#aauanimation

Earlier this week before the horror short Market St. screened at the stunning Castro Theater in San Francisco on Halloween’s Eve, I got to sit and speak with Sasha Korellis about her embarking journey as a Producer.

What are some distinctions in working with commercials and working with independent films?

“Working with films, you have the creative freedom, you're setting your own goals, and schedule. You're constantly working and reworking the creative. You can freely give time to something that needs time and let it breathe, and speed up other things when you know that you can just nail them.

The flip side, when you’re doing commercial production, you have money! You also have lots of resources, if you need something there’s an expense account which is brilliant! That can be really wonderful to create things too because then you have the money, you hire really wonderful artists and you know that everybody is getting paid, and they’re paying their bills and they’re committed. They’re working for you for 50 hours a week, and you can schedule things a lot easier because there's deadlines so it’s give-and-take.

I wouldn’t say one is better than the other, but I do think doing your own thing everybody has to try it at least once, because you really have to experience having that freedom, but it takes an incredible amount of determination, motivation and inspiration because otherwise you have nothing else driving you, there's no money, and no deadlines.”

What's the difference between working with industry professionals and working with students aspiring to work in the industry?

“With industry professionals, they know what they need to do, you’re taking it to a different level, they have done the trial and error so you’re moving at a higher level but we’re always having the same production challenges.

With the students.. there's a level of enthusiasm and there isn’t that old ‘been there done that’ kind of bitterness sometimes that we can have after we've been kicked around a lot or just worked really hard for years and years. I love that energy.. I love that the students are really trying and working hard, and they really want to have this experience.. and the ones that really take it seriously leap ahead so quickly, and that's what I love.. the energy in here (her office) when I come on our Studiox days, I get energized by it.”

What's the most challenging part about producing and how do you handle it while still managing successfully the creative vision and oversight of a project? 

“I think the most challenging no matter whether it's a paid gig or if it's a passion-project, it's just keeping the motivation. It’s a long haul, visual effects, animation and filmmaking is extremely hard and it takes a lot of commitment. A lot of the times people don't realize it.. so you have to be really careful, really checking to make sure people are really in it..

The story, is another challenge because it can be interpreted so many ways and while you're not the storyteller and you're not the writer, you have to make sure you're influencing everything to make sure the story is getting told the way the director is looking for... Another Producer challenge is just making sure that in your gut that you know everything is going to be okay, and it’s going to be what it is. If you're doing your best and you're always trying to make it better, it will be fine..and (it’s important) to let people know that around you as well. ”

How do you find creative ways make your work environment fun while not affecting the productivity of a project?

“I think, that is just something that has always been my personality. While I take work very seriously and I work very hard, and there are times where I’m stressed, tired or cranky, at the end of the day I try not to let it get me down. I might be stressed and five minutes later you’ll probably hear me laughing or singing down the hall!  I think it comes from my dad, he always found ways to make everything fun, he loves having a good time. It’s just a matter of trying to keep things light and bringing people into it too, because I think we all have our own self-esteem things when we can feel closed-off, and you really want people to be open and feel that they can be themselves at the end of the day.”