Meet Kathleen Brown | Video Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathleen Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathleen, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I”ve always tended to lean toward the creative side. Growing up, and even into adulthood, I wanted to be a writer. For many reasons, I never really pursued the idea fully. But I still loved telling stories. When my children were in school, I was room mother for many years. At the end of the year, my phone was always full of pictures and videos of students and activities from throughout the year. It seemed a shame to delete them, but I didn’t want to keep them forever, either. One year I created a year-end video for all the students in my son’s class. The parents and kids loved it! I made one every year until my youngest started middle school and there wasn’t a need any more. For the first time in a few years, I didn’t create a video. I realized how much I enjoyed making them. I missed creating the videos! My original thought was to try to market the idea of end-of-year videos to room mothers or teachers. My husband and I talked about whether this was a marketable idea, and how to get started. While I still think it’s a good idea, it proved to be a hard sell. After lots of thought and research, I expanded my plan to include birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. Once I did that, I started to get clients. I like variety, however, and haven’t limited myself to one certain genre. In addition, I know do videos for: travel/vacations, YouTube, memorials, business, websites, marketing, documentaries, music, trailers, and even a short independent film, just to name a few. I love every minute of it. And in my own way, I’m still telling stories.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
One of the things that sets me apart is that I truly love what I do. I can’t wait to get started each day, and it’s hard to stop in the evenings. I love the variety of what I do, which is why I don’t specialize. By being open to any and all kinds of videos I’ve learned about some amazing organizations, seen incredible locations that I might not ever get to see in person, and told many different stories. Each project is a story, even the corporate videos. My job is to tell that story in a unique and captivating way. It wasn’t easy to get where I am today. I’m self-taught, and still learning. Sometimes it takes a lot of research and frustration to figure out how to do something. And when I do figure it out, there’s that little zing of excitement that makes it all worth while. Competition is tough. There are a lot of editors, and there’s always someone willing to do the work for less money or in a shorter timeframe. It took a while to get my first paying customer, and even longer to get to the point where I’m constantly busy. With a lot of hard work, and some mistakes, I feel that I’m building a reputation that I can be proud of and will help to draw in customers. There are several things that I’m proud of. I edited the story of a holocaust survivor telling his story to a group of middle school students. That was a powerful moment. Currently I’m doing a “living legacy” project, interviews with terminally ill patients who want to tell their life story or leave messages to family. While it might sound sad, it’s actually very uplifting to hear and help tell their stories. Working on this project inspired me to do something similar with my own family, before their memories and stories are lost forever. What I’d like people to know about me is that I care about each and every project. My goal is to provide you with a family memory that you’ll love to watch for years to come; or create a website video that you’re proud to showcase; or make a demo reel that gets you into the school of your dreams.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m not very good at exploring Atlanta, so this would be a good time for me to learn about things myself! As a confirmed Coca-Cola fan, we’d have to go to Coca-Cola. I’d probably add the Aquarium, botanical gardens, and of course The Varsity. We’d also go to see the Swan House. Not only for it’s beauty and history, but to see where parts of The Hunger Games were filmed. On that note, we’d also go to Sequoia, where much of The Walking Dead is filmed. Lake Lanier is always fun for swimming, picnics, jet skis, or just relax. A little farther out, Helen, Ga is a great day trip with beautiful scenery and the quaint town. I also truly love my little downtown of Lawrenceville. There are some great restaurants and shops. It’s a fun, relaxing way to spend an evening. Other than that, my husband and I like to search out unique restaurants with good food and great atmosphere, so we’d probably look up new ones to visit.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Thank you to my husband and children who not only encouraged me to take the risk, but continue to support me. They put up with my crazy hours, the calls and texts at all times of the day and sometimes night, and rarely complain when I get so involved on a project that I forget to start dinner. I can’t count how many times they’ve (reluctantly) watched a video when I’ve needed another set of eyes. Over the years, my husband has become my CFO, purchasing department, IT specialist, thumb drive checker, shipping department and, on occasion, back up dinner maker. Thank you with all my heart for helping bring my dream to reality!

Website: www.kbvideomemories.com
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