Woodchuck 30th Anniversary Artist Spotlight – Mark Hendry
October 29, 2021
BIO:
Name: Mark Hendry
Age: 24
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Profession or specified field: Director, Cinematographer, Editor
How long have you been participating in your specified field: 12 years
Welcome to our Woodchuck 30th Anniversary blog series where we will be highlighting hand-selected creatives every week through the Fall. This year marks our 30th Anniversary and we have asked 25 creatives from across the country to help celebrate 30 years of creativity and innovation by sharing with us what creativity means to them. We sat down with each creative to hear more about how they use creativity on a daily basis and what influences their work. See below for our conversation with Mark!
W- Mark! Thanks for spending a bit of time with us today to give us an inside look into your life behind the lens. How did you get your start in Cinematography?
M- When I was a younger, action sports were always a big part of my life. Skateboarding, surfing, skiing, motocross etc – I always found my self on both sides of the camera. In high school, I was fortunate enough to take a film production class for 4 years which really sparked my passion in creative. I decided I wanted to transform it into a career, furthering my education & skills at the University of Vermont. Quickly after graduating UVM, I headed west to the pacific ocean to continue my career in California.
W- It’s pretty cool that your high school offered a class like that. It allowed you to really discover your passion pretty early on in life. Moving out to California seems like that has really allowed to to fully experience your creative potential. From where do you find yourself drawing creative inspiration? Does it come from within, or are you influenced more so by external factors like your peers and people viewing your work?
M- I think its a combination of both intrinsic creative notions & external media consumption. So much media is consumed nowadays & its so accessible. I draw a lot of my inspiration from feature film trailers & short form commercial work. I always admired shooting on 35mm film format & the look / feel that can be derived from a film format. As creatives we always use references to other works to explain your ideation then create your own spin on that idea that makes it unique to you. I take a lot of influence from early cinematographers that use practical lighting scenarios & shoot on the film format.
W- The use of film and some more traditional techniques really shine through in your work. Your ability to bring an old-school feel to a more contemporary context creates a very nostalgic yet relevant scene that can often be difficult to capture. It’s refreshing to see someone at your age take such a creative take on traditional cinematic techniques. With that said, what does creativity mean to you?
M- Creativity at large has a lot of different meanings to me. It allows me to experiment with my filmmaking / post production skillset while also creating a product for a client that will help their business succeed. Creativity allows me to express my emotion, look & feel that I define myself by into videos or designs that evoke emotions from the viewer. I don’t know what I would be doing without creativity as my career, its my entire life & outlook on day to day life.
W- It’s interesting to hear you say that “creativity is your career”. Needless to say, your creativity has certainly brought you a great deal of success and we’re excited to see where your ideas take you! BEfore joining us in celebrating our 30th anniversary, what was your familiarity with Woodchuck Hard Cider? was there anything that you learned along the way that stuck out to you?
M- I’ve known about Woodchuck as a brand & culture perspective from my time spent in Burlington Vermont & skiing in the Green Mountains for my entire life. Spending my winters in Killington, I was familiar with the Woodchuck in an area associated with action sports and outdoor recreation. When I was approached about collaborating, I wanted to take the core culture that Woodchuck embraces with the outdoor Vermont lifestyle & add a creative spin on things with a California look & feel. Whether it’s ski slopes or waves there’s a large connection that resonates with Woodchuck & I really looked to embrace that within this piece.
W- Well you certainly did a phenomenal job at emulating a “west coast” feel with the piece you created and we’re excited to share it with our fans! Thanks again, Mark!
Using a Super8 camera, mark took to Coastal California to shoot a video for our 30th anniversary that contextualizes Woodchuck in a west coast setting, something not as frequently found relative to the mountainous, wooded landscape of our home state in New England. The video is very cool and showcases how different your experiences might be with our cider depending on your location. We’d love to know more about what your favorite places are to enjoy our cider. Do you find yourself at the Beach like Mark did? Maybe you lke to enjoy a cider on the summit of your favorite hike? Maybe you prefer a cider in the comfort of your living room next to the warmth of your fireplace. Wherever it is, we’d love to know!
Head over to our Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to be transported to and era so many of us are nostalgic for.
Be sure to check out our online cider store and online merch store. There, you’ll be able to stock yourself up with your favorite cider and purchase some all-new Woodchuck swag like t-shirts, Glassware, hats and more!
Cheers, and happy cider sippin’!
Back to Blog