#rileejacksonvisuals

Hey friends! Today’s blog post is about a lifelong friend of mine and her man, Jeffery!

Back track to about the age of 10, Tristen and I did gymnastics together. At the time, her mom was our coach and we just clicked! She’s like a sister of mine and so the fact that she wanted me to capture her and Jeffery’s goofy, yet true love, I couldn’t say no! 

We ended up deciding on shooting their one hour session at Maymont Park. If you’re a Richmond native, you know of Maymont Park. If you don’t, I highly recommend you check it out! The 100 acre park has walkways, Japanese Gardens, a waterfall, and of course, a beautiful mansion. This is easily my favorite place to shoot in Richmond. There are trees and older buildings, but also huge open fields and rolling hills. It’s literally the perfect spot. Although I’ve shot here numerous times, I’ve never done a shoot here during the fall season. Needless to say, I was SO excited when Tristen and Jeffery agreed to do their session at Maymont. It was 1000% the right location. The leaves had just changed colors, the weather was actually fall-like, and the sunlight was hitting just right. 

These two lovebirds are non-stop goofy, laughing, and just always having a good time so I wanted to capture their silliness! Thanks to a few inside jokes and the overall company, I was able to do just that. 

Want me to shoot you and your boo?! Let’s chat! Email [email protected] or contact me via social media linked below ♡

Website: rileejacksonvisuals.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjacksonvisuals/ 

July 20, 2014. That was the day I said my goodbyes to family and friends in Virginia and made the long 12 hour drive to Florida. At age 17, nearly a month after graduating high school, I moved to Orlando not knowing a soul. It was definitely the most terrifying thing that I’ve ever done, but hands down the best choice I’ve ever made. Just days after moving, my car broke down on the side of the road during a hot summer day due to the transmission. I remember I didn’t call my mom, not until I got home safely hours later. I took care of things on my own, took care of the insurance, and was able to get my car towed back to my apartment where I was finally able to shower after sitting in a hot car while wearing yoga pants and a tank top for six hours. 

September 29, 2017. This is the day I graduate from Full Sail University with a Bachelors degree in Digital Cinematography, just three weeks after turning 21. To say I am happy is an understatement. Words can’t describe how much I’ve grown as an artist and overall person within three years. Those three years consisted of changing my major, experiencing a true love, experiencing a true heartbreak, ending toxic friendships and starting new and healthier ones, becoming confident in my work and proving my self worth to myself. The people that I’ve met along the way have opened so many doors for me. If it weren’t for me moving to Orlando to be a campus student studying Show Production; if it weren’t for me changing my major ten months later; if it weren’t for my final project, I would have never met the guys of FELICITY. If it wasn’t for FELICITY, I wouldn’t have met other photographers and videographers or have gotten the awesome video internship at the place I now call my job. If it wasn’t for the internship, then I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now or getting the opportunities I’m getting. I wouldn’t be doing what I love. When I first moved to Orlando, I felt like it was right, but I also knew I was still very young. A lot of people doubted me including myself. There were many times where I considered moving back home, but I thought that I would be viewed as a failure if I did. However, as a lot of you know, I come from a very independent group of women and if it weren’t for them, I would not have been able to make this move when I did and I would not have been able to stay and experience all that I have. If it weren’t for them, I would have moved back home the many times I thought I failed. 

I’ve never been as proud of myself as I am now and I honestly haven’t felt this happy in a long time. Sure not everything is perfect. Things still need improvement, but that’s okay. I think that’s what a lot of us forget sometimes so we see it as a weakness. 

To those who have a passion that truly moves them, a passion that they can pour themselves in to for hours and hours to the point they lose track of time, make that passion a reality. Go for it. It’s possible as long as you want it and understand the amount of work it will take to get there. I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy, not one bit, but believe me it’s so worth it. At times it will seem like the world is totally against you and you’ll see signs telling you to give up. Don’t give into it. Stick to it and you will come out better than ever. When pursuing your passion, you meet people that have the same interests as you. You naturally surround yourself with positivity and good vibes. As a result, you motivate, help, and guide each other and end up being better at your craft than you could have ever imagined. There will always be obstacles in your path. There will always be a reason to not do something. Overcome those obstacles, think about the positive possible outcomes and allow the negativity to do nothing but motivate. Set small goals in order to reach your main goals. 

I don’t even know where to start and I mean that in the best way. A little over a year ago (June 2016) I was introduced to my final project for school. A final project that I had to build up from scratch over the course of a year. Paperwork (so. much. paperwork.), sleep deprivation, and staring at editing programs for 8-10 hours at a time was basically what my life consisted of this past year. Add in my internship, dealing with the worst of my depression, and working part-time and you got it.

From the very beginning I was passionate about this project. I was nervous and anxious, but mostly excited. Out of all the styles of videos we could do, I chose to do a Music Promotional. During the very first lecture on this project, FELICITY came straight to mind. Earlier that week I remember seeing them on Facebook and we interacted in some way so I checked them out and liked their band page. The same night of the lecture, I went home and contacted them via their band page. Within an hour if not less, they got back to me and were all on board. The following week I went over to the band house and gave them the very, very, rough outline of the project. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect either so I winged it as best I could. The guys were super nice and presented a totally “go with the flow, tell us what you need from us and what we need to do” kind of vibe (which honestly, I could not have gotten more lucky on that front).

After I met with them, the first thing I had to do was submit a proposal. The proposal consisted of the kind of video and its duration, the client, the locations, the idea of what the video would convey, and how the video would be distributed. I had to make that proposal and a back-up proposal because, well, shit happens. Both of these proposals had to be approved by my program’s Board of Directors.

Proposal 1 

Fast forward to August and I’m shooting my very first show. FELICITY was playing at The Social; a popular hole-in-the-wall venue in downtown Orlando. For the most part, everything went smoothly. Luckily my sister Holly was visiting me so she was able to be there for me for support in case I freaked out. It was my first show so I just went with the flow and tried my best. It was such a comfortable, happy feeling and a major adrenaline rush! After that night, everything was pretty steady and consistent when it came to working with them. I shot every show they played thereafter and I have never felt happier while doing anything else.

Jump to January of 2017. This was the month where I had to write out an Audio Video Script which again, had to be approved by the Board. Audio Visual scripts are a little different than screenplays. They require scene and shot numbers, dialogue, color coding (for objects, actions, props, locations, etc), and the music/voiceovers that will be used in the video and at what time in the video they would be present. Basically, this was the outline of my video.

Lined Script 

This month had the first actual “shooting day”. It was the interview portion of the video. I had to create lighting diagrams, storyboards (minimum of 30 with a minimum amount of certain shot types), and interview questions. Besides getting establishing shots, this was the only time I really had to plan word for word, visual for visual because it was something I had control over. I had no control of the shows, their lighting, their venue, etcetera. That is probably what I’ve learned that I love most. Although it can be a major pain during post-production, you’re forced to go with what you have and make best of what is presented to you while shooting a concert. Every show is different so it’s always exciting and a challenge which I really enjoy!

The next few months were pretty smooth. I kept shooting their shows and stock piling footage. June is when I was probably the most stressed I’ve ever been while creating this project. First off, this was the first of two classes I had that was strictly about my project (in other words, I learned everything I needed to and it was time to focus on the project only). This month was nothing but paperwork. When I say paperwork I mean more than 100 sheets of paper, easy. I had to do location scoutings/maps, location permits and releases, talent releases, crew member deals, liability contracts (for myself and the school), safety plans, copyright documents for any audio and footage that was being used, casting calls, call sheets, scene breakdowns, shot breakdowns, budgeting sheets, and shooting schedules. I know you probably got lost about halfway into that sentence. Yeah, it was incredibly difficult and stressful simply because of the amount of time I had to do it (3 weeks) and how many people I had to get in contact with. Oh and not to mention, if you didn’t have all necessary contracts, you had to retake the classes the following month. I’m pretty sure I cried about three times during that month out of frustration, worry, and sleep deprivation.

Shot Breakdown Sheet

During July things kept rolling, but the paperwork portion was finished! This was the production month of the project. So it consisted of more shooting and submitting 3-4 minute videos, aka dailies, of footage each week that was going to be used in the final edit. I was pretty nervous about this month mainly because this was the month right before the guy’s began their tour so I didn’t have any recent footage to submit. From what I submitted, my teacher for that month didn’t think I had enough content to move on. I passed that class by the skin of my teeth.

Now, August- my favorite month by far! This month was all about the post-production stage. After getting home from work, I spent an average of 8 hours a day in front of my computer editing in Adobe Premiere. Those 8 hours quickly rolled into the early mornings till about 3am. My sleep schedule was terrible and barely even there, really. For this Post-Production class, I had to submit an edit each week. The first week an assembly edit was due. An assembly edit is the roughest kind of edit one can do. No music, no fancy editing or transitions. You literally place the clips in the order you think you want them in and you’re done. It looks awful. I got a 100 on it. The second week the rough edit was due. This edit is where you added in the music, trimmed the clips to your liking, and added the transitions in. The third edit was the final edit. All color grading and correction needed to be done and the title/introduction of the video needed to be added. Any effects you wanted to add were required as well. Finally, the fine cut was due aka, mother of all edits. Up to this point, everything visually should have been fixed and polished. This edit was where you focused on the audio levels between all dialogue and music. You focused on the audio effects and overall balance of the mix which needed to average around -6dB. I got a 100 on the last edit, too!

Fine Cut Edit 

I received my grade and tears came to my eyes. This project has been my baby for the past year and the fact that it’s all finished is very bittersweet. With that being said, I still had to show the guys. A year of shooting and I never showed any of the guys of FELICITY any part of any edits. I wanted it to be a surprised and to be the best it could be! So I went over to the band house during rehearsal and we all watched it together. It was such a great moment. I was smiling the whole time with butterflies in my stomach, slightly nervous because I didn’t know what they would say. Thankfully, they loved it and wanted to watch it over again!

I’ve already had my sappy moment with the guys, but I will never be able to repay them or thank them enough. They did this to me as a favor. I had nothing to give them except a finished product. I was a stranger to them and they let me in with open arms. Without a doubt, they are five of the sweetest, respectful, funniest, easy-going, most talented guys I’ve ever met. I’ve gained a friendship with each of them and will forever cherish this project and them for helping me get started on the path of my career. This past year has been one of the best. I’ve made some great memories, experienced so much, met and worked with awesome people, learned a lot about myself as a videographer and photographer, and have become confident in my work. I’m doing exactly what I’ve wanted to do, exactly what I’m passionate about and it all started with them.

With that being said, they’ve decided they still want me around! I’m going to continue working with them for the rest of this tour and beyond (...or at least until they get tired of me). I am still working at my internship and plan to stay in Orlando once I graduate on September 29th. And if things keep going how they are, I’ll have a big announcement to make soon!

Again, this is such a bittersweet time in my life and I’ve loved every minute of it.  Thank you to my mom and sisters for the continuous support and for watching every edit of this project even when the slightest of changes were made. Thank you to my friends who have understood my passion for what I do and have stuck around even when I can’t see them as often as I’d like to. And thank you to Andrew, Damien, Mike, Tyler, and Cory for trusting me to portray your music and brand to your fans and for just being you. I am grateful for you all. 

-R