Life & Work with Will Brunker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Brunker.

Hi Will, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was growing up, I always seemed to have an interest in cameras and motion. Early on in my childhood, I’d film my little brother pretending to host my family’s version of Zaboomafoo. My friends and I were big skiers growing up in Minnesota, so we’d spend the dark and cold winters hitting jumps and messing around on the hill. I always brought my mom’s camera with me and wound up cutting our best tricks into a video at the end of the day. From there, the next step was making real ski movies.

As I turned my eye to the future, I applied to colleges with film programs, dreaming of ways to get to Alaska with my favorite ski movie production companies. This seemed like the logical step, but somehow I ended up choosing DePaul University in Chicago, which couldn’t be more opposite from mountains to ski and film in. Everything happens for a reason, and when I got a taste of my first set, I was hooked. While totally different than capturing a skier, being on set and having creative control over a shot really appealed to me. I started watching movies differently and became obsessed with observing light and trying to understand it.

While making ski movies no longer feels like the holy grail, I still find myself wildly inspired by mountains and the outdoors. There is no place that resets and energizes me quite like the top of a mountain. California has so much to offer outdoors so I made the move to LA the summer after graduating, also understanding that it’s the place to be for filmmaking and I haven’t looked back.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s been a strange and winding road for sure. I shot a tiny indie movie right out of college in Chicago, it had some familiar faces in it, which was really cool. I assumed that doing this movie would be my breakthrough moment right before I moved to LA. This couldn’t have been further from the truth, haha.

The movie didn’t put me on the map, and I had rent to pay. Thankfully I had some skills outside of the camera department and began producing and shooting some videos for businesses or kickstarter campaigns that were launching. I always looked at these as a way to get in another rep behind the camera, doing the other jobs out of necessity to support the path I wanted to take. They taught me a lot and I like to think that my understanding of how entire productions come together makes me more sympathetic to producer’s needs and budgetary constraints of indie productions.

I’m very grateful to have made so many friends who are also my favorite people to collaborate with. They’ve made a winding road more bearable and it’s very satisfying to help each other rise to new heights.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
So I’ve dabbled in producing and directing, but as time has gone by I’ve really been able to work mostly as a Director of Photography mainly on music videos and indie films. I’ve been told my work is “cold and dark” and “daaaaark, man”. I like to think I’m adaptable and enjoy creating new looks that are outside of expectations. I’m still learning why my eye is so drawn to darkness, but it’s been a really enjoyable process.

During quarantine, I made a new friend in Kase Peña who brought me out to shoot a segment of her feature film “Trans Los Angeles” titled “Period”. I’ve never seen a film starring a trans woman of color, directed by a trans woman of color before. Being a part of a team bringing films like this to the world is something I’m very proud of.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I’m blown away by the volume of new tools coming out for motion picture lighting. LED lights are getting bigger, brighter and more accessible. On my next project, we’ll be using a new version of an old light that would’ve required so much extra power that it probably wouldn’t have been an option for the project. It’s cool to see manufacturers develop new technology that opens doors that would not have been there at my level even just a few years ago.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.willbrunker.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willbrunker/

Image Credits:
Sarah Jane Murray