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//DDD//ONE ON ONE WITH PHOTOGRAPHER BILLY ROOD

billy rood directors reel 2011 from Billy Rood on Vimeo.

Written by Senior Fashion Editor, Lynn Furge

With the impending first-ever-all-filmed-issue-of-a-fashion-magazine starting off my New Year, I sat down to speak with my friend and collaborator Billy Rood to re-inspire myself for what is to come in Issue 4. Understanding that the world now responds more and more to quick visuals, Billy is finding the balance between getting the brand what they need, the public what they want, and making the audience really stop, pause and truly view his creations.

DDD: When did you start shooting fashion still photography?

Billy Rood: I started shooting fashion photography in 2009

DDD: Why the interest in film? When did it begin?

Billy Rood: I studied cinematography at the Savannah College of Art & Design and have always had an interest and desire to tell stories. Fashion was just another outlet for me to express myself and creatively tell those stories in a shorter bite.

DDD: What do you feel you can capture with moving pictures that you cannot capture with still?

Billy Rood: When I watch a really great film, I not only remember what I saw visually, but what I heard and felt. Visuals ignite the senses and the stronger your visuals the stronger it can leave an impression on you. I feel films can enhance that experience due to all those elements of your senses. Images can do the same but in a different and more fragmented way.

DDD: Do you start a different process when coming up with a concept? What inspires your stories?

Billy Rood: I have the same process for motion and stills. It all starts with a story that I believe and find interesting. From there it develops itself into moments that I try to capture and create cinematically. My dreams and music inspire my stories. It might sound cliché but it really does. I have dreams about different worlds I fantasize and when I listen to certain music it all connects into a story that naturally grows from the two. I find a fascination in stories that connect to themes of a strong character but with a sense of struggle and conflict.

DDD: How do you feel the fashion film industry can best capitalize and inspire with the film genre?

Billy Rood: I think the fashion industry could capitalize with film by telling a story that is unique and relatable to their demographic. Brands can emotionally connect to their audience through stories and the creative vision of their films. They have access to so much talent and I think film is the next step and progression for brands and designers to push and really evolve their identity.

DDD: Movie soundtrack you’d most love to use in a fashion film and why?

Billy Rood: This is a very tough question. But most of my films are inspired by the vision of Stanley Kubrick. I’d have to say most of or all of his films have such a unique purpose musically that PUSH his stories. But recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Cliff Martinez and what he did for Contagion.

DDD: Favorite Film (fashion, documentary, or motion picture) and what is your favorite scene?

Billy Rood: The two films that changed my life would be Psycho and Fight Club. My favorite scenes would have to be the intro’s because of all the thought and detail that went into thinking about them. They say so much and visually both always blow my mind. The way Hitchcock and Fincher use cinematography to tell a story are so different visually but they both understand their medium unlike any other. The lighting, angles, point of views, vsfx and movements are so methodical but powerful. For me Psycho showed me an old school way of filmmaking and Fight Club showed me the change of guard and a new generation of directors. But both directors, I think, didn’t think of making films to entertain…but to scar. I dig that.

DDD: Craft Services or Wrap Party?

Billy Rood: Wrap Party!

DDD: Do you sit in the theatre and wait for the outtakes?

Billy Rood: Yes!

DDD: If the camera was turned on you what would you rather have the film maker do? Reality TV series? Full Documentary? Animated sitcom? Daytime Drama? Foreign Film Feature? And Why?

Billy Rood: Uhhhh I have no idea, BUT I’ve always thought a sitcom, animated or live, would be pretty funny. I have a pretty random and awkward life so I’m sure people could find that amusing.

To view more of the work of Billy Rood log in to http://vimeo.com/billyrood

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