Story & Lesson Highlights with Erin Zellers of Grant Park

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Erin Zellers. Check out our conversation below.

Erin, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I haven’t written a screenplay in a really long time, and I recently decided to do so again. I am not one to enjoy directing, in that I typically DP / camera operate. However, since it was my story and based on personal experiences and feelings I’ve had throughout my life, I knew I needed to wear a director hat. I took on the challenge of co-directing and DP’ing this short film and seeing my vision come to life was truly magical. I am so proud of what my crew, cast and I pulled off and I have this feeling we created something very special. Production took place Sept 13th and 14th of this year. Now time for post!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey! My name is Erin, and I am a freelance cinematographer, camera operator, camera assistant and actress living in Atlanta. I grew up in Castle Rock, CO where my love for entertainment arts started with dance when I was three years old. I spent the first part of my life dancing nearly every day, seven days a week in ballet and tap, as well as dabbled in other forms such as jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, modern, and musical theatre. This quickly grew my love for being on stage and performing in front of an audience; later peaking my interest in acting. I did musical theatre throughout high school, landing featured dance roles in shows like “Anything Goes” and “Once Upon a Mattress.” I also took on acting for film classes, which was my first introduction to film and TV. My acting coach was from LA, with a prior career as a talent agent. With that background, she brought her knowledge to Denver to teach and start her own production company. I was given opportunities to explore the crew side of film through that; working as a production assistant on some of her projects.
I decided to go to college for film, and spent my first year at an art school in Florida called, “Ringling College of Art and Design.” It was here that I discovered my interest in cinematography. I grew up always liking cameras, and for years studied photography and held photoshoots for friends and family. Therefore, I was already comfortable with framing, composition, lighting, and using different types of cameras. Ringling ended up not being exactly what I was looking for, so I transferred to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia for sophomore year forward. I really honed in on my craft, taking every single cinematography class offered from 16mm film all the way to digital. After graduating, I moved to Atlanta to pursue my career in film. I started out as a Covid PA on a Netflix film called, “Day Shift.” Eventually, my SCAD cinematography professor, Bear Brown, connected me with a camera assistant who hired me on as the assistant to the DP / camera PA on another Netflix film called, “Reptile.” This was one of the coolest jobs I ever had! I was able to work in the office alongside the DP, Mike Gioulakis, during pre – production; seeing all the ins and outs of his job and how he plans for a shoot. I was fortunate to be on that show til the very end of production, making enough connections to justify joining the Local 600 camera union as a Digital Utility. Since then, I’ve worked as a Digital Utility on many shows and movies in ATL including Harold and the Purple Crayon, Single Drunk Female, Cobra Kai, Tell Me Lies, etc. Whenever I am not on a union show, I shoot short films and music videos with friends because at the end of the day, being a cinematographer is what I love most! I also still take acting classes to this day and will always see performing as the first form of art I truly fell in love with.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
I truly believe that distance breaks the bonds between people. In the film world, we’re all mostly freelance; our jobs can run from one day to several months, and then boom it’s done as if it never happened. During this time, specifically on the projects that take a few months plus, we meet some of the best, most unique people we’ll ever know in our lives. We spend five, sometimes even six days a week together for ten plus hours per day. We see each other more than we see our families, our best friends, get to know each other as if we grew up together. It’s a special bond I can’t really explain, because it’s the bringing together of misfit creatives who are constantly starving for more. We are crazy enough to enter this industry fully knowing how unreliable, complicated, traumatic and overbearing it is, but we just can’t get enough of it. Then, no matter how close you may be with someone, as soon as the show / project is over, they’re out of your life, and you may never see them again. This is not always the case, but more often than not, it’s what ends up happening. I remember growing incredibly close to another girl on set a few years back, feeling like I had known her my entire life. We connected instantly and I knew we had a long friendship ahead of us. We were on a four month long movie together, working in the Covid department which that alone could send someone straight to therapy. We were both young, new to Atlanta and the industry, navigating similar obstacles and trying to figure out how long it would be until we not longer had to wipe door handles and hand out face masks. The day the show ended, that was the last time I ever saw her, as if the movie had never happened, and we had never met. People really focus on what’s physically in front of them, “out of sight out of mind” is real, especially in this industry. There are very few friends I have from shows that I continue to hang out with on a regular basis. That friend you made in the catering line; the one who cries with you by the four bangers, vents with you about the day in the van ride back to crew parking at 3AM, they usually become just a memory. What’s beautiful though is that it can be restored. If you’re lucky, you will see them again on set years later in a higher position. The bond is then re-blossomed as you work together to create art. For filmmakers, being on set doing what we love is what brings us back together. I’ve shot my own short films where I call up an old crew friend and the experience of collaborating to produce a beautiful end project we’re all proud of is what restores these close bonds, and reminds us why we do what we do. Take this as a sign to call your old set friend and ask them to work on a project with you. Believe me, it’s worth it!

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I used to think you had to find your “one thing;” that special job or skill that is uniquely yours that you excel in, and that would be your purpose in life. I spent my growing years trying to figure out what that is for me. As a kid, I tried soccer, gymnastics, piano, singing, swimming, and ended up sticking with dance, but I knew I didn’t want to pursue it professionally. I absolutely loved musical theatre in highschool, but I grew more interested in filmmaking / acting for film and tv. I originally thought I wanted to be a director, but quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I explored being an editor, a production designer, and a producer. I kept thinking during that experimental time, what is MY thing? Cinematography seemed interesting, but no one ever really gave me a chance. It wasn’t until I started at SCAD that people started being open to me DP’ing their films. My first film as a DP was like nothing I had ever experienced. I had no idea what I was doing, and I was constantly being overlooked during shooting. However, I didn’t care, and I knew right away I was absolutely obsessed with the job. As time wen on I grew more comfortable an confident, shooting shorts nearly every weekend for classmates and friends. Now here I am, still engaging in my strong love for cinematography, and hoping to pursue that fully. Unfortunately in 2023, we had a drastic drop in the industry, and nothing has really been the same since. I had to take a step back. It was these past two years that I really learned life can change at any moment, and your new plans may be completely unexpected. I built the last years of my life on the idea that film is what defines me; that cinematography is my purpose and I am empty without it. However, I learned I needed to adapt to reality. The truth is, the film industry is struggling, and no one really knows where it’s going to go. Though I am navigating through these tough times with deep pain and frustration, I discovered something really important. It’s okay to have more than one thing, to be more than one thing. People try to tell you that “you can’t do everything” but what if you can? Without the film industry as present in my life as it once was, I have been working at a dance studio which has brought me back to my roots. I have learned I love working with kids, and being on the other side of organizing a dance recital. I’ve become an event planner for a yearly film yard sale with two of my friends that has grown into a huge event for ATL. I’ve made new friends, spent time with them. I found out I’m actually really good at cooking, and though I’m not a great painter, I find it so therapeutic. What I’m getting at is, I would tell my younger self to find all of the things she’s good at. I am not just a filmmaker, or a dancer, or a storyteller. I have a big, beautiful life full of all kinds of different people and activities. Younger me, go do all of the things that make you happy. Your purpose is to be you, that’s it!

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would say kindness is what really matters to me. We work in an industry full of burnt out, jaded individuals and big egos, so you’re going to find yourself working with a couple of assholes. You will also notice that these people tend to work a lot for some reason. However, I am under the belief that kindness beats experience any day. I personally would rather work for a newbie sweetheart than a veteran with a bad attitude. I value my relationships with people and try to go out of my way to get to know them and their story to better understand them. Showing kindness and compassion to someone can make their entire day, because you never know what they’re going through.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I’ve always felt my group of friends and I are in some kind of 90’s sitcom about a group of young, “starving artists” trying to make it in this economy. I hope when I’m gone, people tell my story completely raw as it is. I’m a girl in her twenties living in a city working freelance in film, and no sugar coating, it’s very hard. I want to be remembered as the go-getter; the filmmaker who kept chasing her craft even when things got tough. I want people to tell the story of everything in my life; how I moved to Atlanta with nothing, coming from a serving job during Covid. I’d want them to say how I started out in the industry as a Covid PA, doing the most unglamorous tasks you could think of. After that, things were slow, and I took a job at Mellow Mushroom. I felt as though I had taken a huge step back. Then, I was happily surprised. My first day on that job, I got a call from a DP asking me to be his assistant / Camera PA on a Netflix movie. From there, I joined the union, and had the most fulfilling work year of my life. Now, things are really different and difficult, but I’m making my own movies / telling my own stories and spending more time with the people I love. I don’t have some fancy story, and I’m still not where I want to be. However, I am completely human and I want my story to be told the way it is, no exaggeration or glitz and glam.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @erin_zellers, @eezellers
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-zellers-6201a9141/