My Writings. My Thoughts.
Friday Inspiration for September 3, 2010
// September 3rd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Inspiration, Video
Roll Tide!
I started my Friday Inspiration posts when I realized I should share some of the videos I regularly share with my video team. If I see a unique, challenging, or particularly well done video, I like to spread the inspiration.
One of the things we often do in our video department is create promotional videos. We want to compel people to come to a special event or the next worship series. Some are meant to be emotive. Some are meant to make you think. Some touch on the mysterious. Some are funny. Some are epic.
Today’s inspiration is epic. Whether you’re an Alabama fan or not, this is really well done. The interplay of text, music, historic imagery, handheld footage, sunrise footage, and the coach and players all work perfectly to draw one in to be a part of something epic. It really works. Sure, Auburn fans will consider this film maker a modern day Leni Riefenstahl, but it’s awesome. Continue Reading
Shooting the News Anchor with the T2i
// August 31st, 2010 // 2 Comments » // DSLR, Video
Me, Mark Clegg, and Alex Schwindt. Photo courtesy of Mark Clegg.
I’m in charge of the video end of things for our upcoming capital campaign at our church. Our local NBC News anchor, Mark Clegg, has been a member of our church for years, and I decided to take him up on his gracious offer to help us out any time we needed it. So last Friday morning, before he had to head in to work at NBC, Mark stopped by the church and did some reading for us and our camera. And I must say, he was humble, gracious, and a breeze to work with. I got the sense that he was honored to be a part of this, just as we were honored to have his involvement. Continue Reading
Cracking Himself Up
// August 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Family, Personal
I value humor. And I assume most people do. Sometimes I value my own humor more than those around me. (My longsuffering wife can attest to this.)
My good friend Shane exemplifies this best. We used to work together, and he would constantly drop quips in meetings, and then laugh himself to tears. We’d all laugh, too, but none quite as hard as Shane at himself. He was quick to clarify that no one should feel obligated to laugh (thanks), that he only sought to amuse himself. His humor was for his own benefit. Truth of the matter, Shane’s hilarious, but the fact that he cracked himself up so much made all the rest of us laugh even harder.
So it is with great joy that I report, just one week after the triumphal video of my son walking, he has now acquired that second critical lifeskill: The ability to crack himself up.
Friday Inspiration for August 13, 2010
// August 13th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Inspiration
Duel!
You just gotta check this out…
Dancing Pigeons – Ritalin from Blink on Vimeo.
Now that’s different, huh? I’ve decided that I really like this video. I find it fascinating to watch, for a whole lot of reasons.
First, it’s beautifully shot, using a slow-motion Phantom camera at 1000 frames per second for the fire, 400 frames per second for the fire extinguisher. And apparently these aren’t just CG effects. It’s the real thing, shot at night, with a huge range of light that must have been a challenge to properly expose.
But technical issues aside, it’s a compelling little drama. There’s a broader story here that we don’t know about, but somehow, it’s come down to this duel. And all these little questions are raised and left unanswered. For instance, what’s better: A good offense or a strong defense? What do you use to put out the flames being shot your way? Is there any such thing as a winnable war anymore? What’s the old man doing in the pickup? Who is he? Would you rather freeze to death or burn to death? And, most importantly, where did they find these actors?
This short film is a gem, in my opinion. What are your thoughts?
Malawi
// August 6th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Missions, Photography
Malawi Children at the Orphanage
Lilongwe
One doesn’t have to travel very far outside of the capital before the roads run out. Lilongwe probably looks like many medium sized African cities, with hand-painted store signs, walled-off properties, grocery stores, billboards, and many more people milling about on the streets than we usually see in the U.S. But drive to the outskirts of town, and concrete and asphalt give way to reddish dirt roads, the tires of cars and bikes kicking up great clouds when it’s the dry season, and creating muddy ruts, I imagine, during the rainy season. All things near the roads, including plants, buildings, and people, get a coat of red. Continue Reading
Friday Inspiration for July 30, 2010
// July 30th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Inspiration
Kseniya Simonova’s Sand Drawing
Today’s inspiration is a little bit different. I started doing the Friday Inspiration posts because I find myself sending links to my video team all the time, and figured others might be inspired, too. So they’re usually video-based art pieces. But today’s inspiration, though it’s a filmed piece, is of a sand artist. And it shows art at its most powerful, having the ability to create beauty and emotion and action. Continue Reading
Friday Inspiration for July 16th, 2010
// July 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Inspiration, Motion Graphics
Next week, I’ll be in Malawi, Africa. So don’t hold your breath waiting for a Friday Inspiration, unless I find a lion with a 3G tracking transmitter strapped around his neck that I can hack into.
For this week’s inspiration, I just found this today. Quite a little gem of animation here. A trip through film history, graphically representing 35 films in 2 minutes. See how many you can spot, and go to the creator’s vimeo page and read the comments to see what’s there. Distilling concepts and visuals down to simple shapes that give us immediate understanding is something I find fascinating. This is about as good as it gets.
35mm from Felix Meyer on Vimeo.
Footage test from Canon 7D
// July 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Family, Video
Today a new camera arrives in the mail. It’s the latest Digital Rebel from Canon, and we’re getting it at work. We needed a new SLR still camera, but went with the T2i Rebel because it shoots excellent video, as well. Two of my teammates personally own T2is, and get great results. Continue Reading
Why I Use Adobe Premiere… On a Mac
// July 15th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Video
So yeah, I’ll come clean. I use a Mac. I’m a professional video guy. I have Final Cut on my Mac. And I use Adobe Premiere.
Crazy, huh? Any other Mac users out there using Premiere? Show your faces. It’s okay. This is a safe place. You’ll be welcome here. Continue Reading
Time-lapse clouds
// July 12th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Timelapse, Video
Yesterday morning saw some wicked weather in Kansas City. By afternoon, the fast moving and morphing clouds looked amazing. So I set up my camera, tripod, and laptop in the bathroom, where the top floor window faces south. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m some pervert, pointing a big zoom lens at their windows. Not the case, I assure you. I can plug in my laptop, but my camera battery surrenders after 2 hours and 40 minutes. I have another battery I could pop in (assuming I don’t move the camera), but I was having internet withdrawals and figured I had enough still shots for some good video. So here is the video, taken at one shot every 4 seconds, then sped up even more in After Effects.
Time-lapse clouds behind my house from Rob Webster on Vimeo.