We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eric Benner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Eric, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Everybody from all walks of life strives for purpose. Some search for it for a long time and for others like myself it finds them. What started as a hobby grew into a side job which then filled me with so much happiness that I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. And that purpose that found me is media production. I was always obsessed with the movie industry growing up. To create something that brings people together and showcases new and original ideas is something special. Through the years I have been a photographer, videographer, video editor, social media manager, and director. Each brings me a sense of purpose in life and I have chased after that feeling with everything I have to turn it into a career.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My story started at Cape Fear Community College with me enrolling in their Film Program. I always loved Movies when I was growing up and something inside me was urging me to pursue the Film Industry. Through that program I met other creative people and under the guidance of Duke Fire we learned multiple areas of film production and were taught to push our creativity as far as it could go. As my final project I wrote and directed a full length comedy web series called Cinema Slackers which was about a group of people that work at a movie theatre. At the time I was working at a theatre so I was well equipped with stories that I adapted for the show and we were able to film the entire first season of the show at the theatre after hours. At this point filmmaking was just a passion, but I knew I wanted to do it full time working for myself. I was prepared to build it up over time and knew it would mean working extra jobs, but the final outcome would be worth it. Flash forward two years and I was still on the grind filming weddings, commercials, family photoshoots, etc. and was doing well, but there was something missing. Out of the blue one day I was contacted to edit a band interview for the founder of The Kaya, Taylor Fargnoli. Now I had never fell into the music scene previously and had only gone to a few concerts so I didn’t think it was my thing. I was very wrong. After filming and editing a few more interviews I was asked to go film a music festival called Surrounded By The Sound. This is where I fell in love. Specifically with the Reggae Scene. It felt like a big family and I had never been in the zone with my camera as much as with live music. It gave me that sense of purpose I had been looking for. I joined The Kaya to cover reggae concerts and band interviews. I truly believed in everything The Kaya was trying to do and give thanks to Taylor Fargnoli for building it up from scratch and passing me the reins to take it upwards and onwards. Through The Kaya I have been able to work with so many great people that have lead to amazing opportunities. I now do music videos, live concert videos, promotion shoots, and more through The Kaya. That has also led me to working with both Blue Avenue Music and Right Call Media as a Video Ad Editor where I have been able to work on ads for some incredible artists such as Buckstein, Danny Elfman, Too $hort, and Julian Marley to name a few. I also work as a Social Media Manager for both Lazy Pirate in Carolina Beach, NC & Infamous Live in Charlotte, NC. The most recent addition to the ongoing projects is filming music sessions for Myrtle Beach. The key is to stay as busy as you can, surround yourself with other dedicated creative people, and always be progressing with your craft.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
If I had to pick three things that have helped me in my journey the first would be to put you heart and soul into your craft. Find whatever gives you purpose and makes you feel happy and then put everything you have into it and figure out how to make it a career. The second would be time management. You can be the most effective when you utilize all the time you have. If you can be working on something while doing something else do them together. Learn to multi task especially if you want to get into any sort of media production work. The third and most important thing to help you in any journey is to be constantly learning. The world and technology is constantly evolving, so evolve with it. Constantly progress. If you can find the right balance of these three things then you will excel past all of your goals.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Surrounding yourself with people that are going to push you to progress and be successful are very important. Over the years there have been many people that have been important to my journey. The ones that stand out are first my wife Melissa Benner who has always believed in me even when I didn’t sometimes. She has pushed me to be the best I can be at my craft. Also Sean Heilingoetter who has always been my #1 go-to for a project partner. I have learned so much from him over the years and have respected his quality and work ethic greatly. Another person that has helped me get to where I am today is Jenny Anderson Powers with Blue Avenue Music Group. She has taught me how to constantly progress with the times and trends, branch out into other genres of music and learn the different audiences, and push my skills past what I thought was possible. And lastly Sidnie Work for helping me hone my creative skills over the years and collaborating on so many projects that paved the road for where I am today.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @thekayamedia
- Facebook: facebook.com/TheKayaMediaNC
- Youtube: youtube.com/TheKayaMedia
Image Credits
Positive Vibe Media TAS Visuals Shane Violette Jordan Gee
