My Toyota Prius after being T-Boned just one block from work.
This "Get A Life!" installment is a reminder to buckle up anytime you get into a car. Yesterday while leaving work, I was T-Boned by an SUV going the wrong way on a one-way street. It looked the truck was going to come straight through my driver's side door. I had only driven one block from work and was on a city street.
Barry Manilow at the Fabulous Fox Theater, Atlanta.
Ok, I don't know 'the band,' I know one really talented musician IN the band! Barry Manilow came to town last night giving me a wonderful opportunity to not only see a classic performer live, but reconnect with a friend. Joey Melotti is a friend I met years ago through a dear friend and also very talented musician, Jayne Olderman.
Nope not me, the DP checking the shot.
This past weekend I got to film a new Lynda.com course on Video Producing. This time Rose and the crew came to Atlanta to do the filming. This time the course is all about Video Producing, or what exactly DOES a Producer do in the modern production world?
A friend pointed me to Trint transcription services. They claim to have redefined transcriptions by creating a superior software algorithm to quickly and pretty accurately turn around transcriptions from audio and video files. I was very skeptical having tried software like this in the past. Well, after trying them out, I am quite impressed.
Glen Freeman at the wheel of his Candy Apple Red Ford hot rod.
When I was brought on as the first Creative Director for Georgia-Pacific, the main thing I was tasked with was bringing a new storytelling focus to GP's external communications and branding. In particular, transforming GP from a big corporate brand to people. With over 33,000 people working in over 200 locations across the United States, there are many stories just waiting to be told.
When the time came to relocate the Biscardi Creative Media, we knew we had to part with some of our gear as we downsized our working space. While we did sell some of the equipment and furniture, BCM Principal Walter Biscardi, Jr made a determined effort to ‘pay it forward’ to the next generation of media professionals.
Well, just a month or so into my career at Georgia-Pacific and I got a very special treat this morning. Flying on the corporate jet. With over 200 operations across the US, it just makes sense that GP would have a couple of jets based in Atlanta.
There's a classic production adage that says never work with children or animals because they can both be difficult to work with. Well, this week we broke that rule by bringing in a dog, pony and monkey into GP Studios.
Classic Palmer Electric Pizzelle Maker
In this "Get A Life" installment I'm talking Pizzelles! Classic Italian wafer cookies that are generally a staple of any holiday gathering. Often flavored with vanilla or anise, these cookies are made quite simply with, essentially, a waffle iron.
DP Brad Hinton showing off some moves in GP Studios.
One thing about taking on a new role at Georgia-Pacific… you hit the ground running. March Madness is such a fun part of American sports and we have tons of certified sports nuts working at GP. Our Social Media team was looking for some way to have a little fun with the basketball tournament. So I quickly sketched out a storyboard and hatched a plan with lead on our intranet to recruit ‘actors’ for the spot. This turned out to be so much fun.
The 2017 Academy Awards offered proof of the classic television adage, “Anything can happen on Live TV.” And it did, in absolutely incredible fashion. The wrong envelope was presented to Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, and while it’s obvious from the video that Mr. Beatty sensed it was the wrong envelope, the incorrect winner was announced. Confusion and chaos ultimately led to the category winner being corrected and “Moonlight” won Best Picture for 2017.
teven Moffat offers a free Masterclass on Writing. Don’t know the name? He’s the Executive Producer and Writer for some very small shows for television. “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock.” It’s offered as a free podcast download from the BBC.
The very first panel of my very first "Good Eats" animation.
This morning I'm going through my old, OLD emails to finally clean up a lot of the clutter that has remained over the years and I found a great trip down memory lane. The original email inquiry as to whether I could create animations for Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” or if I could refer them to someone else.
The older we get, the more the Holidays seem to get stressful. Doesn't matter which Holiday you celebrate this time of year, there's so much pressure to have the "perfect party," get the "perfect gift(s)," "get everything done" and of course get stuck in traffic, especially on weekends near a shopping center. The Holidays are supposed to be a break from the stress of our "real work." So do something different and fun, like build your own gingerbread house.
I've been working on a new e-Learning proposal for the past few weeks. Didn't know I could do that? Well, I can and can't.
See it's a video centric learning program but just showing videos and scenarios isn't enough. We really need to test the employees at each step along the way to ensure they're getting the material. Years ago I established a relationship with a really good e-Learning partner for these very situations. For this project we're going to work together with them taking point on the educational design and me on the video production. We'll work together on the overall project management and development.
Moral of the story? Work on your network of connections for really good and really honest partners you can bring in so when you get a call that says, "Can you do that?" your answer can be "Absolutely!"
As a small business owner for 20 years now (wow, has it been that long?) I’ve seen a trend of unprofessionalism develop over the past 5 years or so that’s really accelerated in 2016. It’s the business of hiding (behind emails and phone screening.)
I'm proud to announce my first training product from Lynda.com (and LinkedIn Learning) Video Budgeting.
Whether you own a production company or you’re a freelancer, we’re all independent contractors and it’s important to understand and document the full scope of work and fees to be charged for a project. In other words, creating an accurate budget.
In the same week of October, Microsoft and Apple both debuted new products. In past years, creatives, especially Professional Creatives, would drool over the latest slick and cool Apple products. But here in 2016, the bulk of the reactions I found online and through direct communications were all about Microsoft.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in discussions with colleagues over what camera is worth spending money on. Well now, one very talented Director of Photography has a great new course to give you some guidelines on how to spend your money.
Well after singing the praises of Filmic Pro and my entire mobile video setup in my previous post, I took the iOgrapher on a 14 day vacation that included a NASA rocket launch, 7 day cruise and some time at Universal Studios, Orlando. Well, I’m sad to say the Filmic Pro experience was a major letdown.