Kevin Keck is based in Knoxville, Tennessee in a little town in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains.
After making homemade short films throughout high school he moved to Orange, California where he attended Chapman University and graduated with a BFA in Film Production in 2018. He is the Communications Content Strategist for Clayton, a national home builder, where he specializes in creating branded documentary content.
For nearly a decade he has screened films at multiple national and international film festivals on four continents. Kevin’s films have been official selections at Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying festivals including the Nashville Film Festival and Aesthetica Short Film Festival as well as regional festivals like Film Fest Knox and the Lone Star Film Festival.
How many years have you been a judge?
This is my first year!
What excited you about judging for the Telly Awards?
I’m obsessed with stories! Being able to see the work of storytellers from such a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives is an incredible gift. So in my first year, I’m just excited to see things I haven’t seen before.
What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?
My first job was in content creation for a small rural university. It was just myself and two other people, so we were all wearing a lot of hats. While that could be very stressful, we treated it like one big lab experiment. It gave us the perfect audience that was a microcosm for what was and wasn’t working in those critical growth periods for social media and video content.
What project are you most proud to have worked on?
Last year, our team had an amazing opportunity to document a forest restoration project Clayton is collaborating on with the Arbor Day Foundation in New River Gorge, West Virginia. I think from a film/video standpoint we get a unique opportunity to see the effects of positive change up close and share that with an audience who wouldn’t get to see it otherwise.
What’s the most challenging part about your job and/or the industry?
The toughest part of this industry is constantly adapting to stay current, while also staying true to myself as a creative and ensuring our brand reflects the values we believe in. It’s easy to chase trends, but it really is a struggle to make work that serves your audience but also still feels like you.
What do you look for to determine excellence in video?
Story really transcends industry, budget, and resources. I think in a lot of ways it is an equalizer that allows people from all regions, backgrounds, and experience levels to find success. So, I’m looking for stories that move the audience to feel or make a change. Whether that decision is a purchase, social cause, or life change, the emotional impact of those narratives will definitely help me make those tough determinations.
What are your current roles and responsibilities and what do you love most about your job?
I am the Communications Content Strategist for Clayton, a national homebuilder. I help our team connect with great production companies and creatives to tell visual stories and guide those projects from development all the way through to delivery. Some of the best and most cherished stories revolve around our communal sense of home. So, what I love most about my job is capturing those stories that mean so much to the communities and people Clayton reaches as a brand.
What initiatives or projects are you working on now that excite you?
Lately, I’ve been pushing to amplify and platform more voices from the Appalachian region I call home. I’m biased, but growing up here I think we have some of best storytellers in the world. So, I’m excited to be planning events and creating resources to get more film projects in the region (branded and non-branded) out to wider audiences.
Do you have any specific practices you lean on to spark creativity?
I get my biggest sparks of creativity from conversations. It’s all about that coffee meeting where neither person is keeping score, a quick trip to a local museum with a friend, or a road trip with someone who will tell you their story. There’s something special in embracing the moments people label “unproductive” and actually getting to know more people than just the ones who could help forward your position in the industry.
What inspired you to pursue your career path?
The sheer power of storytelling continues to inspire me. Stories are how we keep track of our time and place in the world, they shape us (in good and bad ways), and they honor what it means to be a human in community with other humans. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
In your experience, what is a significant change you are seeing happen in the video, television, and/or film industry, and what insight can you share about how to navigate it?
A change that I’m excited for is the breaking down of barriers between film, social media, and branded content. My hope is that brands recognize that the best way to address their audience is in a way that entertains/informs them. There is too much content that we are tempted to skip.
I hope that brands invest in artists/creatives with a perspective and voice that reflects their audience. But more so, I hope that that content creator is able to use the resources earned from branded content to fund the content or films that really drive their passion. That’s a win-win in my opinion.
