We recently connected with Kelley Baker and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kelley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I decided I wanted to be a filmmaker/writer I knew I had to find the best program where I could to learn as much as possible. I was lucky enough to get into USC’s Cinema Program back in the mid 70’s. Their program was great because it mixed a lot of hands on filmmaking skills with film history and theory, so I had the best of everything. We watched a lot of films, discussed them, and then made a lot of films. We had some great instructors, and it was such a small intensive program that I also learned a lot from the other students.
School was only the beginning. Every film I make, or work on, and every script/book that I write I learn more and hopefully I get better. I don’t believe you can speed up the learning curve. If you’re an artist or working in the arts you will never know everything. All you can do is hope you continue to grow. I don’t believe in short cuts and there are times when you’re going to fail. You need to learn from your failures. It’s the only way you grow.
The important skills are listening and learning. Having an open mind and figuring out exactly what it is you want to learn and then find people who you admire and ask for help. Or better yet learn from them. Share your skills with others and learn from them as well.
The only obstacle to doing what you want to do is you. If you’re not willing to commit and push yourself to get there it’s not going to happen. You have to want it and then when there are obstacles you figure out a way to get over them.

Kelley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am known as the Angry Filmmaker, I was named that by a bunch of other filmmakers based on my films and books. I am not for everyone. My logo is a finger with sprocket holes running down the finger. Some people are offended by my logo and my attitude. If you’re offended by that then we are not a good fit. And I make no apologies.
I am a graduate of USC’s film school with a BA and an MFA in film production, I am an author and an Independent Filmmaker. My books include, Dennis Barton is a Bastard, From Arrah Wanna To Mule Shoe, Road Dog, and The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide: Part One & Part Two. I’ve written and directed three full length features, eight short films, and quite a few documentaries.
My films have aired on PBS, Canadian, and Australian television, and have been shown at Film Festivals including London, Sydney, Annecy, Sao Paulo, Sundance, Chicago, Aspen, Mill Valley, and Edinburgh.
In addition to my own films I was the sound designer on six of Gus Van Sant’s feature films including, My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester, and Todd Haynes film, Far From Heaven. I also did the sound on Will Vinton’s, The Adventures of Mark Twain, and three Claymation specials for CBS. I continue to do editing and sound design for independent films.
I approach all of my work both personally and professionally as a storyteller. I use my different skills to help others tell their stories. If you can tell a good story your work will attract an audience. Too many people in my business fall in love with equipment and technology. They want to talk about the tools they use. I don’t give a shit about the technology and what’s the newest stuff out there. I want to know how I can use technology to tell my story, or a clients story.
After 40+ years of doing this I continue to work with a lot of the same people. My clients have seen my work and know what I bring to the table. Like I said earlier, I’m not for everyone.
I work very hard to continue to do good work and to learn something new with every project I’m involved with.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Two stories here…

I had written 8 short films and 3 features as well as written a couple of books. I had no distributor for my films because I didn’t like the offers I was getting. I worked my ass off writing, funding, and directing all of my features and the deals I was offered I would not have made any money or even made back what I had invested.

I ripped a page out of the punk rock handbook. I took my movies and books out on tour in a used minivan with my faithful dog Moses, a 120-pound Chocolate Lab, looking for my audience, every fall and spring for seven years we traveled the country showing my films at art house theaters, film festivals, colleges, and even biker bars.

Logging over two hundred thousand miles we encountered an assortment of characters including, a lying desk clerk at a Chicago hotel that lead to the loss of my home, two professional wrestlers in West Virginia, a group of civil rights workers drinking rum at Hank Williams grave in Montgomery, Alabama, and an overzealous drug sniffing border patrol dog in Texas.

I gave an audio workshop for the employees of a porn channel, got yelled at in a haunted bar in Memphis, was asked to leave Oral Roberts University, and drove twenty-four hundred miles in three days so I wouldn’t miss my daughter’s choir recital.

Moses swam in two oceans, fifteen lakes, and enthusiastically marked hundreds of spots from sea to shining sea.

This is all chronicled in my book, Road Dog. I had a lot of screenings, gave a lot of guest lectures and workshops, sold a lot of DVDs and books and built a network of supporters that I’m still in contact with today. It’s a hell of a story. There are a lot more details…

Other answer that I think is also important but not nearly as fun.

When I started out I wasn’t a business person. I went to an art school. I made some financial mistakes listening to business people. I learned that if someone is not in my business then they had no idea how it works. The film business is not like other businesses. Most of us don’t have regular billings and clients. Every month/year you’re starting from scratch financially. There are no regular jobs and no security. Some financial people thought they were giving me good advice, and they weren’t.
My former accountant had me invest in more equipment for the business because I had a decent year. He had me take out loans at the end of the year to buy more equipment figuring that business would keep coming in and I could use the future income to pay off the loans. Work dried up and I was stuck trying to pay off this equipment that wasn’t being used. I barely survived that year financially, I almost had to declare bankruptcy. I paid everything and everyone off and never listened to a business person again.
If you’re an artist you have to figure out how to run your own business. You need to trust your gut and do things that make sense to you. And you need to stick to it. Everyone wants to tell you how to run your business. Listen at your own peril.

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

I have lived an amazing life, so far. I have worked on incredible films with really talented people. I always have a current passport and can pack a bag and be out the door on a job in a matter of hours. I have traveled and done things I never dreamed I would do when I was younger. I have met people all over the country and in Europe who have seen my work and were effected by it in different ways. I’ve been told by others how my work changed their lives, let them see things differently. I’ve met people who got into the business because of something they got from me or my work. I have been able to have a life that has been fulfilling creatively and not had to punch a time clock or feel like I’m just a cog in a giant wheel. I have had incredible adventures and I have stories to tell.
On the other side, by not having a steady job or income I have no retirement fund (besides Social Security), no pension, and spent most of my life with no health insurance and a lot of financial insecurity. I drive an old car but I am mostly debt free and I can work on my own stuff. Like Micheal Palin says, “I will die, but I will not retire.” My feeling is you retire from things you hate doing and after all these years I still love what I do. It doesn’t get any better than that as far as I’m concerned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.angryfilmmaker.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angryfilmmaker/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelley.baker. Or – https://www.facebook.com/theangryfilmmaker
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@angryfilmmakerKBaker
• Other: SubStack – https://substack.com/@kelleybakerangryfilmmaker

  Vimeo – The Angry Filmmaker

Image Credits

On the first portrait B&W – Portrait by KB Dixon
Piano Shot – Photo by Hank Bagwell
Road Dog Reading – Photo by Claudia Allen Pieters
Army Coat shot by river – Photo by Fiona McDonald