The first time I ever met Kristen* it was like meeting a celebrity. It was around 2003 or so. Kristen* was the owner/operator and creative muscle behind Bliss Video Productions (now just Bliss Productions), perhaps the premier wedding and event film studio in the San Francisco Bay Area at the time. When I had started in the biz a year earlier, hers was only one of two wedding studios in the Bay Area that impressed me. I wanted to be like K*.
Now 11 years later we’re friends and fellow speakers on the video circuit. Today I have the honor having her a guest on my podcast (and you have the extreme pleasure of hearing her. This marks my first in a series on women filmmakers. In this episode, 4-time EventDV Top 25 inductee Kristen* shares how she went from a student of photography to set dresser to wedding filmmaker to the stars. Kristen is eloquent, funny, passionate, and knows her stuff. She gives us her take on the state of the industry, the importance of design and brand, and she gives great advice on how to deal with managing contractors for your studio. I won’t be surprised if you mark this as one of your favorite episodes.
Bumper music for this show is “Tater City” by Glenn Shambroom, part of the TRUE ROMANCE collection, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music.
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A sample of Kristen’s beautiful work. “New Wave Vintage”
Great job K*!! Very insightful and articulate. Thanks for mentioning Laura, she started filming in 1988 & editing in 2000. This being a bride based industry, it has always bothered us that more women were not involved and/or appreciated. Thanks for the interview and thanks Ron for seeing the benefits of interviewing great female filmmakers. It is appreciated. 🙂
Great interview and insights by you two! Love how straight up your questions and answers were. As ambassadors and leaders in the industry I’d expect no less! As a native Bay Area Videomaker, I’m proud of the both of you. I’d love to shoot with more women shooters if I could for sure. Definitely need a women’s perspective. Thanks yall! All the best!
What an authentic and candid interview! And now I know Kristen Asterisk has another (real) last name. 🙂
When I defaulted from photography into videography in 1994, I joined Sandy Brooke’s all-female crew (Brooke Video) in Los Angeles. Sandy had already been shooting for many years and recruited and empowered young (mostly tall and attractive) women like myself to work and compete amongst the male majority. Her strong brand of all female shooters (and a glittery bow tie that I despised and should’ve been left back in the 80’s, but I digress) was well known and she had upward of 300 shoots a year. We were known to arrive at parties in a limo and hit the town running! A few years later, I started Bella Video Productions but steered away from my gender as being different. I just knew there was a quiet advantage but I missed the camaraderie that only women share. It has been many years since I have been able to bond and identify with fellow female filmmakers. Meeting and hearing Kristen speak at POSH 2010 brought me right back to my root beginnings and it was super exciting (Tasra too!!). Kristen is such an inspiration to so many women because she’s a true artist, leader and entrepreneur. Bravo!!