We were lucky to catch up with Nicholas Kohnhorst recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Nicholas with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic definitely comes from my parents. When I was roughly 9 years old, my family moved to a horse farm. Living and maintaining a farm is a lot of work, so I was often recruited to help with chores. I didn’t spend all my time working but I had to do my fair share. In addition to growing up on a farm, I was involved with a lot of sports and clubs in school. All of this required me to live an extremely active life and over time this helped develop my work ethic. As an adult, I don’t have the energy I did when I was younger but I still try to be an active and reliable person. When I pickup a creative project, I make sure I can give it my best. And when I need a break I take time off. Keeping a good work-life balance makes it easier to keep up my work ethic but also enjoy life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Nicholas Kohnhorst; I’m a full-time video producer and freelance director based out of Milwaukee, WI. I started shooting videos in college and loved it; so I’ve spent the last 8 years pursuing a career in film. I’ve spent a lot of time shooting music videos, commercials, and social media advertising but I am slowly transitioning to short films and documentaries. I love the outdoors, specifically rock climbing and skiing, so I’m on trying to combine my passion for the outdoors with my passion for filmmaking. In 2024 I released a short documentary on a local DIY BMX training facility. I plan to spend much of 2025 continuing to work with the BMX guys as well as beginning to shoot a climbing film. In addition, I work very closely with a musical artist named Micah Emrich, so I’m excited to continue on with supporting his journey. Lots of cool things in the works and hopefully it all works out smoothly!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
This is tough. I’d say what has helped me the most is 1) keeping a positive mindset, 2) staying active, and 3) being flexible. The film industry is such a fun industry to pursue and be a part of but it is not easy. For most people, you don’t graduate from school and apply for jobs like many other careers. You kind of have to be employed with a flexible job so you can answer last minute freelance calls. Keeping a positive mindset is really important because it is really easy to become discouraged early on. Not only does it take a long time to learn and get “good” at your craft but it also takes a long time for people to trust you and continue to bring you on jobs. It’s important to stay active in order to continue to grow and build relationships. Even if you spend an hour a day shooting or editing, over time you grow at a much faster rate. Finally, being flexible is super important because you never know where your career is going to go. You have to be willing to make quick decisions in the early stages. There’s a lot of really talented people in film and it takes time to carve your own path so staying positive and continuing to put yourself in the right positions is really key.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
I think the biggest boosts to my development has been the people around me. I used to spend a lot of time at home watching youtube and playing with my equipment alone. I learned a lot doing this but I don’t think it was the most efficient way to learn. I’ve learned the most important things from other people on set. Plus, often times what you learn from others is not the most technical or “correct” way to do things, but it’s the way people do it anyways. For some reason things always seem to click much better when it comes from someone in real time too. So ya, watching and learning from other is super helpful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/user106076053
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholaskohnhorst/
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