Meet Laura Jansen | Cinematographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Jansen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, how do you think about risk?
My career as a freelance cinematographer is pretty much the definition of risk. There’s the uncertainty of where my next job is going to come from and when it’s going to come. And of course there’s always the chance of sudden events like the current WGA and SAG strikes, which threaten my work as well. I’m someone who more often than not likes to roll the dice on things and take risks. Not because I have full confidence that it will work out, but because playing it safe is even scarier to me than taking the risk. You don’t get to where you want to be by playing it safe. I have a specific example from very early on in my career that I think speaks very well to this. I was about a year and a half graduated from college, hardly making any money working freelance, and still working for free most of the time in order to make new connections. An opportunity came up to buy an Arri Alexa Classic camera from a friend of a friend. It took all of the money I had saved up and a little extra from my parents to buy the camera. My hope was that having my own camera (and it being the camera that most people wanted to shoot with) would make me more hirable and I could also rent it out to others when I wasn’t shooting with it to help make my money back quicker. Well, both of my wishes worked out. I was consistently getting more jobs and I ended up making three times what I had paid for the camera through rentals. But the thing that made this risk work out was the hard work I poured into it once I took the initial first risk of putting all of my money into this investment. This taught me that while there’s always going to be a certain level of risk, you are able to mitigate it by controlling what you can in order to give you the favorable outcome you desire. So, when I think about risk I also think about hard work. They go hand in hand. Every time I achieve something it’s always taken both to get there.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So I am a freelance cinematographer who works in the film, commercial/branded, and documentary spaces. I have two narrative projects that are releasing soon which I’m excited about. “Play Me” is a short thriller film having its LA Premiere at Screamfest next month and I’m really looking forward to the experience of watching it in a full theater. And then “Foibles” is my latest feature film which should be premiering in festivals next year. I’ve seen a cut of it and it’s really fun. I also have a branded holiday campaign coming out soon for Jo Malone London that I’m really proud of.

My story starts with film school. I’m originally from the south suburbs of Chicago and I moved out to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film & Television. Growing up I always knew I wanted to do something in the film industry, but I didn’t know enough about it to narrow down it down exactly. Film school was great, because I learned that I care a lot about the moving image and how camera movement and lighting support the tone of the story. I shot a bunch of thesis films while in school and then just kept shooting short films for a few years after. I also pulled focus, color graded, and did some G&E crew work to help support myself because shooting short films does not pay the bills. The short films started to lead to low budget indie feature films and some small commercial work started coming up as well. I would say as of three years ago my main type of work is branded/commercial with some narrative on the side. I am hoping to get more narrative features in the near future as that’s where my creativity really excels. I like where I’m at right now in my career. There’s a ton I want to accomplish, but looking back at my career I have already accomplished so much, so I try to remind myself of that. Being a freelance cinematographer is in no way easy! I’ve just tried to knock every one of my projects out of the park and be easy and kind to work with. I always want to be rehired by my director or producer.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, since I live in Marina del Rey, we would definitely take some kayaks out and enjoy the water. A visit to the iconic The Comedy Store would be a must; any show you go to is always great. A hike at either Runyon, Malibu, or Pacific Palisades would be next. For food there’s so many good places; some of my faves are Tatsu Ramen, Joey’s Manhattan Beach, Brizo, and Spartina. We would get drinks at Harriet’s Rooftop in the 1 Hotel West Hollywood and enjoy the sweeping city views.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Yes, the two people who 100% deserve recognition in my story are my parents. I’m an only child and they have always provided me with love and support. They’re the reason I was able to attend film school in Los Angeles and subsequently live and work here. They also ended up moving here themselves not too long after. I’ve always been close with them, but we’ve grown even closer as I’ve gotten older and it’s great to be able to talk to them about anything. Even though they didn’t have careers in the film industry, they always give me great advice when I need it. They also push me to always do my best, which I think is equally as important as giving encouragement. I also want to shoutout Tunde Oyeneyin’s book, “Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.” Tunde is a Peloton instructor whose classes I often take and I really related to and felt energized by the words in her book. In it she shares how she’s overcome setbacks, gained self-confidence, and ultimately created an amazing life for herself. She is a great example of hard work and perseverance paying off. I highly recommend her book to anyone looking for some inspiration whether you are a Peloton member or not.

Website: https://www.laurajansendp.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurajansendp/

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6201838/?ref_=nv_sr_1