Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Zamora.
Hi Hannah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am usually hesitant when asked this; I didn’t finish college, I was homeschooled and never had this typical question answered of what I wanted to be when I grew up. My path has been all but linear to now. Primarily these days, I work in the Austin film industry as a freelance camera assistant on tv, commercial, documentary and feature sets while aspiring to become a camera operator and director of photography. No, I did not attend film school and what I did before working in film was pedicabbing, a bicycle taxi working at music festivals across the country. Growing up, I actually was not allowed to watch tv, which it was referred to as “The Tube God”, implying that it was a false idol.
My background in art is focused on photography. While attending a community college in my hometown, I signed up for Photo 1, thinking it would be digital, it turned out to be a darkroom class with 35 mm film only. I absolutely loved the class and fell in love with finding interesting frames, leading lines and evoking emotion from said frame. After completing Photo 1 and 2, I felt like I had finally found something I liked and that I was good at. In the spring of 2012, 2 years after graduating high school, I transferred from community college to a university, majoring in Photography. Unfortunately, the program was outdated and I butted heads with some of the professors. Many classmates were going into wedding photography or checking off an easy bachelor’s degree and would never pick up a camera again following graduation. As a young 20 years old, I was discouraged by my environment and coincidentally, my FASA money ran out because my parents weren’t filing their tax returns on time. I was terrified of graduating with 50k worth of debt and a degree I didn’t know what to do with. I dropped out and shortly thereafter met an intoxicating boy and we traveled for the following four years, living nomadically as pedicabbers.
We ended things because I was searching for something with stability and he wasn’t. When I settled in Austin in 2019, a friend of mine, who is a producer in the film industry, got me a job as a camera PA on a film set of a Feature. Since I was interested in all things camera, the job fit like a glove, and it opened up a whole new world that I had been searching for. The industry in Austin is mostly word of mouth connections, and since then, most of the work I have received is because of the exposure I had on set of my first job. Side hustles are normal in the freelance sphere, and I have rekindled my photography as mine, combining my love for photos with the outdoors and climbing. I’ve had a few photographs licensed by the outdoor brand Patagonia. Last spring, I teamed up with Emilie Hernandez, the founder of the Texas Lady Crushes, and led, organized and designed the first Texas Climbing Photography Clinic in Texas.
The freedom that freelance allows me in this film industry is both daunting and rewarding, I strive to find a balance and continue to push my potential despite my unique background, and have found that it is the community you surround yourself with that matters most.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think change happens when there is discomfort, and I consider it an opportunity to grow. Along my path, I have been fortunate and privileged, specifically in the last three years, however it did not come without heartache, fear and imposter syndrome. Having had this feeling for most of my adult life, imposter syndrome is a new phrase to my vocabulary and with clarifying language, I have developed tools to navigate it, along with the help of therapy. Talk therapy has been a pivotal resource in my personal and professional growth.
I wanted to make the transition from being a pedicab vagabond to a stable lifestyle with my partner of four years. He was not ready to make that leap and cheated on me instead. At the demise of our relationship, I did not want it to set me back more than I already felt as 27 years old without a career. Without the confusion of a partner cheating and leaving, uncoupling is already a painful experience. With therapy, I moved through it and found that I am capable of giving myself the love and care needed to move forward. I genuinely think the tools I have gained in therapy have been a component in why I have done so well in my new career in the film industry and why I will continue to thrive.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Working in film is hard to explain. Every job is different from the one previous, however they all generally have the same framework but it’s the type of job, location and people that typically create variation. It requires creative problem solving, which is a reason why I really enjoy it. Film work can be divided into union work and non-union work. Texas is a right to work state and one does not have to join the union to work on union jobs. The union protects wages, hours and contracts.
Typically on set, it takes three people to run a camera, a camera operator and two assistants. When the jobs are smaller and lower budget, there can be an operator and one assistant. I am a non-union camera assistant aspiring to be an operator. Recently, I have started operating on small shows and commercials and continue to build my experience slowly! The last two years, I have worked as an operator on two climbing documentaries.
I have worked on long for narrative tv shows, country music concerts, short films, music videos, comedy skits, documentary sets, reality, and commercials.
My photography, I mostly shoot on the side in my spare time, on the hunt for more outdoor brands to license my work.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The average day on a film set is 12 hours and 14-16 hours is even accepted. There are major productions in town now that push 14 hour days back to back. Shooting a show is definitely motivated by a budget and how many corners can be cut. In the last year, there has been a push back for healthier work conditions and reasonable resting hours in the industry. Having only been in the industry three years, I do not have some horror stories that others more seasoned might have. But I have experienced the all-consuming nature of a gig that causes burnout and the physical and emotion exhaustion. My last job was on the remake of the tv series Walker Texas Ranger, it was nine months long. The days averaged 10-12 hours with easy locations, some veterans on set claimed out of 30 years, it was the easiest job they ever had. Meanwhile, I was struggling to find a balance between work, passion projects, social things and family.
Often there is little time left outside of a typical workday, let alone energy. I hope in the next 5-10 years, the culture on film sets continues to change for the benefit of those on set, meaning shorter days, better pay, fair turnarounds and diversity. I am a female of German and Hispanic ethnicity and the only person with some color on most film sets I work on. Within the community, there is a generation rising with more women and people of color taking space where they belong and I am proud to be one of them and support others who are interested.
In the years to come, it will be a step ladder for me to climb as I work towards becoming an operator and director of photography, however I feel confident this community in Austin will continue to give me the opportunity to do so.
Contact Info:
- Email: hannahmariemedia@gmail.com
- Website: hannahmariemedia.online
- Instagram: @hannahmariemedia
