The Best Part of Being a Videographer

Mark Twain said, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Career and life coaches have been touting this advice for years, and Jay Conner, who is the owner and Executive Producer of Jaybird Media LLC, is living proof of the validity of these wise words.

“I love what I do,” Conner said. “Our world has so many real, everyday people who are doing truly amazing and heroic deeds that are changing our society for the better, and, as a videographer, I’m privileged to meet them and get to know them. I’m paid to hang out with them and tell their story. How cool is that?”

Sounds pretty cool to us. When I spoke to Jay Conner about his life and career choice, his passion for his job and his business resonated in his every word. This left me searching for the ultimate answer: What is the best part of being a videographer?

Well, that was like asking a baker whether they preferred chocolate cupcakes to chocolate cake.

“The short answer,” Conner said, “is that I love people and being around them.”

According to Conner, being a professional videographer entails wearing many different hats, which is half the fun.

Imagine, if you will, that one of Jay Conner’s clients is a doctor. In order for him to completely and authentically capture this physician’s unique story in a realistic video, he needs to understand what it is like to be that particular doctor by learning what they do, who they are and how and why they think and feel the way they do. For Conner, that means asking lots of precise questions until he feels like he is standing in this doctor’s actual shoes.

“Another of work’s best moments for me,” Conner said, “is bringing my client’s story to life. After many insightful hours of working with a client and interacting with them, I love being able to bring all the elements of their video together.”

Conner said it is hard to explain the level of enthusiasm involved in breathing life into a client’s message. However, a client’s pleasure in viewing the final product far outweighs any other excitement bar none.

“I really do enjoy the entire process,” Conner said. “From a videography standpoint, I’m actually capturing it. Then, as a producer, I have to ensure I have all the necessary elements like the shot list. And while I’m shooting, I’m constantly thinking like an editor to make certain I have all the essential pieces.”

“Since I’m the one who’s doing the editing,” Conner continued, “everything is orchestrated the way it needs to be from start to finish. I’ve absorbed and captured the client’s message. Therefore, when I go to edit it, the video comes together naturally and seamlessly. I know what the clients knows, and I deliver without missing a beat.”