We were lucky to catch up with Zachary Haskell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Zachary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

A few years ago, my friend Moon Han was gracious enough to let me shoot and edit several music videos for an album she recorded. Around the time of this shoot I was new to editing and I was still becoming familiar with the workflow of Premier Pro. One of the cameras we rented for the shoot had a spherical, transparent lens cover with minuscule scratches on it, but I didn’t realize the scratches were there until after I offloaded the footage. Basically, a third of the footage I captured was unusable because the scratches were just too prominent. This forced me to recycle footage from the other cameras and find creative editing solutions. The whole project took about 5 months, much longer than it would have if I had noticed the scratches, but what I learned in that time was invaluable. This was basically video editing boot camp for me. Even after this project I held out on purchasing my own camera until it was necessary and most of my budget in the beginning went to courses and subscriptions related to video editing. For about the first year I was renting cameras, or I was working with footage that had been captured by someone else. I’ve since invested in a very versatile mirrorless camera and I’m happy to say it’s paid for itself.

Zachary, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

There are basically two sides to what I do professionally: There’s the purely musical, guitar-related side and there’s the visual side of things, which includes video editing and videography. It’s the perfect combination. My connection to the musical world has broadened my client base in videography and a handful of those clients have become close musical colleagues that I write and play with regularly. Being able to complement people’s music through visual storytelling is as exciting and fulfilling to me as composing and practicing my own music.

The video-related work I do ranges from purely creative projects, i.e. music videos/live shows to content for music educators looking to improve the quality of their YouTube/ social media videos through editing, color grading, titling and overlayed music notation. I use Adobe Premier Pro for video editing, Sibelius for music notation, and Logic for audio. I think it’s the combination of these programs, plus a good understanding of music theory/transcription that has led me to find my niche.

On the purely musical side of things, I am madly in love with the guitar and have been for many years. I met most of the musicians I work with today while studying at Berklee College of Music and for the past two years I’ve been slowly writing and recording an instrumental EP with those same people. Ransom McCafferty plays drums on most of my music, Gabriel Lazaro is on trumpet and bass, Oriol Cardoso on sax, John Lisi on bass, Noah Leong on viola, Marvin Thiele on piano, and Henry McCall takes care of mixing/production. I’ve never been more excited to share music.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

If you’re reading this and you’re a student, check to see if your school provides access to linkedin learning or something comparable, for free. My school gave us access to countless courses and resources and I learned about them much later that I would have liked. In my last couple of semesters in college I crammed in a bunch of courses on linkedin and picked up some skills that I still use. Additionally I use google sheets for almost everything I do, including budgeting, keeping track of practice time, scheduling, students, clients, etc. For music, the Smithsonian has a database full of obscure music from around the world, field recordings etc. There’s an instagram page called @dusttodigital which is full of the same thing, music that you can’t find on streaming platforms. Also if you’re trying to get into video creation/film, just remember there are plenty of places where you can rent high-quality equipment and countless free Youtube videos on how to use that equipment. You don’t always have to buy everything. Hunt’s video gives student and teacher discounts, so I use them frequently.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

A few years ago I developed an overuse injury in my right wrist and for about a year and a half I could barely play the guitar. The injury developed from a combination or poor time/stress management and sub-optimal lifestyle choices, but with the help of some very patient and supportive friends, family, doctors and mentors, it healed and I resumed playing. In the healing process I learned a lot about my own health and developed some habits that I maintain to this day. In being deprived of the ability to play my instrument I gained a new appreciation for music and I’m convinced the whole situation was a net positive. As my wrist recovered, I used a schedule provided by a physical therapist that required me to log the amount of time I played on a day-to-day basis. The “pivot” in my career occurred when I started quantifying my practice/playing time and logging it as an athlete would. I still use that system today. Even if I’m only able to practice for 30 minutes in a day, I log that in a spreadsheet so I can see how many hours I’ve played at the end of the year. It’s satisfying.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachlikeschords/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacharyHaskell-nt2db

Image Credits

All images are mine