By Lorrie DeFrank
If Chris Kennelly would make a documentary of his praiseworthy 21-year career in video production, JAX Chamber would likely get top credit. Years before the birth of JAX Bridges, Kennelly had been picking Dr. Carlton Robinson’s brain and taking advantage of the Chamber’s programs for entrepreneurs.
When Robinson, the Chamber’s chief innovation officer, started the multi-week entrepreneurial growth program in fall 2014, he invited Kennelly to join Cohort 1. “I’m so proud to have been a part of Dr. Robinson’s programs and I do whatever he says. It’s so cool to see all the success that JAX Bridges has had,” Kennelly said. “Although I was in the first cohort, I feel like I am part of the family and am still in JAX Bridges.”
In 2014, Kennelly was CEO of Kennetic Productions, a full-service video production company he founded in his parents’ spare bedroom right out of college in 2003. He sold his business in 2012 but stayed on to run it and, greatly influenced by JAX Chamber connections and programs, bought it back in 2016. He continues to serve as CEO and executive producer.
That’s quite a journey for the kid who learned at his orientation at the University of Florida that he had to declare a major right then and there. Having no clue, he leafed through the thick catalog of study programs, lingering in the Ts. “I like TV,” he thought, spotting TV Production. Decision made, it was showtime. Kennelly became a pro, eventually starting and growing a business that began mainly with corporate and wedding videography and expanded to include commercial, animation, sports, outdoor, medical and financial productions for some of the largest companies in Northeast Florida.
Breaks came early.
Too inexperienced to know that normally only upperclassmen got to volunteer at the student-run TV station for extra credit, he showed up as a freshman and was accepted. The first time the red light signaled that he was on the air, he was hooked on the industry.
His real estate broker dad connected him with a client who worked with the Ocean Spray juice company. “I brought my portable DVD player, showed him a college demo, and he gave me a shot,” said Kennelly, who produced a training video for Ocean Spray at age 22.
But business wasn’t always a breeze.
“From early successes, I kind of thought everything was going to be easy. But no, no!” he admitted.
Feeling somewhat disconnected after the pandemic, he reached out to Robinson who arranged for him to speak to a JAX Bridges cohort about struggles facing small business owners. “You can be screaming successful but there are always going to be challenges, and we as entrepreneurs aren’t speaking to each other enough about what we are going through,” Kennelly said. “We are doing the best work we’ve ever done, are having the deepest relationships with clients, and are about to do a documentary on the Hotel Ponce de Leon at Flagler College, yet at one point I had to personally fund payroll. It’s up and down, and you ride those waves.”
A bronze-level member of JAX Chamber, having joined in 2004 and served on its South Council, Kennelly said those personal connections built his customer base, which consists of many of the Chamber’s larger members. Kennetic’s customers include CSX, Wounded Warrior Project, EverBank and UF Health.
“The lion’s share of our work is telling a story of an organization by interviewing the key players and showing their work in progress,” he said. “We can produce a campaign of micro-documentaries or a single, full length, more intricate and in-depth story for an organization.”
Kennetic has four employees and hires as many as 50 freelance contractors a year, many professionals such as cinematographers, audio engineers, lighting technicians and makeup artists.
His commendable customer service is a direct result of JAX Bridges, he said.
“The two biggest things I took away from JAX Bridges are the customer journey and business model canvas,” Kennelly said. “Going through the process of creating a business model canvas was really strong for us, and being able to adapt to change as an organization is one of our strengths. That focus on customer service—making yourself easy to work with and putting yourself in your customers’ shoes—is another takeaway from JAX Bridges.”
To become more plugged into Jacksonville’s film community, Kennelly has been serving on the advisory board of the Mayor’s Commission on TV, Film and Commercial Production since early 2023.
“There’s always an opportunity to learn something new. I think Dr. Robinson helped me become an entrepreneur who is a lifelong learner and that is crucial for me,” Kennelly said. “It’s no accident that we are working with the largest enterprise organizations in the area.”
To contact Chris Kennelly:
CEO & Executive Producer
Kennetic Productions, Inc.
315 E. Bay St., #302
Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 464-0041
ckennelly@KenneticProductions.com
KenneticProductions.com