IF's weekly highlight on the people that make up our company. This week the spotlight is on Annabelle Apley.
Annabelle Apley is IF's Executive Producer for Feature Film Advertising. Here are her thoughts:
On where she's from: I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. My entire family is from Iowa going back many generations. I am a true Midwesterner at heart.
On where she went to school: I left home at age 14 and went to boarding school (Deerfield Academy) in Massachusetts. For college, I attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. After I graduated, I couldn't wait to leave small town New England and try something completely different.
On how she got into the business: When I graduated from college, I got a job with a company that produced political ads in New York City. It was a small company, so I had a lot of responsibilities and learned a ton about television production very quickly. I was fascinated by it, so after a couple of years I figured I would give production a try in Hollywood.
On how she got involved at IF: I moved to LA with no job, no apartment, no contacts. I used to walk to 7-11 everyday and buy the Hollywood Reporter and Variety and then go to Kinko's to read the Help Wanted ads and send out my resumé. I applied for a Production Coordinator job at IF, and was called in for an interview. During my interview, I think I spent more time talking about my bartending job in New York than about producing commercials. I thought for sure I had bombed...
On her favorite IF projects: One of my favorite IF projects is an MTV "Spankin New" ID that we did in 1999, before I even started at IF. The voice over in the spot is my husband, Ben, who was a PA at IF at the time.
On what she likes about production: I really like having to figure how to do new things. I feel like many of our projects either have challenging schedules or budgets or production methodologies or something that makes them different from everything else we've done. I like putting together the right team of people to accomplish these challenges, and love making our clients happy when we pull off the impossible.
On alternate careers: I was an Acting major / Art History minor in college. So, I would say, either movie star or owning my own art gallery. When I graduated from school, my choice was either to start working for Sotheby's or producing political ads in New York. I chose the production job because it paid better. Ha. I wonder what would have happened if I had gone the Sotheby's route.
On her hobbies: I'm a really social person. Do eating and drinking with friends count as hobbies? I also love reading and am still involved with a book club that I started with friends several years ago.
On why she works in LA vs NY: I have lived both places and love them both. LA is my favorite place for several reasons. I love the open spaces and being able to see the sky and horizon. The ocean, beach and mountains are all wonderful, and the weather is pretty hard to beat. And valet parking. Valet parking is the greatest.
On what inspires her: My co-workers, for sure. They're an amazing group. I am always learning new things from them.
On what she does in her spare time: I shop, go out to eat, read, play tennis, watch "Top Chef" and "The Hills" on DVR, plant things in my little garden, try to cook...
On pets: I have a six-year-old Siberian cat named Myshka (which means "little mouse" in Russian). I desperately wanted a pet, but am allergic to both dogs and cats. My husband did some research and found out that Siberian cats are Hypo-allergenic, so we got Myshka from a breeder in Little Rock, AK. Growing up in Iowa, I am used to cats being free... from a box in a barn in the country. I never thought I would have a purebred cat, let alone one that is registered with CFA (that's Cat Fanciers Association for those of you who don't know). She is the greatest, though. I love having a pet!
On the current design trend that excites her the most: Platform heels.
On something you might not know about her: I can play the first level of Super Mario Bros. with my eyes closed.