We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashten Falter. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashten below.
Ashten, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?
I am very pleased with the promotional reel I created for local pianist, Francis McGrath. I met him through my first client and friend, James Hearne. We filmed at the beautiful Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin. I had a three person crew: myself, my Director of Photography Sam Stanbery, and my husband Ben Falter, who did all the sound recording. The footage came out beautifully and Francis has informed me that he has been able to get a lot of work from this reel.
Ashten, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a multifaceted freelance creative and educator in both Theater and Film. I love to learn new skills and constantly challenge myself to try new things. I am a proud member of Women in Film and Television of Austin and a member of the Producers Program at Austin Public.
My background in musical theater has made me well rounded in many different aspects of the arts. I sing, play piano, dance, act, choreograph, direct, music direct, produce, coach, and stage manage. All of these skills have transferred over to my film career and have helped me immensely.
The most important aspect of theater that helps me the most in my film career is the idea of ‘community.’ Theater is all about community. Bringing something together from nothing. I believe film is the same way. Filmmakers gather to put their skills, ideas, time, and passion together to create something from nothing. The less I make the creative process about myself and more about the communion of the ideas and people around me, the more depth and beauty there is in the project.
I currently work at Austin School of Film and Christian Youth Theater as an educator. I also work with local businesses and musicians on promotional reels and music videos. When I work with clients, my goal is to find the heart of who they are and share that with the world.
When inspiration hits, like it did for my latest music video, ‘Not Yet,’ a music video to Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune,’ I go after my vision by surrounding myself with talented and passionate filmmakers to help bring my vision to life.
I am most proud of being able to now teach film education. When I started the Digital Video Certificate Program at Austin School of Film in 2021, I literally knew nothing about cameras. Now I am teaching the first class I ever took and feel confident in my knowledge and expertise as a filmmaker. I am grateful that I get to continue learning more about film production as I share the love and knowledge of film production with my students.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My career in film started due to major physical set backs. During Covid, I decided to finally fix my shoulder, which I had dislocated in a show years before. After six months of recovering from my shoulder surgery, I decided to try out martial arts and ended up tearing my ACL and meniscus straight through. I was right back under the knife. This left me without the one thing I had always relied on for creative expression and work- dance.
I was desperate to find a new way of expression. I tried photography, crafts, writing, painting, and finally film. Film sparked a passion in me that I did not know was there. The need to find the best shot- to learn how to create a story through images- was firing in my gut and lighting a fire that is still there today.
Filmmaking has given me a confidence in myself that I never had as a performer. To be able to share what is inside my brain instead of only what I am physically capable of has been altogether life giving and wonderful. I am more than what I can physically do, and now I can share that with the world.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I only recently discovered Austin Public. Austin Public is “a non-exclusive and content-neutral media studio that offers low- and no-cost training, equipment, facilities, and content distribution services to all Austinites.’
Austin Public is a FANTASTIC RESOURCE for local filmmakers. I joined the Producer’s Program this past January and it has been a game changer. I am able to check out gear for only $12 a month. In short, I have been able to do multiple projects without breaking the bank!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ashtenfalter.com
- Instagram: @ashtenfalter
- Facebook: Ashten Falter
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/ashten-falter-30b90219b
- Youtube: @ashtenfalter4417
- Other: https://linktr.ee/ashtenfalter
