The Angry Filmmaker — An Interview with Kelley Baker
Kelley Baker, AKA The Angry Filmmaker, is a celebrated filmmaker and author. He is also Keynote Speaker for the 2022 McMinnville Short Film Festival! Kelley will lead a filmmaker workshop, and speaking at our Filmmaker Reception & Awards Dinner on Sunday, February 13. We recently interviewed Kelley to learn more of his filmmaking story. Enjoy!
What got you into film?
“I hated high school. I thought nobody knew anything, and they weren’t teaching me what I needed to know. Then, amidst my teenage angst, I had a high school teacher who helped shape the course of my life. He was a science instructor, who was in charge of the school’s video equipment. We always got on well and he conned me into shooting events at school like basketball games, wrestling matches and the like. I really enjoyed shooting these events. I found it to be creative.
I finished high school, and wandered aimlessly thereafter, trying to figure out my next step. About a year after graduation, I ran into the same teacher, and basically said: what should I do now?
Without hesitating, he replied “you were always really talented with the camera…why don’t you do that?”
I had to admit…at the time, I didn’t even realize I could make a living doing this. That I could make a career out of filmmaking. And so it began!
I started with University of Oregon’s TV program, an intro to the world of film and video production, but not quite what I was after. I decided to pursue my education at the University of Southern California, to go deep into film studies. Unfortunately, I didn’t have widespread support of this endeavor, and was reminded by a family member that film “isn’t a real career”. Which of course, was all the motivation I needed to double-down on my focus to become a filmmaker.
My drive was one part rebellion (“You say I can’t? That means I will.”), and one part passion. I had fallen in love with filmmaking…shooting, being hands-on, telling a story…I felt strongly about it, and my interest in and passion for film only continued to deepen.
How long have you been a filmmaker?
I’ve been doing this for over 40 years. Even though I made films in film school, I didn’t consider myself a filmmaker. When I graduated I was working on other peoples’ films, as an editor, supervising sound editor, or some other supporting function.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Around 1987 I made my first short film, truly my first completed film which was, That Really Obscure Object Of Desire, about my obsession with a 1928 Model A Ford. (I had shot a one hour documentary Criminal Justice, a behind-the-scenes look at the day to day operations of the criminal justice system but it wasn’t completed yet.) Obscure Object was rejected by over 50 film festivals. But eventually….it was chosen to be featured nationally on a PBS series based in Minneapolis.
The film became successful after it aired on PBS. I always found this confusing: if it was so good, why did 50+ film festivals reject it? The most common reply: “That was before we knew who you were.” Oh, the life of an independent filmmaker.
What do you appreciate about Short Film?
Short films are as important to the new filmmaker as they are for the seasoned film professional. I started with short films and documentaries myself, and to this day encourage all filmmakers to consider this approach. Because you have to learn your craft, and you’d have to be crazy (or independently wealthy) to do a feature film right out of the gate. Every filmmaker with aspirations of success need to learn how to engage the audience, connect with them emotionally, make them laugh and cry, and define their own filmmaking voice before going through the massive time and cost investment of feature films.
And when I say short film, I mean SHORT. My earliest films were “personal film diaries”, such as You’ll Change, a 3-minute film about becoming a dad at 35 years old, or Enough With The Salmon, about family vacations growing up in the northwest. These films played in 50 - 75 different film festivals, PBS, Canadian TV, Australian TV, etc.
There was also Stolen Toyota, which is 8 minutes long, and can be watched on Vimeo. AAA still hates me for not making them look very good.
What are some of the good/bad/ugly changes you’ve seen over your roughly 40-year filmmaking career?
When I was in film school, we had to study lighting and exposure. We would shoot and then have to wait a couple days for our film to be processed and come back from the lab. There were no endless takes in those days: you had to know what you were doing. And film is expensive, so if you messed something up and had to re-shoot that cost money! These days, everyone takes their phone and makes a movie.
Is that a positive or a negative shift? It’s hard to say, it depends on the person. But it is a significant shift to the filmmaking approach. Personally, I’m glad I learned all of those skills, all of that background, so I can truly understand how it all works together.
That said, I DO like how digital has enabled films to be made on much cheaper budgets. It makes filmmaking accessible to many people who couldn’t before. On the flip side, it also means there’s a lot of crap out there that should never have been made.
It also fuels the false perception that “making films is easy”. It’s never easy, because in film you’re telling a story, and a good film tells it well. Some people who pursue a career in filmmaking make 1 or 2 films, and bounce from the career, because of how hard it is to make films. I truly believe you must have the trifecta of passion, knowledge, and skill to be a good filmmaker.
Why are film festivals important to you?
Film festivals allow people to see new, different, challenging work that they’re not going to get from their multiplex, or on the internet, unless they truly take a deep dive and know what they’re looking for. Film festivals bring new talents and storytelling to a main street audience.
This is especially true of short film festivals. You see stuff you wouldn’t normally, at a length that allows space for experimentation. Not to mention, the unique skill it takes to create an effective story arc in such a short time window.
Filmmakers often have doors shut in their face, from rookies to industry vets alike. Film Festivals are where we can get exposure, build an audience, people who enjoy and identify with our work, and immediate feedback from our audience. Building this community is important to us, because filmmakers need feedback. Feedback makes us feel less crazy, and it helps us understand and fine-tune our craft in creating engaging and effective films.
We don’t expect people to always love our work, or even like us as people, far from it. As Ray Bradbury once commented, and I paraphrase: the goal is for just one person to come up and tell you “I love you for what you do”, or, failing that, you’re looking for someone to come up and tell you “You’re not nuts like people say”.
Ultimately, filmmaking is about the human connection, and film festivals connect humans.
What would be your advice to new filmmakers?
Take everything you hear with a grain of salt…filter the feedback, don’t take it all at face value.
Listen to your gut. Don’t listen to those around you who want to discourage your passion. If this is what you want to do, don’t let anyone talk you out of it.
That said…be prepared for a bumpy ride. If filmmaking were easy, everyone would be successful.
But, as much as we need and appreciate feedback, and want to hear how people feel about our films…don’t ever read the comments section. Ever.”
Thank you, Kelley – we can’t wait to Fest with you! ~MSFF Team
