We recently connected with Benjamin Long and have shared our conversation below.

Benjamin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

After moving back from Warrensburg and finishing school, I found myself in the middle of switching directions career wise. At that point, I didn’t know what to do with my life; wasn’t finding any jobs in my field of study, didn’t have a passion for it anymore as well. Shortly after moving back home, I started a warehouse job as a union laborer. It’s a great job, pays well and good benefits; but I knew I didn’t want to be working here for 30 more years of my life. Nothing wrong with the job, I just knew I needed to find something that I was passionate about, challenge me, and motivate me to grow as a person.

Fast forward, one night sitting at home just relaxing, watching music videos on YouTube; it just hit me. I knew what I wanted to do: start filming and editing music videos. I always found myself listening to new music throughout the day, going down a rabbit hole of watching music videos of artists I’ve never heard of. It just made sense to me at that moment. I also recognized the tremendous amount of music talent in the Kansas City area, some of the artists being my friends and people I went to school with. While there is a lot of talented videographers here in KC, I felt like I could pave my own lane into the music industry and create visuals for musical artists.

It’s been 3 years since I made the decision to take my videography business seriously, and has been one of the best decisions of my life. Now I am growing my business: creating content for music artists, as well as for local and regional business owners. Whether I am out filming, or at home putting in hours of editing; it’s never felt like “work”. I enjoy the creative process of making visuals my clients are proud to show the world. I’ve met some awesome people during this endeavor. Been able to travel out of state to work and meet new artists, as well as reconnect with people and build good relationships. Most importantly, I love what I do and it has given me a purpose.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am the owner of BTL Visuals LLC. I am a content creator specializing in music videos, business promos, and sports highlights/recruiting videos. I enjoy creating content for my clients’ social media pages to help promote their businesses/brands.

Many people know me for being “the guy that shoots music videos”. I have been blessed to work with artists in Kansas City, Florida, Texas, and New York. I’ve also had the privilege of creating content for KC Baggers, affiliated with the American Cornhole League (ACL). Overall, I have had over 1 million people view my work whether it’s music videos or business commercials.

What sets me apart from other video creators is knowing I am just a piece of the puzzle regarding my work. My work is only possible with the artists’ musical creativity, the local business that has put in the hard work to get to where they are, or the determination of a student-athlete that devotes their free time to reach the next level. I aim to create something that my client is proud to show off to the world.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have a couple goals that drive me to keep going. One is to have a music video I directed to reach over 1 million views. The most I’ve had on a video is from “Not A Safe Place” by FW Deem, with over 300k views.

My main goal, however, is to be able to quit my full time job and run my videography business full-time. I want to be able to have a consistent amount of video work, and continue to grow my business nationwide.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Not technically a business partner, but Jeremiah Long, has been a tremendous brother throughout my life, and has helped me immensely throughout my videography journey. Growing up, Jeremiah always had a camera in his hand, creating videos at a young age. I have so much respect for his resilience in pursuing his videography career: starting as a wedding videographer, working for the KC Mavericks hockey team, moving onto working for an insurance company down in Gulf Shores, Alabama, while still doing freelance work.

When I first got into videography, there was no doubt I was going to my brother for tips and advice on how to create content, run a business, etc. When I first started, we would film and edit videos together, and he give me pointers on how to make the visuals look cinematic. He’s a big reason why I’ve gotten to where I am career-wise, and I’m super thankful to have him as a mentor and brother. To this day, we still work on video stuff together when we can. Whether it’s him helping me film a music video, or me helping him film a wedding.

Contact Info:

• Website: btlvisuals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btlvisuals/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@btlvisuals