Coffee Break’s are super quick interviews. Five questions to help you get to know the creatives who help make Sprinkle Lab delicious.
Who are you? Where are you from? How long have you been a DP?
I’m Katelin Arizmendi, and I’m from Oakland, CA. I’ve been a DP for two years professionally, and 5 years including the time I was in school.
How did you become a dp, what’s your background?
I studied Film and Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz, yet I only took a few production classes. They were all experimental film classes and I believe it’s highly influenced my style to this day. Creative freedom was highly encouraged there and staying within structural boundaries was not something forced upon the students. I went onto study my MFA in Cinematography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. It was after my first Cinematography class shooting 16mm black and white film that I knew I had discovered my passion, and I had strongly hoped it would lead me into a career.
What are some of your favorite films, and why?
Buffalo ‘66 – I absolutely love everything about this film. Obviously, it has a very stylized, colorful, high contrast, grainy look to it, which could only be achieved by shooting film. The DP is Lance Accord, and it was his first feature film. The Director Vincent Gallo brought him the script and told him, “You will be known as the fool who turned down shooting Buffalo ‘66” so even though Lance had his reservations, he went ahead with it. I love everything from the long single shots for an entire scene, the camera placement, where the focus is set, the editing during conversations between characters, etc.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – This film is like a dream I will never forget. The DP is Janusz Kaminski, and he’s a true genius. I love this film because the Cinematography goes beyond an objective point of view as the camera becomes the eye of the lead character. In the film, the lead character suffers from a stroke, and one day wakes up to only being able to see out of one eye. The rest of his body is paralyzed and he cannot speak. His nurse works with him everyday, reciting the alphabet over and over until he blinks once for the correct word. She helped him write a book without any verbal communication from him. When he wakes up in the film, the camera lens is meant to be his eye, so they used a lens baby to create a very obscure depth of field and focus range. They also experiment with many other camera techniques that I’ve never seen in any other film. Watching the film, you truly feel like you are inside this character’s world.
Daisies– This Czech film from the 1960’s is the epitome of what I wish my life was. I’m obsessed with the art direction in this film, and the cinematography works perfectly with it. It further emphasizes my feelings towards the importance of set designers, prop masters, styling, and costuming. All of these things are so important for Cinematography. I have definitely been inspired by this film and I think it shows in some of my fashion work.
What cameras do you use, what’s your favorite?
For lower budget shoots, I use the Canon 5D. I just shot a music video with the RED EPIC. In my (better days), I was shooting a lot of 16mm and 35mm film. I still have a ton of it in my fridge. More than anything actually edible.
What drives you? Do you have any kind of philosophical point behind your work?
I’m driven by the fact that I’m very competitive, and hard on myself. I’ve always been years ahead of my peers in school so I feel like I need to maintain that level of achievement while I’m still young. I constantly want to improve, and I think the only way to do that is to keep shooting. Therefore, that’s what I live for. It’s also what completes me. I’m driven by shooting film, and seeing/touching/handling the film afterward. There’s no other feeling like it for me.
Show us some of your work.
www.katelinarizmendi.com
What is your favorite kind of donut?
The plastic ones, cause they keep my ass firm. Wait, I mean… SPRINKLED?!
