The world of video production is so incredibly different from what I got into nearly forty years ago that it’s hard to find any historical references that are still relevant. A major one is story-telling. Like “brand management” and other buzzwords, “story-telling” is the current imperative of not only journalism but Hollywood, YouTube, PR, and every segment of the visual creation industry. It’s because of my experience telling stories visually- not my newly-cultivated career as a videographer- that’s brought me the happiness and success I enjoy now. At this Thanksgiving season, it is this I’m most thankful for. That and a lot of other things but this post is about video.
Beth Marchant of Studio Daily put together a list of things all video makers should be thankful for this season. They’re all sort of utility-based though: larger sensors in smaller cameras, mobile digital labs, and stuff involving- stuff. But what she’s left out are the compelling reasons so many people are still in or still entering the visual arts.
Story-telling is probably big among them. But there’s also artistic expression, playing with expensive, cool toys, meeting exciting people, and going to exotic locations (like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Nogales, Arizona to which I’ve gone in the past month among other places to shoot). They’re not Paradise to me but they are to my customers. That’s what matters most. And I thank them for the opportunity to make them happy.
