Meet Molly Victoria | Cinematographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Molly Victoria and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Molly, how do you define success?
This took me a long time to redefine, and I am definitely still working on what this means to me. I find that success and happiness are always intertwined– they shouldn’t be, but they are. It took me a long time to peel them apart from one another, and not only realize but believe that success does not equal happiness– it’s perhaps the biggest trick that life can play on you. Though I’m often tempted by the idea of what the world says success brings– money, fortune, happiness–I know that success is only achieved when happiness has been found first, not vice versa. I know and believe that discovering happiness– the kind of happiness where you can have ups and downs, good days and bad days, failures and achievements, but ultimately in my soul I am truly happy– is how I strive to define success. If the accolades and money follow, great. If not, I’ve won at life if I have found happiness.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is cinematography which literally means, “writing with motion”. I believe all artists are storytellers, whether it’s through painting or music, or in my case recording things with a camera. It’s always hard to distinguish myself, but I believe what sets me apart from other cinematographers is my love for music. Music is always the very first step of inspiration for me. I have never “seen” an idea in my head without hearing a song or piece of music first. The visions that come together in my mind feel as though they are written by the music I hear. Quite honestly, despite these visions appearing in my own mind, I don’t actually feel an ownership over them and I think there is beauty in that because it’s a constant reminder that we are all connected somehow. I love when someone watches something I created and is so moved by it that they can’t help but tell me every way that it made them feel. I love that– making people feel.

Getting to where I am may have looked difficult to other people, and of course there was and still is a lot of hard work– but when you are certain that you are doing what you were designed to do, it’s easy to keep going. The hardest part is when doubt sets in, but I am so lucky to be surrounded by people who don’t let the doubt hang around for long.

The biggest lesson I have learned along the way is that you can’t spend life looking at other people’s stories and thinking that if you emulate them enough, you’ll end up in the same place as them. I’m now quite sure that’s simply impossible. We each have a story we are meant to share, and we can’t live anyone else’s.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, this may be boring, but day 1 would be heading to Home Depot for firewood, followed by the supermarket to pick up some champagne (because every day is worth celebrating in my opinion!), sitting by the fire in my back yard and talking about life, whilst snuggled up in a blanket sipping on my bubbles. As much as I’d love to say I was a morning person, I absolutely loathe the mornings– so day 2 would not be an early start. If the sun’s not up yet, I’d prefer not to be either! After two cups of tea, I’d maybe I’d play some tennis at Bitsy Grant and then head to Bold Monk Brewing for an afternoon snack, I love the food there. I’d also never say no to Barcelona Wine Bar or a glass of wine at Kroger Bar on the belt line! Itineraries are hard for me– I like to make things up as I go along!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
If only there were a way to replay my life and see every little thing that someone did for me to get me where I am– every bit of encouragement from my family and friends to a song I heard on the radio one time, or the words I read in a novel late at night in bed– I guess my shoutout is to everyone that’s ever been brave enough to share something vulnerable about themselves that went on to have an impact on me and my outlook on life.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollyvictoria.cinematography/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-hill-66b319a5/

Other: vimeo https://vimeo.com/user69709497

Image Credits
Picture of me with camera– Kelsey Butcher Photo