Let me put it this way. If you were making a video for a few friends and were using it to gain experience or try out different techniques, I'd be applauding.
By accepting a commercial job you've put yourself into a totally different category, you're playing with the grown-ups now. If you went to any craftsman and asked him for advice you'd get a few tips to help your D-I-Y but he's not going to give away any of his hard-earned professional knowledge.

This forum is no different. Neither Irishmark, Turnmedia, any of the Marcs, or myself are going to give-away knowledge which is important for us to earn money. We're not going to help someone do "our" job for a pittance, making our market smaller and increasing our competition.
Your video does affect our market. When you do a video for a few thousand, it makes it difficult when we quote the same figure with another nought on the end. Most people know very little about the practicalities of video production and they often assume that the whole sum goes into our pockets, they also have difficulty understanding that ALL our time has to be paid, including preparation, researching, travel, set-up, post-production etc. etc. etc. and then say: "Well this Luisa does it for a tenth of your price, so you'll have to drop your quote if you want to get the job".

See what we're getting at?

It doesn't matter if your effort isn't up to par. Once a job is over, it's over. Rarely will a new videomaker get called in for a re-shoot. What happens is that the firm is disappointed and gets a bad impression of video production companies and, on the next gig, thinks "there's no point in getting a pro in, the last one wasn't all that brilliant." So a potential customer is lost.

I'm not "having a go" at you, just explaining why it's difficult to get "pro" information from those who know what they're talking about. It sounds very arrogant when I say it but it's really a form of self-defence. I can only justify high fees if I do a better job and there's no reason for me to give away tips and trade-secrets which I've taken years (and thousands of pounds) to learn, to someone who's going to make my job harder. You'll find that we're all willing to help with advice on marketting, costing, contracts and the thousand-and-one pitfalls which a new "pro" can fall into... But, as for doing the job... you'll have to learn that the hard way!

As for your acedemic... The only "rules" in videomaking are the laws of nature. Everything else is opinion. I don't know what he's directed but if he sticks to a "formula" and "rules" I doubt it will be that inspiring. On occasions when I've worked with brilliant directors and asked them "Why have you done this or that?" they've looked at me blankly and usually answered along the lines of "because it feels right". I've never had one quote a "rule" at me.

The "rules" he talks about are probably guides like "don't cross the axis" or "don't cut long-shot to long-shot" but these are "guides" or "conventions" and shouldn't be treated like the Ten Commandments otherwise you're restricting yourself unneccessarily.

Finally (If you're still here) You say " none of what i have done so far looks or feels 'wrong'". That's a bad sign. Nearly everything I do disappoints me because I can see where it could have been better. The more experience I get, the more 'wrong' things I see in my work. There are no quick and easy commandments for editing music videos but harsh self-criticism is (in my opinion) the most important requirement for any videomaker who wants to improve.


Edit: Finally: I can't see anywhere where I've suggested that "enthusiasm and inspiration " would be your downfall. In fact I emphasised Turnmedia's advice that "Enthusiasm and a love for music are what you need".