Today we’d like to introduce you to David Hutchinson.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I studied media production in college and started making short documentaries during my junior year. My first project examined loneliness at Pepperdine University, my alma mater. Initially, it was a very lonely place for me: it took two years before I started to feel like I had a community there, so I asked 25 students to give interviews about their own experiences trying to connect and make friends. It was a deeply emotional process, and we got a powerful response from the student body when the film premiered on campus. That was my first glimpse of film’s power as a tool for service. The next year, I crowdfunded a documentary focused on some students at a boarding school in Nairobi, and that project opened the door to a six-month volunteer video position. After I graduated, I moved to Kenya and started making videos about other students and faculty at the school. In my spare time, I filmed a longer project about a martial artist who lived next door. That film will begin its US festival run in February 2019.
Please tell us about your art.
I do a lot of stuff related to media production: cinematography, editing, producing, directing, and motion graphic design. Professionally, I apply those skills both as an in-house videographer for a corporation and as a freelancer. That’s how I make a living, but documentary filmmaking is my passion. I first started making short docs to process my own experiences, but I got hooked when I realized how much you can learn about the world as a documentarian. You’re telling real stories about real people, so the art form is all about learning to listen well—in the research, in the interview, and in the editing room. By the time I finish a film, I’ve spent so many hours soaking in another person’s world that I feel like I have a unique connection to them. I want anyone who watches the film to care about them and get a true sense of who they are.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
Build a creative network and start collaborating with other people as early as possible. I don’t know about other arts, but documentary is HARD to do by yourself. I doubted myself through every stage of my most recent project, and I only finished it with encouragement and perspective from my collaborators. Good relationships are essential for your health and for quality of life. It’s way more fun to make stuff together.
Also, if at all possible, try to find a day job that gives you time to build your creative skill set. I don’t get paid to make documentaries, so most days I make marketing videos instead. I’m lucky enough to have an employer that lets me learn on the job, so I used that time to learn how to design and animate in After Effects. My new motion graphics skills make me a better marketing videographer, but they also make me a better documentarian.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Come see my new film! “The Gospel of Combat” will premiere in the US this month at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. It’s a short documentary about a Kenyan martial artist’s journey toward self-understanding through Aikido and Karate. The film follows Benedict “Sensei Ben” Kiyaga as he ekes a living from a handful of private classes scattered across Nairobi. Along the way, Sensei Ben reflects on the application of martial art as a spiritual practice and shares how it has helped him make sense of his multicultural identity in the midst of tribal conflict.
For our trailer and screening information, check out this link: https://www.paff.org/films/#!/film/the_gospel_of_combat
We also have a few screenings lined up at the Sedona International Film Festival later in February, so any readers in Arizona should come to that!
My other films are all available on my website: https://davidhutchinsonmedia.com/
Contact Info:
- Website: www.davidhutchinsonmedia.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @hutchinsonmedia
- Other: https://vimeo.com/hutchinsonmedia
Image Credit:
Marli Hutchinson; David Hutchinson
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
