We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jolee Mallmann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jolee, thanks for joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?
I manage all of my own social media for a few reasons. Keeping up with content creation and staying on top of current trends is a constant education. Having full control of my own feeds for my personal social platforms as well as my professional media pages allows me to stay closely connected to the current social media culture. Overall this has remained a positive choice even when content doesn’t perform as expected because I have access to the analytics to learn what could be improved for future posts.
Jolee, 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 an artist, first and foremost, followed by a photographer, art director, and filmmaker. I graduated with a multi-faceted media degree in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and have devoted my life to creative storytelling ever since.
Post-graduation, I moved to Milwaukee and struggled initially to break into the filmmaking/media industry. I had always done photography and film services independently with contracts but I craved more opportunities on set.
I worked as a freelance filmmaker through my early twenties and as a part-time cinema associate at a historic Milwaukee cinema. Through that opportunity, I was able to showcase my ability as a content creator and to successfully attain the Digital Coordinator position with nonprofit association Milwaukee Film.
Within the Milwaukee community, I was able to work on a few different local feature films and television productions that gave me the experience necessary to pursue my own, more-involved projects. Being an Art Director on the film Earlybird with Two Scoops Productions gave me the experience and confidence required to go forward with my own short film production.
I am proud of the journey I’ve been on to gain a footing in my industry. There are so many lessons I would have never learned if I was granted a silver spoon or had the kind of connections that make things happen early in your career. The frustrations I experienced created a more level headed filmmaker and I feel that reflects in the energy surrounding my work.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
As a filmmaker I go back to the film “Be Kind Rewind” as a resource and a reminder that filmmaking can be a powerful community experience. It’s a light-hearted comedy, but the deeper message of relying on community and using the talents of others around you to make something more significant than you ever could alone really sticks with me. There are many life lessons we can learn from Jack Black.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
In filmmaking, some projects can take a year or so to go from pre-production, to production, to post, to festival season and beyond. The journey from a script to a final export is a long one, but as a photographer, I can’t help but to document the behind-the-scenes of the entire process. Looking back at the documentation of the filmmaking itself next to a final product is always very rewarding for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.peachteaphotographyfilm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jolee.jpg?igsh=ZDQ0YzM3eXhyOTM0&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peachteaphotographyfilm?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joleemallmann
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@peachteafilmsjolee?si=v19uAWUCU-2yUY78
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/peachteaphotographyfilm?igsh=cm1yMWtybms3OG16&utm_source=qrhttps://www.instagram.com/sisterhoodfilm?igsh=OWZ0aXV3c2RraWV5&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Personal Portrait photographer: Faith Lemay
Additional Photos Black & White Photographer: Emma Erin