Meet the Team: 20 Questions with Eli Suhadolnik
We love a game of 20-questions! Who better to kick off our “Meet the Team” series than our Director of Cinematography, Eli! We sat down with Eli to ask him about his experience in film, some of his favorite projects with PSG, and obviously, some fun/random questions to really get to know him. Let’s have some fun!
20 Questions:
Where are you from? Born and raised in San Diego, but I currently live in Brooklyn, NY.
What kind of kid were you in school? Troublemaker, popular, geek, etc. Haha, I teetered on the line of popular, but I was friends with people in all groups.
What was the first camera you ever bought with your own money? The first camera I bought was a Sony A73, great for photos and video. It was the biggest purchase I had ever made at that point and my stomach was in my throat when I pressed the order button, but it was more than worth it. Wish I purchased one sooner!
What was the last concert you went to? Khruangbin was playing in my local park back in August, so I sat outside the fence and listened for free! Does that count?
Biggest pet peeve when it comes to production, editing, etc. I would say waiting for footage to download, transfer, upload, export, etc. it can take a long time and there is nothing you can do but wait for it to finish. PATIENCE!
What do you think the meaning of life is? To live it.
What film or piece of content made you realize you wanted to be a cinematographer? When I watched the Chef's Table series is when I knew I had to get into video production. David Gelb's (Director) ability to find these talented chefs, tell their story, and pair it with music, interviews, and amazing cinematography is something I strive to accomplish! I've watched every episode at least three times.
What did you eat for lunch & was it any good? I made avocado toast with scrambled eggs. It was subpar today, the avo wasn't a good one you know?!
Would you rather be 1-inch tall or have 1-inch fingers? 1-inch fingers, I don’t think I need to elaborate. Being 1-inch tall in this world would suck!
What is your guilty pleasure song? I can't choose just one, but recently what has been on repeat is a band called Hermanos Gutiérrez. At the end of the day when I'm cooking dinner I put them on!
What's your favorite lens focal length of all time? Not sure yet, need to try more lenses, but I like a 40mm right now.
What are three words you'd describe your style as? If we're talking about clothing, it's simple, clean, functional.
Never edit again or never film again? Never edit again.
What's a dream project of yours? I want to DP/Direct a feature length documentary one day. Not sure what the story looks like, but being part of that process is the dream.
Which PSG project has been most rewarding for you thus far? I think the Ora House was the most rewarding. I wasn't even on set for production, I just had the privilege of piecing it together in the edit. But seeing the footage afterwards blew me away. To see how much our team has evolved and grown, built skills, and put their heads together to accomplish this project was pretty amazing!
Sony or Sigma? Sigma is way better!
Morning Smoothie of choice? Haha, spinach, banana, blueberry, almond butter, some seeds and spirulina, and that should be good.
If you could buy one piece of camera gear, what would it be? A good microphone. Sound is at least 50% of the viewing experience, so it better be good!
If you could be or could have been on the set of one movie, what would it be/have been? Danny Gevirtz's movie "I Think I'm Sick."
Where do you want to be in 5 years? What about 10? In 5 years I want to be Directing and DP-ing documentaries; in 10 years I want to be impacting viewers the way chefs table impacted me.
Thank you to Eli for joining us as our first team member highlight! Be sure to sign up to our newsletter below for more team introductions & behind-the-scenes info.
P.S. Check out our YouTube channel for an inside look at some of Eli’s work & our most exclusive projects!