FilmingLifer PRO | Melissa Hines
Melissa Hinesis a filmmaker based in Kansas City, Missouri. She’s also our latest member to be awarded the status of FilmingLifer PRO.
FilmingLifer Pro's are an elite group of family filmmakers who strive for a professional level of excellence and exemplify artistry in the films they produce.
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I have lived in Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, and now Missouri. My husband and I met as freshmen at NC State and we got married just before starting our senior year. Then, we moved here to Kansas City exactly one week after graduation. And now this is the place I have called home the longest.
We have three amazing boys. Like so many of us, my kids are the reason that I became a photographer and eventually a film maker.
And just for fun, here are a few random things about me: my husband and I spend our weekend mornings sipping coffee and doing the NY Times crosswords, I love spicy and/or vinegary foods, my other creative outlet is baking, my favorite genres to read are fantasy and sci-fi, and I have a dream of owning a piece of property in the Blue Ridge Mountains now thanks to our recent trip back to North Carolina.
Tell us about the kind of photography & films you create…
I am a hobbyist. I tend to have a documentary approach, but the kind that gets in close to the action. I love to incorporate a mix of that nostalgic feeling and the quirks that make my family unique. Basically my aim is to film in a way that if I go back to watch it in a year, it should make me cry and laugh and miss the phases from that particular moment.
I am a fan of the beauty and simplicity and imperfections of the mundane. For example, back in 2010 my husband filmed a clip of his grandparents the first time they met our oldest. It is a clip of a couple of us fishing out a piece of napkin that he had taken a bite of. But both of my husband's grandparents have since passed and that clip allows me to see them and hear his grandma again. It is such a mundane moment, but it is a moment that I cannot get through without crying and smiling and remembering. And that is what makes filming the mundane so beautiful to me!
How did you first get started in photography?
I got started in photography in 2011 when my oldest was almost two and I was pregnant with my middle. We had hired our friend to take our family photos a couple of times at that point. I loved looking at those photos and making Blurb books to gift to our parents. I really wanted to have even more photos from the entire year, so my husband bought me a Nikon D5100 for Christmas.
I shot so many photos every single day as I learned about the technical side of things. Like hundreds of photos everyday. But those hundreds of photos ended up right where they should be: in more Blurb books that we gifted to our parents. And I'm so glad because my husband and I came across those books back in December and easily spent a couple of hours going through each and every one of them.
Image Credits: Fantasma Imagery
What made you decide to learn video? What was your motivation?
Video wasn't even on my radar until 2016. I don't remember exactly how I came across it, but in the middle of August 2016 I discovered the 1 Second Everyday app. I immediately pulled out my phone and dived right in, creating my first video full of everyday moments. At the end of the year, I loaded it into Hitfilm Express and removed all of the audio (I know! what was I thinking?!?) and my husband put it to a song that he liked completely unaware of the need for licensing music. However, that is the video that started my love for my all time favorite project: one second a day films. I am now in my third straight year of doing one. Also, I just found a copy of this first film with the original audio, and it made me so happy!! https://vimeo.com/675533440
It finally occurred to me that I could also use my Fujifilm x100f for video in 2019 when I decided to make a summer one second a day film. I still hadn't learned my lesson about the audio thing at that point, though. But that was the point that I really started to devoting more time to learning video simply because my kids didn't mind me documenting them if it was video. And I did finally learn that it's 100% worth it to include the audio!
What was your biggest challenge when you first started learning video and how did you overcome it?
I have had so many challenges on this filming journey! I avoided including audio for the longest time because it was intimidating. I struggled with having enough footage because I didn't realize I could just let the camera roll. I didn't have variety in my shots because it didn't occur to me that I could move to switch it up. And learning how to edit in Premiere Pro is still a work in progress. I also remember finding it frustrating that I felt like my films weren't at the level that my photos were.
I think all of these challenges stem from the fact that I had to rethink my approach for filming and shift away a bit from how I think as a photographer. I think I really started to identify that I needed to rethink my approach and where I wanted to grow and how to do so when I joined Filming Life in 2020! It was supposed to be just for a month or two as my birthday present, but it was something that I just couldn't quit because I was/am still learning so much!
But more specifically, completing the Arthouse Challenges within the academy are what really helped turn the switch for me and I've been a lot more open to pushing myself out of my comfort zone. And those creative pushes have really fostered the rethinking and the growth I see when looking back on my journey.
Tell us about your favourite film and why it's special to you…
This is so hard! Because each of my films are of my family so of course they are so meaningful to me!
But I would say that this film that I shot while we were vacationing in the Red River Gorge with my in laws is my current favorite. First off, I love that we have made it a habit to plan actual vacations with my in laws. We only get to see them two or three times a year because we live in different states. So it is even more special to me that my boys can have these moments with them.
Second, this trip was our first vacation since the pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic my youngest would talk about how when he saw his Mamaw again, he would give her one hundred hugs, maybe more. So there were several times throughout the trip that they would stop everything and add to their hug count. That is the only thing that I knew I had to document.
Third, I managed to get clips with every adult including myself in the film.
Fourth, I feel like this is one of the first times I made an intentional decision to include our quirks and I feel like that's become part of my voice now.
And finally, this is the film that really cemented for me how much I love filming bits and pieces over multiple days. It gives me the chance to capture these moments and it also gives me the chance to put the camera down and be present which is equally important when we don't get to see our family as much as we would like.
Melissa’s favourite film
What is your best piece of advice for those just getting started with films?
Give yourself tons of grace! Months and years down the road you won't see the technical parts that might be frustrating you right now. You will see the fleeting phases that you didn't even realize had ended. Oh and don't get rid of that audio!
See more of Melissa’s work via Instagram: @melissahinesphoto
