Focus Puller and Captain of Emmyland
On a sunny September morning, I am off to meet and interview Emily-Jane Robinson (a.k.a. Emmy) and be introduced to Emmyland’s world for the very first time. As I am google mapping my way to Emmyland‘s Headquarters in Brockley, I am trying to picture how this boutique camera rental place would look like. I know (as I had been stalking her on Instagram) that she has a dog called Merlin and a smaller one called Queen and she has her customary onion-style hair and a striking red lipstick. And here I am, standing in front of her and she looks exactly as I imagined her. Nice to meet you Emmy!
As we settled on the comfy mid century modern sofas, we start chitchatting and it is already clear that Emmy’s background is diverse and unique. I am intrigued.
She was born in England but grew up in Southern California. She graduated with a BA in Design and Media Arts from the University of California, with also a minor in Women’s and Gender studies. After returning to the UK, approximately ten years ago, she continued her Fine Art studies pursuing a Masters at UCL Slade School of Fine Art in London whist also beginning her career within the camera department.
Linking Fine Art studies with being a Focus Puller
During her fine art courses she managed to integrate her studies with filmmaking and photography. In the US, she was assisting Rebeca Méndez (Film and Multimedia Installation Artist. Her work can be viewed here: www.rebeccamendez.com) working with her on filmmaking and videography works. From art-installations to other avant-garde media genres she began nurturing a deeper understanding and passion about the camera world.
“When I first started working with Rebeca, she and her partner Adam Eeuwens had just come back from several residencies in Iceland, where she had shot many hours of 16mm Bolex footage. I helped her with post-production and editing work as she showed me about 16mm Bolex cameras and it was my first introduction into the world of film production. She was also the first woman I saw working behind the camera and she became my mentor. I finished working with Rebeca after I moved to London, and it still took me a little longer to learn more about the role of the camera department on a traditional film set outside of the art world and the sort of jobs that I could do. I had some friends who were working in commercial and music promo production, running and PAing, so when I moved to London I did an MA in Fine Arts and at the same time I started doing camera stuff for commercials, after some of my friends suggested I could become a trainee within the camera department.”
Emmy's route to focus pulling was not the traditional way. She bounced around for a couple of years, assisting and sometimes even operating more in videography circles rather than in film. But she knew she wanted to work in film, and found the best way to do that was to follow a traditional route, progressing from camera trainee to second assisting. She eventually started working her way up as a focus puller over the course of five years and to pull focus on larger projects for commercials, television, music videos and feature films.
“Once I found it, I just knew that Focus Pulling was what I wanted to do and it was something I could excel at doing. It took me a while to find my career because I had no idea what it was. I was an outsider with no family working in the industry and hardly any friends working in film. Everyone hears about the Director or Cinematographer (or in the past the "Cameraman") but no one outside of the film world ever hears about the Focus Puller. Once I found it, I loved that it was a job that would allow me to be working all the time and I liked that I was able to be hired by anyone based on my very specialised technical skill, whilst also still contributing massively to the images we were making. I still feel able to express myself creatively through focus and I also thrive under pressure, it can be very intense at times and requires a lot of methodical concentration. I knew I needed to have a job where I felt like a critical piece of the puzzle. For me it is also really important to be busy as much as I can be, as I get a bit restless when I’m not working. I would have struggled if I was going to be a Cinematographer with the waiting in-between jobs and all of the prep. And I’ve always just loved being on set and being next to the camera.”
The foundations of Emmyland
While working in the camera department, Emmy founded Emmyland, a boutique camera equipment rental house based in South East London. Eight months down the line, she teamed up with Max Guy Openshaw (aka Max), who Emmy recently made her business partner, and is a joint shareholder and director and is also Emmy’s Loader and 2nd AC. Throughout the years they have moulded into the dream team. Their creative and technical capabilities have become ever so popular and in demand from many superbly established cinematographers and production companies. In fact, this year’s star achievement for the Emmyland team was to be working on and providing the complete A and B Camera packages to Gary Oldman‘s latest feature film “Killer Anonymous” (Dir: Martin Owen, DP: Håvard Helle). Well done guys!
Are you seeng more women behind the camera now?
“I am seeing more and more women coming into camera. I have been doing this for ten years now and when I first started it felt as if there were very very few women. I know I would have found my career much more quickly if I had seen more women doing my job when I was growing up. But there has been a substantial increase in women working behind the camera and a lot of this is thanks to social media.”
Social media has indeed allowed more women working behind the camera to share their work and experiences and gain visibility. This visibility has then translated into encouragement. Despite the social media advances, women are still very under-represented. And we both agree on this. During her early years of her career, she never felt that being a woman has held her back in progressing as a focus puller or camera assistant. She believes that we all thrive in diversity. She worked on all sorts of sets: mixed genders, all-female and sometimes she has been the only woman on set. Either way, being a woman has never stopped Emmy from progressing in the industry. On the contrary, It encouraged her to work harder and it helped her to stand out from the crowd. She always felt being a woman was an advantage, because it was unusual. "If anything, being female pushed me to work harder and harder to be the best at my job."
“I think it will continue to evolve and change. More and more women are going to have technical roles on set. It is exciting. Amazing stuff is going on. It seems to be shifting. It’s powerful and positive. We must celebrate this shift.”
