Susan Todd

Andrew Young

On location in Sicily

Archipelago was created in 1989 by directors Andrew Young and Susan Todd. Their studio is located about 50 miles north of New York City, in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, however they're just as likely to be traveling as at home. Andy and Susan first met while students at Harvard University. Two years later they collaborated on a film in Panama (The Spirit of Kuna Yala) and discovered that they shared a similar esthetic of filmmaking. They've been a creative team ever since.

Andy brings a strong background in animal behavior and wildlife photography to his work. He has a Master's Degree from Yale University in physical anthropology. He is the company's principal director of photography.

Susan studied filmmaking at Harvard and has a Master's Degree in Journalism from Columbia. She is the principal sound recordist at Archipelago and handles much of the research and producing work when the team is making a film about people.

Our approach to filmmaking

Good filmmaking is about good storytelling. Whether we're telling a story about people or wildlife, we strive to develop strong characters, create a dramatic structure and visualize it with a cinematic style. We want the audience to feel and experience what's happening, rather than simply being told by a narrator. We try to put our camera in the middle of exciting situations, be it the intensity of dating violence (It Ain't Love) or the colorful mating rituals of Madagascar chameleons (Madagascar: a world apart).

In large part, making scenes come to life depends on creative camera work. Andy shoots primarily in film (Super 16mm & 35mm) and is always inventing new camera techniques to get unique shots. In Madagascar, Alaska and Congo, we used rope-cams, probe lenses, dollies, jib arms, lipstick cam, glidecam, aerials and time-lapse to show the audience the wildlife and landscape in a way it has never been seen before. When filming people, Andy puts the audience deep inside the story with an intimate hand-held style. His camera work has earned him he Award for Excellence in Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival three times.

When making a film about people and social issues, we thoroughly research the topic and then set out to find strong characters. We work to create a feeling of intimacy with people by using a small crew -- Andy, Susan and a camera assistant. We think of our filming as a collaboration with our subjects, since they are sharing their own life stories with us. Often these experiences are the beginning of lasting relationships. It is one of the most satisfying parts of our work.