Ashley Russell, Class of 2006
Like most teenagers, I was trying to figure out what I was good at, what I wanted to do, and frankly, what I was going to study once I graduated High School. I had tried various creative outlets: writing, music, theater, dance- but nothing fit. For awhile I was doubting my creativity, my urge to be imaginative and share my thoughts with the world, I seriously contemplated a more practical study…which, if you knew me, would have been the equivalent of Alice Cooper in a suit and tie, heading to a 9-5 job.
But luckily, I was haunted by an opportunity. During my freshman year history class, the Ballard High School Film and TV program debuted a series of short videos completed by their students. This happened every once in awhile, after morning announcements, to inform the school of upcoming events in the school and in the area. Watching these shorts, I realized I wanted to document and create stories about all the things I loved, and what a better and more creative way to do so than with a camera?
I spent my Sophomore and Junior years in the BHS Video Production Program, learning everything I could about making movies. I produced narratives, news pieces, music videos, and Public Service Announcements (PSA’s). Sufficient to say, some of the projects I completed in High School received international attention. A music video project entitled The Drive Thru won the Seattle International Film Festival’s FutureWave Audience Award in 2006, and in 2005, MTV & OneWorld held a contest for High School students to complete a PSA regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in public schools. Our video, Get Tested Get Educated, received worldwide status on the MTV/OneWorld website as a runner-up in the competition.
Toward the end of my Junior year, I wanted to take advantage of the Running Start program, and enrolled at Seattle Central Community College. Believe it or not, it had not hit me yet that I wanted to be a filmmaker, long term. I still had no idea what I was going to do or where I was going to go after High School – which was frightening, and curiously enough, even more stifling.
During a cultural anthropology class I was taking at SCCC, a woman named Debbie Guerrero came and spoke to our class about her native culture, beliefs, personal history, and background. Through her speech and words of wisdom, she breathed a ray of hope and inspiration into me. I instantly knew I wanted to make a documentary about her, and from that realization came another, that I wanted to be a filmmaker. That’s how I saw the world. I didn’t want to paint, write, draw, or act out my inspirations- I wanted to make movies about them, and in turn inspire others.
Luckily, I found out SCCC has a 2-year Film and TV Production program, which I immediately enrolled in. I was accepted to start Fall 2006, following my June 2006 High School graduation. I spent my time at SCCC making short films, documentaries (I finally got to make my piece about Debbie), and learning everything I could about filmmaking as an art and as an industry. A handful of the films I made in school have been in local film festivals, including The Girls at The Northwest Film Forum’s 2008 Local Sightings Film Festival. Since graduating from SCCC I have worked on four noted feature films, half a dozen reality shows, and short film productions in and outside of the Seattle area. Some of my credits include Wardrobe Supervisor on the feature film Dear Lemon Lima, Art Director & Wardrobe Stylist on the feature film Worst Night Ever, Wardrobe Stylist & Supervisor on Lynn Shelton’s MTV Series $5 Cover: Seattle, and Assistant Camera on The Celebrity Apprentice Season 8 as well as on a local Episode of MTV’s MADE.
After spending the last two-years working on projects from coast to coast, I am now taking the time to write and direct my own work. Looking back on what led to success and career choice, I have 2 very direct and early influences, one being Mr. Lawrence and the Video Production classes at BHS, the second being the unintentional influence of Debbie Guerrero. They both taught me how to find my inspirations and helped initiate the early productions of Russell films.
