We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Holly Olmos. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Holly below.

Holly, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has to be “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Cosplay Cinematic Film) that I created alongside cosplayers and filmmakers while getting to premiere the full film at Anime Expo 2022! The cosplay film is a montage-style film that brings to life and summarizes important and iconic scenes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood through the art of cosplay and film while set to the series soundtrack. This was a volunteer-based project created by a wide variety of professional cosplayers, actors, costumers, editors, filmmakers, and many more in one year during the pandemic with a small, short film budget. It was my first decently sized film project that I created from the ground up where I got involved with producing, directing, cinematography, and editing all at once. Though we had long shooting days and experienced a lot of hardships, the cast and crew that were involved were truly such a delight to work with and it was so beautiful seeing so many creatives come together to create and put their heart into this fan made film!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name’s Holly Olmos and I’m Southern California based cinematographer, photographer, and editor! I view the art of the film as an abstract reflection of how we interpret the world around us and seeks to bring that out through an array of color, maximalism, and feelings of nostalgia. My passion for film was always present in some way or another throughout my life. It was primarily present when I would borrow my parent’s VHS camera to record puppet shows, stop motion shorts, and little skits!

When I entered middle school, I was introduced to YouTube and loved creating skit videos. My parents took notice in my continued interest in filmmaking and had me audition for APA, Academy of the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School. After being accepted into the media team, I went onto really exploring all the avenues of filmmaking in my four years of being apart of the program. I was able to flesh out my style a bit and learn that I truly love creating colorful imagery through the art of cinematography!

After high school, I obtained an associate’s in film/TV media at Orange Coast College. School was never really for me and felt it was restraining my creative flow so, I saw it fit to take what I learned from APA and OCC to go explore Los Angeles and create art to add to my portfolio and show others what I can do!

From spring 2020-summer 2021, I reached out to other colorful artists in LA through Instagram to do photo shoots, music videos, and collaborative projects. I was actually starting to feel productive towards my film career goal and was getting the chance to develop my style more. I had the opportunity to work with the YouTube channel Brat and artists like Ginger Root, PiNKII, Maya Karli, and so on!

To grow as a person and get the chance to gain independence, I took the chance to move to NYC for the next two years (summer 2021-summer-2023) to further build my portfolio and work with east coast artists. To be honest, putting myself in a new environment really helped me figure out what I don’t want and do want from making art. Since graduating college and pushing towards portfolio building, I’ve also been learning how to building a clientele, calculating my rates, self promotion, and even set boundaries as an independent artist.

Setting boundaries for your art, your time, and your health is so important to keep up with the uncertainty that is the art world. Not everyone you interact with in the art world will always be pleasant either. I find that each new project or set I’m on is a new opportunity to further workshop my communication skills as a filmmaker so I may be ready to face all different types of people in the industry. I find there will always be new chances to learn from your mistakes and iron out your brand, you just have to be willing to throw yourself out there knowing there may be feelings of stagnation at times.

I’m an ever-growing, young artist and am still continuing to learn how to respect myself and take confident ownership my style in this industry. This year, I plan to expand my networking circle even broader to share my art and experience new ways of making art by traveling, continue to work with other independent music artists, share queer themes and stories, and work on my biggest project yet this fall, “Death Note (Cosplay Cinematic Film)” with creatives in our small production company, Cosplay Visions!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The mission is to create queer art, share queer stories, and work with queer and alternative artists. My stylistic choice to be loud, camp, and colorful in my work derives from my own queerness and the artists that I get to work with. An example of my queer work is my fan made music video for the New Order song, Blue Monday, where the video portrays an abstract reflection of religious trauma and finding your true sexuality. I plan to continue making art like this with other queer artists, small and big!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative for myself has to be the positive work flow I get when I work with another artist, specifically on set. Once everything is set up, lights, camera, and talent, getting into the creative head space can take a set to sync up with new people around. It’s truly satisfying to get that groove during a photo shoot or music video where both parties are enjoying themselves during shooting and are giving good, consistent feedback to each other. It almost feels like a dance and when you get a rhythm, it can turn into a productive, creative party!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hollymarieolmos.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollymarieolmos
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClNkzpSCwaezwlFsoGrDe3g
• Other: Cosplay Visions Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosplay.visions/