The Academy Originals Focus on Women Filmmakers Ava DuVernay, Ruth E. Carter & Aline Brosh McKenna

In May, The Academy began the video series “Academy Originals” focusing on the behind the scenes artists and the various creative processes that get a film from page to screen.

Since the launch, AMPAS has released 16 episodes that have covered everything from how Jurassic Park changed the VFX world to an episode about everyday people toiling away at screenplays in coffee shops.

With Oscar emcee Ellen DeGeneres and the re-election of AMPAS President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the Academy’s diversity abounds.

The videos below highlight women filmmakers and how their considerable contributions inspire young girls to become filmmakers.

“Movie watching is people watching.” Director Ava DuVernay, from the upcoming SELMA, relates how she writes and helms her films.

The independent artist finds that making a low-budget movie like MIDDLE OF NOWHERE comes from “being out in the world. It comes from observing people, asking questions – people want to talk.”

 Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter

LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER and SELMA costume designer Ruth E. Carter relates how she is inspired by a film’s director. The two time Oscar nominee for MALCOLM X and AMISTAD says she, “tells the story through color.”

Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna relates her step-by-step process of writing and how the word game Scrabble helps with her own procrastination.

Screenwriter and Director Tina Gordon Chism

DRUMLINE’s Screenwriter and Director Tina Gordon Chism says the stories she wants to tell are of real people characters and how their language can only be told when “experiencing it yourself, you add a layer of realness to the world that people respond to.”

Screenwriters Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith

Writers Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, LEGALLY BLONDE) show how they plot a scene and where watching movies is inspirational.

Costume Designer Betsy Heimann

“As filmmakers, we’re all there to tell a story, ” says PULP FICTION Costume Designer Betsy Heimann. In her research, Heimann relates how she is grabbed with the character’s voices by throwing herself into their world.

On a related note, if you’re in the Southern California area, The Academy will be presenting the multimedia exhibition Hollywood Costume, October 2, 2014 through March 2, 2015. The exhibition will bring together the world’s most iconic costumes from the Golden Age of cinema to the present. Details HERE.

Academy Originals are drawn on the expertise of the organization’s more than 6,000 members, its vast collection of archival material and its position within film conversation.

You can catch new videos every Monday on:  YouTube.com/AcademyOriginals.