows andother, even other people
(33:18):
projects, that's, it's awesomeand it's rewarding, but also
just don't lose sight of thestories that you need to share.
And the cause, you know, younever know who needs to hear
your story.
Your story is equally asimportant.
You put a lot of long hours intoso many other projects.
So please just don't lose sightof why you pursued filmmaking in
(33:39):
the first place.
Because more times it's not moretimes than not is because you
have a story to tell and that'simportant to leave on this
earth.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That's amazing.
I love it.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for joining us onthis episode of the walkie
check.
Be sure to give us a like andfollow on Instagram and Facebook
after walkie check and at legacyMarine pictures also special,
special, thanks to our executiveproducers, noise floor LTZ.
And we look forward to the nextstep.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Our friends at some craft studio gear one to help
you level up.
If you're looking forprofessional grade studio
chairs, it's easy from heightframe finish and custom canvas
film crab helps you make it yourown.
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