Today we’d like to introduce you to Wolfie Wolford.
Wolfie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved to LA in 1994, just after the earthquake. I knew a few people in the film business I had met while filming an indie film in Alaska. They got me working as a grip on music videos. I did a ton of Spike Jonze music videos and then worked on Being John Malkovich. I worked with Michael Gaundry on several videos. I worked my way up through the ranks through the years, becoming a key grip, and then a gaffer. Now I am a director of photography. I’ve shot two features, a lot of toy commercials, and second unit shots on TV shows. My latest gig is shooting a digital IMAX film in Tanzania. We are using archive footage from Osa and Martin Johnson- two filmmakers who flew around Tanzania 90 years ago filming wildlife, and getting aerial shots of kilamanjaro. The project is called “wings over Tanzania”.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I have found that moving up through the ranks is best done by shifting one’s own energy in oneself, and then being invited upward. When I would try and “force” an upward move, it wouldn’t work. But when I decided one day that I was going to cultivate key grip energy inside myself, and think like a key, and behave like a key, I was quickly offered key grip jobs. The same thing happened when I realized I was more interested in lighting than shadows. I knew for me to grow, I needed to gravitate towards gaffing. I just started thinking about the creative and technical aspects of being the gaffer. I started asking my gaffers that I worked with a lot of questions about the mindset and theory. Within six months of me shifting to that, all of my clients asked if I would like to gaff for them and bring in key grips to replace me. I had not spoken one word of this desire to my clients. They just picked up on how I was being. It was really a surprise to watch that process happen. Key grips rarely suddenly get asked to gaff.
The process with moving from Gaffer to Director of Photography came when I committed to buying a camera and learning the craft. I bought a used 2k camera, figured I would use it, push it to the limits, break it, learn it, and then buy a better camera. I would buy AC friends lunch and have them teach me about lenses, data management, focus, depth of field, and how to get certain looks out of a camera. Within two weeks of buying the camera, I was hired to shoot a music video. Three months later, one of the AC’s who was teaching me introduced me to a micro-budget feature, and they hired me. From that, I got asked to shoot a documentary in Kazakstan, followed by a documentary in St Petersburg, Russia. I think in all cases, my genuine passion and love of filmmaking carries the day. We all want to hire people who are grateful for the opportunity and are passionate about the work.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Wolf Team Productions – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
When I was 16, I was a computer nerd in Washington, DC. I had a commodore 64 and ran a bulletin board system. – A BBS. it was a chat board for hackers. I did a bunch of hacking back then, and “fone phreaking”- hacking the phone systems. A friend of mine got recruited for a NASA security run, and he brought me in. I got a security clearance and spent a summer breaking into NASA computers for a security test.
I come at life like a hacker. That mindset never leaves you. I find a system, I find a way to work a system, and to have the system work for my creative needs. I find ways to use cameras that are not in the manual. I think unconventionally.
I love studying technology. I love seeing things the designers did not necessarily intend.
I get hired a lot for special effects companies. I am known for designing “stress test” shoots. I work for some of the largest special effects companies. They have computer-aided systems for special effects. I’ll design shoots that challenge those systems to see where they work, where they break, and how to improve them.
I have done a ton of beauty lighting over the years. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Eric Larson, who came from a stills world background. He and I have lit rockstars like Miley Cyrus and Celine Dion. We’ve filmed album covers, music videos and lit Vanity Fair covers.
I have a broad range of filming skills – I can apply beauty lighting techniques to an indie feature, and really know when and how to get a quality composition quickly.
My latest project is a digital Imax feature. I love having the budgets to get into the really technical realms.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am working with the builders of video wall technology and I love how those 3D rendered special effects video walls work. I love their potential, and I understand their limitation. I love how a video wall is much more interactive with actors, and with subtle lighting reflections on the set. I love aggressive new technology that changes the game.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.WolfieDoP.com
- Phone: 323 864 3000
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Eric Larson, Jeff Barbee, Vance Burberry
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