Conversations with Isabel Mazzolini

Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabel Mazzolini.

Hi Isabel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was always fascinated with visual storytelling, movies, live performances. When I was five years old my favorite story was the live musical adaptation of Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, I was the only kid that knew the truth about the fate of Quasimodo but I would still tell my friends to watch the piece instead of me spoiling it.

I started making videos when I was thirteen: I didn’t have a camera back then so I would just use the computer webcam (great quality). When I turned sixteen my mom bought me a used reflex camera and a small green screen and I was the happiest teenager ever. I would create remakes of music videos with my friends and I eventually started collaborating with other young creatives on YouTube.

Making videos or taking pictures was my everyday thing, I would spend hours in school just brainstorming ideas and making creative plans. My teachers weren’t always happy to see me that distracted so they started asking to make videos of specific topics and to show them in class.

Choosing the university major was an easy task for me: I wanted to make movies.

During college I started working as a cinematographer for a web creators company, I would shoot and edit an enormous amount of videos every month while also working as a camera operator for YouTubers and musicians.

A huge passion of mine has always been traveling and I had the opportunity of taking part in an exchange program at San Francisco State University where I made a huge amount of short films, made great connections and friends and finished my film production studies. By the end of it, a sf local production company hired me as a cinematographer and I started working on commercials and music videos.

Now I’m in Los Angeles and I get to take part in beautiful projects with old and new friends, I get to collaborate with an enormous amount of creators and I never stop.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, it wasn’t always smooth.

I was very lucky in having such a strong female figure when I grew up, my mom is a single mother and she managed to raise my siblings and I while working full-time at her company. She taught me that everything is possible with great determination and hard work and she always showed me that being a woman doesn’t really affect your success.

When I got into the Italian film industry things of course were different: many times I would not be considered strong enough to carry heavy cameras or lights, I was literally told that my hands were more delicate than the ones of a man and that I should wear gloves. There were moments when I thought that I could not make it because I wasn’t physically strong enough.

When I moved to the States things changed: despite being a woman I was given the same amount of credit and respect and it really helped feeling better and more confident about my abilities and talent.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a cinematographer. I specialize in narrative short content but I also shoot music videos and commercials, I love shaping lights in creative new worlds and suggesting atmospheres, being able to be the very first person looking at the frame and at the actor’s performance.

My thesis short film “Pillow” that I directed and shot got selected at the Rome Film Festival and is distributed by Prem1ere Films. I made it three years ago and I learnt a lot since then but I am definitely still proud of it and really shaped my style.

It is very important for me to be able to help, through cinematography, to build the subtext and the essence of the story. I really like working with children, they bring a whole new energy on set and their emotions are totally genuine, being able to accentuate that innocence and authenticity give me the chance to experiment even more with my work.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Los Angeles is just wonderful. I live in Echo Park and I have an amazing view on DTLA and its lights, it’s always magical to just observe and being captured by such a beautiful sight.

Every day I get to discover a new part of the city, a hidden cafe, a different cuisine, piece of art, even the weather changes based on where you are! The ocean is less than an hour away and yet I can hike at the national forest and feel like I’m in the mountains.

But let’s talk about traffic: I HATE IT. Sometimes it really challenges my stability. Hours of traffic just to get home 15 miles away. I’m learning how to be smart with it (never drive at 5pm, I say it for your mental health).

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelmazzolini/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/isabelmazzolini