Andrew Litten: A Few Of My Favourite Things

From the early days of picking up a camera and filming his buddies' skateboard antics to recent jobs like capturing a despairing ice-skater for Belle and Sebastian's anthemic I Don't Know What You See in Me, it's clear that Andrew Litten is adept at harnessing the kineticism of cinema.

Signed to Curfew for commercials in the US, Modest Dept in Germany, and Hands for music videos, Litten wears his influences on his sleeve; maintaining the ethos of Spike Jonze and his skate-vid peers whilst not actually catching the sport professionally on camera (yet).

Surrounding himself with both home-grown and long-cherished art, Litten takes us through the decks, texts and pets that top up his inspiration on the daily.

The Skateboard

For me, filmmaking begins here. 

I saw kids in my neighbourhood skating after school, wanted to be like them, and nearly two decades later, I'm still riding this plank of wood around, hopping fences and whatnot. 

It's insane.

I picked up a camera because I wanted to film the progress of my friends and me, learnt how to edit because I wanted to emulate my favourite skate videos, and here we are. 

Not to get all sappy so soon in this article, but it's truly my gateway to filmmaking and a life well lived thus far. 

If I'm stuck on an idea, a script, a life decision, or just want to turn the volume up on an already perfect day, I can push around on this thing for a couple of hours and find bliss.

Even though skateboarding is a major part of my everyday life, I have yet to show that in my work. 

I've honestly just been waiting for the most spiritually aligned project to come to fruition. 

It's too sacred to take for granted!

The DVD

I'm not a very sentimental person, but this DVD has weathered a hundred moves since 2005: Yeah Right!, directed by Spike Jonze and Ty Evans. 

This was the first 'real' skate video I got, and it just so happened to be one of the most prolific skate videos of our time. 

The skating, the editing, the skits… even if you aren't a skate nerd like me, there's tangible craft in this.

The invisible board, pink board, and Owen Wilson skits piqued my interest in short-form filmmaking, which then led me down the rabbit hole of other works directed by Spike Jonze. 

I followed that breadcrumb trail to pieces like Being John Malkovich and The Pharcyde's Drop, which I made a homage to as one of my first music videos. 

While my taste has expanded far beyond this seed, Spike will always be "that" director for me. 

He really captured the minds of an entire generation.

The Record

My (now) wife and I moved to Los Angeles from Atlanta the day after my 21st birthday. 

By then, I had already been working for a couple of years in Atlanta's arts and music scene; directing, editing, photographing, and creating anything I could get my hands on. 

Through that pursuit, I struck up an amazing relationship with one of my favourite artists and Southern rap legend, Big KRIT.

Now I've always had my heart set on filmmaking, and most of our collaborations were films, but KRIT and his manager, Dutch, would always push me to shoot photos with them. 

It was a really fun challenge and became the building blocks of my creative approach today. 

A few days before I left Atlanta, they asked me to do one last photoshoot, and I shot this album cover.

My wife and my first few months in LA were rough, and at a very low point for us, this album came out. 

Walking into Amoeba Records, holding it in my hands, and seeing something I had made out in the world for all to see gave me a sense of purpose that has carried me through until now. 

I'm forever grateful to KRIT, Dutch, SteveO, Esco, Motion Family, and the whole team for taking a chance on me way back when!

The Book

I have a massive, overflowing collection of books, but I always return to this one. 

There are definitely photographers whose work I admire more, but something about the beauty and surrealness of photographer Alec Soth's The Last Days of W keeps me coming back on almost a weekly basis.

As I mentioned before, photography has become integral to my process, and this book has largely influenced how I like to frame, stage, and create worlds for my actors to live in. 

Each photo is indescribably dreamlike, even though it's plucked from everyday reality. Still, how it's lit, how the actor is behaving, how the set is designed; there's an undercurrent of humanity and suspense that can't be placed into words.

Whether I care to admit it or not, I've been chasing that feeling in my own work, on my own terms. 

The work I'd say I'm most proud of, such as this COVID-era piece for Northwestern, is cut from the same cloth.

The Birks

Gotta shout these things out because I wear them all the time. 

That is all.

The Pottery

My wife and I sleep in our guest room and have converted the main bedroom into a massive room for activities. 

I work here, and so does she, and we also have all sorts of side projects and hobbies on display.

One of my favourites is my wife's pottery.

So much of what I do is on a screen. Therefore it's nice to get up occasionally to admire and interact with her work instead. 

The textures, glazes, and overall designs she comes up with always blow my mind, and she's usually really nice and asks my opinion on things. 

I pretty much love it all, which gives her nothing constructive to run with, but hey, I'm her biggest fan! 

I especially dig the brutalism-inspired candle holders and cups she creates.

Also, we get some mileage out of that mitre saw on the bottom of the frame for furniture and skate ramps. 

Too much fun!

The Camera

This list wouldn't be complete without some sort of camera. 

This beautiful thing, the Canon Scoopic, has been with me through thick and thin.

Originally released in 1965, this small yet powerful camera was used to document house parties, historical events, and everything in between. 

I would scour eBay for years trying to find one in mint condition at a decent price and always struck out. 

One day, I was over at a dear friend's house I hadn't seen in a while, and this Scoopic was sitting on his credenza. 

I asked him about it, to which he said, "Oh, that thing?! I never use it. You can take it!" And he had the 400-foot mag adapter. 

Jeremiah, you're a real one!

I got this right around when I was transitioning from editing to directing, and I shot some of my first projects on it, including one of my favourites: Atlanta From the Ashes.