Filming The Mountain Honey Official Music Video!
I’m so excited to have recently announced the Mountain Honey Official Music Video is releasing Friday, September 22nd!
I’ll be playing a show at Home Team Axe Throwing in Hartsville, SC that night so if you live in the area come celebrate with me!
The Story Behind Filming:
Filming this music video was a journey to say the least. If you’ve followed me since I was in high school then you’ll know I’ve had a love for video editing projects over the years, but with this I wanted to do it right. When it came to planning a music video for Mountain Honey I knew I wanted a specific aesthetic of warm tones and sweet summer vibes. I made a mood board on Pinterest (highly recommend if you’re trying to create a vision for something!) and then I reached out to someone I knew who does videography work to see if they would collaborate with me. I needed someone with the professional equipment and eye for helping me film.
Unfortunately, they had to cancel last minute. At this point I had planned the whole day of filming while I was home in NC. I had spent so much time organizing the looks, props, and location - all while trying to fit it in a trip home. I was devastated and was left to decide whether to give up or pivot my plans.
My mom and I looked at each other and we decided we’d make the best of it. Besides, sometimes the best things come from unexpected set backs.
Months before the set date to shoot, I had reached out to some dear friends, Ken and Kay Martin, who attend the church I grew up going to. There’s a beautiful white farmhouse in their family that sits right across the street from the church. I’ve always loved the house. I knew that would be the perfect location to film Mountain Honey. Ken and Kay were kind enough to let us film at the house and even let us get a few shots inside.
So the next morning, my mom and I loaded up the car with all the props and decorations. With an iPhone and lots of prayers to Jesus, plus a borrowed demonic gimbal (not really but it did have a mind of its own!) we started our great adventure shooting the music video.
I’ll be the first to admit - I am a perfectionist to a point that is almost self sabotaging. If I can’t do something perfectly, I’m tempted to not even do it at all. I’ve been working really hard on that character trait for the last few years so I embraced this experience with wide open arms. We would do our best and that was enough.
My mom and I had the best day filming the music video. We laughed at our many fails. We ooooh’d and ahhhh’d at the shots that looked amazing. We slowly started to feel confident that even if it wasn’t “professional” it was still going to capture the vibe.
On our ride home the sun was setting so beautifully. At the top of our very long driveway we stopped to check the mail and my mom said, “Hey we should get some shots of you with the sun setting!” Thank goodness she suggested that because some of the shots in this video are just me goofing off with my mom in the middle of our road.
My grandma also had helped me scout out the dirt road/bridge shots the day before the shoot. Thanks to her knowledge of that fun hidden gem, we had an extra layer.
Once we were finished filming I took all the videos we shot back to TN with me. Now the real work begins…. editing.
Now, I know my way around iMovie but I knew what I wanted to do couldn’t be accomplished using that so I bought a professional editing software and had a major learning curve.
Once I got a rough edit, I sent it to some people I know that are in the film world. I had some encouraging feedback and I had some very discouraging criticism. I was told by one person that what I did wasn’t good enough and I should just start over completely. Again, the perfectionist in me wanted it to be perfect and I felt very hurt by some of the feedback.
But then I met with a music industry friend who is actively working as an AR guy for a major label and he told me that it was perfect and to keep releasing and posting my art.
That was good enough for me.
So after a rollercoaster of doubting myself I decided this video is exactly what I want to represent my song Mountain Honey. Is it perfect? No. Will it be featured on CMT? Maybe not… but who knows!
I share all this because I think it’s important to know that a shiny finished video had a lot of blood sweat and tears behind it. And a lot of laughs and joy too. After spending months editing this since May I can’t wait to finally share it with everyone! And in case you guys didn’t know…
I have an Official VEVO Channel!
Mountain Honey will go live on my VEVO and be linked to my Artist Channel on September 22nd! Make sure you subscribe to both!
I know I always say this but thank you guys so much for the support. You show up and listen to my songs and my stories with encouragement; it’s sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. This video is so special to me and I wouldn’t change a thing about the experience or the outcome! So mark your calendars for the Mountain Honey Official Music Video on September 22nd!
xx Carson