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Member LoginJan Kenny ACS
How life has changed for Jan Kenny ACS since she was brought to Australia from Dorset, England when she was just 18 months old. The family settled in Western Australia where Jan's father established himself as a beekeeper. They lived in a large caravan and travelled around the State following the blossom. Perhaps it was the beauty of the countryside, the early traveling and the tranquillity that has led Jan to experience the many and varied roles she has pursued.
When Jan was 8 her father sold the business and bought a house in Albany; the first house that Jan had lived in. It was from this town in WA that Jan formed her ideas for the future.
After matriculating from Albany High School she became a Queens Scout, presented a weekly radio program on 6VA, State Schoolgirl Golfing Champion 3 years in a row, a champion swimmer, a Surf Lifesaver, captain of the school hockey team and a State representative table tennis player.
Her love for motion picture production came from many nights at one of the three drive-in cinemas in Albany with her parents, watching the movies through the windscreen and many times with the windscreen wipers going during heavy rain.
Jan's first job was not in film or theatre but as a physical education instructor a tthe exclusive Kobeelya Girls College inthe wheat belt town of Katanning. The train trip from Albany to Katanning changed the course of Jan's life. In conversation with a young woman on the train Jan expressed her intense interest in film and theatre. Several weeks later a phone call from this young woman advised Jan that she had arranged an interview with the heads of the Commonwealth Film Unit (later Film Australia). The Producer-in Chief Stanley Hawes and Head of Production Denys Brown were to be in Perth next morning, so the midnight train from Katanning got Jan to the meeting on time.
This interview led Jan to another change of direction for while wandering around Perth waiting for the train back home she wandered into the Playhouse Theatre and watch a rehearsal on the stage. As she watched she had "a realisation that these people were professional actors and I had a burning desire to become a part of it. I sought out the Director, met the Stage Manager and was offered a job as Assistant Stage Manager."
She returned to Kobeelya College that night, submitted her resignation and wrote to Stanley Hawes advising him of her move to theatre in Perth. After 12 months at the theatre Jan felt it was time to move on and wrote to Stanley Hawes advising him she was leaving the Playhouse Theatre ready to come to Sydney and a letter arrived offering her a job as Production Assistant at the Commonwealth Film Unit. Jan says "this was the start of my film career.'
As an introduction to the Commonwealth Film Unit Jan spent 6 weeks working in each department including the laboratory. At first she was assigned to the Cinematography Department and Jan found her home. At the time Commonwealth Film Unit had a number of inhouse cinematographers including Don McAlpine, Dean Semmler, Tom Cowan, Mike Edols, Bruce Hillyard, John Hoskings, Keith Gower and several others. Jan spent much time assisting the cinematographers loading magazines, threading cameras and generally getting a thorough grounding in the basics of cinematography. Even with her great desire to become a camera assistant and with the great knowledge she had gathered she was not allowed to -"women don't do this sort of work'.
Over the next 3 years working as a production assistant on documentaries Jan became an unofficial camera assistant. On location Jan would keep the camera equipment in her motel room overnight and would familiarize herself with it, cleaning it and loading magazines for the next day. This dedication to learning was to provide a solid foundation for later years.
After 3 years of Film Australia Jan decided to explore opportunities overseas and travelled extensively through Europe, Scandinavia, Canada and the USA. During this time Jan worked as a freelance editor and stage manager at the famous Royal Theatre.
Back in Australia Jan pursued her interest in film but almost immediately was offered a position with Barry Humphreys on the stage production as its a title name "A Loade of Olde Stuffe". This was followed by a position with the Film Development Fund and the Script Development Fund. "This was a very valuable experience for me" says Jan. "Constantly reading scripts, checking budgets, and going over many production details proved very useful in later years for me". Ups and Downs followed Jan in her search for more knowledge which would eventually lead to her successful career in cinematography. Several years of varied working opportunities followed including stage director for Harry M Miller's Jesus Christ Superstar.
Then came the biggest step in her life. She decided to set herself up as a freelance camera assistant which was very brave move for a woman in male dominated industry. With her knowledge, determination and ability to do the work with the precision this craft needs she succeeded.
With 14 feature films behind her, more than 20 documentaries and 80 commercials as loader and then focus puller she became the first woman in Australia to work as part of a camera crew on feature film production.
As Director of Photography Jan Kenny has shot approximately 30 hours of film television drama, 2 feature films, and many documentaries and commercials. She has been 2nd DOP on 10 features, including the award winning We of the Never-Never and Goodbye Paradise.
In 1986 Jan was the first woman to gain ACS Accreditation: Certificate No.155. Since January 1997 has been Head of Cinematography at The Australian Film Television and Radio School. She has been included in the Australian Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame and at the National Awards for Cinematography in Surfers Paradise, May 2004 Jan was inducted into the Australian Cinematographers Society Hall of Fame.
This Flashback has been compiled from information supplied by Jan Kenny ACS to John Leake ACS
from Australian Cinematographer - Issue 22