Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Mundinger.
Jeff, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My filmmaking career began early on in life. I grew up in the small college town of Warrensburg, Missouri and there was also the Whiteman Air Force Base nearby which is what brought my family to this area. I was fortunate enough to have a neighborhood friend across the street whose dad owned an RCA VHS Camcorder. We created our first “movies” with that monstrosity of a camera, all editing was done within the camera at the time for we didn’t know any other way.
We started with action figures and eventually evolved to make our own war and action movies with our fellow neighborhood kids. We just had so much fun in the making of these “movies” I just wanted to do it forever. So I basically took that and ran with it all through middle school and high school, attending every video production-related course that I could find. Upon graduating high school I decided to make my first legitimate short film I titled, “Summer: When the Days Were Long.” I filmed it in the summer of 2009 on a Mini DV camcorder that I had customized to fit with older SLR photography lenses.
I held a screening free of charge and open to the public upon the completion of the film at our local community center building. AND THE SCREENING WAS A BUST. I foolishly made the last-minute decision to ask a friend to use their PA System for the audio and it sounded HORRIBLE. I was embarrassed. Though I didn’t let it deter me from my filmmaking passion. Eventually, I did some schooling and moved here to Kansas City where I wanted to start my professional filmmaking career. It took me a while to gather my bearings but eventually, I was able to start up Rondevu Pictures in 2016 with my dear friend, Amy Van Drunen.
Since then, I’ve been working in video production throughout the Kansas City area. It’s been a joy learning and creating with the local creative community. Even more recently, I’ve been working with Strange Music, the independent record label from legendary rapper, Tech N9ne. Now currently, I’m working on perfecting my craft of cinematography and filmmaking while spearheading my next chapter in life, whatever that may be.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I like to think that any journey in an independent creative profession is never smooth.
Hell is there even a road?! Much like I said before, my first ever short film screening was BAD. But instead of letting that affect me in a negative way, I took that experience to learn and grow from it. As you should ALL experience as a creative. On my journey to get to where I am today I went through hardships. There were times my finances were detrimentally low, where finding enough to make rent was a challenge.
Some relationships, both romantic and platonic, suffered at times. Some people want you to succeed but they don’t want you to suffer, it took me a while to recognize that and that not everyone is out to get you. Throughout the creative career, there will always eventually be obstacles. I like to think of those moments as “leveling up” because it always gets harder once you do.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a cinematographer and (at times) a freelance producer, primarily with short films. Recently I’ve been working on my cinematography more since I’ve been with Strange Music. I specialize in music video and narrative storytelling with my cinematography work.
Though within ALL my work I aim to shed a bit of light on the uncertainty of what it means to be human and to bring cultures together. That’s what I want to accomplish most with my work in film/video, to bring people together. I think what sets me apart from others is my passion and care for people.
The people that are looking at the screen, on the screen, and the crew behind the scenes. I take pride in making sure that my crew and everyone involved with any project are taken care of. After all, without them, the project (hell the medium even) wouldn’t be possible.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up in a small Missouri town as a first-generation immigrant, I was SHY. Timid!
Like I wouldn’t want to talk to anyone besides my close friends. I was that little boy hiding behind my mother’s legs whenever we ran into someone she knew in public. I was that way for about 20 years I would say. My interest was that of any other boy growing up around that time of the late 90s early 2000s. Good TV Shows, movies, video games, the latest toy, whatever that was.
I very much grew up in a space where media was CHOSEN for us and fed to us, the internet wasn’t as available at the time growing up. Though I was able to realize at such a young age that these images, this media, has a way to bring people together. Film and movies have a way to bring people together whether that’s in or out of the theater or home.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.jeffreymundinger.com
- Instagram: @jeffmundingerdp
- Facebook: Facebook.com/jeffrey.mundinger.3
- Youtube: http://vimeo.com/rondevupictures
- Other: https://www.rondevu.pictures/
Image Credits
Daniel Christopher Blackwell, B&W Film Photo Heirloom Photo Co., and Purple Portrait
