Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaydon Kuntz
Hi Jaydon, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Hi, I’m Jaydon Kuntz, a 17-year-old Junior who attends Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, as well as an up-and-coming sports videographer and editor.
I began this hobby of mine with a school project called “A Reason for Hope” in my Mission of Jesus class. I had known at the time that I wanted to start working in film and figured that this project could be a way to show what I was capable of. I posted that video on May 10th, 2023, and played it for my whole class. It was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback, which led to the creation of my Instagram account and the start of my brand “JaydonCKMedia.”
Over that summer, I started to get into sports, but I did not yet own a camera. I would sit in my room for a minimum six hours a day and ask my friends for the sports videos that their parents would take on their phones and edit them together into short, one-minute Instagram videos. Coming off my high school’s Division One State winning basketball season, I had seen our team all over social media, from creators like Calvin Mai and Fyrehousemedia, who inspired me and made me realize that I was capable of doing the same. After basically sitting in my room editing for about a month straight, I had received the news that Bryce James, son of Lebron James, had transferred to our school from Campbell Hall. With all eyes on our basketball team heading into the school year, I figured it would be a perfect opportunity for me to finally start.
On the first day of school, with no photography lessons or knowledge on cameras, I asked our athletic office at Notre Dame if I could borrow a camera to start filming our football team. Within two weeks, my first video gained 8,000 views and was recognized around the school. I earned myself a field pass for the season and traveled with the team, gaining them around 700,000 views on Instagram by the end of the season, as well as having one of my videos play on our Jumbotron during our Homecoming rally. While traveling with the football team, I had started to film our men’s basketball summer games and practices, getting to know the whole team. With a little help from Bryce, my second basketball video was my first video to hit 100,000 views alone. After seeing great success and making a solid amount of money creating videos for teams and individual athletes, I proved to my parents that I could do it as a job. So, they bought me a Sony Alpha a7iii with a 18-105 lens, just in time for basketball season.
As the basketball season began, I got a text from Qwik11hoops, one of my favorite YouTubers throughout my childhood, asking to film Notre Dame’s games for him. Along with that, I also got a call from star alumni Dusty Stromer’s videographer, Calvin Mai, who told me he was impressed with my work and wanted me to take on the pregame intro video for the basketball team. Calvin’s pregame video the year before was my favorite part of the games, so being noticed by him and impressing him to the point where he wanted me to take over was one of my proudest moments. My video premiered at Crypto Arena, where we played De Le Salle on the Lakers and Clippers home court. I also had the honor of filming it. By the end of the season, I had became a school-wide known name and had earned over 1.5 million views for the school athletics department on social media.
As of today, I am currently filming for Notre Dame Lacrosse and Baseball and filming for BTI Hoops and Qwik11hoops. I’ve racked up over 2.5 million views for the school. I have collaborated and been noticed by big names on social media, such as Mario Lopez, Master P, Mercy Miller, Bryce James, and many others.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As someone who has struggled with social anxiety, coming out of covid into my freshman year of high school was a big shock for me. Videography has helped me overcome that, as I have gotten to build relationships with the players and make friends who have the same interests along the way.
Also, I was not perfect to begin with. I would say yes to almost any opportunity to film that came my way, which would result in me taking on too much and disappointing a few people. I learned a lot from this.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a sports videographer and editor, which is considered rare in this area of work, as someone will only usually be good at one of the two. I am most proud of my homecoming and pregame intro hype videos for the school, as well as the connections I have built with those around me. My videos set me apart from the rest because they are interesting for all to watch. I tend to use older songs for the older generations to enjoy while making edits to a high school basketball team, perfectly cut to the song. It brings together communities that you think would be hard to combine. For example, you will never see Snoop Dog, my English teacher, my grandfather, and my best friend all engaging in the same type of content…except mine.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Everybody who has ever engaged in my content includes credit because they have helped me grow into the person I am today. Specifically, the athletic office of my school and my parents, who provided me with the equipment to begin all of this. They deserve the most credit of all.
Names:
Natalie Danna, Alec Moss – Athletic Office directors
Coach Sargeant, Coach Belanio, Coach Powers – Basketball Coach at ND
Coach Yabu – Football Coach at ND
Max Koster, Lucas Gonzales, Eli Gonzales – Best friends from childhood who supported me
Jenny Kuntz, Jeff Kuntz, Cadi Kuntz – Family
Qwik11hoops, Calvin Mai, Fyrehousemedia – Inspirations
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jaydonckmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JaydonCKmedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556769444249&mibextid=LQQJ4d
