We had the wonderful opportunity to interview Owen Korb. Check out the interview below.
Hi, Owen! Thank you for granting the interview. Congrats on your documentary Pull Up LA and winning Best Documentary at FirstGlance Film Los Angeles. Tell us what inspired the award-winning script.
The idea for this documentary started the same way in which most people attending the meetups find out about them. I was searching through hashtags and came across an image of someone standing on a car, wearing a mask in an alleyway with a group of people in the background. When I started looking deeper into the scene, I identified a few groups that posted weekly and/or monthly meetups.
I showed my girlfriend the images and she told me that I was crazy for wanting to go check out one of the events because she thought I would get robbed in that particular part of town with camera equipment on me. Despite the safety concerns, I felt the need to go out and participate, Needless to say, I was hooked on the scene after that first meet up.
How do you find or generate ideas for documentaries or is it a different process for every project?
In the past I have been hired to work on other clients documentaries, shooting the interviews and working on an animation with lower thirds, etc, etc. The difference with this project is that this was my first time creating a project from start to finish with complete creative control.
You achieved amazing access with your documentary. How did you market it?
I knew when I finished the film I would submit it to some of the local film festivals here in Los Angeles. I was hoping that it would help spread the word and hopefully set it apart from some of the other great films being made.
Since the Los Angeles premiere of Pull Up LA, I’ve been reaching out to friends who have a lot of experience with social networking and I’ve been lucky to get in touch with some great sources including Digital Magazines Podcasts and Movie reviewers.
What challenges did you face in Pull Up LA?
Capturing the meets while they were going on was quite challenging, I chose a number of different camera setups to help me capture this unique story. One of the systems I got to learn while shooting this movie was drone operating. It was such a treat to be able to capture new and unique angles of some of our favorite parts of the city.
Another challenge we encountered was the audio recording portion of the on-camera interviews. We needed to find a way to capture cleaner audio. I knew was going to be important since we were conducting the interviews in unconventional and uncontrolled locations like rooftops or alleyways. In the end, we wound up using one lavalier mic and 1 shotgun mic and as backup in case one of the microphones had any issues.
How do you approach the editing process? Do you also edit yourself?
Having worked on a few other documentary films for other people I knew what I was getting myself into with this project. Editing a documentary is extremely difficult because of the many different assets needed to construct the film. In PULL UP LA we had multiple cameras including Red, Drone, GoPro, and still photography, now add credits with motion graphics and animation in the movie and things can get really complicated fast.
After shooting an interview or a day of shooting B-Role I would take the footage home and back up the RAW files on (2) separate hard drives. After the files were backed up I imported the footage with the clean external audio files and synced the audio and did a simple one light color correction. I used the newly created files (aka Dailies) to create the offline edit in Adobe Premiere.
What is going to surprise people about the documentary?
If you happen to drive by a meet and see 200 people out in the street it can look a little intimidating or riot-ish, but if you get a chance to watch the documentary you will get an inside look of what we are actually doing out there. It really shows you that you don’t need an expensive studio or loads of money to start creating and making amazing images.
Without giving anything away, what’s your favorite line of dialogue from the film and why?
One of the photographers I interviewed in the community was Hector Puig. He has a surrealism approach to photography. In his interview inside the film, he described his first time attending one of these meetups.
“I went there and I got addicted, I am addicted! I need a meet every day.” – Sir Puig
When looking back on the production, what resonated with you the most and why?
Everyone goes to the meet to create something special, In my case, I went to the meet and ended up creating this documentary.
I feel like we will continue to see creations coming from this community for years to come.
In your opinion, what scene in the documentary is going to blow people away and why?
There were certain moments during the last few years that went down in Los Angeles history. Like when the historic 6th street bridge was set to be demolished and a spontaneous going away party was thrown by the community to send off the bridge properly.
What advice can you give to filmmakers embarking on feature documentaries projects?
I have a few tips for someone wanting to go out and film a documentary.
- Back up your raw footage 2x times and make sure to keep the other copy in another location. Having this in order will limit your risk of losing any data.
- After an interview always ask your subject if they would like to add anything extra or say something that is on there mind. Giving them this last chance to speak up or on a subject has gotten me some amazing bytes.
- When I am packing up my gear after an interview I usually keep the conversation going with the subject and ask if there are any other people they know that I should get an interview from. Getting a referral from them is an easy way to get a hold of more people who might have interesting information about the subject for your film.
Don’t give up, a lot of people start projects but not a lot of people finish them. Let people know you are serious about your project, set realistic goals and make sure you take them across the finish line.
Do you have anything else you would like to share about the Pull Up LA?
I would like to give a shout out to everyone who contributed work and assets to make this film what it is today. What’s really special about this film is the contribution from the community and talented photographers, models, make-up artists and performers who are featured in this documentary. This passionate group of creatives that make up this underground scene are dedicated to getting out there and exploring their city, making authentic connections with like-minded artists and creating art. I feel fortunate to be able to tell their story and play a role in showcasing their art.
Do you have anything else you would like to share about your career?
I have been really giving this project all my free time for the last few years. I have a lot of fresh ideas and if you enjoy my work please add me on my Instagram @oolbleck to keep up with all the projects I am involved with.
Thank you for chatting with us about your career. We hope we can catch up in the future for another interview.
I will keep you posted on upcoming projects and screenings.
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Connect with Pull Up LA:
WEBSITE = www.PullupLA.com
INSTAGRAM = @PULLUP_LA
TWITTER = @PULLUP_LA
Connect with Owen:
WEB: www.owenkorb.com
INSTAGRAM = @oolbleck
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