Who are you?
Riley Fields
Where are you from?
Spencer, Indiana
What do you do?
I shoot/edit video, take photographs, and play music. My day job is in
media management at Al Jazeera America.
Your style in 3 words?
Not too fancy
What is your weakness?
I’m not always as prepared as I would like to be
What is your strength?
I think I’m good at capturing ordinary moments and using them as
building blocks to create a cohesive, believable story
What makes you different?
I care about the work I do, and I also really enjoy it. When work doesn’t
feel like work it’s easy to spend lots of time and energy on a project.
I’m not interested in rushing through a job just to get it done- I enjoy
getting to know my source material (raw footage for a video or
melodic/lyrical phrases for a song) and figuring out how it best fits into
the final product. I like to think that this attitude inspires better work.
A few words about your work?
I try to create things that are as close to what we recognize as reality
as possible. I can’t really say if I’ve achieved this result, but it’s
something I strive for in all my creative endeavors. I want you to
believe what I have to say. It’s sort of ironic, but I find that I have to
really twist and manipulate things in an unnatural way to make them
feel more real. Maybe I should work in reality TV.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by authenticity and, like most everyone, by beauty. I’ll
over-analyze something until I’m convinced I understand what makes
something beautiful and then try to emulate that quality somewhere in
my work.
How do your face uncertainties/Times of uncertainties?
Occasionally I like to take a giant, dramatic step back and see
everything as an uncertainty. You might say I’m sometimes a little
removed or detached, but when nothing is certain I find it easier to
appreciate the things I generally take for granted. So to answer the
question more concisely, a perspective change helps.
Any new project coming up, you want to tell us about?
Yes, I’m getting ready to shoot a music video for Rocky and the
Pressers. This will be our second- the first was an acoustic version of
their song “Never Dry.” This band is ridiculously good. I’ve been to
dozens of their shows- literally! I’m such a fan and am really looking
forward to making another video with them.
