Inner Space Center’s Marine Research Specialist and Media Production Technician Jessica Kaelblein is no stranger to the camera. As a camerawoman, editor, technical director, interviewer, and field producer, she runs live YouTube shows where scientists talk about their work with the public. This week I chatted with Jess about making the switch from fashion to wildlife film, running live broadcasts with scientists, and advice for young filmmakers.

From pursuing a career in the fashion industry to switching to the sciences and filmmaking, it’s clear you’ve spent a lot of time reflecting. What drove you to make the change?

The decision to switch happened well before I picked up a camera, and slowly evolved over time. I grew up in an outdoorsy family and love the adventure of outdoor sports and interacting with animals of all kinds. I also enjoy art, from drawing and painting to building costumes for Halloween and other events. After graduating high school I thought I wanted to learn fashion design and maybe make costumes for movies. I wanted to study art while also enjoying the outdoors so I picked the University of Rhode Island for its innumerable clubs and extracurricular activities that I could enjoy while I worked on my degree. It was there that I took a General Education class at the on-campus experiential farm and decided to choose pre-vet as my track. I just loved getting dirty and working with the animals – it was very rewarding. Later during freshman year, I found a J-term (classes held during winter break) course to Belize to learn documentary filmmaking and I still loved the arts and missed that half of me. I absolutely loved the week in Belize filming the Mayan temples and learning about their culture. The idea that I could combine travel and the outdoors with art seemed to finally put all the pieces of my puzzle together. The program convinced me to start a minor in Film Media. Pre-vet evolved into Wildlife Conservation Biology and then my future really started to take shape.

“Everyone makes mistakes and that while your mistakes do not reflect you as a professional, the way you respond to them does.”

Jessica Kaelblein
Marine Research Specialist and Media Production Technician

I would approach professors after class and ask them if they knew how I could get experience in wildlife filmmaking. One professor sent me the information for a video we viewed in class and the woman who made it. Her name was Ayla Fox. She was eager to share what she knew and was happy to bring me along on shoots with her. I was eager for the real-life experience and she was incredibly helpful. I like to consider her a friend. I had many more experiences like this with professors that only helped to fuel my passion to pursue environmental filmmaking.

At the end of college, I started volunteering with the Inner Space Center before becoming an intern and working my way to where I am now. It was while I was an intern that I found Nautilus Live. As their partner organization, my boss encouraged me to apply to their internship program. Ed McNichol was my mentor on the cruise and an incredible one at that. He was an excellent teacher and friend, and taught me so much about troubleshooting, process, and workplace behavior. His greatest advice to me was to “lift others as you climb.” I owe a lot of my success to people doing just that, and so I am doing my best to follow suit. He also introduced me to Sara Matasick who became pushed me further into the wildlife filmmaking world and I couldn’t be more grateful. Ultimately, all of these experiences have solidified in me a desire to be in the field all the time to capture beautiful stories.

It sounds like you’ve had a lot of great mentors along the way. What advice have you received that has stuck with you over the years, and what would you like to pass on to wildlife filmmakers just getting their feet wet?

I have been lucky enough to receive lots of good advice throughout my career so it’s tough to pick just one piece of advice. I think the one I come back to often is that everyone makes mistakes and that while your mistakes do not reflect you as a professional, the way you respond to them does. Own your mistakes honestly and heartily, then prove that you are still the great camerawoman you are through excellent work. I’ve found that I’ve made many mistakes that felt like the end-of-the-world at the time, but honesty, humility, and hard work have gotten me through them.

Regarding my greatest advice to future filmmakers, I would say that it is important to remember that it is all on you to get the job done and to learn how to do it. The resources are there, but they may not be easy to find. I spent a lot of time in college having people tell me “no” or “that’s not how it works/how it’s done.” I confidently explained that, regardless of their view, that is how I was going to do it, and eventually I was pointed to the resources that would help me. Sometimes the resources come easy, but it does take work. Don’t let anyone tell you no, and don’t sell yourself short. Always fill out that application or join that project, even if you think you are not qualified enough. Never take an opportunity out of your own hands by not applying at all. You can do this and your dreams can come true, but you have to keep going. There’s a reason my nickname at work is ‘Executioner.’ Now I don’t mean this as the person in the black hood who beheads people, although that has comically become the image associated with me (think of the one from Shrek, I always do). But we’ve always said it at work in relation to the fact that I get it done. I execute. Give me a task, give me parameters and a goal to meet and it will be done. I can’t say I’m the best at time management, but given that, this is one of my best skills when it comes to crunch time, as so many projects often do. My team knows they can count on me in an emergency hand-off or in general project planning.

You certainly have been busy getting things done! What has been your proudest project thus far?

Definitely the Northwest Passage Project. It was an 18-day expedition that explored the arctic to better understand climate change. We did dozens of live broadcasts from the ship that I was responsible for as the camerawoman, editor, and field producer, in conjunction with the shore side team. Some of the media I recorded was used in the documentary Frozen Obsession. By the final broadcast, I sobbed like a baby because the adventure was so beautiful, humbling, exciting, and overall amazing.

Most recently, since the pandemic, we at the Inner Space Center have had to come up with new ways to support our clients like the University of Rhode Island, NOAA Ocean Exploration, and the Ocean Exploration Trust. My team figured out how to use a web-based platform called Streamyard to do live YouTube shows (Ocean Classroom Live!, NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute Science Seminars). I have found these to be cool for me as a professional because it has taught me new skills and new ways to solve problems. I think they are important broadcasts because they help teach scientists to speak to broader audiences outside the scientific community and make the knowledge they have to share much more accessible. I also really enjoy learning from our guests just as much as the audience does as the interviews are usually conducted in a light-hearted, conversational, manner.

What’s next for you?

Funny enough, I want to master the basics. The thing is, I don’t think you ever can. Everyone uses them differently to achieve their specific vision, and there is no such thing as being perfect, only better. And I always want to be better! That said, I’m really interested in learning sky timelapses at the moment!

In between shoots I look forward to putting the gear away and interacting with the world. A good farmers market with lots of dogs to pet or a day out rock climbing is my favorite way to unwind and remember that I can enjoy the world without a lens in front of me.