Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Kojder
Hi Jacob, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Illinois which since then I have moved to Germany, Sweden, South Carolina, and I am now living in both Georgia and Indiana. The experience of living internationally helped me see the world in a very new light. I saw several stories across the world unfold and it was incredibly interesting to have an outside view of The United States. This definitely formed the root of my creativity to make stories that transcend the traditional American film or show to embrace people in someone else’s culture. I also wrote and hosted over seventy Dungeons and Dragons sessions which sparked my love for fantasy and complex worlds. Currently, I am studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design and I am set to graduate at the end of spring with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in film and television production. In my three years of college, I have studied abroad in Lacoste, France, wrote for the SCAD sitcom “Lodged”, produced several student capstone projects, and wrote a feature film.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think the most complicated part of my journey has been to know when to stop. You can very easily dive too deep into your work and take on more projects that can create an unhealthy work-to-life balance. The work is a ton of fun and I’m super fortunate to get the chance to work on all of my projects, but I am more grateful for my friends and family that have provided me with all of these experiences I have in life. You are always going to make enemies in this field, not everyone is going to get along, so I have had to learn not to try to force friendships and to focus on the people that actually care about me and want to see me succeed as much as I want to see them succeed.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
A lot of people generally get confused as to what a film producer does. A film set is a lot like a road. All the cars along the road are the people that work on it: the director, director of photography, production design, actors, costumes, sound team, etc. The producers are like the traffic police and the construction workers, they monitor who is on the road, how far the road travels to, fix any bumps or potholes, getting the funding to make the road, etc. Producers make the movie happen and offer creative input to the director and the other departments. I love producing because I really enjoy overseeing the progress of so many talented creatives working hard in their respective fields to make one exciting project. I primarily focus on producing horror and comedy short films that are currently circling through film festivals at the moment. I try to pick projects that go against the typical dramatic film produced here at the school. I love working with production designers who have made all things from aliens to monsters to Power Rangers to robots.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Just create, even if you don’t have the equipment or all your ideas together, just make something. It doesn’t have to be great, not even good or okay or presentable. Even if you show no one else but yourself, it is still something you will learn from and from that experience you make something else or an even better version of what you have already done. You repeat that process until you have something you can say you’re proud of. And always trust your teams. They are hard workers as well. Don’t discipline them, encourage them. They want stuff on their resume that they are proud of as well.
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