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Kay Van Huisseling
@justkay
Videographer based in the Netherlands
Introducing Kay Van Huisseling
For Kay, it all started in 2018 when he decided to spend a summer traveling through Indonesia with his friend Julius. During the next four years, Kay visited many countries, mastered landscape/travel photography, and nurtured his passion for videography. Producing films and understanding the technical and creative process of film-making allowed him to enjoy one of his best years in 2021. He mentioned: “In 2021, I felt like I was finally able to create videos in the back of my mind instead of having to create while growing a lot as a videographer. I was far more productive with less effort giving me time for other things like my physical health, friends, and family. Resulting in a balanced career and lifestyle.”
Doing photography full-time gave Kay the bases to start creating videos. Nonetheless, it is just a starting point: “Composing images to the right mood, music, and pace is completely new. You will also have to learn movement, when to use 24 fps and when to use other frame rates, and how to combine these images again into your film.” In the interview, Kay shared some practical tips, addressed his favorite gear, and explained the role of FPVs in film production: “If you want something with a lot of energy, the FPV is a great tool, and doing FPV full-time today is also possible. You can make a great living focusing solely on this craft.”
Film-making and Youtube provided Kay with plenty of opportunities, and he now focuses solely on creating videos for brands. He has been producing videos full-time for the last two years without worrying about getting more work. Word of mouth and his Youtube channel do the work here. And it is also inspiring to know that all you need to start landing gigs as a videographer is “one good video that is better than average.”
If you would like to learn about all this, how to tell a great visual story, and how to maximize your opportunities and land paid gigs as a content creator, this interview with @justkay is for you. We hope this interview inspires you to participate in our first Film Festival that we are co-hosting in collaboration with @viewsonic and @colorpro. You still have 24 days to submit your video!
Interview
We did an interview together in 2019, which was before the pandemic and you were doing great, going in the direction of your dreams. But even at the end of 2021 and with the pandemic still going on, you called 2021 the best year of your career while for so many it’s been a hard time without much success. What is your secret?
In 2021 I felt like I was finally able to create videos in the back of my mind instead of creating while growing a lot as a videographer. This allowed me to be far more productive with less effort giving me time for other things like my physical health, friends, and family. As a result, I had a more balanced career and lifestyle. I think this happens when you get through that phase of giving it your all while also still having to develop a lot of skills. In addition, it was a great year because I hired my best friends on many jobs for many months, which was just extremely fulfilling and less lonely compared to previous years.
"I think the secret, therefore, is pushing through and realizing that things only get better, less lonely, and more efficient. I believe this is the case with videography. But also with any career that doesn’t have many limits."
Now, for those readers that are not familiar with your work, can you mention something you’ve worked on, and what is the project you created or contributed to that you are most proud of?
I always feel like something is missing in my work – even though I hope people that watch my videos don’t think so. Straight to the point, I am pretty proud of our Indonesia ‘Go where you feel most alive’ and ‘Why I travel’ videos.
I think these have the most thought put into them of all of my videos. I am still looking to create something I am extremely proud of.
But for now, I am happy with what my friends and I have created and my path thus far.
I think it is important as a creator that you are putting out more satisfying work for yourself time after time, but I do think that not all your work has to be extremely meaningful. Something that is visually epic or entertaining or anything else is great too.
What was your most challenging project as far you remember, what made it challenging and what lessons did you learn from it?
Being prepared for a project is the most challenging because it’s hard to know how much to film unless you’re well prepared and already have a song, shoot list and all things necessary ready.
Myself and friends really have shot all my videos really freestyle and have come up with ideas on the go. For example in Indonesia we completely last minute found out there was this extremely dope dance tradition in Bromo that we just had to film. We spent one entire day finding one person that had the costume with him and paid him to come with us the next morning to the top of the volcano with a torch to film.
I always find it challenging to be completely prepared and it made me learn to trust my friends and my spontaneity to come up with amazing scenes on the go and also to develop this skill.
Looking back to your career and having invested quite some time developing your photography as well as filmmaking skills: What does a great photographer have to develop in terms of skills or knowledge to become a great videographer as well?
If you’re a photographer, you still have to develop your knowledge to become the videographer you probably want to be. I can tell you that you’re probably almost as good at coloring videos as you are at coloring photos, but apart from that, almost everything is new. Maybe you will be good at compositions and have a trained eye, but composing images in the right mood, music, and pace is new. You will also have to learn movement, when to use 24 fps and when to use other frame rates, and how to combine these images into your film.
So I think you have a great advantage and starting point compared to someone who isn’t a photographer, but you still might need to learn a lot. This, in my opinion, is the fun thing about videography and probably the main reason I’m still so invested in it.
You have been creating fantastic videos with your FPV Kay. Why did you decide to invest in an FPV in the first place? How does the type of footage you capture with it help you in telling a visual story?
I think that an FPV rarely helps tell a story but increases the action, epicness, or environment of a film. It shows the environment very differently. I think it’s a thrilling tool but one of the least necessary things in filmmaking. But if you only do FPV, you can make a great living focusing solely on this craft.
Drone footage can help any creator in telling a story from different angles. Considering that drones were only accessible recently (DJI’s first consumer drone release was in 2013), do you still find new ways to use this relatively new tool to tell a visual story? Can you mention an example?
Yes, there are so many situations where you are able to share the places you are at so much wider and whole with the drone. My favorite way is to use the foreground to pass by or fly over. It always looks amazing and it’s my favorite technique I learned. It’s simple but effective. I’m excited for the future of drones, especially for 4x, and 5x zooms on the Mavics with DLog. The zoom on the Mavic 3 can be insane but it’s too tight for me. I prefer it to be at 5x zoom and possibly zoom in to 2,7k or 1080p on a 4k timeline.
I currently have a Blackmagic 6k camera as well. It is better than a simple video camera because it has professional features. I would recommend though getting the 4k because is lighter and cheaper. Then I also have a Panasonic 12-60 mm lens.
Would you recommend using a gimbal stabilizer as well?
A year ago, I was using a gimbal to shoot most of my videos. However, I tried to film a video with a friend hand-held, and I fell in love with the more realistic scenes. The clips may look less epic but more realistic overall. So nowadays, I try to combine both types of scenes.
Pro tip: When shooting 24 frames with a gimbal, your shoot can look more realistic if you move slower.
You will act as a jury for the theme “Taking a leap of faith”, and you also created a video around that idea. For anyone looking to participate in the contest by presenting an entry about that particular theme, what or how would you recommend them to get started?
For this particular case, you have to think that there is a theme, a message, or an idea that you can use to create and start your video. So, first of all, you can think about this question: “What does taking a leap of faith means to you?”
Maybe, if you look at your own life, you will find moments that can resonate with the theme. Maybe, just like me, you decided to invest all your time in becoming a full-time creator. I think you can use your story to create the video.
At least, that is what I did to create the video about this theme. So when I took a leap of faith some years ago, I was still a student. I knew I wanted to incorporate this idea into my video, so I searched for elements and a storyline that could recreate my past.
My brother lives in a student house, so I thought a good move would be to film something there. I also used to cycle a lot, so I built the first part of my video around this idea. Then, I noticed there was a skateboard in my brother’s house, and in my opinion, skating can give you a great sense of freedom. So I used this element to create a nice transition, and I added a recognizable destination/location to evoke some emotion also with the scenery. So we filmed in Paris for the first part of the video, almost entering the development of the storyline. Then, I decided it would be nice to add my trip to the highest waterfall in the world, called Angel Falls.
So my video is about the past, the present, and the future. Where I come from and what I do now.
If you don’t feel that inspired by your journey thus far, you can always film someone else. Find someone that took a leap of faith and inspired you. Seat down with this person and see how her story can inspire others.
What are the reasons that someone should participate in this contest and invest time in creating a one-minute video?
In the first place, when I started in the world of videography, I couldn’t find many people doing what I wanted to do. Filming with another creator allows you to develop your skills and create better content. So a good reason to participate in the contest is the possibility of connecting with like-minded people in the first place.
Secondly, maybe you have not created any great videos thus far because you have been focusing on other things. But to be honest, all it takes for you to start making a living as a videographer is one video that is better than average. I would hire someone that has one good video. If you have the footage, this can be an opportunity for you to create that video and show it to the world. Many people are watching the contest, including creators and brands! So if you present something nice, it is likely that a brand you would like to work with you.
Lastly, videography and Youtube gave me a lot of opportunities. Because of Youtube, I have not needed to send an email and have had a paid job every month for two and a half years now. If this is something you are passionate about, you will reach the point where you can do Youtube videos because there is a need for them. More people are watching than available travel videos are. So this can be your occasion to start your journey on Youtube and launch your brand!
Among many other reasons, this is why I am grateful for all your support because it allows me to live the life I want. And for that, I will be forever thankful!
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