Meet Michelle West | Balancing the Magic and the Mundane of Filmmaking

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

Hi Michelle, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Art is how I feel most understood in the world. To create something from nothing that allows my unique perspective to be expressed is very liberating. I remember as a kid always having my nose buried in a book, making up dances, recording myself singing on a cassette tape, or drawing. In college I majored in marketing, which definitely has an artistic component to it, though what I really studied was art history and English. Once I discovered filmmaking, it was like a fusion of all the art I loved combined and it felt incredibly special.

I didn’t realize I could pursue an artistic career until my mid-twenties. I was working for an ad agency in Minneapolis and we flew to Los Angeles to shoot a commercial on the Santa Monica beach. When I walked on to that set, surrounded by lights, camera, and a crew creating a story right in front of me, I remember feeling like I had come home. It completely changed my trajectory. I was in awe at what people got to do for their job and I knew in that moment I had to make filmmaking my job too or I might wither away. When I got home from that trip, I submerged myself into filmmaking, learned on my feet, and within five years I was a DGA assistant director living in Los Angeles myself. Now that I get to walk on to film sets that I’m directing, unifying many art forms into a singular vision, it’s the best feeling in the world.

However, an artistic career also entails of a lot of unsexy, mundane work. One of my greatest lessons as a filmmaker has been to fall in love the entire process – from research, to pitching and financing, to marketing and accounting. Keeping track of finances is crucial, as the industry can be really inconsistent. Oh and the networking! Relationships are important as that’s how new projects come along. A lot of filmmaking is not at all inspiring or fun, but still requires a great deal of care, tenacity, and joyful attention in order to generate a long and successful career. The way I see it, if I can create a strong and stable foundation by doing the mundane work, then the more varieties and types of art I can explore to create movie magic.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m most excited about continuing to improve my craft and shooting a feature film in the next couple of years. I’ve shot four short films in the last four years, and with each project my tools get a little sharper, but I’m ready for a more substantial project. Over the festival run next year I’m pitching the long-form version of Lineage and I really look forward to getting the opportunity to tell that story to larger audiences.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love Los Angeles! There’s no end to things to do.

The beach is a must over the course of a couple days – one day to explore the Santa Monica boardwalk and Venice Beach ending with a dinner at my favorite restaurant in LA, Scopa; and another day at Point Dume in Malibu to hike, rock climb, bodyboard, or just relax. There’s also a great spot in the hills of Malibu called The Old Place for great food and vibes.

A day or two in Hollywood is important. I love hiking to the Griffith Observatory to see the views and the Hollywood sign, then dinner and drinks at Little Dom’s in Los Feliz if not going to a show at The Greek. There are a few cool independent movie theaters that show classic or unique films, like the New Beverly or Brain Dead Studios, that are pretty unique to LA, both of which are close to Canter’s Deli which is a Hollywood institution. For some reason, I’m almost always sat at the Guns ‘n Roses table.

I’m also a big Dodger’s fan, and it’s a great time to pre-game at Short Stop before heading up to the stadium. Here’s a big secret to anyone reading this – drive to Dodgers Stadium through Gate D. Thank me later!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to shoutout my former boss, Karen Loop, who probably read every draft of my short film, Lineage, which is about three generations of women navigating abortion during the Great Depression. It started as 6 pages and topped out at 25 pages after many, many revisions. It was the most personal piece I had written and was at times too graphic, or too medicinal, or too inauthentic. I tried so hard to do it “right” and Karen was the most encouraging, patient, and helpful mentor, offering thoughtful feedback and support. I also have to shoutout Tennessee Martin for trusting me with her script, Lesbophilia, which became a short film I’m incredibly proud of. I really challenged myself artistically with this one, and the collaboration Tennessee brought to it as a writer and producer really elevated its quality.

Website: https://www.ItsMichelleWest.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_michellewest/

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

Image Credits
Christina Belle Photography
Tommy Kallgren