Ellie "Friday" Main

Hi Ellie! Thanks for joining us! Skill Tree recently wrapped up its first season. What skill was the most fun to learn?

That is such a hard question! Each episode was so different, but I think the last episode in the season was probably my favourite. I’ve always wanted to learn stunt driving and the “180 J Turn” was so fun and so terrifying at the same time.

What was one of the most memorable moments from working on Skill Tree Season 1?

Oh gosh. Probably the most memorable moment for me was when the crew switched out the production intern with Burnie for the final challenge. I genuinely had no idea they were doing that! When Burnie jumped out from behind the hostage board I couldn’t believe it – that is a 100% honest reaction! Getting a bucket of nasty creek water thrown at me was also a pretty memorable moment though!

If/when Skill Tree is renewed for a second season, what is the one skill you would most like to learn, and why?

There’s too many to choose from – I think something with a grappling hook? Or rappelling... something rope based! I’d need to get my upper body strength up big time...

Some of our readers might not know that Skill Tree was born out of the Burnie Vlog, while you served as Burnie’s Executive Assistant. That had to be a crazy gig... what is one of your favorite stories from working with Burnie?

Working with Burnie on his Vlog was such an incredible experience – I’ll always be grateful for it. One of my most memorable moments in that position was the San Francisco vlog. I hadn’t been able to travel much in America and it was one of our first trips out of Austin, and my first time in San Francisco. In the space of a weekend we saw the sights, went to an incredible dinner in Napa and took a helicopter tour of the Bay! There were these incredibly exciting experiences, but for me the biggest takeaway from that position was how much I learnt from Burnie: he is incredibly generous, always encouraging and supportive and the way he interacts with the community – even when just stepping off a long-haul flight or after a 72hr convention – is pretty inspiring. Here’s a guy who owns and runs an incredibly successful multi-faceted online production hub and is a major internet influencer, and he is also the guy handing out water on set. I have an enormous amount of respect for that kind of humility.

We’ve heard you’re working on a project called RT Labs now. What is it, and what is your role there?

The Lab is a super exciting new venture, born out of the Live Action Department. We’ve created a team that are super mobile and able to run out and shoot something at a moment’s notice. We’re all “Producers” meaning that everyone on the team can write, shoot and edit so we can all collaborate and switch up the roles. It’s so creative – I love it.

What sort of content are you hoping to create with RT Labs?

Personally, I’m hoping to bring some scripted shorts with a surreal British flavor – at The Lab we’re about playing to the top of our intelligence and getting a bit weird with it. We’re hoping to bring something a little different to the Live Action side of RT! There’s also going to be a ton of fun and flexible vids with the RT personalities you know and love.

What does the release schedule look like for RT Labs?

We’re starting off with 2 vids a week, seeing what the community likes and hopefully growing from there!

Now, some of our readers might not be aware, but you are quite the musician! What led you to start playing music?

I come from a very musical family! My dad is a self-taught pianist (after his teacher rejected his suggestion to learn Elton John instead of Beethoven) and I grew up listening to him sing and play almost every evening. Everyone in my family sings and plays an instrument! I’ve been playing the drums since I was about 10 years old and used to play in a 50-piece Jazz Band through school, and I started teaching myself guitar a few years ago. It’s so much harder to learn as an adult! Burnie heard me practicing at my desk one time and asked if I would like to sing in his final vlog and the encouragement and support that I got from that gave me the confidence I needed to pour more time into it and I’ve been loving it! It’s hard to find the time out of work but it makes me so happy.

What are some of your musical influences?

I love folk / acoustic music – that’s my soul food! Ben Howard, Maggie Rogers and Ray Lamontagne are a few of my favourites. I love Chvrches and the mix of high energy beats and synth with dark and poetic lyrics...The band I’m in is inspired a lot my Fleetwood Mac and the Beegees...I grew up listening to Queen and The Who...I’m inspired by a lot of different styles, I guess!

If people want to check out your music, where could they find it?

I have a few solo covers on my YouTube and Bandcamp pages: youtube.com/elliemain and bandcamp. com/elliemain but right now I’m concentrating on Wild Disguise, the band I’m in with local Austin musician James Moritz and we just put out our EP, Out of the Box!

wilddisguise.bandcamp.com You can only find us on Spotify and ITunes!