Meet Kayla Windsor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Windsor.

Hi Kayla, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been lucky to successfully work as a Freelance Camera Operator in the Film & TV Industry for the last 14 years. I started really young shooting music festivals and following my musician friends on their journeys but quickly moved into narrative feature films and television shows after graduating from film school in 2014. I worked my way up the ladder from Production Assistant back up to Camera Operator once I made the switch from music to TV & film and it’s been such an incredible adventure.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think any entrepreneurs journey is a smooth one especially in an industry as hostile and bipolar as the entertainment industry. It’s really important to go into the film industry knowing that it’s feast or famine and trusting that you’ll make it through no matter what. It takes a lot of grit to get to the understanding that you have to plan for the slow times during the busy times. Nothing in film is predictable, I live different lives every week, it seems like, with each new project being a new boss, new coworkers, a new story, a new life. There’s no routine, no proper schedule to keep. We work on holidays because that’s when we can have access to locations. Every day is a minimum 13 hour day.. It can be rough on relationships and if you really love what you do in the film industry, you make sacrifices all the time. When you get to a higher level in the industry though, you do get to pick which jobs you do want to take and getting paid more allows for working less days and you do get to start to decide to have more of a normal life. I’m almost there.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been a freelance Camera Operator for over 14 years now. I own my own film production company called Emaginariumm Productions LLC but primarily work as a freelance contractor for other production companies. I work on all sorts of entertainment TV shows, docu-series, sports events, commercials, feature films, and the occasional music festival. I am primarily a Camera Operator because that’s my greatest love but I also work as a Director of Photography, First Assistant Camera, Second Assistant Camera, Media Manager, Script Supervisor, and have my FAA certification to fly drones. I literally will do any position that’s considered camera department! I specialize specifically in handheld camera movement and want to be known for that. My mentor is also known for his handheld skills and is commonly used for long one take scenes in films and TV shows because of his incredible smooth movements where some would hire a Steadicam Operator. I’m working towards that level of skill in handheld as well. I’m most proud of my ability to capture beautiful moments in time as they happen, I feel like I’ve been naturally gifted from the beginning with that.. being able to frame up a character/person/item and quickly create depth, using the surroundings as a tool to focus audience attention where it best tells a story. What sets me apart from others is I’ve been physically framing cameras for over a decade, where others have been learning the technical side of how cameras work (camera settings and learning specs on gear). i’ve been studying and perfecting how to capture the frame once the settings are set, once the gear is built. You have to be a nerd to know how cameras work and build them correctly for what you’re about to shoot but to then USE the camera.. you have to be more of a jock and I’ve been lucky to have so much time with cameras in my hands. I’ve been so grateful for my time as an Assistant Camera, learning how to build cameras but you don’t get good at operating and framing cameras unless you’ve spent ample time doing it. AC’s wanting to move up to Camera Oping need to set aside their technical brain and feel the energy of movement and timing with light to create the art that really changes peoples lives.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey has been to trust in my journey completely. This industry is feast or famine and during the slow times, it’s really difficult to hold on and stay confident in your skills and your purpose. When you haven’t gotten a job in what seems like forever, you start to think you might have to get “a real job” and then a beautiful, high paying, perfect job comes out of nowhere and you’re back to living like a King again, loving every second. I really focus on feeling grateful during the good times, knowing that slow seasons do come. During the slow seasons, I remind myself that it’s temporary and the universe has my back. I’m still really young but I’ve been doing this for a long time and it always, always works out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/emaginariumm
• Facebook: facebook.com/kaylaawindsor