Meet Heather Hutton of Touch and Go Productions in East Atlanta Village

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Hutton.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Heather. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2013, I moved back to Atlanta to attend grad school in sculpture at Savannah College of Art and Design. I shared a studio with a group of puppeteers who also work in the art department in film and television. I was asked by my studio mates to come to work for Walking Dead Season 5 and 6. I thought why not, I could use a break from grad school. I joined IATSE Local 479 as a welder fabricator and had an epiphany on set stick welding zombie walls in a man lift 25 feet in the air on a beautiful sunny day in Senoia, GA. I realized I was getting paid more money to build walls to keep zombies out than I ever made as a FAA licensed aircraft mechanic. I was also having the time of my life!

Following I went back to grad school and changed majors from sculpture to film and television. The very first film I produced made it into the Atlanta Out on Film Festival and from there I was hooked on directing, producing, writing, and editing. I was also a few years older than my colleagues bringing in a lot of life experience, so directing and producing came natural.

Has it been a smooth road?
Becoming an independent contractor has been my greatest challenge because most of my employment history has been working steady salary or hourly jobs. It’s difficult to line up enough work to move from one gig to the next without giant gaps in between. My other challenge is my deep desire to direct feature films. Women just aren’t getting these opportunities very often and I find myself becoming a trailblazer in the film industry that is no different than being a trailblazer in my previous industry as a female pilot and mechanic. Ultimately I left the aviation industry because I kept hitting the “glass ceiling”. It utterly astounds me in an industry as progressive and forward thinking as film that more women aren’t directing.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Touch and Go Productions – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am the founder of Touch and Go Productions which was created specifically for a proof of concept film about women in aviation that I plan to turn into a feature film one day. In order to keep the company name safe and a clear Chain of Title for the film, I really don’t use it to conduct other business. Typically, I do a joint venture with other production companies like Merry Price Productions, Reel 2 Real, Plotline Pictures, or just other independent producers in general. When I work with these companies, I’m generally hired to direct, produce, write, or edit and sometimes I wear several of these hats!

The aspect of filmmaking I find the most rewarding and consider my specialties are directing and editing. I’m not afraid of taking calculated risks when it comes to storytelling. Directing gives me an opportunity to do that. Both directing and editing challenge my creative mind to find unique ways or perspectives to present a story. I also have a background in experimental film, so I try to incorporate some of those techniques into narrative and I generally loathe linear storytelling. Films are so much more engaging when the director or editor or both can figure out a way to show rather than tell a story completely out of order.

The accomplishment I am most proud of is receiving the Global Shorts Award of Excellence in Editing presented to a film I directed called Touch & Go, based on a true story about my life as a teenage pilot. The short film is currently touring the festival circuit and I couldn’t be more pleased with this project, because against many odds my Director of Photography, Angelica Perez-Castro, and I figured out how to make a teenage pilot look like she is actually in flight. This was an extremely technical production including aerial and underwater stunts that came together magically in the edit by Paige Howard. My trick for pulling this off started with the writing. I asked my writer, Darren Usher, to write down the story in a linear fashion and I would help him with the technical lingo pilot’s use to talk on the radio. After six or seven drafts, I printed the script, took a pair of scissors to it and razored it at least 25 times. Then I scotch taped the script back together in the order I see the film in my head just like an editor would do using software. I handed the script back to him and said this is how I envision this story. He was utterly in shock but followed suit and it shows in the edit.

What sets me apart from some filmmakers, is not only do I really care about the methodology of executing the script well but I also really care about the people who help me build it. I take the time to host a production meeting at the beginning of each shoot day, so art department, camera, and lighting know what’s coming in advance and make sure crew feel at ease working together. Iesha Price, with Merry Price Productions, talks about how I’m somehow able to diffuse tension in the air when I get everyone in a circle and ask them to share their superpower and pet peeve before we get started. I check on each department throughout the day. I try to pair people with less experience with someone who has more and if the schedule allows, I try to cook for my people one day on set. It’s those moments of validation I think people really appreciate and I don’t want anyone leaving my set having a lesser experience or getting “bossed” around. I told Caletta Harris with Reel 2 Real Productions and Iesha Price that I want to create an environment I want to work in especially after many years in aviation as the only female and in some cases, the work environments were quite hostile. Nobody enjoys a hostile work environment, so I aim to flip that script!

IMDB:
imdb.me/DirectorHeatherHutton

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Atlanta, GA but I’m probably a little biased because I was born here at Piedmont Hospital making me a true Atlantan despite all my years away from Georgia. Atlanta has always had a rhythm unique to this city. It’s a big enough city that if you experience any kind of unwelcoming vibe, you can easily move past those people and find another wolf pack. The arts are spectacular here and I’m enjoying exploring the city more since the integration of the belt line on my skateboard.

What I like the least about Atlanta, is we’ve lost our music scene. The radio stations play the same songs over and over sitting in terrible traffic that’s only getting worse. I started my undergrad here in the mid 90’s when the music scene was one of the best in the country. We had a radio station for every genre of music and we had clubs and smaller venues that catered towards up and coming musicians. I miss that about Atlanta and want it back!

 

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