Today we’d like to introduce you to Kade Strunk.
Hi Kade, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
From as long as I can remember, cameras and editing have always been something that has struck interest in me. I remember being gifted my first camera for Christmas when I was 10, it was a Flip Camera- which was all the rage back then. I would create little short films with my siblings and cousins, as well as YouTube videos with friends and we would have so much fun coming up with different ideas. The computer my family had back then was a super slow Windows computer, and I didn’t like the idea of using Window’s Movie Maker to edit my videos because I knew other people were using better softwares! So I looked up how to download more advanced editing software, ended up finding Sony Vegas Pro at 11 years old and I watched so many YouTube tutorials and ended up self-teaching how to use it at that age. Now that I had this amazing editing software, it opened up more doors for creativity. I created lyric videos, edited footage to the beat of music, and continued my YouTube channel. My parents were incredibly supportive, providing me my entire life with the tools necessary for this new passion of mine, we would even state that when the Oscars were on that in the future, I’d be accepting an award one day! Throughout middle school I experienced a lot of bullying because of my sexuality, and keep in mind- I didn’t even realize I was gay yet despite me being ridiculed for it.
Because of this, it resulted in me wanted to switch school districts for high school. I came across Saint Paul Conservatory for the Performing Artists, a performing arts school located in the heart of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was incredible being surrounded by so many other inspiring creatives, and the best part of all – I didn’t experience any sort of bigotry surrounding my sexuality, and as I result, I was able to discover and learn more about myself- ultimately coming out freshman year. Despite high school being centered around performing, I knew my biggest passion was still editing and camera work and my parents upgraded their camera to a DSLR at this time as well, so I decided during the meantime I would get together with friends and take portraits of them throughout the twin cities, and this sparked a whole new interest- photography! I was a part of this photography collective called The HHub, where people would host huge meetups between other talented models and photographers, and we’d collaborate for a majority of the day. We’d get to know each other, hang out and all do something we’re passionate about. Once senior year came around, I ended up taking so many of my peer’s senior photos and even reached out to people outside of my high school- basically starting my own little business! I knew film school was the next step, which led me to DePaul University in Chicago where I got accepted into their BFA Television and Media program and decided to concentrate on Cinematography.
Cinematography was something new to me and I wanted to invest the time into growing that skill, and with my editing and photography background, I felt it could make me a well-rounded artist. University was amazing despite COVID-19 taking over, I was able to be taught industry-standard skills and was surrounded by tons of cinema-grade equipment that I was able to play with. I was able to work on dozens of short film sets further advancing my cinematography and video editing skills, building up my resume and portfolio / reel. My boyfriend, who also went to DePaul University and pursued Directing and I ended up purchasing all the equipment we’d need to get the ball rolling for filmmaking. This included a mirrorless camera, lens and sound equipment. Even little things such as a clapper board, gaffers tape, and anything else we thought we’d need. We graduated in June of 2022 and knew immediately where we wanted to go next, Los Angeles. My boyfriend and I sold a majority of our things, only packing our cat and necessities that we could squeeze into our car and headed on the road trip to Los Angeles where I would reside pursuing filmmaking in a professional environment. The first couple of months were extremely hard, I had this preconceived belief that it would be easy to land gigs but I didn’t have much experience on set outside of film school, so I quickly realized I would need to push myself harder than I ever have. I would reach out to other local cinematographers to have coffee chats with them for advice, and I would apply to as many different gigs and positions as I could. I landed an assistant photographer fashion gig with a clothing brand as my first paid gig in Los Angeles which was incredible, I met so many amazing people and I reassured myself that I am exactly where I need to be.
After that gig, I landed my part-time job taking photos and doing social media work for a different clothing brand, and I kept looking for more cinematography and editing-based work. I came across this amazing director whose work was queer based, working with queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race and male fashion/photography. The second I saw his work I knew this was exactly what I wanted to be doing as well, so I emailed him a few times until he allowed me to hop on set for a trial run. Ever since that first initial shoot, which was a music video, he booked me for so many other amazing opportunities and I was able to work alongside other amazing DPs and people on set, getting to know all of them and ultimately developing friendships-based relationships. This experience has allowed me to work with talent from RuPaul’s Drag Race and other artists in Los Angeles that I have looked up to so many years prior, it truly has been a surreal experience and I cannot wait to see my growth throughout the next few years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would definitely be lying if I said it has been a smooth road. Despite my wanting to center my work around the LGBTQ+ community, I experienced extremely traumatic events early on in my high school years which resulted in me having a weird relationship with my sexuality and how I perceived other gay people. I am still healing to this day from that, but through therapy and a lot of communication with my parents and other authority figures, I was able to mend my severed relationship with other gay people, and I realized that despite my bad experience with people who were apart of that community, by no means did it in any way reflect onto the community as a whole. It took me years to realize and process all this trauma, and now I feel like I am a great point where I can comprehend just how powerful and inspiring the LGBTQ+ community is, and I have experienced firsthand how strong the love is as well.
To add, the road was definitely not smooth considering on my road trip to Los Angeles my tire literally flew off my car- nonetheless I made it safely.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Now that I am in Los Angeles I have had steady cinematography, photography and editing gigs and most are majority fashion and queer based. I am so honored to be able to share and tell stories from people within the LGBTQ+ community, growing up and watching tons of movies and television it was borderline impossible to find gay characters that I could see myself in. Media has this power to depict what people imagine as being possible in society, so not having lots of representation can shape society in negative ways. I am so glad to be a part of the change we need to see in this world, giving a voice to people and communities that often feel silenced, essentially normalizing those identities, attitudes and values. Hollywood is not diverse, over 70% of filmmakers are cis-men and white and frankly, we are tired of seeing and hearing the same stories over and over! Introducing more diverse filmmakers on set will help to fuel more authentic stories and ultimately decrease bigotry, and we really need this for the future of queer people and for society’s sake as well. I am most proud of the fact that I am only 22 years old and have so many years and future opportunities to work on stories to represent marginalized communities.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
COVID-19 dramatically altered my life considering it started during the middle of my college experience. Before I was working in a restaurant while doing classes and quickly had to find a front-line job at a grocery store during the meantime to make money. Classes suddenly all became online, professors at first had no idea what they were doing and we all struggled with the technical aspects of the changes. At first, quarantining was quite fun, but after a while of isolating yourself from the world, you’re forced to connect with yourself in a different way. Depression was something that hit an all-time high during the COVID-19 crisis, I’m sure it was like that for a majority of other people as well. I noticed my social skills and motivation were declining, I never wanted to speak up during Zoom classes – I’d find myself getting very anxious if I ever had to turn my mic on. It was strange, I never had social issues but being separated from society in this way completely changed my personalty. I learned I really needed to take my mental health seriously so I began doing little things to help me get out of my shell again and to take care of my body. I went on walks all the time, had lots of spontaneous photoshoots and made the most out of my grocery store job. I learned to listen to myself and my body in a different way than before COVID, and now coming out of it- I do feel way more developed and stronger than I was considering I was forced to connect with myself in a different way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kadestrunk.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kadestrunk
