Olivia Kinoshita adjusted the focus on her camera, eyes locked on the viewfinder as it zoomed in on her protagonist’s face. Slowly, the shot pulled back revealing the truth — the audience wasn’t seeing him, but rather his reflection in the mirror. The boy showed the world a false image while concealing the truth of who he is.
During her sophomore year of college, Kinoshita filmed the first project in which she had full creative control, a story about a boy grappling with his sexuality and self-image. This was a scene she obsessed over, tweaking the lighting and adjusting the fog to create a hazy, dream-like atmosphere.
Kinoshita, who graduated from SHS in 2022 and now attends Indiana University in Bloomington, said that for her, film isn’t just a career path, but a way of seeing and impacting the world. From behind the camera, she has the power to shape narratives, capture emotions, and bring untold stories to life.
Kinoshita’s interest in film stems from her middle school years, where her sister, Class of 17’ alumna Kelsey Kinoshita had an extremely positive experience in the school’s Media Arts Program, prompting Kinoshita to take Redwood Middle School’s media class twice — in both 7th and 8th grade. There she discovered how passionate she was for the art and continued to immerse herself in media by joining MAP when she got to high school.
“When I joined MAP, I already knew film was the thing for me, but I still learned about my specific interests,” Kinoshita said. “We worked on many different projects including documentaries, narrative films and some video essays which allowed me to dip my toes in a little bit of everything. The program did a great job of exposing me to a wide range of projects which helped guide me in the right direction.”
Beyond MAP, Kinoshita was actively involved in a variety of film-related activities around the school. She was a part of SHSTV for one semester in her freshman year and later served as the ASB co-tech commissioner, where she filmed and edited numerous videos for the Spirit Commission.
Courtesy of Olivia Kinoshita
The school’s 2021 winter lip dub — a music video that combines lip syncing and choreography with audio dubbing — which Kinoshita filmed.
She also created many sports highlight reels for the school’s athletic teams including basketball, field hockey and lacrosse.
Courtesy of Olivia Kinoshita
A cinematic montage created by Kinoshita advertising the 2022 basketball senior night.
One of her most memorable projects came during the COVID-19 pandemic when the annual event Bombay in the Bay transitioned to an online format. Kinoshita, along with a few other videographers, took on the challenge of filming and editing the performances of two casts, which were then showcased on two separate days in a drive-in theater-style event in the school parking lot.
Outside of school, the pandemic also turned many other events online, creating more opportunities for Kinoshita to apply her film-making skills. She produced a 2-hour long video for the Saratoga-Los Gatos chapter of the National Charity League (NCL), compiling footage from various presenters into a cohesive presentation for their conference. Additionally, she volunteered at Hunger at Home — a Silicon Valley nonprofit that repurposes surplus food from local businesses in the Silicon Valley to families in need — and filmed outreach content to support their mission. A documentary she made for the nonprofit can be found on her youtube channel @Olivia Kinoshita.
Now a junior in college, Kinoshita is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Cinematic Arts. While she entered college knowing her passion lay in film, she initially declared a major in advertising due to concerns about job stability in the film industry.
“I wanted to stick to the media world (therefore choosing advertising), as I find it fascinating how media affects our perception and has a level of control over us,” Kinoshita said. “I was even considering minoring in psychology for this reason.”
However, after one semester, she realized advertising didn’t align with her values and she wasn’t making the impact she always hoped to. Feeling that the industry often relied on exploiting consumer psychology, she switched to being a film, television and digital production major.
“The advertising world felt a bit manipulative, and I didn’t like playing off people’s vulnerabilities to get them to spend money,” Kinoshita said. “I wanted to tell stories that made a positive impact and use the power of the media in the right way. With film, I have a lot more control over what the camera captures and what messages are translated to the audience.”
In her first semester of sophomore year, she worked in a film set for the first time at IU, solidifying her passion and prompting her to switch to the Cinematic Arts BFA program, which focuses on film-making compared to the more general education encompassed in a film, television and digital production major.
Since then, she has worked on a variety of projects — exploring various themes and styles — but she favors narrative films due to her love for storytelling. Working both individually and in teams of up to 50 people, Kinoshita has adapted to the collaborative and flexible nature of filmmaking, though she acknowledges that teamwork often comes with challenges.
“MAP didn’t teach us a lot of the film techniques, but it did teach me how to be a leader, work in teams and problem solve,” Kinoshita said. “Even in college, you need to get used to people ghosting you on group projects, so being able to push through anyhow is an important skill. You would think it goes away after high school but it really doesn’t.”
Although group work can be difficult and frustrating, Kinoshita recognizes the importance of collaboration, particularly when creating complex films that require the efforts of more than just one person.
“The gear has come to a point where I can’t physically move the lights and look at the camera at the same time,” she said. “To get to the level of work I want to be at, I need a team — particularly one I can trust.”
She also notices differences in preparation for college between many of her classmates.
“The SHS work ethic is something I’ve brought with me,” Kinoshita said. “Many of the students here don’t take college seriously and see it as their ‘party years,’ but it’s really an important time to make mistakes and learn to prepare for your career. I always feel like I need to be the best and make sure I stay the best.”
Much like her time at SHS, Kinoshita has sought — and continues to search for — opportunities beyond the classroom to build her skills and experience.
During her sophomore year of college, she interned with the electric guitar company Mosi Audio, filming content for their social media platforms. She also worked a paid job photographing student housing complexes and apartments around her campus for advertising purposes. Additionally, she has taken on freelance projects all throughout college, including filming music recitals or auditions for other students and taking graduation photos — many of which can be found on Kinoshita’s Instagram page (@theofficial_ok).
Currently, she is primarily focused on landing a summer internship, ideally one in Los Angeles. Since she hopes to build a career in the home to most film and television production, an internship there would give her a better idea of what life there would be like, though she’s fairly confident she will like it.
“There’s a saying in LA, ‘survive till 25,’ which means that it’s typically extremely tough to make it in the industry when you’re young, and only once you’re 25, you might start to see some return,” she said. “So, I expect to be working my [butt] off for the next 10 years or so.”
But, if she struggles to break into the industry, Kinoshita has a backup plan: attending graduate school at the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) or enrolling in a film program at the University of Southern California (USC) or the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
However, her primary goal remains to establish herself as a cinematographer or assistant camera operator on a major film set.
“My ideal goal is to work for a household name production company like Disney, Pixar or NBC,” Kinoshita said. “Eventually, I’d love to become a movie producer as it gives you the power to pick what stories are told. But for now, I’m keeping this dream under wraps because I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
