Jesseca Kusher

In the Fall and Spring semesters of 2018 I will be using this platform as an opportunity to share my thoughts on a feature film currently in development at Kenyon College. As a senior film major I will have the opportunity to work on the film in a number of capacities. This post explores my experience as a film student at Kenyon and beyond.

I became interested in this course because it looked like an opportunity to collaborate with film faculty in a way I never imagined I would get to learn from them. Some of my favorite classes over the years have been those in which (in “The Actor” with Jon Tazewell, or “Basic Cinematography” with Will Adashek) I have had the chance to work alongside our faculty. In particular I have been a fan of the days on the sound stage in which we hash out a project together. Even if the scene we shoot is running by the seat of our pants — it’s always particularly exciting to get to work through that with a professor who has a much broader perspective than I.

On the same lines as that, I really hope to walk away from this class with a much deeper understanding of what it means to be a producer — and a set of skills that would enable me to produce things in the future. Ultimately, if I were to pursue a career in film, I think I would like to be a director — but in many ways just because of the sexism and frustration I have felt when trying to act as a cinematographer on various student productions.

I was probably 5 or 6 years old when I could vocalize to others that photography was my passion. Initially it was point and shoot cameras, but by the age of 10 I had my own DSLR that I shot short films on and I learned to toggle the aperture and shutter speed to achieve different looks and vibes. My parents were always encouraging of my art and as I grew I learned to push my experimentation. I grew more and more fascinated by different camera angles — often throwing my body on the ground or climbing up things to get the perfect shot. Now I have experience rigging shots on the fly — using shopping carts, wheelchairs, and all sorts of cars to pull off dolly shots on a low budget. I love the thrill of creating something from nothing, problem solving, and ultimately walking away with a beautiful image. I also have continued to develop a better understanding of photography and I have spent the past four summers teaching darkroom photography in North Carolina.

When I first arrived at Kenyon I wanted to be a cinematographer — I knew that my observation skills from being a scientist suited me well for the role behind a camera. However, I have had too many bad experiences under poor directors/management to want to continue down that course. As I have grown at Kenyon my fragile belief that sexism is dead has done a 180 degree flip. Not only am I aware of the intense struggle of being a woman in a department of young male directors, but I am upset by the aspect of entering an industry where Jay Cox so aptly warned, “Only the beautiful women get their way.”

Therefore it is my newfound passion to, if I decide to go into film, enter the space as a director. With greater power on set and over creative decisions I truly believe I can at least fight back against some of the jerks who would rather not make room for women in film. As I stand today, I really love having my hand in all of the honey-pots so-to-speak and I would love to take on a larger role in this production — probably as a producer — so that I can both act as a leader and also gain a deeper understanding of how all of the aspects of this production are supposed to come together.