My guest this week is filmmaker and cinematographer Hope Hall who has built a career that includes assuming the role as Principal Presidential Videographer to President Obama, a position that she considered was the best job in the world. Her journey however started a long way from the White House in a different world as a modern dancer. Hope was born in 1969 in Chicago to Tom Hall, a retired Navy officer and advertising account executive, and Betsy Hall, a secretary. She is the youngest of three children and has three more siblings from her father’s second marriage. Her mother navigates lifelong severe mental illness and Hope asked for her siblings and her to move in with her father and step mother, after living in Mexico and Brazil and her parents’ divorce. She then lived with her new family in Chicago, California and Connecticut. Music has always played a role in Hope’s life; she plays the piano, guitar, and now the drums, as well as being a singer. She also practiced gymnastics in her youth, and classical ballet proved to be the start of her dancing career. Hope took part in dance and theater in high school and college before making her way to Venice, San Francisco and New York as a professional dancer. From an early age she had a sense of social justice and enjoyed story telling so she was naturally drawn to photo-journalism, which gave her the foundation for film-making. Hope studied at the University of Paris III, IV, Center for Critical Studies (1989-90), the University of California, Berkeley, getting her B.A. in History and French (1991) and her M.A. at Stanford University in Documentary Film & Video (2000). Hope then moved back to NYC where she began incorporating music videos and projection design into her cinematography and directing practice. In addition to serving as President Obama’s videographer, Hope was Senior Advisor for Video & Senior Road Videographer to Senator Warren's presidential campaign, and then Director, Digital Strategy Advisor and Cinematographer for both the Biden and Harris campaign and administration. Hope lives in New York where she is now enjoying life as a freelancer.

Hope’s website:IMDB and Instagram:
https://www.hopehall.com/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355650/
https://www.instagram.com/hopiehall

Hope’s playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3XEjsZ56rsZcKydhZ7d4gY?si=fab36f6723184574

Some women whose work Hope admires:
Wendall Harrington
Penny de los Santos
Jessie Henson
Purcell Carson
Sadia Shepard

Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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Email: [email protected]

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