Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Kwok.
Hi Austin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born in Toronto but raised between Hong Kong and Beijing, I started learning about cameras as a way to make friends. I was very anxious growing up, and found taking photos and making short videos for old high school clubs as a very comforting way for me to make friends and express myself. Nothing made me happier than making our short little sports tournament recap videos and watching all the different schools that had competed laughing and overjoyed over watching themselves on the big screen. It gave me a sense of fulfillment and purpose I hadn’t ever experienced growing up in a more traditional academia-focused Chinese household.
As a result, I pursued film as my undergraduate major, which was met with the usual resistance one would expect from taking on a creative career, given my upbringing. I pushed in headfirst to study at the University of British Columbia, knowing that I could get an entry-level position on sets (with BC being a service town) to learn from amazing technicians/creatives. While going to school, I spent a significant amount of time trying to gain as much experience as I could working as a camera assistant and ultimately a board operator/gaffer during the latter half of my undergraduate years. I was fully convinced at the time that being a better technician was the end-all, be-all of what a cinematographer was. I did not have a heavy arts background nor a traditional love for filmmaking. I was very young and reckless and often had (as many do) an identity crisis over why I wanted to pursue filmmaking in the first place. Even when I started to get “better” at the technical craft, it was never enough and at a certain point, I felt very empty when looking at my work. It lacked substance in the same way I did when approaching and just living my life in general. It took COVID forcibly stopping the world for me to see where I had been lacking, and it’s what inspired me to be more reflective and approach projects and scripts with a greater level of empathy (which is still something I continue to learn to get better at) rather than just thinking like a technician.
I was a late bloomer, and that period is when I was finally able to articulate for myself what exactly the sense of fulfillment and purpose I got from working was. It changed how I interacted with art and wanted my art to interact with others (both during the process and afterwards). Trying to catch up on lost time (and watching an unhealthy amount of films with a renewed perspective), my love for film wasn’t tide to just a tangible sense of growth/achievement but a genuine enjoyment for films period. Whether it be shooting commercials, music videos, documentary work or fiction, I finally felt as though I was on the right path to becoming a Cinematographer like the ones I had begun to admire. After shooting for the past few years, it ultimately led me to apply for AFI as a way to seek further mentorship to connect the technician and artist sides of the craft. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have an incredible support system of friends, family and mentors along the way to help push me forward to pursue more along the path.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Similar to other young filmmakers, the road isn’t always smooth when it comes to balancing your financial responsibilities while also trying to find your voice, train your eye, etc. It honestly leads to a lot of doubt. While battling imposter syndrome, my mentor always explained it best that your taste will always exist at a rung above your experience, and the more experienced you get, the better and the higher your taste will climb with it. There will always be this space between the two rungs (although that distance may vary as you become more experienced). Being able to accept that space is what gives you clarity for how far you’ve come and how much more you have to climb. I think we’ve been blessed with so much technology, but at the same time, the noise and constant agendas of manufacturers emphasizing the tools cinematographers use instead of the cinematographers themselves, at least for me, led to a significant period where I experienced a mental block of not being able to view myself in my work. But instead, it was a culmination of safe decisions made based on what others who knew better told me to do, and I look back on it fondly as a period where my work both feels incredibly foreign to me now, but also a time capsule of all the overthinking/struggles I had.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m currently a Cinematographer and studying in my last year at the American Film Institute. Over the past several years, my work has varied from short-form narratives to music videos, commercials, etc. I really gravitate towards drama and love to approach new projects that prove to be either emotionally complex or technically complex. I’m confident as a technician and instead prioritize my focus on finding the right visual language for each project and pushing it as far as possible.
I am most proud of and grateful for the people I’ve been able to work with over the years, and to see everyone grow artistically and in their careers. What sets me apart from others, as it does for them to me, is ultimately worldview. The way you approach a script and your relationship to your tools within your craft is something uniquely different between all cinematographers who have been working for a set amount of time. I feel eternally grateful for the global background I have and the constant stream of creatives I am lucky enough to meet, who all influence how I interact with cinematography.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love how creative the city is, the community here and the general desire to want to keep creating. I’m definitely still not used to all the driving yet.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kwkaustindp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kwkaustin/
