Spy Films’ Hope Little Always Follows Her Creative Instincts

Hope Little’s creative instincts made themselves known from a young age, with the director feeling a pull towards art and music early. Directing for Hope is the latest stop on the tour of her creative skills - she got her start by working as a graphic designer and illustrator, picking up photography, art direction and eventually learning to edit too. 

Directing was the natural next step and Hope says she wasn’t sure where she fit in as her interests and skills spanned so widely. “I knew I wanted to work in film,” Hope realised and from thereon out she pursued learning the craft organically from the talented people around her. 

Recently signed with Spy Films, a full service production company, Hope is getting stuck into buzzy projects like KFC’s ‘RIP Eulogy’ - a comedic spot that sees KFC say goodbye to its old style of underwhelming fries. She’s also worked on music videos for Chynna Lewis and Alex Frew, a short film, and a pilot for a docu-series that she also wrote, called ‘Life Alternatively’, that looks at the people who are trying to make a difference around the issues of climate and sustainability. Each of Hope’s projects has a focus on narrative storytelling while she imbues them with her own stylistic approach to colour and editing too. 

Today, LBB spoke to Hope about the way she developed her creative voice across different mediums, how she wants to create an emotional connection with viewers through her work, and why having the support from Spy Films means she’s ready to achieve her best. 

Above: ‘Where I Left You', directed by Hope Little

LBB> Where did you learn your craft? 

Hope> I’ve always been a creative person, even when I was really young. Art and music were always my strong suit and what I found myself constantly drawn to. I started out as a graphic designer working in advertising and then moved my way into illustration, photography and eventually shooting little videos and learning how to edit in premiere. I dabbled in a lot of different things creatively before I found my way into the film world. I was working at a small creative agency with a few fellow advertising friends I had worked with during my graphic design years. Theo Gibson was one of those people, he was a creative director working at the agency and he was also doing some art direction with the guys from Kid Studio on the side. At that time I knew I wanted to work in film, I just wasn't sure where I fit (because I loved it all.) 

I felt confident that I had the skills to be an art director so I pursued Theo to take me under his wing and show me the ropes. I was able to do three or four jobs with him and then he got a job at Vice so I was on my own. Luckily word had spread I was taking a stab at art direction and opportunities started coming my way. For the most part I had no idea what I was doing but I followed my instincts (and I’m sure I made a few mistakes along the way haha) but it got me to where I am today. As my art direction and production design career started taking off I found myself writing little treatments and scripts for projects I wanted to direct. I think becoming a director happened really naturally, as a production designer I was constantly surrounded by super talented people and from that I was able to organically learn and see the process from start to finish on how projects were brought to life. I think for the most part though, I’ve gotten where I am today by listening to my gut, following my instincts and drawing on inspiration from all the amazing creatives that are putting out beautiful work.  

LBB> What were your influences growing up and how did they help shape your creative voice?

Hope> Growing up, the biggest influences in my life that helped shape my creative voice were artists like Salvador Dali, M.C Escher, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pablo Picasso. Starting my career as a graphic designer I found myself inspired by artists that started a new movement in art culture, they pushed the bounds and were doing things no one had ever seen before. Later in life when I started becoming more interested in film I found myself drawn to directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Luc Godard, Wes Anderson, Andrei Tarkovsky and Wong Kar-Wai. I think in a way all these filmmakers have a similar influence on me in the sense that they all had such a huge part in shaping the film industry be it technically, stylistically or just through the types of stories they told. Through all these influences I pull inspiration to find my own voice and a unique way of telling the stories that are important to me.

LBB> Which pieces of work are you most proud of? And why?

Hope> Some of the pieces I am most proud of are music videos: 'Where I Left You' — Chynna Lewis, ‘Antisocial' — Alex Frew, and a short film called' Return Home’. I also shot a pilot episode for a docu-series I wrote that is rooted in sustainability and tells the stories of unsung heroes that are working to better our world via conscious consumption, innovative waste reduction, single-use plastic solutions, and alternative ways of living called ‘Life Alternatively’. And most recently a fun commercial I directed for KFC that is announcing the ‘death’ of the old KFC fries.

LBB> How do these projects demonstrate your signature style?

Hope> These projects demonstrate my signature style through emotion driven narrative and storytelling, my use of colour and editing style. My stories are almost always rooted in the trials and tribulations of life. My aim is to connect with the viewer and evoke feelings, nostalgia and connect on a human level through shared experiences and emotion. 

LBB> What recent creative projects have you been fond of/inspired by recently?

Hope> Some directors and cinematographers that have been inspiring me as of late are Salomon Lighthelm, Hernan Corera, Jason Yan Francis, Kate Arizmendi, Pat Aldinger, and Farhad Ghaderi. They're constantly putting out stunning work that just hits different.  

LBB> What are you passionate about outside of work?

Hope> I think for me it’s hard to separate work and everyday life sometimes as film and being a creative person is such a huge part of who I am at the core. But I am very passionate about continuously trying to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. To be frank, Mother Earth is in a state of crisis and it’s been that way for some time now so being a part of that movement and trying to make changes in my everyday life that help work towards changing the way we consume, produce and live our day to day life is a huge passion of mine. 

I’d also love to see production companies be a part of that change, (as there is a lot of waste created during a production.)

LBB> When were you first introduced to Spy Films and why did you want to sign on with them?

Hope> I first discovered Spy Films when I was working at an ad agency back in 2012, the creatives I worked with showed me some of their work and from that point on they were always a production company I wanted to work with. Spy has a really great roster of directors that are pumping out amazing work and they all offer something different. I organically built a relationship with them as a production designer and from that point on things happened naturally. Overall having people like Marcus Trulli in my corner who see my talent, believe in my abilities and who constantly push me to achieve the best that I can is really the reason why I ended up at Spy Films. 

LBB> What excites you most about the world of film craft in 2023 and beyond? 

Hope> I think I’m most excited about having a great platform and the support I need to create the projects and tell the stories that are important to me in these upcoming years. 

LBB> What do you hope to achieve in the next year? Is there any work of yours we should be looking out for?

Hope> I’m hoping to land a couple more great commercials in the next year and put out a few personal creative projects I’ve been sitting on. That’s all I can say for now, but stay tuned.