Noahs Cinematography Career Feature Story

The Cinematography Of Noah Killeen

Joseph Killeen

Period 7

Noah Killeen is an avid cinematographer attending UT Austin who has been making films since he was young. 

"I enjoy making films mostly because its a faster way of telling a story, rather than other forms of art, and I guess I am impatient in that way," Killeen said.

Killeen and his family has a history of being involved in the film and photography industry.

"Film and photography has been going on in our whole family tree forever, and I think thats something that has helped Noah realize it is possible to achieve the dreams that he wants to achieve," Aimee Killeen said.

Cinematography was something that Noah grew up having interest in and wanted to pursue in his future.

"To be a film maker is to be a story teller, and applying it specifically to noah, he has been telling stories for as long as I can remember, Mike Killeen said.

Noah is working on films often, and claims its a process that takes time and patience.

"Whenever I am working on a film its pretty much non stop, I usually edit for a while and then look at my work and wont be able to realize whether its bad or not and take a break for a few days before I can come back. I find it funny because when I am filming all I think about is how I am going to edit it, but while I am editing, all I can think about is how I should have filmed it,"Noah said.

Cinematography is a time consuming art that takes basic knowledge and motivation to get done.

"I personally have not made a film, and don't know the first thing about movie editing, but I do know if I put my mind to it, I could do it." Aimee said.

Noah was given the opportunity of choosing some of the best films schools in the nation.

"It came down to UT and Chapman University, and I ended up at UT because it was a heck of a lot cheaper, closer to home, and is still today one of the best film schools in the nation," Noah said.

Noah took pre-ap classes all of his high school career and was in the top five percent of his class.

"Functionally the things I learned in high school did help me get to a great school, but at the same time a good amount of the knowledge I gained is completely irrelevant to my life now, I think of my high school career more as a test of whether I could put in the work, even though the skills weren't directly related to what I wanted to learn," Noah said.

Noah also took all of the media oriented classes in high school.

"The classes involving film in High School that I took were defiantly helpful and a lot of fun, at the same time the classes developed my skills early so I would be better prepared for college," Noah said.

Getting into UTs film program must not have been easy, but noah somehow was able to do so.

"Its very hard to get into film school, and I was very surprised and proud when he got into UT Austin. I know that it wasn't just his work that got him into the school though, it was the fact that he was very well rounded because he started at an early age and had strong passion to pursue his dream," Mike said.

Killeen's journey of getting to where he is today is a creative and interesting one, but he thinks that others are completely capable to do the same.

"I think it comes dow to the amount of passion the person has for what they are doing and I think that creativity is in a way learned from trial and error. I honestly think that everyone can make a movie, its all about simply telling a story, and I know everyone can tell a story, so therefore anyone and everyone has the potential to make a great film if they really want to," Noah said.

There seems to be a doubt in the minds of many people that they aren't capable of making a film, many people choose not to participate in the art of cinematography.

"I think they are intimidated by a couple of things, in the same way that someone who is asked to bake a cake for the first time and they don't understand the directions or what ingredients they are supposed to use. But the journey of having someone put that much time and passion into one moment is part of the beauty and best part of making a film, and it really shows when you watch the movie," Noah said.

Noah has already gained a small fan base and his name is slowly being spread around, in fact he has been recruited by many film companies in California, and there is always the chance, that he could become famous.

"If, I had creative control over what I was working on along with being famous, that would be awesome, but the reality is that film makers that get recognized by people who want to make a film, are basically forced to tell the story the way the person wants them to, not the way the cinematographer knows is best," Noah said.

His parents are very supportive of his career, and are really hoping that this can be his future.

"I hope he goes really far with this, but the truth is that the industry is very difficult unless you are incredibly driven to achieve and succeed, so I think he is capable of going as far as he can commit to go," Mike said.

Noah started out his film career using a camera that was 15 years older, than the standard camera at the time. As well as making his own equipment just by using things he found at home.

"Equipment can effect the quality of a film, but its more about knowing the limits of what you have and doing the most with it. We live in a world today where everyone has a better camera in their pocket than Spielberg and other acclaimed cinematographers didn't have access to when they made films that are still watched today." Noah said.

Now Noah has more expensive equipment, including a panasonic g4 which is one of the top prosumer dslrs in the market, and a bigger budget to work with. 

"I personally own a dslr camera that I use most of the time and a zoom microphone, which both of those things in general are fairly inexpensive compared to more professional stuff, but they can do more than enough for what I need," Noah said.

Noah has a in depth knowledge of cinematography, is learning more about film in college, and is happy about what he is doing with his life.

"I make films because I think that everyone appreciates film to a degree. I find it to be similar to making a painting, where once you are done you get to put it on display. And then the whole world can see what you have done," Noah said.

Noah has won many awards and is considered the best cinematographer in his class by his professor.

"Paintings are simply one piece of work, while rather films are 60 paintings every second, for however long the film is, and the audience is forced to sit there and enjoy the art that you have made. I know that sounds like a selfish reason, but its the truth, the easiest way to paint a bigger picture, is to paint more pictures in general," Noah said.