We had the good fortune of connecting with Zegan Doyle and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Zegan, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.” — Newland Archer on good conversation in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
I spend most of my time living in the air of ideas. It’s a place where I can daydream and imagine endless what-if possibilities for my work. Filmmaking is the ultimate exchange of ideas. In the space of two hours or so, stories can offer opinions, raise questions, and challenge assumptions. My favorite films hold space for thought, interpretation, and meaning. What a beautiful place to live!
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m most excited about my upcoming sci-fi/dance feature that I’m writing and directing. The film explores a dance collaboration between an HR manager and a nonverbal humanoid in the suburban Southwest. The tone is weird, eerie, pulpy, and poetic. I combine evocative imagery and distinct soundscapes to create what I hope is an unforgettable cinematic experience! As you can imagine, my background in directing music videos very much informs my work on this project.
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.
The Ballona Creek Bike Path is LA’s best-kept secret. There’s nothing more inspiring for my creativity than biking alongside California poppies and even spotting a heron and egret! The path ends at the beach where you can enjoy the ocean breeze and grab a fresh fish taco, or two, or three… At the end of the day, unwind at the Wi Spa in Koreatown to sweat it out in the sauna and Himalayan salt rock room. This place is especially close to my heart because the experience always offers me a fresh perspective on the projects that I’m working on.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shout out the book Banish Your Inner Critic by Denise Jacobs. It’s a practical how-to live in “the air of ideas”. It’s structured in a way that identifies common impediments to creativity, explains where they originate, and offers exercises and mental models for overcoming them. I reference it often to help clear the cobwebs!
Website: https://www.zegandoyle.com
Other: https://vimeo.com/zegan
Image Credits
Seth Sam