MY WORKPLAYCE: KELLEN DENGLER
Name: Kellen Dengler
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Director, Cinematographer, and Editor
Affiliations: Me, Myself & I
Background: It has been about a year now since first meeting Kellen. We had worked together on some Nike basketball Summer events and had recognized his name from the videos he did for Mighty Healthy and other independent streetwear brands. It was apparent that he was a beast behind the lens and a genius editor.
Recently, Kellen’s work has become bigger and better, having done work for famed photographer Jonathan Mannion, The Money Making Jam Boyz (Black Thought’s group), Slaughterhouse, Bush Mills Whiskey, and up and coming rapper Stalley. Born and raised in Colorado, Kellen graduated from Arizona State University where he earned his degree in media production. He knew immediately that he would be taking his talents to NYC after locking down an internship with MTV Networks. He hasn’t looked back since.
Here’s a glimpse of Kellen’s workspace:
1. G-RAID Drives
2. Mac Pro
3. iPad
4. Apple 30″ Cinema Display
5. Canon 5DMKII
6. iPhone
7. Rhodia Notepad
8. iPod
9. Sharpies
10. LaCie Rugged Drives
AWKP: For someone who’s a videographer, you’re work place looks way too clean. Where is this at; and are you really this neat and organized?
KD: I’m a pretty neat and organized person to begin with, but I’m not gonna lie, I really cleaned up my workspace to make it look good for this photo. Haha. It’s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It’s my live/work space. I love it here and just renewed my lease for another year.
Highsnobiety TV: 10 Deep x Money Making Jam Boys Episode 1 from Highsnobiety on Vimeo.
AWKP: What’s the significance of the names on the wall? Are these current or upcoming projects?
KD: I’m very into making checklists and crossing off completed tasks. It really helps me to stay on top of things and to prepare ahead. The first thing I did when I moved in here a year ago was paint the chalkboard wall. It’s great. I can write out all of the things I’m working on, things coming up, and things that I need to go back and revisit. It really keeps me on point. From what you can see in the photo, those names are a part of a project that is currently being finished up.
AWKP: What would be your most memorable project that you’ve worked on so far?
KD: This is a tough question because I’ve really gotten to work on some incredible things over the past couple of years. I think the project that really stands out off the top of my head was the TDK Chronicles series I worked on last summer. We led the project off by shooting Nas. I’ve worked with a lot of athletes and celebrities over the past couple of years, but honestly I feel like this is the first time I was ever really sort of “star struck.”
I grew up listening to punk and metal, but when I was in middle school and was sort of starting to develop a taste for hip-hop, I always really loved Nas’ music. His flow is so nice and he was just really raw. It drew me in and caught my attention and opened doors for me musically. I mean let’s just be honest, Nas is that dude. He is a hip-hop legend. We got to shoot a pretty in depth interview with him about his memories of creating analog mixtapes growing up. His stories were so awesome.
AWKP: Having done multiple projects together, I know you’ve always had your Canon 5DMKII, whatever happened to those ghettoblaster-like cameras that you hold over your shoulder?
KD: Camera technology is blowing me away these days. I could go on and on and nerd out about this shit, but I’ll keep it short. My previous camera ( Sony EX3) was one of those “ghettoblaster like” shoulder cameras, but when I had bought it 2 and a half years ago, it was arguably the best sub $10k camera on the market.
Highsnobiety TV: SXSW 2011 Highlight Reel from Highsnobiety on Vimeo.
AWKP: Can you please briefly describe how technology is affecting the video/photography industry? Do you think you’ll eventually use your iPhone to shoot a project?
KD: Once the Canon 5DMKII came out and everything blew up. You could get better image quality out of the box, at a fraction of the price, in a smaller form factor. It has basically revolutionized the way people shoot video today. The ability to use a 35mm sensor with full frame pro grade glass at a very affordable rate has made it the “go to” for pretty much everyone nowadays in the video/photo world. Long story short, I bought a 5DMKII as my “B Cam” and it has now become my “A Cam” for almost every project. It’s really crazy to me because it is not a “video” camera. It’s a very nice DSLR camera that happens to shoot video, but when you rig it out it becomes a “video” camera.
As far as iPhones go, I’m blown away with the picture quality of the photo/video on my iPhone4. I have the iMovie app and I like to make little funny clips of my drunk friends and crazy people on the train, but I highly doubt I’d ever use one in the professional realm, unless that was sort of the gimmick of the project.
AWKP: Have you ever thought about doing a project by just using a flip cam? What are your thoughts on those?
KD: Let me put it like this: I would use a FlipCam to film some hilarious day-to-day shit for YouTube. I would shoot my friend getting kicked in the nuts or a squirrel at central park doing something funny, but I would not use a FlipCam to shoot something for Nike.
Stalley “The Tune Up” from Kellen Dengler on Vimeo.
AWKP: Let’s imagine you’re stuck on a deserted island that has internet. Besides your camera, what three things would you have with you?
KD: MacBook Pro, Hot babe, Toothbrush (For me and the hot babe, I don’t mind sharing.)
AWKP: It’s crunch-time; you have a deadline due in the morning, what on your ipod to get you through?
KD: Dipset, Major Lazer, Slayer, Wu-Tang, Jay-Z, The Roots, LCD Soundsystem, Beastie Boys, ISIS, Mobb Deep, Nas, Municipal Waste, Snoop Dogg
Boundless NY x Snoop Dogg from Kellen Dengler on Vimeo.
AWKP: Best song to Karaoke to?
KD: Black Sabbath “War Pigs”. I own that shit NO CONTEST!!!
AWKP: On your wall chalkboard you have the quote “FUCK YOU, PAY ME.” Is this motivation for 2011, or are you trying to be ‘made’ into a “Goodfella”?
KD: It’s not really motivation for 2011, but actually the first thing I wrote on the chalkboard wall when I moved in last year. At the time, I was in check chasing mode, and it sort of just stayed. HAHA!
Any freelancer can tell you that the beauty of the job is being able to work for yourself and create your own agenda, but the beast of the job however is chasing checks. 30 days used to be standard, then it was 45, now 60 days has become the norm. Some people seem to think they can justify making you wait even longer than that. Not every client does this, but it happens a lot and it’s not cool.
“FUCK YOU, PAY ME!” is in fact a quote from Ray Liotta in Goodfellas and my favorite scene from the movie. He basically just has this hard edge that really applies to the video business.
AWKP: Any last words or shout-outs? Things we can look forward to seeing from you?
KD: Coming up, I’ve got 2 music videos I’m directing in the near future that should be pretty awesome. Also EPKs with a couple of major artists are also in the works along with a few brand films on the horizon
http://www.kellendengler.com
twitter: :@kdengs
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