This is a weekly series where we feature our incredibly talented Adolescent members and their work! Sign up here to join the Adolescent Membership and be part of the @ family!

We’re *so* excited for you to meet our newest Member Crush this week. Ella Fields is a writer, director, and photographer who uses vivid and surrealistic elements to capture moments that often go unnoticed. She ‘s used her platform to create short films about topics including LGBTQ+ awareness, sexual assault, gender stereotypes, and the day-to-day struggles of being a teenager. This week, we talked to her about the magic of living in LA, how she artistically experimented during quarantine, and how Adolescent has changed her life.

Adolescent Content: Tell us a little bit about yourself! Where are you from? How old are you? How are you spending your time these days?

Ella Fields: I’m an LA-based filmmaker, photographer, and artist. I'm 17 years old and currently a senior in high school! Making films has always been my greatest passion, but especially during this era of quarantine, I’ve had more time to try out other mediums that I've always yearned to experiment with! My all-time favorite was making a puppet (his name is Nelson) who now sits on my dresser and watches me do school on Zoom. Art is definitely the thing that brings me the most joy, but I also love to people-watch, go on drives around neighborhoods I’ve never been to, and collect mini children's toys and knick knacks! My room would totally be Christmas morning for a 4-year-old.

Adolescent: How has 2020 changed your work and style?

Ella: These strange times have changed my work in a stylistic sense as well as the messages I feel passionate about conveying. Because I’ve had so much space and alone time to create, judgment-free, I’ve experimented with new techniques and combinations of mediums. Some of these creations are absolutely atrocious and nobody will ever get to see them, but some have actually turned out to be unexpectedly compelling and have added a tad bit more magic to my toolbelt. I also think that 2020 specifically has been a turning point for a lot of people to finally educate and demand change in a political sense, so it’s been really encouraging for me to see the impact that each individual has been able to make. This has absolutely influenced the way I use my platform and the work I’m striving to create, but it’s also broadened my horizon of the work I’m consuming.

Adolescent: Can you tell me about your shooting process, from coming up with a concept to editing?

Ella: Creating a short film is one of the most tedious and rigorous experiences of any art form I’ve worked with, but for me, that makes it the most exhilarating! I tend to draw inspiration from people and my everyday experiences, so from that initial spark will come a screenplay (after an endless amount of drafts, of course). Shooting a movie is so magical because as a director, I get to be in charge and make decisions to construct a world that was once nothing but a vision in my mind. I love collaborating with people on set to achieve the best story all around! Overall, production is the greatest time. I also love editing because seeing all of the work you have done (both arduous and gratifying) finally come together in a cohesive manner is incredible, and I find it so interesting to see the ways in which a story has changed since that initial spark of a concept. 

Adolescent: How does being in LA affect your work?

Ella: I feel so grateful to have grown up in LA, mainly because of the people who live here! Without fail, I know that there will always be an insanely talented artist somewhere within arm's reach, and since filmmaking is such a collaborative medium, it’s inspiring to be constantly surrounded by this immense amount of genius. I also just love LA because, with my little blue Prius, I can visit the beach, the city, the mountains, the suburbs, and everything in between. This physical variety allows me to almost escape from one world to another.

Adolescent: What’s it been like being an Adolescent Member?

Ella: Adolescent has completely changed my life in the greatest way possible. It’s one of the sole times that, as a young creator, I feel valued in a world and industry of people so much older than me. I’ve had so many incredible opportunities to learn and meet other like-minded people who crave the same thing I do, and I feel so lucky to be a part of this community.