We were lucky to catch up with Liam Arnold recently and have shared our conversation below.

Liam, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents have always been very supportive of my career. Before discovering filmmaking, my plan was to become a lawyer. I was going to major in History in Undergrad, then go to law school and hopefully get a position with a firm. Everything changed in my sophomore year of high school. I started acting in my school’s drama company and made several friends who were interested in filmmaking. After that, I decided I would pursue directing.

My parents were definitely surprised by the sudden change but they didn’t deter me. They got me a LUMIX G7 for my 16th birthday which I used on most of my shoots until I went to SCAD in 2021. Both of them did theater before having me and my sister so we could have in depth conversations about my work. They would recommend plays or movies for me to watch and help me with some of my early writing and acting and I could rely on them while I was in school for support. Their careers had given them lots of experience in the non-profit and legal worlds, so when I was raising funds for my thesis film, “The Straw Lady,” I could ask them for advice on ways to go about it.

The most important way they’ve helped me is through their patience and acceptance. The film industry is extremely unpredictable and having parents who understand that has made it much easier to navigate.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Director, Producer, and Writer from Bel Air, Maryland, currently working in the Greater Baltimore Area. I began making films in high school after joining my school’s theatre company and making friends with some fellow burgeoning filmmakers. My first script was 133 pages and not very good but I kept practicing my writing and filmmaking. In 2018, I landed my first professional gig, PA-ing on a short film titled “Forever Red.” The hours were long and the temperatures were nearing the single digits, but I loved every minute of it. That experience confirmed that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

From there, I became a freelance videographer working in social media, real estate, commercials, etc. During that time, I honed my technical skills and learned what it takes to run a production.

In 2021, I started in the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Film & TV Production Program. I focused in Directing with two minors in Producing and Acting for the Camera. My time at school helped me develop my artistic style and connected me with some of my favorite collaborators.

Much of my work deals with how the systems characters live under affect them and their relationships. I’m very fascinated by how things work within a system and whether or not that system actually benefits the people in them. My thesis film at SCAD, “The Straw Lady” deals with this subject along the lines of cults and how religion plays into family dynamics. In the film, the protagonist, Leonard, is forced to question his familial and religious values when his brother, Clyde, decides to leave the family cult. The film climaxes with a fiery confrontation between the two.

That film was the largest undertaking I had taken as a filmmaker by that time. I was the Writer, Director, and Executive Producer on it, leading a team of over 80 people and pulling off period accurate production design, stunts, and pyrotechnics. While I adore the creative process of filmmaking, I approach my projects with a very practical mindset. Making a film or commercial is as much a creative endeavor as it is a logistical one. As a producer, I ensure smooth communication between departments, intense organization, while maintaining flexibility in case something doesn’t go according to plan.

Film is a beautiful and important medium. It is one of the most immersive and dynamic forms of storytelling and I love that I get to engage with it everyday.

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

A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a fellow filmmaker. She had just watched my film, “The Straw Lady” for the first time and was telling me about her interpretation. My intended interpretation of the ending of the film is that the protagonist has started to brake free from the abusive cycle he’s stuck in. However, she saw it differently, seeing him as stuck in the pattern just in a new way.

Before this, I sent some scripts for a series I’m developing to a friend to get his thoughts on them. Afterwards, he told me which storylines interested him the most and where he thought the stories were going. I sent those same scripts to another friend, and they told me entirely different storylines and theories.

My favorite thing about art is that it’s subjective. Seeing the different ways my work affects people and what they take from it is incredibly rewarding.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Earlier in this interview, I mentioned that I wanted to be a lawyer before discovering filmmaking. That path was very linear with clear benchmarks along the way. In a creative field, there is no linearity, especially as a director. The biggest hurdle is that the only way to direct is to direct. Essentially, that means you have to keep creating all the time even when there is no gig.

Many freelancers and artists have day jobs that supplement or even make up the bulk of their income. I think many people outside of the creative field see that as not having “made it.” Being in that world though, I understand how normal that is and that a true measure of success in a creative field is entire subjective.

The beauty of the path of a creative is that “making it” can mean whatever they want it to mean.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liamarnoldd/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-arnold-73026316a/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/thestrawladyfilm/

Image Credits

Shane Hecksel
Michelle Chwalla
Hailey Feller
Zoe Ball
Liam Arnold