Daily Inspiration: Meet Chance Falkner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chance Falkner

Hi Chance, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I always thought I wanted to cowpoke; sleep on the ground and write stories about the desert. Tell a tale of a dwindling west and make a living- not a killing. That certainly was what my mother wanted for me. Living in a map dot sort of town, off a road called Jackrabbit trail, this all seemed like a sure fire plan. But at the tender age of 14 I met a girl that had me all sorts of smitten. And in my attempt to court her I signed up for the high school video class. To my disappointment; I hadn’t realized that by the time I took the class she would no longer be in the ‘intro to film’ course.

But what I found there was this sort of DV interlaced dream. A lens, a tape, an expansive landscape surrounding me, and a new way to write and tell stories. And this one asked something of me- to get out there. Plant my feet on the ground and see something. In cinematography, how you say something has weight- but having something to say gives it gravity.

I spent the next three years in high school living and breathing (seldomly sleeping) film. Trying to constantly iterate the process, throwing proverbial dung at the wall to see what stuck. And meanwhile; things at home became precarious. My mother has to go away- I move in with some neighbors. I work often- careful not to allow much time to consider my living arrangements. I tell myself I can out work the circumstance; I sort of do. Word of my situation spreads and folks take notice of what I’m trying to do. A school counselor takes an elevated interest and somehow finds a way to get me into film school.

This brings me to Tucson, Arizona. A groovy, gritty, hippie jammed, redneck ladened desert town with the best Mexican food north of the border and the surliest film crews known to man. I loved it. But film school wasn’t for me- I got kicked out of my only film class for my self elected attitude on attendance. I was so eager to shoot films that the archaic lectures on the “Big Five” studio system felt like training a grunt headed to Afghanistan the history of the trebuchet.

There was a moment in Tucson where what we made and who we made it with still feels very near and dear to me. We don’t all live there now but there is connection to that landscape and time that clings to all of us- just like the desert dirt to our sweat coated selves. To this day, my favorite projects I’ve lensed have come from wonderful artist and humans that are never more than 7 degrees to Tucson.

When that chapter closed and all of us parted ways like the credit sequence of a 90’s coming of age film- I made the move out west to Los Angeles. Reluctant to leave my desert, I had nothing but nerves heading into a world that felt like ground zero. No more small pond to make gentle wakes. Now I had to swim in the Pacific Ocean.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
If this path is in fact a road- it’s unpaved and I’d suggest a solid suspension (and four-wheel drive never hurt).

I moved to LA in February of 2020- so you can say I didn’t exactly stick the landing. I thought I would be able to enter a new market with my average-at-best portfolio and start climbing the ladder. But with roadblocks like COVID and so much civil unrest; I had to re-evaluate my position in a real way. I was fortunate enough to have friends working on the crew side who could get me on set and accustomed to a new pace and standard (they got me hip to game). and in that process of starting over- I met very talented and genuine folks who were at the same part of their journey as I was.

It was great getting to connect with people in a real way who are just taking the next indicated step. And when connecting like that you tend to grow with simpatico and the collaboration reflects that.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In the last couple of years I have stepped away from directing commercials and have committed myself more to cinematography. I feel that my heart has always been in the authorship of a frame; more so than the larger conducting nature of a directors work.

What surprised me was my slow-burn love for making documentaries. I’ve found so much liberty in how stripped down the medium lends itself be, all the while loving just how elevated you can craft them to be. I’ve had the fortune to lens a few feature length documentaries with creative teams that prioritize the visual language of their film- which is always a vitalizing component for my involvement .

The current film I’m working on is the Klamath Tribe’s fight to return cultural and restorative fire to their homeland. We follow a mother’s journey to reconnect with her community and landscape through practices that have been lost or taken through systems of colonial land management. It’s a boots on the ground sort of piece- often told by the director and myself, somewhere in the woods, crammed in a truck, hiking and shlepping gear across mountains. I fucking love it.

And I love the people.

Translating someone’s story is such a gift for both parties. Because often to connect, is to be seen. And as filmmakers we translate someone’s experiences and life into a story for others to unite around. And in this film’s case; hopefully challenge a status quo and give insight that breathes empathy for a people’s circumstance.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I recently completed work on a year long documentary about a former Hells Angle who befriends and saves a group of giant manta ray. It’s an incredible story of a man who has hurt people in his life but is able to connect with a landscape and unite others for meaningful change.

I found the entire experience expanding in a way that I’m not sure narrative filmmaking could ever be. Being immersed in a way of life and hearing harrowing stories of pain and love and process creates a very reflective environment as opposed to what’s a traditionaly reactive one.

It’s in post-production right now and the name is still under wraps but I hope it’s something I can share quite soon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chancefalkner.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directly_chance/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/thedogdaysproject