Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Topper.
Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a documentary cinematographer. I grew up in Baltimore and didn’t have the faintest idea how to break into the film business. I was very intimidated by the whole enterprise. So I enrolled as a graduate student at the Cinema School at USC. That bought me a little time to figure out the ecosystem and to screw up my courage. After grad school, I worked in lighting for about five years, all while cutting my teeth shooting shorts, music videos, experimental art films, a drivers ed video…. frankly, I was in no position to be picky. In 2007, I got hired to shoot a feature film documentary and that is pretty much what I’ve been doing ever since. I still don’t feel like I’ve figured out how to “make it” in the film business. The doc world is full of people who feel like outsiders like me, and I feel right at home.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My path has never really felt smooth exactly. There was a lot of uncertainty about whether I could keep advancing. For what felt like forever, I carried a lot of student loan debt that prevented me from being able to save or get any kind of financial foothold. I think when I first started, I thought it would take me a couple of years to get up and running, but it has actually taken me about twenty years to build a stable, reliable career and to be working on meaningful projects with good people.
One thing that helped me was that I never really lost my curiosity and passion for the work – or what I thought the work could be. I’ve seen this happen with colleagues where they just get burned out and disillusioned. I’m grateful that I continue to love this work. But I’ve had to make some sacrifices in other parts of life in order to get here.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a documentary cinematographer and I specialize in long-form, observational filmmaking, what is sometimes called “vérité” filmmaking. The film that I’ve worked on that has probably been seen by the most people is “Miss Americana Taylor Swift.” I think I am most adept at working with the people I am filming to help them feel safe and comfortable with the process and to convey a feeling of care and respect through my camera work. I try to do this by moving slowly (in the beginning), being obsessive about noticing small cues, and staying focused on creating a meaningful scene no matter what else is going on around me.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For me success is getting to work on projects where the directors can work as artists, as opposed to ones that have a more industrialized process, drawing on formulas.
Contact Info:
- Website: emilytopper.com
- Instagram: sevenwondersoflosangeles – not a personal page, more of a public art project
Image Credits
Photo © Nikhil Melnechuk
