Music videos: sure, we may not be able to see them on MTV anymore, but ask around and you’ll see that they are still a huge part of music for each and every fan of artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to Elvis and Johnny Cash. The music video elevates the artist’s work to new levels through stunning and eye-opening visuals and captures those perfect moments for each lyric. There is no one elevating the music video quite like Parker Foster and his crew at VisualSZN. Parker began this journey toward the top of the new scene in music videos from rather humble beginnings. He, like me, was simply a student at Grapevine High School; I remember when he first began creating videos for friends around the school. He may say he had a different first step, but to me and many others, his first step was recording and producing for a group of high school friends known as Triple Threat. They were a small rap group of local guys that everyone around school knew and, well, the videos became a hit around town. It wasn’t the best music, and we now know that it wasn’t even the best producing that would be done by Foster, but it was the beginning of something special. Parker has stated that seeing the immense progress he’s made over the years is truly what keeps him motivated. To me and others at GHS, this is where it all began. He really has come a long way since then, from dropping out of college to moving to LA in the span of a a few short months. Starting out, he knew the goal was to make the best videos he could and he would eventually have a fantastic team around him to help accomplish feat after feat of video making. He and his team have already had an immense amount of success, success that I know is only going to continue for a long time. He started his own company VSZN at age 19, signed to his first agency (On The Grind MGMT) at age 20, and released a music video that gathered 1.5 million views within the first week! Things really are on the rise for this young cinematographer. Given all the success and accolades he’s gained and no matter how many views he gets or famous people he works with, I believe the aspect of Parker Foster that we can all learn from him is his ability to stay humble, stay focused and stay dedicated to his craft. In the interview with him, he decided to share some advice with anyone wanting to follow their dream. “There is no “right” path in the creative world. Just keep your head on straight and follow your heart (as corny as that sounds, it’s true). Focus on family, faith and doing what you love. I promise you those are the only three things you’ll ever need.” As far as what’s next for Visual SZN, he stated: “Expanding over to commercial work, in talks with major companies and labels now to get the ball rolling and hopefully start making major moves with that!” and as for Parker himself, he aims to be able to devote more time to himself and his family. I personally cannot wait to see what’s next for Parker Foster and his team at Visual SZN. For more info on Parker Foster and his team or to view their impressive work, visit http://visualszn.com/.