Meet Rebecca Wilson | C0-founder of Salty Quill Studios

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

Hi Rebecca, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Our original thought process behind Salty Quill Studios was to create a production studio in which we could make in house studio films. Atlanta has become one of the top filmmaking cities in the world with big time productions (Ie: Marvel) filming downtown, but it has also become a powerhouse for Indie productions. Salty Quill Studios began as a means for two sisters to create films in their own vision. As we have expanded our own films and tv pilots, we have begun to make connections. So, the thought behind Salty Quill Studios is to help low budget Indie and especially student filmmakers create films to their own vision in the highest quality and to give them contacts. Navigating the film industry can be difficult, and it is especially difficult to learn who you can trust. Part of our business is putting customers in contact with tried and true industry professionals in order to give them a leg up in the game.

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.
I believe that as a company the greatest asset that sets us aside from others is that we are a woman ran, woman operated company that specializes in low budget filmmaking. As a filmmaker, its just plain expensive, especially starting out. Our goal is to help others cut costs by teaching them all that we know. We don’t believe in gatekeeping information. Currently, we are most excited for the premiere of our latest short film, “Camp Agony”, and the post production of a TV pilot tentatively titled “Deceased”. “Camp Agony” premieres on Halloween and was our first project with our stunt family!
It took a lot of work and five years to get to the point where we are at today. Our experience with film started with a YouTube Channel in 2016. While we were just in high school, we found a lot of joy making parodies of some of our favorite movies and TV shows. This, over time, morphed into a joy for filmmaking when our other co-founder, Ashley Wilson, wrote and directed a short film, “Sins of a Father”, and was nominated nationally for directing as a part of Campus Movie Fest. From there we began our first web series, White Girl Apokalypse, and since have been hooked.
Any creative field is not easy to get into, especially film. As I mentioned earlier, film is expensive, especially when you are making your own. So without help from friends and family it basically is nonexistent. However, the longer you stay at it and help others in their own films, you will get rewarded in the long run. The best way to get over the hardships is to make connections. It’s hard when you are starting off, but finding the right people really does make everything worth it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It might be cliché, but I personally love the aquarium! While I am currently running Salty Quill Studios with my sister, my background and degree is in marine biology! So one day while any friend is visiting we always have to hit it up! As far as awesome places to hang out for drinks you can’t go wrong with the Monks Meadery or Atlanta Brewing company! Other things that we would definitely check out if the season was right for it would be the Georgia Renaissance faire, hike Stone Mountain, and visit the Atlanta Beltline.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our story as a company would not have been at all possible without the love and care we received in theatre from our high school drama teacher, Kimberly Staples. It was through her mentorship that our love for the arts grew, and we are forever grateful for its impact! Lately, the biggest shoutout goes to our stunt family at L.A. Stunts. I found them while creating a short film, “Camp Agony” and without them our latest project would have never gotten off the ground. So, a huge shoutout to Sarah Ekstrand for stepping into the high stress role as our go-to stunt coordinator. It is with her guidance and mentorship that we are able to continuously meet amazing people and have some incredible fight scenes! Also, she steps up at times to fill in other crew roles where we have gaps, her willingness to support the team inspires me daily. Another shoutout to Nate Moore! He has been our director of photography on our last two projects and has taught me things about our own camera that I didn’t even know were possible! He also is such a solid positive presence on set, and one of the hardest working people I have ever met! Being on set with him pushes all of us to work even harder. Another huge shoutout goes to Ansley Teipel. Her business mindset and experience in management has honestly kept me in check and level on long set days. She also continues to mentor us on other business management practices beyond the set! I know this is a lot, but it takes a lot of people to make a film set run! A huge shout out to Meagan Carter, Harley Wood, and Eli Braswell for helping us hold down the fort and continuously inspiring us to make more films with wild ideas! And of course, the biggest shoutout goes to our parents. It must not be the easiest thing to have kids in the film industry, but they continue to stick by our side and help us make the art we want!

Website: https://saltyquillstudios.weebly.com/

Instagram: @saltyquillstudios

Twitter: @Saltyquillfilms

Facebook: @saltyquillstudios

Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/SaltyQuillStudios

Other: Camp Agony Teaser Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZayVEDmBlI L.A. Stunts: https://lastuntstrainingcenter.com/

Image Credits
Camp Agony poster artwork by Ruby Brown. Stills from Camp Agony