Putting His Faith in Film: Campbell Rice
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL
We interviewed the “nicest” guy In Lakeland, but he’s more than just a positive person who loves to make people smile. This self-taught videography professional with a propensity for crafting catchy original tunes is worthy of the title of 2024 Lakelander Made Art & Culture winner. Lakelander’s will know him for his work on documentaries like “The People Who Live There” and “Gospel Village: A Story of Hope.” Campbell Rice, a 10-year veteran in the video production game, at only 25 years old, is a creative force to be reckoned with. He is a proud Lakeland Christian School (LCS) and Southeastern University alum, So, strike up the band, turn on the spotlights, hear the lion roar, because he’s just getting started.
THE LAKELANDER
Good morning Campbell. I’ve known you for a long time. But, for those who don’t, tell us a few things about yourself.
CAMPBELL RICE
I’m 25 years old, married to Audra, no kids but we have a dog named Stewart. I’ve lived in Lakeland my whole life.
TL
Alright. So let’s see. What are you up to these days in your career? What’s happening right now?
CAMPBELL
Primarily documentary related where I am planning, filming and editing videos of varying length. Some are for Instagram, some are medium format, some are documentary, feature length for different brands. Some [are for] businesses, some are one-off projects with one person. Doing all that at once, it is so fun. It’s very chaotic but it’s so fun because one day I might be filming something for LCS (Lakeland Christian School) and then my afternoon was spent editing for a fitness brand in Tennessee (Crossfit Mayhem). Going back and forth like that might stress some people out. That’s tough, but I love it. I’m reminded of all these different stories that I get to be a part of.
TL
Ok, let’s back up a little bit. You made a name for yourself with The Collection, a company you owned and operated with your friend and partner Conner O’Brien. Walk us through that. How long have you known him? How many years did you do that with him? And what is your biggest takeaway from that time?
CAMPBELL
That’s such a good question. I knew him basically my whole life, and in middle school we started making YouTube videos together. So, there was already an interest from when we were like 12. We started our business in college, which was 2019. So, we worked together for 4 ½ years but were making films together for more than 10. I would say the biggest takeaway was both the challenge and also the immense level of fun of doing a big project when we were both young and experienced and didn’t have a lot of resources.t.
TL
Now, let’s go a little deeper. How does your faith inform your art?
CAMPBELL
Yes, It definitely does. There’s an intimacy with the people that I get to embark on storytelling journeys with. My faith allows me to go into that place in a healthy way and get to meet people, love them and explore what they’re about [in a way] that maybe someone without faith could never even get to. And that also allows for really, really great connections that I totally believe makes me a better storyteller. If I didn’t actually care about them, I believe that cuts me off from being able to tell a really, really great story. Also, I love what God has made. So that also inspires my film making. I just love the beauty of the world. And I think that that is a very, very important factor in my film making.
TL
Is it movies or is it documentaries that you first fell in love with? Was it YouTube? Or was it documentaries specifically that you fell in love with?
CAMPBELL
That’s a good distinction. Actually, no one’s asked me that before. It’s pretty cool. When I was a teenager, it was not necessarily a specific genre. For me it…was I know what I want to do, let me find a YouTube channel that teaches me how to do it versus finding someone who’s already doing it and just copying or studying or being inspired. I found Film Riot on YouTube. They were teaching you like, ‘This is kind of the cameras you want.’ They were like film school for me. So I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of young filmmakers they’ve inspired.
TL
Anyone local who inspired you early in the process?
CAMPBELL
So there’s a guy actually in Lakeland. He used to live in LA. He’s done some time in Lakeland too. Jason Harper. He was one of the first people who is in the documentary and television and film space as a producer who really believed in us and believed in me and helped me learn a lot more about the industry. That relationship, that
was incredible.
TL
So, tell me about producing soundtracks for your films, I know that is a very important part of your process.
CAMPBELL
This is honestly one of my favorite things to talk about because it’s very messy but very fun part of my process. So, I started doing it by necessity because I didn’t really know how to download or find music that I liked that would fit my videos. So, part of that is I was dumb, which is awesome because it led to this. And then partly I also was aware of copyright issues. And I didn’t wanna steal people’s music and just put it in my videos. So, I either need to pay a lot of money to license this song, which is hundreds of dollars I don’t have as a 15-year-old, or I can make it. So, as a kid I had Garage Band. I had no experience either playing an instrument or making music prior. But I figured out, oh, I can make sounds that….can mimic an orchestra and a piano and something epic, something cinematic. At first, It wasn’t great. But, to me, that was a better process than trying to find money to buy or license a song. So a few years of doing that, and I really figured out I actually can kind of do this thing. And over the course of a few years, I really started to learn more about music composition. And it was all self-taught. I still to this day know nothing about actual music theory. Over the course of 10 years, I’ve just fallen in love with making music almost as much as filming
or editing.
“Over the course of 10 years, I’ve just fallen in love with making music almost as much as filming or editing.”
TL
What’s next for Campbell Rice?
CAMPBELL
Can’t say much about it now, but I’m co-directing a local project with Andy McEntire of Indie Atlantic Films. Also, while working on a project for Crossfit Mayhem in Bermuda, I produced a personal documentary called The Feelings of Bermuda. You can find that on my YouTube channel @campbell_rice.