The Talks Features Park Pictures Director Rachel Morrison

Ms. Morrison, would you consider confidence to be an essential quality for anyone wanting to work in the film industry?
I would say you need to trust your instinct — which is slightly different than confidence. I do think confidence in the film industry, certainly as a female in the film industry, is a necessity, but I think in any creative medium you have to trust your instinct and let that be your North Star.

How does that trust manifest in your work as an Oscar nominated cinematographer?
Well, you can always second guess any decision in film. It isn’t a math equation; you could shoot any scene any number of ways. There’s an infinite number of possibilities there. So I think once you set out on a path, the best thing you can do as a leader is to follow that path and occasionally pivot if you know you’re going down the wrong path. You pivot fast, you do it with certainty, you acknowledge it. I’m the first person to be like, “Hey guys, I have this idea, and it wasn’t what we talked about, but I think this is going to be better. I need everybody on board. Let’s go.” If you come at it with enthusiasm and a degree of conviction around the pivot, then people will pivot with you. There’s an efficiency needed on a film set. We’re all leaving our friends and our families at times for months to make a film.

Read and listen to the full interview on The Talks!