This music video for Micah Stampley's "I Believe" officially premiered on B.E.T.'s "Lift Every Voice," and spent six straight weeks in the number one spot on the Gospel Music Channel's video countdown. It also received the honor of a Viewer's Choice Music Video of the Year Award nomination by the Gospel Music Channel, which reaches nearly 40 million households nationwide.
Stampley's impressive range and soulful tone have won him fans worldwide and sent him to perform across the U.S., London, and Paris. In spring 2005, his first gospel album debuted in the number three spot of Billboard's gospel charts, making it the second-highest debut in Billboard's history for a male gospel artist.
At the release of his sophomore album, "A Fresh Wind – The Second Sound," Stampley and his songwriting partner and wife, Heidi, decided to seek out a producer/director for a music video highlighting his upcoming single entitled "I Believe."
The first time they sat down together, the Stampleys connected with Taylor right away. She said that the decision to collaborate with him was an easy one due to the warmth, talent and vision behind the man.
On the day of the music video shoot, Heidi said Taylor's preparation and professionalism shined:
"Taylor is the most detailed and concise person that I've worked with, period. Most people are not that detailed," Heidi says. "I love it, because I'm a detail person myself and I like to know exactly what's going on. He had timelines, itineraries and contact lists with information for everyone involved. Everyone was moving in synch."
After the video shoot, Heidi was impressed with the ease and calm that characterized the day:
"We really appreciated Taylor's attention to detail. He was very detailed and didn't miss a thing; organized, streamlined, moved quickly. Everything was planned to a T, from the crew, to the caterers, to the extra hands."
Even after the video shoot, Heidi says Taylor was constantly communicating with the Stampleys to keep them informed about the editing process and the date of delivery.
"We were blown away by the success of the video," Heidi says. "Taylor was certainly was the 'mind behind the vision.'
* The original video uploaded by the client currently has 262,629 views and can be found here.
Taylor offers an entire suite of video production services – from consultation and pre-production through production and post-production. However, his skill is even more impressive due to his finesse with a client's budget and available resources.
Taylor's ability to deliver quality work within any budget is showcased in his live concert DVD for Grammy-nominated Christian rock band Pillar. The band shared a label with Christian music heavy-hitters Blindside and P.O.D., and has won multiple Dove awards.
Pillar sought to create a dynamic, multi-camera DVD from its live performance at Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. Tens of thousands of music fans flock to Cornerstone Farms each year to see over 300 bands perform. Pillar's management was experimenting with a variety of packaging concepts, and wanted to create a buzz around the band's upcoming CD release.
"We're in a day and age when CDs don't sell in the high numbers they used to (due to iTunes)," said Tim Ottley, Pillar's manager. "We wanted to play around with the packaging and offer it as a two-disc set."
To ensure a successful product launch, Pillar's commissioned Taylor to film their set at the festival. Taylor executed the 11-camera live shoot, which was offered through Best Buy stores and other music retailers.
His work is great," Ottley said about the finished DVD. "Taylor has a great eye for what he's shooting, and he was very clever in the way he shifted things around for the best visuals on the DVD."
As one of Taylor's most polarizing creations to date, this video walks a blurry line between fact and fiction through a mix of nostalgic imagery from He Is Legend's 2006 "I am Hollywood" tour, and glimpses of the seeds of contempt sown during that time by their fans.
Many still don't know how to process the events that unfold in this documentary/music video- many are either confused by the actions of the fans, the band, or perhaps upset with the fact that this story was ever told.
See for yourself and decide.
*This video has been re-uploaded. The original video uploaded by He Is Legend's record label recieved almost 250,000 views on YouTube, ranking He Is Legend among their label's top 10 most viewed YouTube videos at the time. Since then, He Is Legend has moved to a different label, and subsequently their music video was removed from YouTube by their original label.
