Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Atwell Ford.
Kristin, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I love being outside hiking, white water rafting, finding hot springs and swimming holes, and views that stretch for miles. I also love theatre and filmmaking, styles of storytelling that take lots of friends and yet, ironically, they are the antithesis to the natural world. I always said I wanted to be dressed to the nines or rolling in the mud. Somehow I’ve been lucky enough to do both! Films create their own worlds, and for the most part you need to spend time in the city to make movies. Phoenix is my city. I was born here, lived in great cities in other states, but have found myself home again to tell stories about how the desert shapes us. I love the landscape. It informs my work, my spirit, and my dreams.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I’m currently in directing a documentary film about a new opera. The desert Southwest inspired author Zane Grey when he wrote “Riders of the Purple Sage” in 1911. A century later, fine art painter Ed Mell and Composer Craig Bohmler translate that same vast, arid landscape into their work on the score and set design for a new opera based on Zane Grey’s seminal novel. In the film “Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera” America’s cowboy culture and Opera’s hallowed musical traditions converge to celebrate the mythic power of art.
The film is set to premiere in early 2019. I want audiences to be enlivened by our cultural heritage in Arizona and the vibrancy of our contemporary arts scene. I want to mix high art with desert sunsets, dust and cowboys to remind ourselves that there are stories worth hearing everywhere. We have world class artists in this state to match our world class scenery!
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Use the tools you have at your disposal. So many times I see people think their work will be better if they have a more expensive camera, or the most updated software. You don’t have to be shooting and cutting in 4k to tell a great story. Master the tools you have at your fingertips, phones and laptops these days have amazing technical capabilities. Characters, narrative structure, tension, transformation…these elements of storytelling are more important that what the film was shot on, especially when you’re starting out. Do good work and people will want to see more of it.
Also, focus on smaller projects until you work into something bigger. Each piece builds your artistic muscles. And now we have a worldwide distribution outlet for small, beautiful pieces. Don’t let money ever come before creation!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
To stay in touch about our premiere, screenings, and ways you can join our posse check out: ridersoperafilm.com or @ridersopera on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact Info:
- Address: Quantum Leap Productions
6910 E Fifth Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ 85251 - Website: ridersoperafilm.com
- Phone: 4808624809
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @atwellian
- Facebook: @ridersopera
- Twitter: @atwellian
- Other: @ridersopera (Instagram)
Image Credit:
Kristin Atwell Ford, Robert Pflumm, Steven Snow
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