The most expensive thing in my house isn't even a camera...

...it's a piece of paper.

Nice paper, but paper nonetheless.

Now, it's gathering dust in my closet but, just because I didn't become a music teacher doesn't mean that I didn't learn anything during my time at Henderson State University.

So, if you wanna learn how my music education degree prepared me to work as a videographer in Little Rock, Arkansas, you’re in the right place! Keep reading.

Key Takeaways

• Editing is visual rhythm: Sometimes, finding rhythm in video means leaving the silence. It is an important part of the rhythm.

• Directing is just conducting: Getting the best out of a camera-shy subject takes the same set of skills as helping a nervous soloist.

• Mistakes are new motifs: A wrong note or weird light leak can become your signature style, if you lean into it.

Rhythm is Everything

When you break music down, it really is just two things: rhythm and pitch.

Now, I’m no stranger to pitches. I practically beg at least one person a week to hire me to create engaging content for their business.

(see what I did there? Homophones are fun)

But, rhythm is a little bit more difficult. It is something that can be taught, it also needs to be felt. The most successful music students are the ones that can internalize that pulse and staring at an editing timeline is the exact same way.

In the era of social media, editors are constantly cutting out more and more silences. Every half a millisecond is sacrificed to the all-important algorithm gods for better watch time. In my opinion, this ruins the “art” of the edit. The video never gets a chance to breathe.

Finding this rhythm in the video means things like cutting to a beat, scoring the scene properly, or even finding the natural cadence in dialogue. Because, just like in music, the silence isn’t just empty space — it’s part of the rhythm.

Directing a Set is Like Conducting an Ensemble

A music teacher spends years learning how to get a room full of individuals to perform in perfect harmony. On a video shoot, you’re doing the exact same thing, just with a different deliverable in mind.

Directing a camera shy subject on location is just like coaching a seventh grade soloist. They’re nervous, react poorly to feedback, and are prone to squeaking. Your job isn’t to drag them across the finish line. Your job is to encourage and support them so that they can give their absolute best performance.

And, while your soloist is performing, it’s also your duty to make sure all the other pieces of the production are working together properly. Whether it’s chatty production assistants, middle school trombonists, or the dreaded on-set executive producer, the job of the director is to keep the energy focused and make sure everyone works together towards the shared goal.

It’s also your job to make sure no one is chewing gum.

Band directors hate gum.

Turning Mistakes into a Signature Style

Jazz legend and coolest cat to ever live, Miles Davis, has a quote that was often repeated during my time in music school

“Once is a mistake, twice is an idea, three times is a style”

Granted, most of the time I heard this from poorly performing students making excuses for why they played their third Bb in a tune that didn’t have it, but there is a lot of truth to this.

In jazz, improvisation is everything. If you play a wrong note, repeating it with conviction turns it into a deliberate motif. The same can be said for video production. An accidental light leak, unexpected camera shake, or weird audio glitch might feel like a ruined take, but it can also be the jumping off point for something entirely new and unique.

Studying music taught me how to adapt on the fly and look for the hidden potential in errors. When you take those accidents and lean into them, it stops being a mistake and becomes your creative signature.

The Wrap Up

At the end of the day, my degree might be gathering dust in the top of my closet, but the lessons I learned in those practice rooms (and the tears I cried) are the backbone of my business today.

So, if you’re looking for video production or video editing in Little Rock, Arkansas, go ahead and book a discovery call! And, if you do it accidentally, go ahead and book two more. Working with me might just be your signature style.