Meet Ana Masley | Writer and Director

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

Hi Ana, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I’ve personally always been guilty of burying myself in my work. I think at the end of the day, there’s just nothing I love more than filmmaking, so learning when to stop can be quite challenging. Work life balance is definitely something I’ve always struggled with but as I enter the new year I am trying to work on finding time for myself. It’s just challenging when I love what I do so much.

There was actually a point last year that I was in the editing bays for three days straight and had to be locked out for twenty four hours. Funnily enough I was editing my senior thesis film, titled “Twenty Four Hours” (Self fulfilling prophecy much?). I was at a point where I grew so passionate about the project that I simply didn’t want to do anything else. It was my first major film I directed and now, taking on editing, just made it so much more personal. However, I’m still grateful that I was forced to take that break. I think if I hadn’t I may have hit my breaking point. It was a great reminder that you do have to take time off, no matter how much you love what you do. Unfortunately for me, I can just only do that when I’m forced.

I think that at the end of the day, it comes down to this feeling of needing to prove myself. My whole life, I’ve been told I don’t work hard enough or I don’t ‘want’ this career enough. Filmmaking runs through my blood but I’ve faced a lot of adversity when trying to prove this. I’m just at a point where I’m never going to feel good enough and the only way I can prove myself is to work harder than the day before. I do hope to find a point in my life where I can balance work and personal life. Lately, I’ve been taking morning hikes and making a point to make time for my friends outside of the workplace.

It is incredibly vital to find this balance. My biggest advice to anyone is to find a hobby completely unrelated to your field of work and dedicate as much time as you can to this. Make a point to relax because you definitely don’t want to burn yourself out. You have your whole life ahead of you. Take your time and enjoy the ride. The journey truly is half the fun.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I often find myself wondering how I got here and honestly I don’t always know. What I do know is how proud little eight year old Ana would be, making Selena Gomez music videos in the rain (obviously, A Year Without Rain).

Growing up back in Pittsburgh, my best friend and I would always direct these elaborate music videos and play them for our families. This is a tradition I took with me all the way to Arizona when I moved in 2007 and didn’t stop until an embarrassing age I won’t admit to. It all accumulated to my first ever commercial I made with my best friends at the time for a sponge in about sixth grade. I remember walking around my house trying to find something interesting to make a commercial for. Honestly, who knows why we landed on sponge but I had a blast making it.It’s crazy to think all these years later I’m prepping to produce my first professional commercial later this month with Meghan McCullin for a local restaurant.

In high school, I would always go out of my way to replace any essay with a video where I could and I just remember being incredibly confused when no one else wanted to. They always said it was way too much work. I honestly thought they were joking because why wouldn’t you choose a video essay over a long winded research paper? Then, I finally got to college. I originally attended school in Flagstaff and planned to major in Communications with an emphasis in digital media. I felt stuck. I knew I wanted to make videos and movies but I didn’t know how, thinking it was just some crazy pipe dream. I thought maybe I could write on the side but I was convinced I needed something more ‘stable’. Thankfully, one of my required classes was screenwriting. When I expressed my passion for the industry the professor took me aside and urged me to switch majors to filmmaking. After some consideration I did but I knew I had to transfer. So I went off to ASU and set up camp.

Today, I’m beyond excited to graduate this coming May with my bachelor’s in film and media production and continue my journey in the industry of my dreams. I just finished my thesis film titled Twenty Four Hours, a short film about a young woman who has everything she’s every wanted but looses it all in just, well, twenty four hours. This past summer I had the pleasure to launch the first two short films under my production company, Scene 13, that I founded with Meghan McCullin. The first of which, titled Slushed, played in the Student World Impact Film Festival in New York and was granted honorary mention. The second, Trails End Drive, is currently in it’s festival run and recently won Best Horror Film in North America at the Alternative Film Festival.

I can’t wait to see where I go from here on out.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The reason Arizona is such a fun spot to visit is simply how versatile it is. I would personally recommend a nice hike at Pinnacle Peak or Camelback Mountain early in the morning. Coffee is always the first thing on my list for the day, so I would swing by Black Rock Coffee Bar (their Caramel Blondie latte is to die for). I can spend hours there, just getting work done or chatting with a friend. Another favorite of mine is always shopping, sometimes to a fault. I’ve been spending my days off walking around Scottsdale Fashion Square popping into some of the boutiques, especially Hyperviolent. Their selection of street wear is to die for with amazing decor perfect for your Instagram feed. Make sure to check out the wall of the coolest shoes you’ve ever seen if you get a chance to pop in. If you need a bite to eat, Postino’s is the absolute best with everything from crispy warm sandwiches to refreshing salads and bruschetta boards. If you feel like hitting the town, Old Town Scottsdale has a crazy variety of spots for anyone and everyone.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s impossible to pick just one person to thank. For starters, I have no idea where I would be today without my closest friends who spend each day pushing me to do my best. They provide a support system like no other, making sure I know they have my back no matter what and will always help me finding my footing no matter what.

However, I think if there’s one person to thank it would be my grammy, Diana Reinhold. She was an incredible woman who devoted her life to health care and women’s rights. Growing up, she would always encourage me in everything I wanted to do from vet to rock star. However, I will never forget how ecstatic she was when I expressed my interest in filmmaking. I remember running around with my friends with a tiny Flip video camera making little movies with my friends. If it wasn’t making videos, she was always just ready for fun. There was one time she helped my friend and I drag the mattress of the guest bed all the way to the top of the stairs and make a whole sled set up. When I first decided to transfer to ASU and major in Film and Media Production with a directing emphasis in directing, a lot of people were worried about how I would find work. Grammy, however, was thrilled.

All the way from Ohio she watched me grow every day. She was one of the first people to hear my major life events and supported me the whole way. Back in 2021 her health began to decline rapidly but when I booked my first paid film job as costume designer on a feature film, she was delighted. Unfortunately, about 10 days into the three week set I got the call that she had passed. It was difficult to show up the next day but I knew the last thing she would have wanted was for me to give up. I jumped right back up on the saddle and kept going. To this day, every time I’m on a set or I get a new call I know my Grammy is watching over, prouder than ever and that alone pushes me to work harder every single day.

Website: https://anacmasley.wixsite.com/anamasley

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ana.masley/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-masley-882a38157/

Other: Tik Tok @aaamasley