We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caitlin Woods. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caitlin below.
Caitlin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
My journey to filmmaking was more of an series stumbles than a series of steps. My education is in acting and theatre arts, but I quickly learned that I’m better off behind the camera. I remember I was cast in a short film while in college and felt like the worst actor to work with because I was far more interested in where the lights were going, why the director was blocking the scene like so, how they chose the locations, etc. than my acting. After graduating, I tried on different jobs for size: casting, talent management, and so on with none quite fitting right. In between my many odd jobs, I wrote a short film and enlisted two talented friends to come over to my very small NYC studio apartment to act in it as I directed and shot it on my phone with my then boyfriend, now husband, running sound. Its hard to count an iPhone movie made for about $25 as your directorial debut, but it was the first time I felt like I had on the right hat. Coming from a background in theatre I knew how to tell a story well, but I was completely lost when a camera became involved. A creative agency was hiring an intern in the production department and I jumped at the opportunity, slowly working my way up from intern to Senior Producer. Learning to trust my gut was the hardest lesson to learn and by far the most valuable. My gut knew that I wanted to be a filmmaker back when I was working as a “bad actor” on that short film in college, but it took a long series of left turns before my I fully got on board with the idea. That said, I wouldn’t trade that wonky process because inside knowledge of every aspect in the industry has proved to be one of my greatest skillsets. It is essential to say yes to everything (within means) and to look for lessons in every situation.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m Caitlin and I’m a filmmaker originally from Miami Beach now living in Los Angeles – a new place to call home after seven years in NYC. I tell women centric stories that explore the beating heart behind everyday situations. Maybe because of my background in theater, I’m rarely interested in a fancy camera trick or big visual effects (although I do find these things very, very cool) and would rather tug at the strings of human behavior. My work spans across narrative storytelling, commercials, documentaries, and music videos.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Get out and LIVE. Listen to someone who thinks differently than you do. Try something new. For all the good that has come from social media and technology, I do think there is a layer of humanity and empathy that is fading. Art is a conversation and technology has a tendency of putting us into a vacuum of your own opinions.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Nope! I deeply think that creatives are no different from the folks working “regular jobs”. The creative path can be less linear, but at the end of the day everyone is problem solving, building, innovating, practicing, etc. regardless of the industry. For everyone, creatives or not, I think the most important thing is to just keep going.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.caitlin-woods.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitewoods/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-woods-rodstein/
Image Credits
John Hinds