local fare Lights, Camera & Women Taking Action

By Bradley “Beej” Davis, Jr.

In this ever-expanding world of digital content, there’s something to be said about quality versus quantity. Every single second of the day, countless pictures, videos and links are liked, swiped and shared across social media and beyond. Of course, algorithms help to sort out some of the clutter, whether it be by websites previously visited or even your location – chances are that perfect pair of pants you didn’t know you needed will magically appear during your scrolling.

That’s why digital marketing initiatives are always vying to grab the right audience, and a key piece of that digital pie is video production. And we’re not talking about an influencer making a 6-second video on the latest eyebrow shaping trends. For many local production companies, like Calliope Films, their content is nothing short of an art form, and for that it takes an incredibly passionate and talented team to make it happen.

“What we really strive to do, what we love doing most is (focusing on) the creative community of Pensacola and trying to support that as much as possible,” said Sierra Hobbs, producer with Calliope Films. Hobbs is no stranger to this creative community as a majority of her school life revolved around theater and then science. “Once I graduated high school I chose the science path, at least for college, but I kept doing theater for fun the whole time.”

After earning her degree in biochemistry and environmental science from the University of West Florida, she continued to immerse herself in theater and was eventually recruited by local professional improvisational group IMPROVable Cause as well as the sketch comedy group Kitty Get a Job. She got her feet wet by helping the groups with more and more production projects, then for her the path was clear.

“I ended up just falling in love with video production. I loved being in front of the camera, which is how I started, but then I began filling the holes that I saw needed to be filled.”

At the beginning, this work was mostly on a volunteer basis, but Hobbs was hired to do freelance work in production and logistics. Fast forward to January 1, 2022, when she was hired as a full-time producer with Calliope, thus growing the female presence in this male-dominated profession. However, women are certainly finding their place under the proverbial video production spotlight.

“The industry itself is very male-dominated, but our local industry has some really awesome women that in the past five, ten years have really been making their mark,” Hobbs said.

But you don’t have to take her word for it, Calliope owner/ director Chris Jadallah is happy to echo that sentiment.

“Obviously having a woman on staff is going to give us perspectives we didn’t have before,” said Jadallah.

He continues to note that oftentimes client meetings constitute a room full of mostly men, but that is never a deterrent for Hobbs to offer her creative and professional expertise.

“We have Sierra sitting there as a woman who’s not afraid to speak up. She shares her ideas, she shares her thoughts and nine times out of ten, her ideas are better than (the men’s),” he quipped.

But joking aside, Calliope does incredible and important work for our community, especially for local nonprofits. A recent nonprofit client approached the film company to help spread the organization’s mission. It’s standard practice for groups like this to get the message out, but it takes special care in recognizing that exact, impassioned message.

“It was very emotional. Everybody cried – we all cried just listening to them share their stories. Because they know and we know that their sharing stories is a way to help others and is getting the message out there that they do have resources available, and this is something that can help you because it’s helped them,” said Hobbs. “It’s definitely important to us that we are seen as people you can trust to understand your message, understand your goals and portray them accurately.”

Both Hobbs and Jadallah said it all comes down to all parties involved being vulnerable and taking risks. This starts with the initial client meeting, normally to discuss budget and logistics, which is in Hobbs’ wheelhouse, as her job is essentially planning every minute of production days. Once production begins, the focus turns to the storytelling, and this is where those risks come into play.

“We try to push the boundaries, therefore push ourselves as much as possible and in turn, push our clients to take some risks too, if they’re willing to play with us a little bit,” she said.

But video production isn’t necessarily considered risky business. The principals of Calliope agree that truly engaging with the clients and making sure everyone has fun is a top priority.

“We want to enjoy what we’re doing,” said Jadallah. “If we enjoy it, there’s a strong chance it’s going to be a much better production if we’re enjoying the process as well.”

It’s not just the video production professionals having fun with clients, but also with each other. Hobbs says the local industry is vibrant and supportive, definitely with an element of camaraderie. And at the end of the day, normally a very long one in video production, these consummate professionals always have time to glean insight and inspiration from each.

“We love collaborating with other creatives in any way because we have a very tight-knit video production community here,” said Hobbs. “We’re all friends.”