Daily Inspiration: Meet Rebeccah Crabtree

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebeccah Crabtree

Hi Rebeccah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It pretty much all started when I got my first camera at 8 years old and I basically haven’t put it down since. Actually, to give credit where it’s due, it really REALLY started with my mom keeping the TCM Classic Movie channel on the TV at all times since the second I was born. Her sentimental love for classic films comes from her grandmother, who raised her the same way— a new movie in her face every single day. Of course I also watched the classic kid stuff (Toy Story and the Digimon Movie will always be tied for #1 in my heart) but I think seeing cinema in it’s “original” form made me even more fascinated by it’s possibilities the first time I ever saw a Star Wars movie. It opened up my whole world. At 7 years old I picked up a behind-the-scenes book for Revenge of the Sith and in those set photos, you see the boom guy, and the stunt guys, and the AD with her headset, Ewan McGregor all wired up to some rig so he can safely fall off a green screen mound that was eventually CGI’ed into volcanic rock… It was a moment I’ll never forget, seeing those photos and thinking “That’s somebody’s job. I want that to be my job.” Truly I don’t think I’ve looked back one time since that night sitting on my living room floor staring at those Star Wars set photos. My life path has always been movies.

At first it was just goofy little shorts, but I quickly evolved to writing my own little screenplays and forcing my friends to act for real (thanks Paden, thanks Evan), and ended up winning my first junior film festival top prize award at around 10 years old. I worked a lot on my photography skills throughout high school, and began to teach myself SFX makeup when I was 17. Film school was the obvious choice for college, and during my freshman year I taught myself stop motion animation. Film school in New York City was a magical creative time filled with lots of traveling and new cultures, and I even had the chance to work at the Cannes Film festival during those years. However, the pandemic of course totally derailed the job I had lined up at the Warner Bros Studios offices in LA, so post-grad was definitely starting to look intimidating. But there was no way I could let that stop me, so I took the change of fate as a sign to shift my focus and energy away from the paperwork of the production office and instead further hone my craft as a director and creative.

January 2021 I officially started my production company Crabtree Pictures LLC and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My team and I have produced music videos, short films, documentaries, fashion campaigns, short form sketch comedy, and we are now in pre-production for my first feature-length film shooting in 2025.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are of course the typical, albeit grueling, challenges that come with being a freelance artist— financial instability, uncertain work schedules, scrutiny on your art— but something that has been at the forefront of my emotions recently is the simple fact that the film industry is just not what it once was. Today’s unoriginal, remake & AI obsessed, over-saturation of passionless half-baked “blockbusters” is quite frankly not the industry I looked up to and admired so much as a kid.

It definitely doesn’t help that it is literally physically challenging just to manage to even step foot onto a set right now amid all of the (much needed) industry work strikes. But lately I’ve been grappling much more with the emotional challenges of accepting that the culture of the film industry will likely never be what it once was, growing up in the 2000s and 2010s. It is hard to accept the tanking of an industry your entire existence on earth has revolved around. I don’t know what my life is without the film industry, and admittedly that’s very scary. Is the golden era really over? How do we, the filmmakers, take back our art form from all the corporate greed and the corporate lack of passion? We can not let cinema die!

The best I can do for now is just keep hoping and praying and having faith that the community can conquer this low point and emerge again with a renaissance of original films, from both the Indie scene and the major studios. It feels like there is no choice but to figure out how to navigate this new media landscape, find my place in it one way or another, and make the best of it. Nothing else to really do besides just keep creating.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
These days I am primarily a film and music video director, writer, and producer, focused on pre-production for my first feature-length film shooting in 2025. I also have quite a bit of experience working as a 1st Assistant Director and Production Coordinator as well, and of course my love for Special Effects Makeup will never fade!!

I think one of the most vital aspects of my personality that has set me apart are my leadership skills. Whether I am in the director’s chair or in Producer/AD mode, it has become second nature for me to guide an entire team to our common goal and adapt to whatever wild situations a shoot day might throw at us. As a director it is crucial to be a guiding light, effectively communicating your vision and game plan to every member of the team. I know what I want, and I know how to tell you. For lack of a better description, I am proud of my ability to run the show and be “the boss”. Not to mention organization truly is key– I would not be the woman I am today without my Hello Kitty themed weekly planner. She is my secretary.

That being said, while I am proud of my ability to keep a production’s gears turning, I am of course proud of the work we create as a result. I have made lots of fun passion projects and helped friends bring visions to life, but I think I am most proud of my short documentary “More Than A Memory.” It follows the story of a Kentucky town ravaged by natural disaster, but who was able to bounce back by coming together as a community and a team. I am so proud to share their story and their message and to allow their voices to be heard.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
My whole life I always had a very hard time feeling like I belong anywhere; I struggled to find a community of peers I actually connect with on a deeper level, or friends who “get me.” Creatively I thrived as a child but as a teenager I was very scared of coming out of my shell and just being me. I used to be so worried about how I would be judged if I showed the world my art. I always felt out of place, but the film community is where I was able to find my people. Above all else art should be authentic and honest so I would say the most important lesson I’ve learned is to trust myself, and create art that feels like ME. I am always growing and learning but I feel so grateful to have instilled in myself early on in adult life to stop caring what anybody thinks and just be, just create, without trying to be something I am not. It’s liberating to look back on a very wilted down version of myself and know that now I do and make whatever I want and couldn’t even imagine caring what anybody else has to say about it. It’s very freeing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vimeo.com/crabtreepictures
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccah_treecrab/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CrabtreePictures
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/crabtreepictures/

Image Credits
“Dragon Nymph” portraits by Chase “IceWaterChase” Marshall, makeup by Rebeccah Crabtree
Behind-the-Scenes Set Photos by Kyle “ZappeLens” Zappe