Feature Story: Interview with Kevin Rist, Founder of Kevin Rist Productions, US

We excel in creating stunning wedding videos that are lasting keepsakes for our couples. We also work with other small businesses and non-profits to help communicate with their audiences and bring their stories to light. We are with our clients 100% of the way from pre-production all the way through post-production and publishing to help bring them the most value in video production.

Winning another Muse Award is truly an honor, and helps us affirm the quality of our product that we strive to deliver every time!

We entered two videos that won in each of their respective categories: one for Wedding Videography and the other for Tourism Videography.The couple we worked with had a truly at-home wedding day on the coastal waterways of North Carolina. The timeline and events of the day were very simple, but this gave us every opportunity to capture very pure moments between them and their family members the entire day. Real storytelling doesn’t come just from creating great-looking images, but by also taking the viewer into an experience that they can react to.The project we worked on with Visit Mesa was a very comprehensive production of their Adventure Explorer experience for tourists and visitors. I had never been to Arizona or knew much about it, but that entire week showed how incredible a landscape can be that you wouldn’t normally hear about as an outsider. Anyone with a sense of adventure who has seen that video has grown an interest in visiting Arizona, which was reason enough to have it considered for recognition.

Wedding Videography: Our biggest challenge, as with any outdoor wedding, was cooperative weather during the ceremony. It was overcast skies the entire first half of the day right until the ceremony started. There is a moment where the couple releases butterflies together that really pulls the viewer into the sense of a magical day celebrating life and love. This would not have had the same effect if it were under a tent in the rain.Tourism Videography: The biggest challenge was crafting an authentic description of Arizona without having lived there myself. Luckily, we had a few Arizona natives on our press trip that we were able to interview for a deeper perspective of what the area provides for the avid adventurer and explorer.

Winning an award has helped acknowledge that the work being produced is meeting the standard of quality that even our peers should expect. But it has also provided continued motivation to reach for a higher standard. Great video work comes from striving to out-do each project from the last, and these awards help us find out if we are doing just that.

1. The ability to tell compelling stories of any kind.2. Helping others brings a vision to life.3. Consistently visiting and working in new places.

The U.S. provides a ton of competition to make sure that everyone is bringing their best to the table. And within that competition comes also a huge network for collaboration.

I see the creative industry, as a professional career, becoming even more accessible to people with the continued growth of affordable technology. The barrier to entry of the industry has already been significantly reduced from the affordability of high-quality cameras and equipment. That trend will only continue allowing for more growth and possibilities to what industry professionals will end up creating.

For students entering the industry or those aspiring to submit for a Muse Award, I would urge them to create things that have meaning to them. Some of the best work comes from being personally invested in the vision of a project. We are all artists at the end of the day, and good art should have a strong connection to the artist creating it.

Surround yourself with others that are better than you. Growth doesn’t occur when there is no new knowledge to absorb.

The concept of death has always freaked me out (who isn’t afraid of dying really?). I have always wanted to create a personal project around it, to face that fear through my favorite medium, but also help others become less fearful of it as well. Perhaps to even become more inspired by it!

Dan Usher from Toronto. He and I worked for a travel company out on a trip to Croatia back in 2016. Dan is an absolute legend when it comes to filmmaking. But it wasn’t any of his skills or techniques that really impacted me, but seeing his failures and dealing with obstacles throughout production in order to continue making a vision become reality. I’m not sure if he would ever agree with me, but his ability to find creative ways to continue great storytelling was something I learned to keep with me as a videographer. You can’t be a quitter if you want to be a visual storyteller. Perseverance is part of the job description. Period.

I am just going to repeat what I said for the previous question. You can’t be a quitter if you want to be a visual storyteller. Perseverance is part of the job description. Period.

Always remember no matter how good your work may be, nobody likes to work with someone who puts their own vision ahead of others. Listen to clients, your employees, your co-workers. When you help lift others up, they will in turn help lift you.