Tag: Q&A Interview

Meet Slow Clap’s Producer: Katy Bailes

Posted on by Darissa Hicks

Get to know Katy a bit better with our quick Q&A interview.

Introduce yourself!

Hello! Nice to meet you! My name is Katy and I am Slow Clap’s newest recruit! I am originally from London in the UK and have been living in San Francisco for around 2 years now by way of marriage to my lovely husband George! Prior to joining Slow Clap, I worked at the in-house documentary film team at The Economist newspaper. There we made short(ish) documentaries about anything and everything from start-ups in the world’s largest refugee camp to what led to Trump’s victory in the 2016 US presidential election.

What’s your role? What made you gravitate towards this craft? 

I am a producer at Slow Clap which I’m very happy about because I love producing! In general, I have always wanted to produce and make documentaries because I’ve always been interested in what’s going on in the world. It may sound a bit simple but that is simply it! From a young age, I was always fascinated in the stories of my friends from different places and the stories of the new places I visited and lived in and so making films and specifically documentaries just kind of made sense to me as a job. I like the mix of creative organizing (if that’s a thing!), whereby you have an idea or a concept and you make that a reality through solid processes. I love working in a team and truly appreciate the collaborative nature of filmmaking in all its forms.

Katy Filming in Namibia

What’s your prior experience? What made you interested in joining Slow Clap? 

I was interested in the role firstly because I wanted to diversify my experience from documentaries into more commercial work. As Slow Clap is a corporate video production company in San Francisco, I really love that Slow Clap works with a large variety of companies from large tech organizations to smaller NGOs and I was impressed with the documentary style of the work they produce. To me it was sort of the best of both worlds— I could continue working in a style I was used to and appreciated but rev it up a bit with new clients and processes. I also really liked the photo illustrations of each member of staff and the inclusion of the company pets! 

What am I watching? 

Anything from Keeping Up with the Kardashians to old Brazilian classics like Black Orpheus! This year I am excited for the new series of Succession but am also looking forward to watching some new documentaries like To The End and Descendant which is about African-Americans tracing their ancestral roots.

Any Hobbies?

I’ve always loved dancing from ballet to dancehall and so I try and keep that up! I am a big fan of anything Brazilian and so I enjoy reading and keeping up to date with what’s happening over there and on the continent in general, as well as speaking Portuguese as and when I can. Now that I live in California, I am embracing the outdoors and love a good hike to watch a sunset and am even considering taking up paragliding!

Lastly, favorite project you’ve worked on? 

I have to say probably Public Advocates’s 50th Anniversary as I got to piece together 50 years in a paper edit, continue to develop it throughout the editing process, and see it come to life. It was an honor to learn about the many stories of Public Advocates as well as highlight the systemic changes that they created in the community.

Meet Slow Clap’s Camera and Post-Production Assistant: Keely Liles

Posted on by Darissa Hicks


Get to know Keely a bit better with our quick Q&A interview.

Introduce yourself!

Hiya! My name is Keely Liles and I am a photographer, filmmaker, and one of the recent hires of the Slow Clap team! I moved from Washington to California in the Fall of 2021 to pursue my filmmaking career. I was trained in non-fiction, documentary filmmaking and two years ago developed, directed, filmed, edited, and produced my own documentary film called, Embrace Your Pleasure. 

Since the completion of that project I have been branching into narrative film by teaching myself about screenwriting, directing, and getting on to film sets as a production assistant. 

What’s your role? 

I am the Camera and Post-Production Assistant. I was hired to support our Post-Production Supervisor, Jake Richard. In my role, I am responsible for loading and unloading the grip truck, setting up and tearing down equipment, managing media files, and prepping Premiere Pro projects for our editors. 

What made you gravitate towards this craft?

I have had a camera in my hand since I could walk and I have the photos to prove it. I started with photography and naturally gravitated towards filmmaking later on. I think what initially drew me to filmmaking was watching the behind the scenes specials included on DVDs. I loved watching how the story was created and as I learn more about all of the artistic choices that are involved with making a movie, I love filmmaking even more. I am that person who will interrupt the movie to point out a cool filmmaking technique. 

What made you interested in joining Slow Clap?

I have been freelancing for several years and have had the opportunity to do a number of interesting and engaging projects, but I was ready to be part of something bigger than myself. I wanted to join Slow Clap because I was ready to be part of a long-term, collaborative, creative team. Slow Clap is a commercial video production company in San Francisco. Slow Clap’s mission to create authentic stories for their clients resonates with me in my personal and professional life. In my career as an artist, I want to act as a catalyst for change and I see filmmaking as a way to do so. The collaboration between filmmakers and their community acts as a catalyst that ignites movement. It’s cameras, lights, and audio equipment in the hands of passionate people who are brave enough to ask themselves and those around them, “who are you and what is your story?”

Any hobbies? 

When I don’t have my hands on a camera, I am painting or drawing. I make so much art that I love gifting my art to people. It’s one of my love languages. Pre-pandemic I would go swing dancing and salsa dancing. I used to do Irish dancing and hope to get back to it one day. I love spending time with my friends and going hiking, making a meal together, seeing a movie, or just hanging out in the living room. 

My Favorite Projects from Slow Clap 

Faces: A Work in Progress by Truong Tran

Building the future

La Crema Brand Story

Meet Slow Clap’s Production Assistant: Darissa Hicks

Posted on by Darissa Hicks

Get to know Darissa a bit better with our quick Q&A interview.

Introduce yourself!

Hello there, and thank you for stopping by! My name is Darissa and I’m Slow Clap’s Production Assistant. I’m from the Bay Area and graduated from University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics and a minor in Sociology. With my major, I wanted to gain knowledge that could be applied to the business side of many industries. Soon after, I also became interested in sociology and in finding a way to make a positive impact through my career. 

What’s your role? What made you gravitate towards this craft?

As a Production Assistant, my role is to support the team especially in the pre-production phase of producing a video. I help with planning the logistics of a shoot, including managing legal documents and researching locations/equipment. Sometimes, I am also a PA on set for our shoots. I may assist with crafty set-up, camera/lighting set-up, and behind-the-scenes photos.  Alongside helping with video production, I support company operations, such as marketing, company events planning, general administrative tasks, and anything else our team may need. 

What’s your prior experience? What made you interested in joining Slow Clap?

I have general experience in outreach, marketing, and HR. I have helped prepare informational interviews for different organizations, including a start-up social media app for college students and a podcast focused on diversity and social impact in the film industry called Rewriting Hollywood.  I was in search of gaining experience as a PA since I was interested in storytelling in media. As I was looking for different opportunities, I was surprised to find a PA position with a company like Slow Clap. I was really excited about finding a company that really cared about different causes and shared values about diversity and fostering an encouraging environment where you are able to learn and grow. Slow Clap tries to partner with community-based organizations to help tell their story. I am so glad to be a part of a team that wants to make an impact and help people through the power of storytelling. 

What am I watching?

Since I watch a lot more dramas than films, I think one of my favorite Korean TV dramas is My Mister. Watching it during the pandemic and without spoiling the story, I found My Mister to be very comforting and relatable in emotions to watch. It is a slice-of-life drama that is very understanding of different life experiences and can be encouraging to see how those characters overcome hardships. 

Any Hobbies?

In general, I like to spend time with friends and family, especially trying out the new foodie spots in town that we haven’t tried before. I also really enjoy watching movies/dramas and learning languages. 

Lastly, favorite project you’ve worked on?

As it was one of my first times being on set, I’d have to say that my favorite project is the Judicial Council of California’s Juror Orientation Video. For Slow Clap, it’s one of our larger projects, and I think that’s why I found it exciting. Over at least eight days, we had a crew of about 20 people and over 30 people for talent. I even got to clap the slate! (Check out the BTS photos below!) Seeing behind-the-scenes of how so many different folks could come and work together to create this video was amazing. I had the opportunity to connect and learn from veterans in the industry who were kind and patient in showing me the ropes. I am so grateful that our team kept an eye out for me and guided me throughout my time participating in this project and the many more to come!

Although I haven’t worked on many projects yet, some of my favorite work from Slow Clap also includes: