Nothing sells the joie de vivre of Louisiana like watching Lafayette locals cutting loose at festivals and Mardi Gras. And no one has captured that energy quite like Lafayette videographer John Weatherall III. In just two years, Weatherall has made a name for himself producing high-energy videos for TikTok that pull viewers in and have them bobbing their heads and bouncing in their seats.

His gift for directing the eyes and hearts of his viewers was developed at a young age since his parents first showed him how to operate the family camcorder in the ‘90s. At 10, he recorded his first video blog. In high school, he expanded his interest to photography after his grandparents gifted him with a Sanyo digital camera, which he would later upgrade to a digital SLR. “I started taking photographs after I graduated, and as work picked up, I was building a name for myself,” he recounts. “My first wedding gig was for a family member. But then I felt that wedding photography wasn’t for me. There were so many good photographers out there, and I wasn’t there yet with my skills, so I concentrated on videography instead.”

Since graduating from UL in broadcast nine years ago, Weatherall has worked as a videographer for KLFY TV 10, among other things helping coworker and friend Gerald Gruenig shoot TikTok videos. It was Gruenig who encouraged Weatherall to post his first Mardi Gras video on TikTok in 2021, and from then on his popularity exploded.

He has since documented numerous Mardi Gras parades and festivals around Acadiana. With an iPhone 13 Pro Max in each hand, Weatherall parts crowds with his presence. The quick-shooting videographer immerses himself in the crowd rather than standing on the sidelines and taping, as would be easier for him, given his quiet demeanor.

“I am the most introverted, laid-back person you’ll ever meet, so it’s hard for me to ask people if they want to be on camera,” he admits. “I don’t have to work as hard doing that now; a lot of people recognize me and start acting up. I scan the crowd and see who will give me viral-worthy content. I’m looking for authentic moments; it makes it more genuine.” Something else that comes across in Weatherall’s videos: genuine pride in the faces of his subjects.

It seems to be a combination of a good eye, a golden touch and just being in the right place at the right time, that turns Weatherall’s videos into gold. In 2020 while taping Keith Sweat at The Heymann Performing Arts Center, a woman from the audience came onto the stage and while dancing with the singer, her wig popped up, landing back on her head. Weatherall captured the hysterical moment and after posting it on Facebook, he received an email requesting the video to be shown on The Kelly Clarkson Show. The woman was even brought on the show as a guest. At Mardi Gras in 2022 he was filming the crowd when he happened to catch Steven Barbosa rapping to Kevin Gates. That video brought the song to number 1 on the Billboard charts and was also a trending challenge on TikTok. Last month, his LSU video of Boosie performing at Fred’s in LSU’s Tigerland went viral with 1.6 million views in a day.

As to his formula for producing hit videos, Weatherall says, “You have to start off really energetic, with a good beat – a certain sound. I think people like my music choices like Lil’ Nathan, Boosie, Kevin Gates, Keith Frank and Chris Audoin – they’re all well-received on social media. I used to watch a lot of music videos in the 90s and I like using some of those techniques, transitioning shots, using wide and low angles and then putting modern touches like speed ramps, starting slow, speeding up and then going to slow motion. There are a lot of color corrections too.” He is also a perfectionist when it comes to marrying the videos with the music, adding the audio tracks in post-production for better quality. In meeting a certain standard that he feels is expected of his clips, Weatherall often works seven to eight hours, from his home, to edit a one-hour and thirty-minute video – and that’s working between his TV work schedule of 3:30 a.m. to noon. But the results are mesmerizing, addictive videos that he says, “People often tell me they watch for hours.”

With a growing number of followers, Weatherall has gained acceptance and respect from the very people who have helped him put Lafayette in the national spotlight. He has been touted by singer Bryson Bernard, aka Cupid, as “the most important media person in all of the city.” In appreciation for his efforts to promote the Lafayette community, the song “Mr. Weatherall” was recorded, this January, by New Iberia-based rap duo Young Hub City featuring Big Zoe and produced by Sully “DJ Sal” Gondron. The lyrics highlight what Weatherall’s fans know is expected of them: “Shake, shake, shake it for the camera…Shake a lil somethin’…Now make it go bop bop bop bop… I see the camera on me now, I’m ‘bout to act a fool.”

“Mr.” Weatherall has attracted followers from all over the world, who send messages regularly saying they want to visit Lafayette at Mardi Gras after seeing his videos. “I’ve always wanted to bring attention to the Lafayette area with my videos,” he shares. “When I was growing up, New Orleans would get the attention at Mardi Gras and in general. My goal was to put out content of our local people having a good time.”

Weatherall would like to eventually make documentaries bringing attention to subjects of a different sort, such as Louisiana’s aging musicians and Mardi Gras Indians. In the meantime he prepares for the 2024 Mardi Gras season, having posted his schedule on Facebook, but not before releasing a personal project that’s been in the making, in January. However this month he focuses on a Christmas wish heavy on his heart. “I wish that my mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer this April, and Gerald, dealing with Hodgkins Lymphoma since June, be healed of their cancers.”