Laura Odermatt has DP’ed 12 short films and two music videos– having worked with various formats including 16mm, 35mm, digital, and now digital large format. She was first drawn to film as an art form for it’s exceptional ability to capture and communicate emotions of characters.
“A Musical Thing” was her first real directorial debut. She was inspired to make the film after hearing a speech by Alan Watts that compared life to music. She was already a firm believer in finding the beauty in life’s soft moments, and this speech only solidified this idea for her.
Michael Cioni gave her the opportunity of a lifetime by allowing her to shoot the film with a DXL as a camera test. With the invaluable help and guidance of her two extremely talented producers, Diana Danh & Jiyoung Jessica Park, she was able to bring her passion to life. She would also like to sincerely thank the cast and crew that gave their time and care to the project– the film would have been impossible without these talented folks.
What was originally a camera test for the Panavision DXL turned into my directorial debut of a short film. “A Musical Thing” is about the beauty in the intimacy of human relationships, and the moments that we choose to live rather than let pass us by. It is a celebration of these moments and of the musical nature of life. I usually DP for projects rather than direct them myself, so this project was special to me. I have social anxiety, and as a cinematographer I find that I can admire the beauty of subjects from the safety of being behind a lens. “A Musical Thing” was a way for me to explore that beauty, unencumbered. In this way, it was a project that was near and dear to me like none other.