Meet Kenny McMillan | Cinematographer

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

Hi Kenny, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I couldn’t honestly say that I “pursued” a career in film in the sense that it it was a well-considered, conscious choice. Instead, it’s one of the earliest memories I have. It’s always been “part” of me. There’s footage of me as a kid back in the 90’s trying to wrangle the family camera from my parents (I must have been 2 or 3) just going “I do now, I do now.” I genuinely don’t remember a time that I wasn’t interested in creating images, and then from there I got into theater and magic and that kind of stuff so creative/performative endeavours were just my “default state” as it were. Then at some point people tell you that you need to have a job so I just pushed towards making that work for me instead of doing something more traditional that would suck the life out of me and that, realistically, I’d be bad at anyway.

Throughout high school I was always making videos with my friends, the usual story, and then I went to college where I, while enrolled in the film program, got a gig working at Red Bull as a Student Brand Manager and then an events photographer and that kind of sparked the idea that I didn’t have to take the relatively risky path of attempting to make a living solely making Features or Television (which usually lands you at a desk somewhere if you’re able to break in) and could likely have a more comfortable lifestyle making really interesting ads, snowboard films, documentaries, that kind of thing with companies (or people) like Red Bull using my skills as a “classically trained” filmmaker to elevate what could otherwise be a dry medium. At the time Red Bull was on the forefront of exciting visual media, they were absolutely the trend-setters that other people were chasing and that was really interesting to me as a lifelong snowboarder and I suppose “energy enthusiast”. I figured that there’s way more to visual media than just film, even though that was my true passion and where I eventually wanted to end up, and I could work my way up from the bottom sort of parallel to the film industry until I had a body of work that couldn’t be ignored.

That whole angle may have been a touch misguided, as that path is difficult in different ways, but it helped me diversify my skill set and income streams so in the end everything worked out. If I knew then what I knew now I’d probably change a few things, but everyone feels that way.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Primarily I’m a Cinematographer, but over the years moving from smaller budget gigs to more professional sets I was able to gather a lot of related skills that have made me, if I may be so bold, a solid value-add to most projects. Knowing how to edit, how to run sound, what the VFX team’s needs are, all that kind of stuff is really important knowledge to make sure you’re not making any other department’s jobs harder. Editing experience, especially, is huge for a Director of Photography; knowing how shots will link up, knowing when you’re over-shooting something, knowing when the editor will need a cut-away, an insert, extra coverage, stuff like that. Especially now where there’s all kinds of formats and settings and workflows out there, it’s huge to know how to speak that language and ensure the project gets to Post with minimal friction.

Somewhat related, my secondary position is one of a Colorist, which more or less started as a hobby but especially over the pandemic became a main source of income but overall is practically half of what results in the final image and is integral to Cinematography. Having both the on-set and post-production elements of the craft as part of my repertoire is crucial, in my experience. Knowing how an image can be or will be manipulated in post can save you time on set but can also save you from making irreversible mistakes.

From there, just knowing how to run a team is almost more important than the “Cinematography” part as you’re the leader of the camera department and you need to understand your role in the whole machine and how to get people to work effectively, efficiently, and without burning anyone out or creating a hostile work environment. I’m lucky enough to have failed as a leader plenty of times way back in college that I now, with the help of others who have come before me and have shared their experience, am confident in my qualities as an effective Department Head which is honestly a weight off my shoulders as those previous failures often sat with me as FAILURES and not learning experiences. Shame and embarrassment can ruin your trajectory as a creative if you don’t extract the necessary lessons from those experiences and push the emotional component aside. Being an effective leader and knowing everyone else’s needs on set also makes you a very valuable asset as an “employee” as well, which I think people I’ve worked under appreciate.

For better or worse I’ve never thought too far ahead, which honestly is difficult in this industry anyway, so I’ve always kept my sights on the next gig, the next project, the next step up. I can’t say it’s ever been easy, but by keeping my goals manageable (vs. “I want to be a filmmaker on big movies”) it’s kept me happy, feeling like I’m always making progress, and stopped me from feeling like what is objectively a difficult creative road is too overwhelming. Recently though, I will say, my sights have been set a bit higher than normal so we’ll see where that takes me. In my mid-30’s I’ve finally become more ambitious than cautious haha

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A week long trip in LA?

Well first off I’m not going to blow up my spot because it’s already way too busy but there’s a dive bar in West LA that is truly one of the best hangs in the city. If you know you know, but I’m taking them there for sure.

I’ve actually got a custom Google Map of all the bars and restaurants that I’ve been to that I think are worth people’s time that I send to folks when they ask for recommendations. I don’t really spend money on much, I’m pretty modest when it comes to owing “stuff” beyond what I need for my job, but I do really enjoy going out to eat and hanging out at a great bar with good friends and meeting new folks. If anything that’s my only money pit. As such, some places I always suggest people check out are:

Death & Co in the Arts District, The Wolves and Coles right by there in DTLA, anything on Sawtelle Blvd (Killer Noodle, Chinchikurin, Tuk Tuk Thai, and Fu Rai Bo being great options), Santa Monica Brew Works has a really good Detroit-style Pizza kitchen that I love, Dan Sung Sa in Koreatown has great vibes and is awesome for a group, Grandmaster Records and Sunset & Vinyl are right next to each other and are awesome, Rainbow Room is a staple obviously, Matsuhisa if you’re feeling like your wallet is too heavy but you want the best of the best, and I absolutely must shout out Nizam of India on Pico, as their food is second to none and the family that works there is there every day and they’re just the most lovely folks in the world. Also Don Antonio’s on Pico. Also, pretty much any taco stand. That all should be enough for 5-7 days of meals and nights out.

From there I think some non-culinary/bar options would be like… any shows in the area you could find. The Bowl, the Belasco, the Troubadour, the Forum, the Wiltern, the Palladium, the Fonda… there’s just so many great places to see live music you’d have to take them to at least one. Probably one, and then also the Bowl. The Bowl is it’s own thing.

If it was in season I’d probably take them to a hockey game too, just because that’s a great time no matter what. Maybe their local team is in town!

If they’re beach people, I’d probably take them to Malibu or somewhere a bit away from Santa Monica/Venice just because those places can get really crowded. My girlfriend and I know a spot in Malibu that basically no one knows you can get to so that’s always nice. Only a few folks are ever there so it’s still nice. It’d be weird to just be at a beach alone in my mind, for whatever reason.

One thing that people often complain about in regards to LA is that it’s hard to meet people. I don’t disagree, but I also think it’s overstated. It’s pretty easy to find friends as long as you’re not looking to find friends who can “get you somewhere” so to speak. As such I think including your visiting friend in the friend circle you have here is crucial, and I couldn’t imagine taking them to many of these spots solo, I’d definitely want to bring together as many folks as possible. If we could fit a house party in there that’d be great.

I think too, a couple “LA-isms” would be warranted if they’ve never been here. Something like No Vacancy where there’s a bit of theatricality to the experience might be cool. Universal is always fun, obviously ya gotta take them on the backlot tour. The Observatory or the Getty. The Academy Museum is awesome. Exposition Park is fantastic. As a humble-brag, I’d likely take them to the Magic Castle too.

That’s gotta be plenty for a week, right?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
You know, I was given a lot of opportunities by a lot of people who could have easily jump-started my career, mentored me, given me a leg up in one way or another, but I wasn’t focused. I didn’t have a hard goal, and I was bad at listening beyond the words being spoken, if that makes any sense. I had poor situational awareness. I won’t name those people because frankly it’s embarrassing at how bad I’ve fumbled in the past, but those people all do deserve a shout out and they likely know who they are if they ever do read this.

From there, obviously, my family and friends have always been incredibly supportive as I flailed through the early stages of my career, often times having to pull me out of a hole of my own creation and I literally wouldn’t be here without them. I don’t have a huge friend group but the ones I have might as well be my family anyway.

I will say, after the aforementioned trip through various wringers, a few books did help set me on a path to success: Become What You Are, by Alan Watts. The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink. Principles, by Ray Dalio. Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet. The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield. Hitchcock, by Francois Truffaut. Sculpting in Time, by Andrey Tarkovsky. Poetics, by Aristotle. In Praise of Shadows, by Junichiro Tanizaki. and a whole litany of film books I could recommend that are more craft-focused than personal. Books are rad.

Website: https://www.kennymcmillan.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kwmcmillan

Other: www.frameandrefpod.com
www.owlbot.co

Image Credits
Kenny McMillan