Today we’d like to introduce you to Abbey Abeynayake.
Hi Abbey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The earliest memory I have is when I was eight. My father had stapled the periodic table onto the ceiling so that I could see it every night before bed. I was supposed to be a neurosurgeon, never a filmmaker.
My father is a software engineer and he’s constantly in front of a computer monitor. One day, I saw him working on another program. It didn’t look like the other applications, albeit I didn’t ask any questions. I left to school and got home pretty late that afternoon. I passed his office and he was in the same exact position. So then I thought, what on earth is on THAT screen?!
I waited for him to go to work the next day. I crawled into his workstation, opened the program, started a new iteration (being a computer engineer’s daughter, I knew how to erase my steps), and began playing around with clips. I was beyond amazed with the power of non-linear editing. Placing one clip in front of another could drastically change how an audience can perceive a story. I was hooked.
Later that evening, my father came into my room and told me he knew what I did. Of course, he was smarter than I. He went on to tell me that film was not an industry for women. Not because he was sexist, because he had experience in the industry. He saw how women were treated on/off set. He said, “You have to think about the fact that you’re not just a woman, you’re an Asian woman. These people are going to rip you apart.”
His concerns stemmed from fear—and I knew that. We agreed that I’d keep it as a hobby.
I taught myself how to edit on over a dozen applications and soon got hired by various businesses in my hometown. The city hired me when I was 14 to create content for their public station. I became a Producer in my high school syndicated network and ran teams until I graduated. All the while balancing all the courses necessary to becoming a doctor. Film was a hobby after all.
I got into college and continued on my path toward becoming a surgeon. I had about six months to graduate. It was here when I realized that medicine was my father’s dream, not mine. I wanted to be a filmmaker. I found it to be a diametric standstill and a moment that changed the direction of the rest of my life.
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?
After graduating, I was turned down by all the major studios even though my resume was solid. I couldn’t figure out why no one would hire me. I knew more programs than any college student, so I was honestly beside myself. Then, it came to me; my father was right. I suppose I didn’t realize it was going to be “this” hard.
In addition to, my art and creative process is very out of the box. I’ve had to learn how to make peace with the fact that I am and will continue be the outlier in many rooms. Self-doubt is a massive plague for artists around the world. We’re constantly doubting ourselves. We look to society to accept us when we really need to look inward and accept every imperfection that makes our approach to our craft unique in itself. This can be disconcerting over an arduous amount of time. Sustaining the momentum is key.
If it’s worth any consolation, I actually rather the road not be smooth. All of the obstacles actually make you appreciate the journey. I take nothing for granted. Every loss is an incremental reason to get that WIN.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Abstract Digital Cinema?
Abstract Digital Cinema (ADC) is production company comprised of students, graduates, and industry professionals dedicated to sealing the gap between art and technology. We come from various genders, sexualities, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. ADC understands what our global audience wants because we, ourselves, come from those real parts of the world.
All of our production and post team members are brought into early discussions. If we need to customize a look and/or camera workflow for that client, our software developers are right there to get to work. These are HIGHLY technical conversations discussing various digital cinema initiative pipelines.
This saves us time and money before, during, and after production. When I started this company, my main goal was to limit the amount of unnecessary chaos so that our team could have more time to create without any added pressures.
We specialize in 8K workflows. Our Directors of Cinematography, Engineers, technicians, and camera teams work primarily on RED DSMC2 (Digital Stills Motion Capture®) line of cameras.
Technology in this line of work is changing every day, and even our veterans are learning new advancements. Beauty of our brand is that we have no egos. I personally think that’s the main reason why we are so progressive within our workflows. That and we’re not afraid to take calculated risks in the technological landscape.
How do you think about luck?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in positive manifestation with a culmination of a strong work ethic and integrity. Luck, in my opinion, is for those who aren’t present with their intentions. I lead both my professional and personal life in all forms of self-accountability.
My aptitude to do more and be more is accredited to a moral obligation I have for the next generation. It is my tendentious belief that we take none of this material when we cross over; we take only the lessons derived from said material.
If we simply discard all forms of self-accountability and chalk it up to “let luck take care of it” without putting in the work, we are at fault. Generational proxies recycling bullshit with no real progress albeit we believe our own admission to such grandiose soulful undertaking is, in fact, rooted in concerted efforts to be a better human.
Buffer your emotions. Rest the disquiet mind, and break up with your ego. Luck has nothing to do with it. You are in control of your destiny, so own it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.abstractdigitalcinema.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abstractdigitalcinema/
- Other: https://www.moldypillow.com/
Image Credits:
All images: Property of Abstract Digital Cinema
