Meet Elliott Lytle, an interesting person and a fascinating filmmaker who has been making movies since his dad bought a VHS recorder back in the 80s. Catch his work at our next screening on the third Sunday of every month.
How many Minute Movies have you made?
A lot, at least 30.
A little background about yourself outside of Minute Movies.
I do a number of part-time jobs including videography projects, VJing (Video Jockey for music shows), teaching science, and a bit of Door Dashing lol. I also enjoy playing and creating electronic music, it crosses over into film and video. I did visuals for Paul Oakenfold once when he came to town around 2017. That was a thrill!
What is your film background?
I started film as a kid when my dad bought one of the first big bulky VHS recorders when they came out in the 80s. It was all in-camera editing. Starting and stopping, doing really silly stuff. In the 90s I took classes at the now defunct 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle. That was a very artistically open, anything goes kind of atmosphere and really influenced me. Part of it still lives on with Open Screening, another local film meet up group. I also got into analog film then and learned how to use the Russian made Krasnagorsk-3, set up an analog editing station and watched the films by reel-to-reel projector. I sold it and drifted in and out of film and video for awhile. Then I joined Minute Movies around 2015 and got really inspired to start making films again. I’m now making films under my own company, Elliott Lytle Films, and look forward to new productions.
What is your favorite submission that you’ve made?
Bad Bet. This was a 3 part series Minute Movie that started with the theme of Round. The round thing ended up being a UFO my 3D artist neighbor made. I collaborated with Chris Tucker on this, who I make most of my Minute Movies with. We have a bit of a shared mind, although with unique differences. So we switch off as Director. The film as a whole screened at the Seattle Transmedia Independent Film Festival (STIFF) in 2018 and was nominated for Best Narrative Fiction. You can see the whole movie here. It has two of my favorite genres, comedy and sci-fi:
What is your favorite submission that someone else made?
That would probably be Into the Darkness. Another collaboration with Chris Tucker and also Max Dilume. Chris was Director. I was able to act in and help produce it. The theme that month was Dark. I liked how it started as a feeling. Chris texted me and said I have an idea of a guy walking around, gritty, with dark glasses, smoking, glaring at things… From there it morphed into a sci-fi noirish style film. Chris really did an amazing job scouting out locations around downtown Seattle for architecture and color that fit the mood. It was a lot of fun. This also screened at Unfiltered Cinema Festival in Minsk, Belarus in 2019. You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX6ykUj2CEk
Why do you like to make Minute Movies? What keeps you coming back?
It’s fun and creative. I like the format. It is not a huge investment, but enough to help develop some aspect of your filmmaking. The people are cool too. Lots of collaborations, good feedback, shared knowledge and experiences. Always something new.
What does your setup look like? Camera? Software?
For video I usually use an iPhone 7s and also a Canon XA20. Lately, I’ve returned to 16mm analog film and am using either a Krasnagorsk-3 and also a Bolex EBM. For audio, I use an H6 Zoom and Rhodes Wireless Lavs. For editing usually FCPX and sometimes Adobe.
What is your filmmaking inspiration? Films? Filmmakers? TV? Your own imagination?
Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” was a big inspiration. I saw that at Varsity Theatre in the U-District when it came out in 1990 and was struck by his depiction of everyday people as characters. There was no real narrative, just people being themselves in an odd and humorous way, one after another. That made me want to direct films after walking out of the theater.
What is your favorite genre? To either make or watch.
I love action, adventure, sci-fi, also surreal, artistically abstract, strange and experimental stuff.
What is one of the biggest technical challenges you’ve overcome?
Learning to use a film camera, particularly the Krasnagorsk-3. If you don’t load it correctly, you’ll get nothing or really stretched out people and scenery lol. You can’t see what you’re doing either until its developed. So a bit of a learning curve. I’m still on it.
Is there a story regarding something you learned from the MM community to help you in your filmmaking?
I did not know how to make quality audio before joining Minute Movies. I got a lot of feedback from other filmmakers, including Stuart Ferrier, about how to get the audio levels up and sounding clearly. Also, being able to test it each month in the SFI Theater was a big help. You know right away if you got it or not. I feel like I can make quality audio now. In a recent screening at a film festival for a short film I made with the Bolex Camera, someone in the audience told me the audio sounds moved them emotionally. That tells me I’m doing something right.
Do you have any tips to share with other filmmakers?
Have fun! Go crazy!
Do you have any other film projects you’re working on that you want to share?
I’m currently working on a feature length film project called “A Day in the Life” that hops from character to character for about 5 minutes, highlighting the experience of everyday life, and will use a bit of dream logic also. No narrative, experimental style, inspired by Slacker! I’m making it up as I go, it’s very modular, and I have shot around 7 different character scenes so far. It’ll be done when it gets done lol! Here is a sample of a photographer character and a musician character: