Having spent most of his youth on a small island in the Caribbean, Kenneth Stipe draws upon a vast array of experiences and imagery, contributing to his unique outlook of light and composition.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1979 where he began his understanding of cinematography by working in motion picture film laboratories. “One can’t imagine the importance of understanding the inner workings of the film lab and how beneficial that knowledge is to the development of my craft.” It wasn’t long before Ken knew his destiny was to be realized on the production end. In 1990, he was accepted to the American Film Institute. Ken spent one year there, and soon after, began working within various crew positions for a number of Directors of Photography, including Januz Kaminski, ASC. The experience of working as a crewmember was invaluable, however, short-lived, as his talents were better suited behind the camera.
In the years to follow, Ken would lens a multitude of independent and studio feature films. Notably, Sony Pictures’ titled “Motives 2, Retribution” (2007) is a sequel to “Motives” (2004) starring Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day, Kill Bill) and Shemar Moore (Criminal Minds). Sony decided to bring Ken back to shoot the sequel due to the fact that they desired the same cinematic style of the original. Some of Ken’s other notable work includes “Epoch”, a special effects science fiction picture starring Ryan O’Neal (“Love Story”, “Paper Moon”) and David Keith (“Officer and a Gentleman”, “Lords of Discipline”). “Epoch” aired as a high rated Sci Fi Channel Original Pictures Premier in 2000. “Cinema of Vengeance” (1994 / Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan), a documentary on the history of the Hong Kong martial arts action cinema continues to this day to be a hot seller.
In recent years, Ken has been working extensively in television documentary format for networks such as History Channel, Discovery Channel, Nat Geo, Spike TV and Discovery’s Planet Green. Some of the shows include “The Universe”, “Life After People”, “Biblical Mysteries Explained”, “Seven Deadly Sins” and “Stuff Happens with Bill Nye”. In addition, Ken has worked on popular shows such as “American Idol”, “The Academy Awards”, “TV Lands Most Unexpected Moments” and “AFI’s Top 100 Movies”.
Ken’s dedication to understanding the nuances of light. composition and the new film and HD technologies is unwavering and is ever evolving.