Meet Haley Watson | Director and Cinematographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Haley Watson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Haley, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?

Finding work life balance has always been a struggle. I don’t feel that I’ve mastered having balance. Being a freelancer in the film industry can have wild variation. This is something that I really love about the film industry, but the spontaneity can be challenging. Call times, locations, crew size, budget are all large factors in what a particular project’s experience.

The film industry is not well structured for rest. We know this. IATSE strikes loomed over the industry last year. Long hours make it harder to get rest even in the short term. There’s also pressure to have done the job that you want to get hired for, before you are able to get hired for it. For example, having made a short film to get hired for additional directing work. That puts a lot of pressure on people who may not have access to facilitate a film to deliver a project. That requires a lot of time and resources outside of the work that you may be doing to make a living. Expectations like this, can make balance difficult.

I am finding that it is more and more important to be able to rest and recharge. I love working in film, but it is still work. Stepping away and recharging is going to allow me to be more present when I am working.

I am optimistic that the film industry is taking some of its systemic issues head on and on a personal level taking more time to rest which in turn is allowing me to be more present.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

Right now I’m directing short narrative and short documentary films. I find that many of my stories are about women navigating themes around the experience of what it means to be a woman.

Prior to directing films, I spent many years working on set. I started as a production assistant and then made my way to the camera department. For six years I was a first assistant cameraperson and then became a Cinematographer. I still shoot now.

I find my time as a DP and camera assistant has really helped me to become a better director. Having the deep technical knowledge and visual sensibility has helped me to be very economic when shooting. I rely on visual subtext in my work to be able to better enhance a story.

Overall, I want to tell engaging meaningful stories that anyone can enter and learn from.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA has so much to offer! Some of my favorites:

Food: Rick’s on Virgil in Silverlake, Dollar hits in Historic Filipino town, and Lucy’s Ethiopian Restaurant in MidCity

Fun: I find myself at Karaoke at Brass Money, Gold Diggers for Music & Drinks, and often I find myself at Black Cat for happy hour.

I am a large fan of the outdoors, if I’m in the city I’ll hike the Verdugo hills, but when I have more time I like surfing in Malibu, or hiking on the Angeles National Forest.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

There are many people that have really impacted my career. It takes a village.

I recently left my full-time job as The Head of Mariposa Camera at Breakwater Studios to be able to continue my goals of directing and shooting.

I really enjoyed my time there and was really allowed to grow. I started working there in March of 2020 and was literally and metaphorically given the keys to a camera closest that I was able to grow into a small rental house called Mariposa Camera. I was able to do that because I was given a lot of trust. That kind of environment was very new to me. I had not been in a position before where I was allowed to take such a large lead on something.

That trust started to cross over into other areas within my work. Breakwater had been developing a second season of their Almost Famous series while I worked there. I took it upon myself to do some research. From that research I found out about Lusia Harris, the first and only women to ever be drafted by the NBA. That film won the 2021 Oscar for best short documentary.

The environment at Breakwater really allowed me to take initiative on an idea. Having that mental space was important. Finding stories wasn’t my job, but I knew from the people that I worked with that the work environment held space for people to freely share ideas.

I’m thankful to have that trust.

Website: HaleyLWatson.com

Instagram: @HaleyLWatson

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haleylwatson/

Twitter: @haleylwatson_

Image Credits
Featured Photo By: Dana Lynn Photo Additional Photography by: Jane Early Photography and John Curry Photography