Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendrick Jordan.
Hi Kendrick, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It all started in undergrad. I had always wanted to be on TV and at that time, I figured the only way was to be a news anchor. My major was Mass Communications with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism and TV Production. The program was centered on journalism. I was growing unhappy with my major by my junior year. I was known for making up all of my news stories due to how much I would party and forget about the assignments due the next day. I would make up “people” who I would interview and make up “events” that did not happen at the venue I was doing the story on. It took one teacher to pull me aside and say, “You can’t make a career in journalism on lies…but you can as a screenwriter” One teacher cared enough to say that when all the others just wrote me off as another student who just showed up.
I then got into trouble in school and was suspended for a semester which made me 3 hours short of graduating. That was the best thing to happen. Since my school did not have a film program, it opened the door to pick up theater as a minor and opened the door for acting, my way to get on TV. But, being an HBCU grad, most the plays were about the black struggle. I lived that struggle and didn’t care to re-enact it on stage. I wanted Star Wars, The Matrix, Harry Potter type of stories. Then, I had another teacher tell me “if you don’t like the roles available, then you need to create them”. Now, I was an actor and a screenwriter. Directing was the clear next step because no one around me had the passion to make what I wanted to make. Little did I know at the time…that also paved the way for me to be a producer. I attempted a second undergrad degree at a school known for film in North Carolina, and it may have been my worst school experience. The program just wasn’t for me. I didn’t get along with many teachers nor classmates.
I had a girlfriend at the time, then faced a really really bad breakup in Spring 2017. I’m a dramatic person so I decided to drive across the country and relocate to LA in August 2017 with only three months of planning and saving. (I don’t recommend this. It’s really tough) I had always been told since I was a writer as well as my other titles, LA was the best place for me. Everyone was absolutely right. I got to LA and started acting class a few months in. I took a shot in the dark and decided to apply to film school in the process. I got into a top 25 film school at ArtCenter College of Design in 2018. I was hesitant to go, but my acting teacher told me to put acting on hold because it’s not every day that people get into film school and not a top 25 one at that. I didn’t have the money to pay for it, but I had a strong friend group who just told me to go until they kicked me out. Well, I graduated with my Master of Fine Arts in December 2020.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey has always been rocky. Most of my problems have been financial. I was born in SE Washington, DC. My mom relocated my senior year of high school to NC for financial reasons. The college I went to was mainly due to financial aid covering my education. I moved to LA with only $2k saved and accidentally made the day I moved the same day my car payment and insurance was due so I didn’t even have that fully saved.
Film school was really tough. No way to really look at it, but film school can be expensive. Some students have money and can make really great projects and hire people. I got really good at pitching my projects to people and wowing them with my ideas. I had to do a lot of talking and planning before I could shoot. It gave me a great set of skills and put me on the radar for a lot of the faculty/staff when they saw how little I spent on projects and how great they looked.
Even with that, I had two work study jobs and worked at a restaurant in Irvine, lived in my best friend’s living room in Long Beach but went to school in Pasadena. I spent a lot of time in my car and a lot of gas. Determination is what got me through School. I did eventually move to Pasadena to be closer to school and took out additional student loans to relieve some tension and stress because I was going insane from lack of sleep and money.
To this day, I still have moments of self-doubt and “did I make the right decision career-wise” thoughts. Then I look at my work, the people I’ve met and even the people I’ve inspired. IG posts make it appear as though I’ve made it but I tell people all the time that I am nowhere near the level they reading into.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a filmmaker. I really want to dive into fantasy and action narrative films with big set pieces that have black leads and black love interests. I also like to play with ideas around rebellion, betrayal and unexpected losses. I want to specialize in mind-blowing visual sequences and introduce ideas that can have audiences talking and overly dissecting my work. Outside of narrative, I am also directing music videos, commercials and starting photography still staying within my core creative principles.
Hard to say what I’m the most proud of. Each new project presents something new and daring that I haven’t tried before. I’m currently editing my 2nd of 3 thesis films called “Dream” that is shot primarily on green screen that was inspired by my love of comic book movies and anime. It’s a very daring project to take on that is a year behind schedule due to the pandemic but it’s looking very good now.
Close second with be a black and white high contrast 45 second fashion spec that I made with two black models exuding sex appeal called “Elevator Music” Two strangers enter an elevator and then transported to an all-white room where their skin tones really pop against the white backdrop. The girl is in a bikini and the guy in a speedo. They look really great on camera. Right before they come together and kiss, they are back in the elevator breathing heavy.
What sets me apart from others is that I don’t ever want my work to look like something someone else can do. I want to be unique and stand out. I want to be different that it’s obvious this is a K.Jordan film just from viewing a quarter of my project. But I’m still learning. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a class clown growing up. A high-energy kid with a bad case of Napoleons Complex. But I wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything. Growing up in DC, I learned early on to back up whatever you say. The lesson translated to don’t say or agree to things you don’t think you can accomplish.
I was active in sports, a boy scout and a preachers kid. I was always into something. Didn’t have a lot of downtown, but when I did I would often just fall into my own little world. I’d have storylines and plots that I would act out through my toys. I’d randomly hide them in the house and make it the other toy’s duty to find them. I’d steal my sister’s old dolls and make them damsels in distress. My dad pushed sports but later in life said he wished he realized that was me being a storyteller. We both had no idea.
Pricing:
- Directing – $2.2k/day
- Photography – start $500/day
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: KendrickJordan.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/Kid_JK
- Other: https://vimeo.com/user78996162
Image Credits:
Andy Yue (“Maisha” BTS . Girl in purple sitting down) Shahin Ansari (“Dream” BTS. me behind camera in library) The rest screen shots from projects.
