Ella Jayes
She’s obsessed with the odd and gorgeous Tilda Swinton. A young creative living in Los Angeles, Ella Jayes is a studio coordinator at Milk. From working production to project management Ella walks creative projects from their start to finish. She talks to us about her work life...much of which entrails working long hours and fostering success on arde. Here, she gives us insight on what it means to be a “behind the camera” person.
Do you see yourself as an in front of or behind the camera person?
I’m typically behind the camera. I love producing shoots and connecting the right people together. With my work, I’m always meeting new creative people, and it’s easy for me to see when a photographer, stylist, makeup artist, or whoever would work well together. So, at the moment, my main focus is getting all the right people in the same room (or in the same group chat.)
How do you relate production with content? Is producing the process and content the result?
It depends on how conceptual you want to get with this. By definition, the word “produce” is to “cause a particular result or situation to happen or come into existence.” But like anything, the result would have an impact greater than the content itself.
Growing up around the film industry, I saw production as a very communal thing. It’s like a family bound by craft services, jokes, and ridiculous hours.
Now that I’m at Milk Studios working in studio coordination, I come in contact with several different production companies on a daily basis. Because I’m assisting clients, I get to see the more individualistic side of production.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
I’m super fascinated by Tilda Swinton. Along with her more well-known achievements, she co-founded Drumduan, which is a school for alternative learning in the Scottish Highlands. The current education system is so outdated, especially in the United States. When I’m more established, my goal is to invest money and time into projects that foster creativity, morality, and the individual.
What do you feel like is the creative difference between Los Angeles and New York?
I grew up in LA and haven’t spent too much time in NY, but from what I’ve observed, creativity is sometimes hard to nail down to a specific location.
I am the editorial director for This Generation, and I also write and take photos for Milk.xyz, which are both creative sites that are based in New York. We are constantly collaborating with people from all over the world, so the source of creativity begins to blur a bit. I’ve become more and more aware of the power of the internet and how it has shaped cities to work towards similar creative goals.
However, something I have noticed as a huge source of difference and inspiration is the space people inhabit. In LA, you can lug all of your stuff in a car and rent a cheap warehouse with friends, but you have to look for inspiration. In NYC, you’re surrounded by energy, people, and ideas, but you have to carve out your space.
Is being part of a bigger picture creative vision romantic?
Being part of the bigger picture is romantic in the way that it’s idealized. There’s definitely something magical about it, but I don’t think “romantic” is the right word. Romance is much more intimate to me.
courtesy ELLA JAYES
interview ALEX ASSIL
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