S1E30: Gretchen Warthen

Gretchen Warthen is an American cinematographer whose work has taken her from Hollywood sound stages to shooting from the back of a camel in India, an elephant in Thailand, the bow of a boat off Venezuela, hovering over Alaskan glaciers and the deserts of the Sahara in a helicopter. Gretchen was born in Idaho, the only child of parents Kathryn Warthen, a retired horticulturist, and Brian Warthen who, after a lifetime of struggle, found his true success in graphic arts. As a child, Gretchen was a tough girl in school with a rebellious nature. After High School, she headed to Boise State University where she gained a Bachelors in Communications before moving to Washington State where she went back to school at the Evergreen State College for a Bachelors in Liberal Arts. It was at Boise State that she began taking an interesting in film-making and undertook projects that showed her natural talent for the art which led her to pursue a career in the industry. By now Gretchen had a plan to be a camera operator and she steered her course starting in wardrobe through set design and props until she was on set where she wanted to be. Her youthful defiance and determination paid off and led her to success across genres. Gretchen has worked as the Director of Photography for the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary feature "Circus of Books," the epic international OWN documentary series "Operation Change," the Emmy Award-winning NBC series “Starting Over,” the Showtime documentary series “The Real L Word” and the award winning documentary feature “East LA Interchange." She has also DP’d two award-winning narrative feature films, Sharon Gless’s “Hannah Free” and “Jamie and Jessie are Not Together.” Gretchen has been a camera operator on popular Emmy Award-winning prime time reality programming, including “Project Runway,” “The Apprentice” and “America’s Next Top Model”. Her narrative credits also include FX’s “Mayans MC”, FOX’s “Call Me Kat” and FOX’s “Welcome to Flatch.” Gretchen has also been a camera operator on popular Live Comedy Specials including Netflix’s "Dave Chappell - Age of Spin” and “Hannah Gadsby - Douglas”. When she is not working, Gretchen’s passion is collecting Vespa scooters and driving fast cars. She lives in LA with her partner Documentary Director and Unscripted reality Co-Executive Producer. Natalee Watts.

Women whose work Gretchen admires:
Shana Hagan - I admire her mentorship, high standards and gentle guidance. Shana has the documentary career I have always dreamed of having.
Mandy Walker - I admire her creativity and ability to do it the way she wants to do it without being too heavily influenced by others. (Plus, works with Baz Luhrmann…)
Ana Amortegui - I admire her passion for life and having it all. Her gratitude for life’s struggles along the journey.
Chris Wairegi - I admire her motivation to make a difference in other people’s lives.

Gretchen's Playlist:
Superchick “One girl revolution”
Ladytron Metric Wax Tailor (discovered because of his remix of Doris Day’s “Perhaps”)
Silver Sun Pickups Old Madonna (Ray of Light is my fave record)
Doris Day - Fun Sydney Bechet - Jazz
Bessie Smith - Blues
Big Maybell - Blues
Nina Simone - Blues

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
Follow @theaartpodcast on Instagram
Email: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

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