Conversations with Kishan Patel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kishan Patel.

Hi Kishan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in London and lived there till I was 7 (the accent is long gone, much to my dismay), then my family moved to Florida. It was a big change at the time, getting used to the culture shift. A lot of what I learned about the US came from television, shows like the Simpsons and Hey Arnold! colored my understanding, and for the most part, prepared me pretty well. During my youth, Bollywood films were perpetually on the television. The lavish locations, overdramatic acting and catchy songs left an impression that still resonates today. They were on so much that I actually thought the way people got married was by going out to a hillside and singing to each other haha. I also played a lot of video games, generally the more difficult ones, which probably had an effect on how persistent I can be when it comes to challenges.

As a teenager, I was obssesed with sitcoms. Seinfeld, Friends, the Office, 30 Rock; if it was on network TV, I was probably watching it religiously. It wasn’t until I was 16 and walking out after watching The Dark Knight that I thought “Wait, people make these?”. My mind was set, filmmaking was going to be my career path. More than telling a particular story, I remember the way it made me feel, like I had just experienced this roller coaster and I knew that if I could make someone feel even a fraction of what I’d just felt, I’d be happy. Naturally, my taste has broadened, but I’ll always credit that movie as my filmmaker awakening.

I wound up studying Film and New Media studies at the University of South Florida under the eye of some really incredible professors. While they didn’t necessarily have a production program, the major gave me the tools to analyze and understand films as more than just an entertainment experience. We hit all the classic eras, Classical Hollywood Cinema, French New Wave, Parallel Cinema, American Renaissance, all the way to some trippy modern mixed media work. All while reading from the culture critics of each era to contextualize how and why each era worked the way it did.

After college I took a job at a reality company in post production, which was a really strong foundation for making films. I got to see when things were working, what beats were missing, and how to really tie a story together. After about 2 years I left that job as I felt I had done the most I could do with it and decided to move to LA to get started with pursuing on-set work.

So I packed up my stuff and moved in to the backroom of a motel my dad ran in Lynwood and just started getting on to as many sets as I possibly could. Luckily I fell into doing a lot of G&E and Camera Assisting with fellows from AFI. It was my version of film school and we were using older equipment so a lot of big tungsten and HMI sources, with heavy cable management. I made a lot of friends both with the fellows and other volunteers. I’m proud to say they became my community, which is really what you need to survive in such a tumultuous field, and I’m happy they’re all still an important part of my life. This is definitely the part of the story where I felt myself falling in love with Cinematography, in particular. The combination of technical prowess and artistry is what really drove me. Using light, composition and science to add to a story brings me an endless sense of joy that I doubt will ever be fully satiated.

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’d love to say it’s been smooth sailing but the industry has been in a major shift pretty much since COVID. Luckily I’ve been able to survive through the help of my network and being consistently hired for work. The transition to DP has been rocky too, but I think that’s just how it goes. Over the past few years I’ve been focused on building my own network as an DP and have started to hit my stride in terms of the kind of people and projects I want to work on. As of now I’ve wrapped my second feature, am in very early stages of preproduction for my third and filling the time between with shorts and music videos.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Regarding my work as a Cinematographer, I lean towards projects that are macabre. Most of my work as been either dark comedy, horror-adjacent or wildly absurdist. I think considering the world we live in, it’s hard for things to not feel a bit grim when you step outside into the wider political landscape. I’ve always dealt with a lot of the tougher parts of my life with humor, so that usually translates into my work. Hence why the projects that attract me always deal with darker subject matter, but wind up navigating those spaces with a touch of humor and levity.

Although, it’s definitely a life goal to shoot a musical feature, preferably a Bollywood one!

In terms of my own technical preferences as a DP, I lean towards harder, higher contrast lighting and symmetrical compositions. Obviously it’s all project dependent, but I’ll always make sure I have some sort of fresnel source on hand. While broad, soft sources are always useful, I love adding in a more specular source on the farside to give faces and spaces a bit more gradient and texture. At the end of the day, however, it’s a collaborative medium, so I’m always looking for ways to blend the ideas of my directors and fellow department heads to make something truly unique.

It’s weird to say this, but coffee meetings are kind of my hobby, so I prefer to get to know my collaborators pretty deeply as people first before necessarily jumping on to projects. I love meeting new people, grabbing a drink and learning about their world. Being able to see their perspective, inspirations and background help to color my understanding of their vision. I consider it, arguably, the most important part of my job.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
So, when I was 18, a friend and I entered a competition with tens of thousands of others to make a video game map for a shooter game called Halo: Reach and we actually won! They placed the map in the online matchmaking, which was INSANELY popular at the time. So, strangely, I can say that something I’ve made has actually been experienced by millions of people. It’s still surreal to say that out loud, honestly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kishanpateldp.com
• Instagram: @kpatelcine