Hi. I'm sophie. 

I’ve worn a lot of hats. 

I’m a freelance documentary filmmaker, video editor, cinematographer, and sometimes photographer. 

I’m a reluctant producer, and prefer to spend my time fostering a genuine connection with people, developing a story, pointing a camera at my new friend’s face, asking them to spill the beans on whatever lights them up, and chopping it together in post… than updating spreadsheets. I’ll manage logistics if I have to.

I’m most familiar with small Sony camera rigs (A7siii, fx3, and fx6,) some Red’s, and have an FAA part 107 drone certification. I like to go fast and light when possible but don’t mind lugging a large pack up and down mountains to get the shot.

I’ve worked as a DP, co-director, Cam B, lead editor, assistant editor, and “Swiss-army knife” - all of which have given me a comprehensive understanding of how videos get made.

[ feel free to stop here and send me an email ]

I really don’t like to be inside when it’s sunny and honestly start to scratch the walls if I’m inside for too long regardless of the weather. For this reason, I live and work in the mountains.

I like skiing. Whether its fluffy face shots, cruisey cord, corn in the couloir, choppy chunder bumps, or wind-buffed fast pow. I love it. 

I also like boats and rivers and all the hoopla that comes with boats on rivers like big rapids and little rapids and no rapids and costumes and ... the groover. 

I’m a bit of an anxious pessimist, but the good news about that is, I’ve probably already thought through every little (and big) thing that could go wrong with your project and what I’d like to do about it.

When it comes to social and environmental justice I’d prefer to not just talk about it but be about it. I have a lot to learn. I promise to show up.

I like party shirts and every dog I meet and cars with 300,000 miles and (bad) dad jokes. 

In between freelance gigs I’ve worked as a nanny for several infant boys, a ski instructor at Jackson Hole, and a river guide in the Grand Canyon. And although in some ways these “jobs” have taken time and focus away from what has always been the goal - full time creative freelance work - the many moons spent in these other roles tanning awkward parts of my body have given me invaluable experiences that transcend the bounds of any one career. Things like - I’m not that afraid of cleaning up actual shit. Sometimes people are rude, annoying, and impossible to please but I will smile at them anyway. More often than it’s not, life is too cold or too hot or too wet or too dry or too windy and you can usually count on me to laugh about it.

I’ve always had a tough time separating the business and the personal and maybe that’s fine. Since we’re being honest, the business I like to do is freakin’ personal. 

Sometimes I get really awkward in social settings and go home and lay in bed wishing I could push rewind for a decade and live faaaarrrr out in the woods and never talk to anyone ever to avoid embarrassing myself. I’m banking on that not being a deal-breaker.

I’m an only child from a town of 2000 people and I’m not sure if that made me weird or if I was always going to be this way. 

If I haven’t talked you out of it yet, go ahead and shoot me an email about how we can work together! Can’t wait.

Sophie 

[ All photos © Leslie Hittmeier ]