Videographer & Storyteller
Spend a summer in Alaska filming real life at three family-run outdoor businesses, and help us build a channel people can't stop watching.
This is an ideal first job for a graduating senior or recent graduate in film, video production, journalism or digital media. Experienced videographers are just as welcome to apply.
Whatever your background, you'll leave with a portfolio that's hard to beat anywhere: giant halibut coming over the rail, glaciers, backcountry hikes, brown bears up close and float plane flights over the mountains. Add a full season of published work and real audience numbers, and few portfolios will compete.
Three businesses on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Riverside
A riverfront lodge on the Kenai River
Kenai Sportfishing
Guided salmon and trout fishing on the Kenai
Homer Halibut Hunters
Deep-sea halibut charters out of Homer
Every day here is a story. Our four halibut boats head out of Homer before dawn. Our de Havilland Beaver flies guests to remote bear viewing. The Kenai's salmon runs are epic. Behind the scenes, there's always work to do: fixing motors, patching waders, servicing reels and getting gear ready for tomorrow. And every day, guests from all over the country catch the biggest fish of their lives.
Most of it never gets recorded. We want to change that.
Show people what it's really like
You'll be our full-time, on-staff videographer and storyteller. Your job is to show people what it's really like to run fishing and lodging businesses in Alaska, every day, all season.
Think Outdoor Boys meets Deadliest Catch, with the crew-and-guests rhythm of Below Deck.
Not a tourism ad. We don't want polished promo reels. We want honest, character-driven stories about real people doing hard, beautiful work in one of the most remarkable places on earth.
Two storylines, in this order
- The operation and the people who run it. This is the main story. Guides, captains, deckhands and lodge staff, plus everything it takes to keep three businesses running through an Alaska summer, told across the whole season.
- The guests' day. This is the second story. Each day brings new customers with their own arc: the early start, the nerves, the fight, and the fish of a lifetime, or the one that got away.
Real stories, built to last
Real beats generated
The internet is filling up with AI-made content. A true, first-person look at life on the Kenai is something nobody can fake.
Alaska sells itself
It's consistently a top dream trip for people all over the world. We just need to show it honestly and often.
It lasts
A great fishing day or a lodge-life story is still worth watching five years from now. We're building a library, not chasing trends.
What success looks like by the end of the season
- A steady weekly rhythm of long-form YouTube episodes
- Daily short-form clips across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Facebook
- Measurable subscriber and audience growth, with the goal of monetizing the channel in season
- A searchable archive of footage we can use for years
- Guests who tell us they booked because of something they watched
Shoot it, shape it, ship it
Film every day
Ride on guide boats, go out on halibut charters, follow lodge staff, and capture the early mornings, the big catches, the breakdowns and the quiet moments.
Find the stories
Follow the crew's season-long story first: a rookie guide's first summer, a storm day, the season opener and the last boat out. Then find the guest story in each day's trips.
Edit and publish
Turn footage into weekly YouTube episodes and daily short-form clips, with titles, thumbnails and captions that get people to click.
Own the channel
Plan the content calendar, post on schedule, reply to comments, and learn from analytics what works and what doesn't.
Be on camera when it helps
Some narration or presence on screen is welcome, but the business and its people are the stars.
Support marketing
Pull photos and clips for our websites, ads, email and social pages.
Keep the archive organized
Back up, label and catalog all footage so it can be found and reused for years.
Respect the work and the guests
Get permission before featuring guests, stay out of the way when a fish is on, and follow every safety rule on the water.
A daily sprint wrapped in a summer-long marathon
Boats leave early, the story doesn't stop until the last guest is off the water, and the day's footage still needs to be edited and posted. With close to 20 hours of daylight in June, peak-season days run long, and you need the stamina to keep it up from opening day to the last boat out.
You won't be roughing it. Soldotna has everything you need close by: grocery stores, sporting goods stores, Home Depot and Walmart.
A storyteller first, a camera operator second
Maybe you're finishing school, maybe you've been shooting for years. Either way, you already know your gear. You'd rather capture something true than something perfect. You love the outdoors and don't mind being cold, wet, tired and covered in fish slime if it gets the shot.
Must-haves
- A portfolio or reel that shows you can tell a story, not just make pretty footage. Class projects and personal work count.
- Hands-on proficiency with the tools listed below
- Experience making short-form video and an understanding of how each platform works
- Comfortable filming in rain, wind, cold and on moving boats
- Self-directed: you can plan, shoot, edit and publish without being told what to do each day
- Easy to be around: guests and guides should forget the camera is there
- Able to commit to the full 2027 season, starting and ending in Soldotna
Nice-to-haves
- A YouTube channel or social account you've grown yourself
- Drone experience
- Fishing or boating experience
- Underwater or action-camera experience
- Photography skills
- Comfortable on camera or doing voiceover
Tools you should already know
| Cameras | Mirrorless or cinema bodies (Sony, Canon, Panasonic or Blackmagic), full manual exposure, frame rates, log profiles |
|---|---|
| Stabilization | Gimbals, plus steady handheld work from a moving boat |
| Audio | Wireless lavs and shotgun mics, and clean sound in wind and next to outboard motors |
| Action cameras | GoPro or DJI, including waterproof and boat mounts |
| Editing | Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro, including color correction and sound mixing |
| Graphics & photo | Basic motion titles (After Effects or similar), and Lightroom and Photoshop for stills and thumbnails |
| Publishing | YouTube Studio, Instagram, TikTok, captions and basic analytics |
| Media management | Offloading cards, keeping backups and organizing a large footage library |
Pay, perks and a portfolio few will ever have
Paid twice a month, plus an end-of-season bonus for completing the season and a growth bonus if the channel monetizes during the season.
Housing
Subsidized staff housing available
Meals
Included
Travel
Subsidized transportation available
Gear
Our kit includes a Sony a7S III, a DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 drone, camera cages, audio gear and mics, and more. You're welcome to bring your own gear too.
Access
A seat on guided fishing trips, halibut charters and everything in between, all season long
Creative freedom
Real ownership of the channel and the story it tells
Credit
Your name on the work, and a portfolio few videographers will ever have
A future here
Strong performers will be invited back for future seasons
Tell us the story you'd want to tell
Send the following to info@kenairiverside.com with the subject line 2027 Videographer – [Your Name]
- Links to your portfolio, reel or channel
- One piece of work you're proudest of, and why
- A short note (a few paragraphs, or a 2-minute video) telling us who you are and what story you'd want to tell about Alaska
- Your availability for the 2027 season
If you've ever watched an outdoor channel and thought "I could do that, and better," this is your summer.