I’m sitting at a local coffee shop, tall soy latte on my right and iPhone in hand; here goes my typical internet skaadoodling on Facebook and Instagram. I guess you can call me a “Grammer” or “Instathusiast”. Either way, we are on a first name basis. Every once in awhile something catches my eye that deserves further investigation. That’s how I stumbled upon Mr. Jacob Rosen. For those of you unaware, Rosen is a cinematographer from Seattle, WA. His eye is something I find both intriguing and unique. At the young age of 23, he has made cinematography his full-time. Rosen has studied under director Lynn Shelton, shot several dance pieces with choreographer Kate Wallich, created an impressive reel and is making some aesthetically #heckabombtight films. I had the privilege to sit down with Jacob and nerd out about his work.

–Ashley Campbell, film writer, The Monarch Review

Ashley: There are a lot of talented cinematographers and filmmakers around Seattle. The community here seems pretty tight. How do you think you set yourself apart, competitively?

Jacob: I’ve been actually thinking about this a lot lately. It’s hard because there are a lot of talented people here, they’re so used to working with the same people over and over again; they just know they are going to get that consistency. I’m trying to break into that realm as a cinematographer around town. I guess I’ve been really focusing on my style I’ve been developing and running with that and seeing where it takes me. People are going to like my style or they’re going to like someone else’s style. And, if that’s what they want they’ll hire me or the other guy. I’ve been coming into my own, as a cinematographer. Understanding what my style is and having the confidence in myself to go down that road. And people move away from Seattle a lot so it allows people to move up.

A: Who are some local cinematographers/filmmakers you find inspiring?

J: Most particularly, Benjamin Kasulke and Michael Ragen. Ben shoots all of Lynn Shelton’s movies. He has been a really big mentor, friend and co-worker of mine. He has helped me a lot, I look up to him as a narrative cinematographer, and he is doing amazing things. Michael Ragen, he does a lot of music video cinematography, which is a route I’ve been going down.

A: You shot both music videos for Cornish College band, Tomten. I loved how creatively different the two are.

Tomten, Ta Ta Dana (Official)

http://vimeo.com/50564150
Tomten, So So So (Official)

J: I’ve found that music videos for me offer that strictly creative outlet, where you can push the boundaries on things. Story-wise and camera-wise it gives you a chance to play around more than a feature film. Like with the dance stuff that I do, it’s nice to play around with the idea or work on an idea I’ve been thinking about.

A: Yeah, you’ve collaborated some with choreographer Kate Wallich. How did you come by that partnership?

J: Well, I worked on the train station with a tango dancer, Sara Thompson, and then I got an email from Kate a year and a half ago. She was looking for someone to document her “Room with Themes” stage piece. I really didn’t want to document it, it sounded really boring. But I really wanted to collaborate with her and I started going to rehearsals and really investing time in it. We mutually wanted to do something different but keep the same intentions of a stage piece, not necessarily showing all the movement but still getting the entire concept through. We have a lot of similar tastes, we just work well together.

Room With Themes

A:  You’ve worked with a lot of talented women and your work often highlights the female body. What are your thoughts on using the female form in your work?

J: Women are beautiful and I have always felt I’ve had a strong connection to the female form. So, I guess my more classical attempts would be showing women as they are physically, a woman’s beauty in a way I find unique for a given project. Contemporarily, I think the women I work with are very strong and have great ideas and we work well with each other. In my work I try and show that power in the images, mood and themes I choose. It is a conscious decision of mine to work with the female form.

Bright Shiny Morning

A: You’ve done a bit of work with director Lynn Shelton, and most recently on her newest film Touchy Feely. You have noted her as a hero of yours. In what ways has she guided you on your own artistic path?

J: She was my professor at school. That’s where I met her, out of all the professors I’ve had, her take on things stuck with me the most. What she was teaching pushed me into what I wanted to do. I looked up to her a lot. Also, she is a really good friend and person. We lost touch after I graduated and reconnected in the movie scene; I worked with her on a film of hers. It was fun to see her dynamic on set and to see how she actually works.

A: So, I have to ask the big question: Analog or Digital?

J: That topic’s a fun one to talk about. Digital media is sort of taking over in pretty much everything and it’s not film. This whole argument of trying to make digital look like film is ridiculous. It’s not film and it’s never going to look like film, so just embrace the media you are working with. If you want to shoot film, then shoot film or shoot digital and transfer it. But embrace the tools you are working with. I hate this argument of one is better than the other. I don’t think like that at all. I think that they are both tools for getting the result you want, and use the tool to obtain that result.

A: Camera technology is pretty rad these days. More people are making films with DSLRs and even iPhone’s. How do you think the accessibility has changed the film industry?

J: It’s awesome that the technical has become more accessible to people. You’re seeing people make movies and have the tools to do it for very, very cheap, which is really great. I think people used to argue against it, the cheap digital media, like they were afraid of it, like these people were going to take their jobs. I don’t really look at it that way. For me, it’s pushed me to be even better, to ensure that I could stay above water. I think it’s amazing that I can shoot something or watch something like The Off Hours, which was shot on a 5d Mark II which was a beautiful movie. You can just pick up a camera and go out and make a movie.

A: So many classic (and even contemporary) films are being remade. And filmmakers are making film adaptations of novels. What happened to shocking plot lines and original screen plays?! Do you find originality to be a struggle?

J: I think I struggled with that a lot, or used to. I would look up to these people I was influenced by and try to recreate what they were doing, because I liked it. In the last couple of years I’ve been able to decipher between being inspired by something and making my own work from it, by taking small elements from different things and reworking them into my own work. It is hard, because nothing is original. You just have to have the confidence to just run with your idea and being okay with that. I think a lot of artists struggle with their own self confidence in their work, you know if people are going to like it or not. I think it’s about getting past that barrier and creating something you’re stoked on. Ultimately I think that’s why I create; it’s an outlet for me. I’m not necessarily making art for other people. I’m making what I want to make and if people like it, they like it. You know if you start creating more of the stuff that you’re stoked on, you can do more. It allowed me to push boundaries. I was sort of at this plateau for a while and then I started doing something new, pushing myself to the next level in my work.

You can check out more of Jacob’s work at www.jacobcrosen.com