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company MISSION

Alongside my husband, Graham Ehlers Sheldon, I founded Stand Up 8 Productions in 2014. After working years in freelance, we both felt it was time to start creating the change we wanted to see in our workplaces.

Honey, there are norms that need to be shaken up until they are dissolved.  There are feathers that need to be ruffled. There are people standing around;  there are chips on shoulders. Inclusion has come a long way, but indeed has much further to go.

I believe the most enriching entertainment is born out of a collaborative environment, where the creativity and perspective of an individual artist elevate the whole crew and the finished project. 


here’s an ORIGIN STORY:

I'm from a tiny town—or perhaps one might say… collection of people known as Lanesville, Indiana.  About 25 minutes east lies the city of Louisville, Kentucky, where I went to high school and spent much of my formative years. I rode horses & went to fish fries and grew into a woman with a hint of a twang after a few bourbons. I take great pride in the people from whom I derive.

My people laugh loudly and love a good yarn. (A few of them, I’m not saying who, cheat at Euchre.)  I come from a long line of storytellers with razor sharp memories and appetites for vividly elaborate detail. Whether they be musicians or photographers,  most of the folks in my line are what you might call parlor creatives. None had the luxury of pursuing artistic passion as careers, but many had a go or two at the small-time. My paternal grandmother played piano in a tavern and even now and again accompanied silent films at the local cinema.  

As the first in this line of dreamers to have the privilege of a career in the arts, I do not take the gift of that responsibility lightly.  I am dedicated, and I work hard.  I am proud of the worker my parents raised me to be.

Former employers include:

BBC, BBC AMERICA, NBC, ITV, LEGENDARY ENTERTAINMENT, DISNEY DIGITAL, THE TRAVEL WOMEN, CINED, THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW, NERDIST, GEEK & SUNDRY, REV STUDIOS, VARIOUS MUSIC ARTISTS, & MORE

Below are a few of my filmmaking core values. you can have them unfiltered.

  • I once called for a crew break, and folks who hadn't worked with me before looked totally baffled. How sad is that?

    Every department should be excited about what we’re making, and everyone should feel valued. I am not stingy with my praise or my interest. I want people to trust me enough to take their biggest swings, run ideas by me, and check me when I’m wrong. Supported artists are more creative, and I am confident in my ability to support while tailoring and polishing.

    Feeling the clock, meal penalties…the work almost always suffers. People give you their best when you feed and treat them well. Full stop.

  • Artists have myriad methods for bringing a work into being, so I won’t knock others’ ways that work for them—but what I know from having occupied a handful of different roles in production is that a well planned day rarely goes off the rails.

    My directing mentor drilled it into me to plan my work and work my plan. I’ve had ADs and producers laugh in my face for my color coding and sketches. I’ve seen raised eyebrows at my delight in organization, but I’ve also seen so many crew members work in confidence and get home to their families early and on time, and that is vitally important to me.

  • What? Ha! I’m certainly not the first or last person to say this, but I know it to be true from experience. Having a meticulously planned day is imperative, but so is being adaptable.

    I pride myself in being flexible enough to not hold my plan so precious. Some of the most satisfying moments of my career have come from throwing out the plan when it’s not working and adapting to what’s right in front of me. I also believe the best idea wins, so if an actor or an operator or an MUA has a different idea that serves the story the best, we’ll go with that.

  • This one’s in here for fun, but it connects to something greater for me as a storyteller.

    I truly hate hive-minded trends, and you know what I’m talking about…Oh wow, we started the shot upside down, but now we’re trucking and turning right side up…We must be in a post blackout distopian mixup, where our protagonist encounters a great e-villll. What's that? Oh you want the score to be theremin heavy...ah yes.

    I’ll take my style with substance, please. I’m also not going to burden the budget with a hefty rental fee for one shot that will last 2 seconds that yields no effect on the audience other than “Whoa, sick.”

  • Actors who love rehearsal are my favorite. I can work with anyone, but I come from a theatre background, and I know full well the benefits of proper rehearsal. That being said, I encourage play and discovery in at all phases. Some actors haven’t experienced that freedom of exploration and the depth of performance that can give them.

    You can have the fluffiest budget, the shiniest gadgets, the best choreographed oners in the world, but if the actors aren’t connected, no one will care. Moreover, it gives actors the power to inspire me to highlight their choices. That hopefully can more deeply connect the audience to a character or her arc.

    Added bonus for skeptics: it's also so much less expensive to the production to get on the same page in rehearsal. It can really help inform all the areas of production. On the camera side of this, having worked as an AC in younger years, it’s prioritizing camera rehearsal is a must.

  • This can’t always happen, but here’s a scenario I’ve witnessed multiple times (usually in commercial/branded work, if I’m honest).

    Two powers that be have totally different ideas about how a shot should go, and they are both digging their heels in. They debate the merits of the different options to death. By the time that people are all worked up and huffy, there’s an uncomfortable energy on the set, and we could have just shot it both ways.

    If you can, shoot it both ways, even if you think you might throw one out.

  • The people with whom I enjoy working again and again are the dedicated hustlers, who respect what we’re making enough to stay focused. When we’re on, we’re on.