Kevin Kushner, Freelance Producer
💭 Thoughts on finding balance, Bang & Olufsen headphones, and looking for inspiration through people & the stories they tell.
Kevin Kushner is a NYC-based Freelance Producer with tons of experience creating video and still content. He generally focuses on client facing content in fashion, food, travel & lifestyle on advertisements as well as branded content. Kevin loves working with clients to help make their visions come true, and is a bit of a jack of all trades – also working on a ton of music videos and documentaries. As a born & raised New Yorker and life-long surfer he is a true walking dichotomy; he loves the energy of NYC but also needs time to unplug at the beach to find the balance he’s always searching for.
🎯 Current focus
I am currently working on a documentary project and a really fun music video project. Both are really exciting for me because they are collaborations with close friends and long time colleagues.
I am really looking forward to creating this music video with one of my favorite Directors/Directors of Photography and all around amazing person Jonah Schwartz, he has this incredible way of creating worlds and is a quiet legend with a background of working with some of the most prolific artists in hip-hop history and present.
🎙️ Kill Tony
Lately I have been really into comedy shows online; shows like Kill Tony, and comedians like Sam Morill. It's a nice escape from a busy life; I have recently moved in with my partner and her 10 year old daughter. It's a really full life without including the various creative projects I am focused on. :)
I'd say my favorite show right now is Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Amazon. Its a really escapist action dram-edy; its a really cool show because the writing feels really honest; and the world they build around the main characters is really dynamic considering they are supposed to be assassins.
⚖️ Finding balance
I think my most important philosophy is always looking for balance. It is a difficult thing but I crave the balance of work and free time and family and exercise. I am super focused on making sure my diet allows for my energy to sustain all the things I have going on.
✔️ Figuring out new techniques for making an everlasting mark
I would say that someone I look up to is Jenna-Rose Josepher. She is an incredible Art Director, human [and even a past Thought Enthusiast]. We have been close friends since birth and have maintained a sustainable working relationship and friendship our whole adult lives. I look up to her because she manages to be a rock for her family while creating envelope-pushing content. She is always figuring out new techniques and technology to make the kind of everlasting mark she has made on culture.
🗣️ Podcasts: Pod Save the World and Broken Record with Rick Rubin
I have gotten to a point of really relying on podcasts for my media consumption. I really enjoy keeping up with international news via Pod Save the World – the perspective they have as people who have worked in the White House as well as the level of access they have for international sources is really incredible. I also enjoy Broken Record with Rick Rubin – this podcast is great to learn more about the motivations and processes of artists I enjoy; it's straight up inspiring and motivating. Podcasts allow me to enjoy narratives, learn about news, and absorb artist interviews without having to dedicate as much physical attention to them.
🧚 Looking for inspiration through people & the stories they tell
I feel like the space of advertising has gotten a bit over-saturated with people trying to build brands without having tangible and personally interesting stories. It just feels so exhausting opening up social media and being bombarded by brands with no story. In general, I look for inspiration through people and the interesting stories they tell–– and when I am working with brands, I focus on helping tell the brand’s story through an individual’s story and where the two align. To me that's the content that people will get excited and feel connected to.
Recently; I noted the Nike campaign around the release of the Devin Booker 1's and I really appreciated how they told his story and how he got to this point of his basketball career. The content surrounding the release was really interesting and the way they incorporated his history in the design of the shoe was really impeccable and detail oriented.
🎧 Really good headphones: Bang & Olufsen
I find really good headphones to be super important; whether it be for music or podcasts or sometimes just finding silent space in the day to day. Right now I have a pair of Bang and Olufsen: Beoplay HX over ear headphones and they have spectacular quality and really powerful noise canceling abilities.
Follow Kevin on Linkedin & Instagram and check out his website here.
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