“Fill The Frame” is a new film following eight contemporary New York street photographers and why the art inspires them. Currently in post-production, they are running a Kickstarter to finish things off, with a variety of rewards from the featured photographers themselves. I saw a sneak peek from the film and I have to say it looks intriguing with a cast of talented photographers whose work many of you will be familiar with, but now will get to see the people behind the photos in a very personal way. 

Fill The Frame‘s director, Tim Huynh, sat down for an interview with me to give us an idea of what makes this film special. 

1. First off, please introduce yourself, with a little info on your background and what inspired you to start this film?

Thanks for this opportunity Forrest. My name is Tim Huynh, I am a freelance video content creator; born, raised, and based in Honolulu, Hawaii. I first came across street photography while in Chicago in 2009, when a fellow intern showed me Vivian Maier’s work (this was the early stages of her discovery) and ever since I’ve been hooked. I love street photography because it allows me to be creative on a daily basis without much effort compared to making a short film or video.

What inspired me to pursue this film? Well I’m a huge fan of documentaries and have produced a few short documentaries over the past 10 years, my first one was when I was in college where it won the best documentary award from my film school and screened at festivals as well. I’ve always wanted to pursue a bigger challenge in making a feature length documentary but could never come across the right subject matter, logistics, and other factors that come with producing a film with very limited resources. 

I started to do interview blogs for my street photography website featuring other photographers around the world. I really enjoyed learning about their backstory and understanding the person behind the camera. I think with social media nowadays we get all caught up in the artist’s photographs and nothing more. For me, I’m curious about the photographer’s journey, how did they make that photograph, what’s their goal(s), what do they think about this whole social media explosion, etc. So, for a documentary to even begin, you as the filmmaker must be curious first. 

Most importantly, I’m a father and husband. I want to lead by example and be able to tell them to follow their dreams just as I am doing. Even though the road may be difficult, with a little creativity and hard work you can pursue the things you are passionate about.

2. Can you give us a quick overview of what Fill The Frame is about?

Fill The Frame follows eight contemporary New York City street photographers. The film takes an in-depth look at their work as a photographer but also individually as a person and their journey up to this point and beyond. The main cast are Dimitri Mellos, Jonathan Higbee, Julia Gillard, Lauren Welles, Mathias Wasik, Melissa Breyer, Melissa O’Shaughnessy, & Paul Kessel. But also features some of the very best to give their insights on the genre as well. We interviewed Jeff Mermelstein, Richard Sandler, Matt Weber, Meryl Meisler, Colin Westerbeck (author of Bystander), and Sandra Philips (SF MOMA Curator of Photographs).

Film Trailer:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/filltheframe/fill-the-frame?ref=project_facebook&fbclid=IwAR3BxoKVxvNDjUpq3_gfOgoLigr6WXfoxn3ss1qEiJQm05s06C2tw5ieFRY

3. Everybody Street is a prior film that impacted many street photographers. As it seems to share some similarities with your film, what would you say sets Fill The Frame apart?   

What sets Fill The Frame apart from Everybody Street is that the main cast aren’t Magnum Photographers or Masters of the genre. The cast consists of eight ordinary, but very talented individuals. They’re just like you and I. These people could be your neighbor or your coworker. Just normal people who have a passion in documenting everyday life. They have flaws and are vulnerable and want to achieve more. Fill The Frame takes a much deeper look into the journey of the photographer. While the focus is on street photography, it’s not only meant for photography enthusiasts. This film is for anyone and everyone. I promise that at least one of the eight cast members’ stories will resonate and connect with you. 

4. How did you go about selecting the cast of photographers featured in the film?   

I reached out to a list of photographers via email whom I was already following on Instagram and asked if this would be something they’d be interested in. I sent preliminary questionnaires to the ones that responded back, so that way I could learn more about who they are and what inspires them. To me photos are not enough, the person needs an interesting story to share. Everyone has a nice Instagram feed, but I want to know what’s their story, what inspires them, what struggles did they have, what’s their insecurities, and how can their story help others. Those were the things I was looking for when selecting the cast. 

Also, I wanted to make sure the cast didn’t have a similar body of work. I wanted to touch upon a variety of different photography styles. Diversity was something I thought of a lot throughout this entire process. This was challenging because I needed folks that one, wanted to be a part of this project, two, had a good body of work to showcase, three, had an interesting story to share, and four, lived in NYC.

Some people dropped out half way after the initial questionnaire process. Then there were a few others whose schedules didn’t align. All in all, I am very happy with the cast that’s in the film. I believe it is a diverse group from age, gender, and background. 

5. Other than funds, what has been the biggest challenge thus far. And what has been the most enjoyable part too?   

We’re lucky to have Alex Webb and Magnum Photos allow us to use his photos for the film. Webb, William Eggleston, Garry Winogrand, and Vivian Maier are among other great street photographers that are spliced in briefly to give some historical context to the film. So therefore, the biggest challenge has been locking down an interview with someone to talk about Alex Webb’s work and how much he has influenced modern street photographers today, as well as other topics about the industry. 

The most enjoyable part is editing these different stories. Every vignette is unique and can stand on its own. This has really gotten my creative juices flowing and pushed me to think outside the box.  My vision is for the vignettes to have its own unique look and feel to represent each photographer, like it’s almost a separate mini film on its own. I want to make sure I do justice for each individual photographer and make their story come to life.

6. Other than being a fan of street photography, why should someone choose to support this particular project and what exactly will the funds go towards?

This film is not only for street photographers. If you are in a rut in your life and need motivation, or you’ve been bullied, this film is for you. If you are near retirement and trying to figure out what’s next, or want a change in career, this film is for you. The stories shared in this film are relatable whether you like street photography or not.

We have a lot of exclusive rewards to help raise money for the film, from previewing a sneak peek, prints, a workshop/photowalk with Melissa Breyer, and as of now, Richard Sandler just donated three prints to help raise money for the film. All of this, from the prints to photo walks, are all donated by those involved in the film. We all share one common goal and that’s to finish the film.

The funds will go towards post-production to help finish the film. We need to obtain archival photos and additional b-roll footage. An additional interview needs to be filmed to address Webb’s work. A big portion of the funds will go towards the sound editing and mixing with a local sound studio here in Hawaii. Film festival fees also add up, and Facebook and Instagram marketing costs has really surprised me thus far. 

7. Has working on Fill The Frame inspired any ideas for more projects from you in the future?

My initial idea was to produce a feature film highlighting one photographer from a different city and/or country, but with the lack of resources and funds I needed to narrow my angle to one location with a concentrated amount of street photographers. That’s why I selected New York. I don’t want to think too far ahead, but hopefully after this film is made and gets screened in festivals, I would love the opportunity to produce a Netflix series of street photography episodes, each focusing on a different city or country. Hopefully, an executive from Netflix is reading this! But really, thank you again for this opportunity. I hope to be able to share Fill The Frame with a wide audience and would be grateful for a successful Kickstarter campaign so I can see this film through.

Thanks to Tim Huynh for the interview and for everyone interested in supporting the film on Kickstarter, click the link below.

KICKSTARTER LINK:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/filltheframe/fill-the-frame