We were lucky to catch up with Katie LeCluyse recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

Leaving a mark on this world has always been something I’ve hoped for my entire life. As I’ve now entered the film industry, filmmaking and storytelling has become a part of my everyday life. Being able to communicate in this specific artistic form has been an honor and more fulfilling than I ever thought it would be. Thus, I believe my legacy is now tied to the artist in me. There are so many stories that I’m just bursting to share with the world. Stories that I believe can spark conversation, curiosity, new perspectives and deep emotions–all things that are vital to human life. These stories not only come from my life, which only I myself can convey in an accurate manner, but also from rich history all over the world. And there’s so much more out there, endless opportunities, that I have yet to discover. So while I hope that part of my legacy is left through sprinklings of beautiful stories, I also hope to make a more concrete impact on the people around me. Being a woman in film can have its own challenges but it’s also just challenging in general being a young filmmaker these days. There are so many voices shouting over us youth and telling us there isn’t a chance we can make it. You have to dig down deep, journey through a rollercoaster of emotions and lean on those you value most in order to survive. My hope is to continue to uplift those young filmmakers around me to not give up hope on their dream. I hope to also be a part of the change in the filmmaking industry. The change to being more supportive, less toxic, and with more fairness to rights and wages. Being a beginner to this industry, I’m not quite sure yet what my big plan is to execute this, but surely one day at a time, change will start to show itself. Overall, I want to be remembered but it’s not the fame that I seek, it’s the fondness of memories, truths and knowledge that I give that I hope to outlive me. I don’t need to have an excessive or extravagant life, I just want to give myself fully and live life completely.

Katie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For those who don’t know me, my name is Katie LeCluyse. I am an aspiring cinematographer, now based out of Atlanta, GA. I began my journey into the film industry when I registered for film school at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA in 2018. I had not a clue what I was doing when I entered my first day of classes at that college. Up until my junior year of high school, I was sure that I was to pursue a career in the science field to feed my curiosities for life but that all changed one day. I don’t quite know what it was that struck me but I felt a calling of sorts–as cheesy as that sounds–to pursue a career in filmmaking. I think it’s so special how we get to connect with so many lives and people in this industry, both through our work and during our work. Back in the beginning of film school, I remember being terrified of embarrassment and of not knowing as much as the other students. But I worked very hard to catch up to their knowledge, met some amazing, encouraging friends, and kept my head up high. I still have so much to learn, and always will, but the amount of knowledge I’ve taken in in just these 5 past years has been very stimulating to say the least. I encourage those who are afraid of raising their hand in class and of speaking up for themselves to do it anyways. Being brave is exhilarating and I’ve never regretted putting myself and my voice out there, as terrifying as it was at the time. But back to me as a filmmaker–I’ve been on just shy of 100 projects in the past 5 years. My positions varied from the lowest of the low–PA (production assistant)–to heading a department as DP (Director of Photography). I enjoy just about any position in lighting or camera, especially as grip, drone operator, camera operator, 2nd AC (assistant cameraman), gaffer. But my true love comes in the form of DPing. Getting to control light, camera, movement, art in order to portray a story on the screen is something else. I particularly love getting to play with light and operating the camera myself as I feel I am fully part of the storytelling that way. And light is such an emotional and beautiful part of film. It brings me pure joy to be able to do what I do. I’ve told multitudes of stories from documentaries about composting companies to a mock commercial for Tostito’s, to a Western short film about justice, to a horror film about petsitting, to music videos about blue corn tortilla chips. All have been a vital learning experience for me and bring me satisfaction as a filmmaker. My favorite projects to work on are stories that deeper meanings, stories I have a direct connection to the screenwriting, and just about anything I get to play with light during. I think some things that set me apart from other DPs in this industry are my ability to creative problem solve, my creative shot ideas, and my unstoppable determination and dedication to my projects.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Some resources that I wish I had known about earlier in my creative journey are the resources you can find online and that the people you know can often be your most useful resource. Firstly, the internet is exploding with knowledge and has rarely failed to lend me a hand in how to solve my past problems. And secondly, when the internet is too overwhelming or doesn’t seem to understand my questions, I am grateful to have a network of extremely talented and knowledgeable individuals that are more than willing to help me out. In the filmmaking industry, the people you know are some of your greatest assets, both in your personal and professional life. I wish I had known that sooner and had the questions lined up at the right time of meeting the right people. One of the obstacles I’ve had to, and still am, overcoming with utilizing this secondary resource of my network of people is the fear of asking stupid questions. I believe strongly, now, that there are no stupid questions. You can’t know everything and until you’ve asked, you’ll never know. And along the way you might realize how many people are wondering the same things as you are; you are not alone. Asking questions shows initiative and will only help you.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I’ve had to unlearn is choosing technical over creative. Since I came into film with absolutely no knowledge of anything, I struggled lots with keeping up with the creative while learning the technical. There was a point in my junior year of college where the technical aspect of filmmaking had completely surpassed my creative side of storytelling. I had almost completely ruined an entire project I had shot because of it. I am forever grateful to my Professor Bear Brown and some other close friends of mine for helping me to realize this and hop off of that track. While I am grateful for all of the technical parts of filmmaking that I’ve learned and don’t regret learning them, they clouded my creative eye and prevented my stories from the beauty and logical reasoning that they required. When you create stories, there should be motive behind choices, whether it be instinctual or planned out in pre-production. I know that some people will say otherwise but in my experience, it has become a vital part of my process as a storyteller.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katielecluysefilm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katielecluyse7/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-lecluyse-697463181/
• Other: Link to my current reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3ChbqfqMgs

Image Credits:
Genevieve Kerr, Courtney Beauchamp, Andy Pedroza, Henry Locke, Jordan Vescio, and Chase McNaughton, Xian Yu