Why you need to just click “publish”
From Cleo Abram
VCspotlight is an interview series with the documentary filmmakers and video journalists who comprise our global filmmaking collective.
Cleo Abram is a video producer at Vox, where she’s produced episodes of Explained on Netflix, as well as Glad You Asked on YouTube Originals. Cleo also self-publishes a series called Hey Kid, where she “documents her life for her future kid(s?).” She lives in New York and has a pup named Thor (featured below).
Where did you grow up?
I’m a DC kid, born and raised. Growing up there shaped my interests in obvious ways — I thought for a long time I would go into politics or law and still have an abiding interest in both — but also in ways that have taken me longer to realize. DC is a city steeped in stories about this country. I think I grew up with an understanding of the importance of storytelling, even though my interest in video stories would come later.
What was your first-ever job?
My first job was as a summer camp counselor on the Chesapeake Bay, teaching kids 8–12 how to sail. Sailing can be complicated, but it can also be boiled down into something an 8-year-old can understand. Most things can. The idea that you can simplify a complex topic without condescending to your audience is something I use every day at Vox. It’s a big part of Vox’s ethos: Never underestimate the audience’s intelligence, but also never overestimate their prior knowledge.
What was the first film or video that you worked on?
The first video I made was this piece for Vox Media’s fashion publication, Racked. I worked as a model for several years while in college, and I had noticed some of the legal incentives that caused modeling to have incredibly high rates of sexual harassment. The Racked team and I created a series called Model Citizen, which took on major social and political issues through the lens of the fashion industry. In the first episode, I used my own modeling contract to demonstrate how exactly modeling agencies subvert anti-discrimination laws that would otherwise hold them accountable for sexual harassment or assault on set. I expected to be setting my relationship with modeling on fire when I did that, but the reaction was exactly the opposite. People were ready to have the conversation. And I was hooked on making video.
What have you learned from personal projects that you’re able to apply to your current job?
I started Hey Kid, my YouTube series, because I wanted a way to practice making videos and I was excited to tell stories about my life today that my future kids could maybe, maybe one day watch. So I made a video about that. And then another, and another.
There are two big lessons I’ve learned from Hey Kid that I apply to everything else I do:
- There’s always a way to practice the skill you want without anyone else’s permission. Always.
- Making things in public is infinitely more helpful than keeping them to yourself.
When you’re just starting to learn a skill, practicing by putting your work out into the world can be nerve-racking. But that’s the time you need feedback and support the most. If you want to be a chef, cook weekly meals for friends. If you want to be a programmer, put your projects on Github. For me, that meant making videos and clicking “publish.”
What’s one thing in your camera bag that you can’t live without?
My dog! Kidding, I wish I could bring him on shoots. The real answer is less exciting: an extra set of headphones.
What are you working on now? What’s the biggest challenge you’re encountering?
I just finished producing two episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. These episodes will be a part of Season Two — Season One is on Netflix right now. I’ve moved onto a new show that as of this writing I’m not allowed to talk about yet! But I will be soon. Vox is taking more and more big swings in tv and I feel very lucky to be a part of that.
If I’m honest, the biggest challenge I faced on Explained was my own lack of experience. I had never produced for television before and I had never crafted a 20-minute story. I remember a few days before I started, the EP asked for a copy of my resume to send to Netflix “just to have on file” and my first thought was, “they’re going to take one more look at my resume and take this job away.” They didn’t. And I worked harder than I ever have in my life to make sure that was a good decision. I became the kind of producer I wanted to be. And I am so, so proud of the show we made.
What’s your favorite question for an interview subject?
“Could you demonstrate…”
The ideal interview for me is when I’m able to build or show some part of the story with them.
What’s a ritual or mantra that’s particularly important to you as a filmmaker?
I have a daily writing ritual, which has two rules: 1) Write for 15 minutes every day. 2) Don’t stop for longer than 15 seconds. In addition to the obvious benefits of reflecting on my day, it also helps me notice ways I’ve changed over time. I can go back, quote something I said before, and disagree. I think it helps keep me flexible about my ideas and comfortable changing my mind. And that is very helpful for wrestling with a story.
What inspires you?
A few that have been floating around in my head recently:
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the documentary on Mr. Rogers produced by Morgan Neville. There’s one moment in which Mr. Rogers is explaining a famous song from his show called “It’s You I Like.” He says, “And what that ultimately means, of course, is that you don’t ever have to do anything sensational for people to love you.” I was sitting on a plane when I saw it, and was as though a switch turned on in my eyeballs — water started pouring out of them. I think about that sentiment a lot. It inspires me to do what I find valuable, as opposed to what I think others will find notable. You don’t have to do anything sensational for people to love you.
- Vanity Fair’s interview with Billie Eilish using the same questions exactly one year apart. Her answers are completely different. It’s a perfect example of how to use time as a tool for storytelling. You just have to be more patient than other people are willing to be.
- This little stop motion video by scientist Emily Fairfax about what beavers have to do with wildfires. It’s so cute! And what a great visual explanation.
- Jon Bois’ two-part series The Bob Emergency, in which he charts the decline of people named Bob in sports and tells some of the Bobs’ stories. It is such a random way to look at sports history and it is delightful. Each video is over forty minutes long and you find yourself on the edge of your seat the entire time. And then he hits you with this at the end: “They fought… They did what once seemed impossible… They shared nothing but their name. If there’s a lesson, it’s that. There are no dull stories. People are full of wonder. No matter how you study our history, you will always, always find it.”
A few that always inspire me:
- My partner, Z, in many ways but the one that seems most relevant here is the way he thinks about work. If you went back in time and gave Z that classic marshmallow test you give babies — one marshmallow now or two later — baby Z would probably say, “How about a million marshmallows in two years?” He understands the power of patience and determination to get where you want to go. We help each other stick to what we set out to do, and cheer each other on.
- My colleagues at Vox, first on Explained and now on our new project. I’m constantly inspired to get better at what I do by watching the different ways they craft their stories and thinking, “wow, I’d love to learn that.”
Are there other resources or communities that VC members should know about?
I’m still learning about the creator community in New York, but for the last five years I’ve gone to the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. For four days, some of the best directors, writers, producers and actors in the world gather in a tiny, indescribably beautiful mountain town to share their work. No red carpets, just great movies. I look forward to it all year.
