Web Video – Page 2 – Journeys of a Hybrid

October 23, 2011

Being Yourself

Yesterday, I gave a talk and showed a bit of my film, Opening Our Eyes,

Opening Our Eyes One Sheet Poster 27x40" — Movie poster for Opening Our Eyes

at the PACA conference in New York City. I had been asked by ASPP to speak about the making of the film and my plans for distribution. To tell you the truth, even though I’m always thrilled to show and/or talk about the film, I was a bit nervous with this crowd. PACA stands for the Picture Archive Council of America and its member include some of the biggest stock photo agencies in the world, including Getty, Corbis, Masterfile and Alamy. I was nervous because part of my message was that I no longer needed the validation or others to get my stories to market.

I thought my message would be somewhat threatening, because I was telling the audience that content creators no longer needed the traditional gatekeepers of the past, to get their stories “out there.” That because of technology, it was possible for the individual to have a global reach and if one is willing to do the work – the prize is all theirs – meaning the monetary rewards.

I had a tough time slot to speak – right after lunch – I knew that I would be dimming the lights for the film and that is never a good thing to do in that time slot. But, Tom Kennedy had given his very inspirational talk about new media and new opportunities in the marketplace. I had heard Tom’s talk as part of ASMP’s SB 3 series this past year – and I knew that my presentation was a great follow up to his – and in fact it was almost like a case study example of what Tom was talking about.

My presentation went amazingly well and as I looked out into the dimly lit audience as the film was playing – I couldn’t see any closed eyes. I felt that I made a connection, and that perhaps in some small way, I had made a difference. Maybe, I just got people thinking about what they could do to make a difference in their own lives. And maybe I had influence beyond that. But, I know that I stayed true to myself. My intent was not to come off as threatening – but I did want to make people feel a tiny bit uncomfortable. It’s when we get uncomfortable that we push ourselves to a better place.

My message was simple. Someone doesn’t need to lose – in order for someone else to win.

October 5, 2011October 5, 2011

New Opportunities for Photography

For this post, I’m going to use a very broad definition for “photography”. I will define photography as any image still or motion shot by any camera – still camera, video camera, hybrid or even and iPhone.

The business of photography has changed with technology. To start with it demands more than just “still captures” in terms of content. These days, our clients are asking us to create stills and motion content and sometimes even 3D. On top of that technology has made it possible for almost anyone to take a reasonably good picture or video.

So where does that leave us as far as new opportunities in the business of photography? While some look in their rear view mirror and lament the passing of the good old days, I for one have my eye on the possibilities that are open to anyone willing to do the work.

My top 5 pick of opportunities out there:

Once Magazine – An online photo magazine made for the iPad. Photographs and video look great on the iPad and Once, magazine shares subscription revenue 50/50 with each issue’s contributors. You no longer need an assignment to shoot those long run stories you love and monetize them.
Crowdfunding – With Kickstarter, RocketHub
Distribution – Film DIY, Distribber
Funding and marketing – Sokap
PR and Marketing Tools – Topspin Media
Portal for e-commerce (also integrated websites) – Photoshelter

That’s a start. It’s never before been more possible than it is now to create, promote, market and monetize your “photography.” Be smart. Be authentic. Be courteous. Have a plan and be prepared to do the work. Anything is possible. Validation for your project is no longer necessary.

If you appreciate what I have shared – here’s one last link, a shameless plug to our funding campaign on IndieGoGo for our film, Opening Our Eyes. If you can, please contribute. If not, please pass along the link.

Marian Kramer, one of our subjects in the film says:
“We all just have to shine each other up.”

September 16, 2011

A Sad Day

This is out of the norm for this site, but I post this news to remind everyone to live their life each day as if it were their last. It’s a reminder to us all, to not put off those things you want to do or leave your words unsaid.

I write when I have something on my mind or feel that I have something to say and pass along. Today, I write because I’m heartbroken. I need to share some thoughts and then close out.

Willie “ Big Eyes” Smith – legendary blues musician, passed away – suddenly from a stroke. He was one of the seven Delta blues musicians that I interviewed for one of my first short documentaries back in 2002, The Delta Blues Musicians. They are all gone now – but one.

I’ll always remember the day I sat down to talk to Willie. It was relaxed and we had the most wonderful conversation, sitting on the porch of an old sharecropper shack at Hopson’s Plantation in Clarksdale, MS. I feel good that I captured his thoughts and words that day and preserved them for future generations. I feel that my purpose in life is to do just that – to document, record and capture the peoples and cultures of our times. I feel that is what I am here to do. When I stay on that course, I have peace inside. When I drift from that – I don’t feel right. I think I’ve always known that – but nowadays I try to stay focused on that path.

Willie’s passing reminds me yet again, how precious life is and to appreciate the now. For the most part, I do live in the now. I try to live my life as if this may be my last day on earth. It frees me from a lot of needless fears that stops lots of people from “doing”. It reminds me to tell my people that I love them because I may not get that chance again.

We all put things off or leave things left unsaid. Seven years ago, mom died suddenly, without warning. It seems like yesterday because the pain is still real and there is a hole left in my heart. I remember quite clearly the week before she died. It was a busy week and I had planned to give my mom a call because it had been awhile. I never did get that chance – and those words will go unsaid – forever.

We lost another blues legend earlier this year, Pinetop Perkins. Pinetop and Willie had just won a Grammy for the album “Joined at the Hip” that they worked on together. I had been meaning to head down to the Delta next month to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival – I had missed the festival last year and I wanted to hear Pinetop and Willie play. Sadly, I won’t get that chance to see and hear them in concert again. But I do have their records and I’ll always have their words, both on tape and tucked away in the recesses of my mind.

We’ll miss you Willie.

July 23, 2011July 24, 2011

More Stuff I Learned While Making a Movie

The day finally arrived – our first screening of Opening Our Eyes – a film that I have poured my heart and soul into over the last year and a half. Sounds like a cliché, but this project has consumed me in every way imaginable – good and bad.

As I looked up at the marquee of the State Theater in Traverse City, MI last Sunday morning, it hit me – we had done it. My daughter Erin and I had set out to make a film last Spring about people all over the world who were making it a better place – and we did it.

It was and will continue to be a lot of work – a lot more than I ever could have imagined. There have been some of the lowest of lows and the highest of highs along the way. There have been times of disappointment from unexpected sources and times of encouragement and support from remarkable people who came into my life because of this project.

I have learned so much since embarking on this journey – here are just a few things:

Believe in your dream. Lots of us have dreams but most of us don’t really believe in them. I think that makes all the difference as far as making your dream a reality – the ability to believe that your dream will happen. I have felt that this would happen from the first moment that I conceived the idea – I saw it – I heard it – This idea picked me – not the other way around.

Trust – I knew all along that for this film to be what I had envisioned it to be – I couldn’t do it alone. It could only succeed through the support of all the people who have contributed to this project from the beginning, whether by supporting it financially or just by being there for me to spring ideas off of. I really had to open myself up and trust that would happen – and it did. That’s not to say that I haven’t had my share of disappointments along the way, but I had to get past them and then learn to trust – again.

Work with people who share your vision. I used to think I could edit. but after working with my brilliant editor, Erik Freeland – now I just think I’m a hack. Finding Erik was a blessing. It’s not all that hard to find a good editor, but to find an editor who has the same drive and passion as I do for what this film is or can be – is a rare gift – and I know that. There have been a handful of times in my life, when this serendipity has happened and sometimes, I’ve been too busy to take notice – but this time, I not only took notice – I welcomed Erik’s vision. Because I was open to what Erik could bring to the film – it’s so much stronger.

Friends – As much as I know that I should never do anything for the sake of other people’s approval, there is always a part of me (my ego) that surfaces and seeks that approval or validation. Funny thing is that when you create something that is coming from such a sincere place in your own heart – a project that you’re so passionate about – people come into your life because of it. They are drawn in by your own enthusiasm. So when others, disappoint you or even take no notice at all – you realize their approval doesn’t really matter.
Chris Guillebeau has a wonderful blog post about this.

Feedback – One reason I had a couple of sneak previews this past week was to solicit feedback. When I get consumed with the mechanics of making a movie, especially the editing of the movie, I often get caught up in the nit picky stuff, (which is very important) but I need to step back and digest it as the overall movie. It’s tough when I’m so close to it, so I always solicit other’s input. I know I can’t accommodate everyone’s suggestions because I’d end up with a big mess if I tried. Some comments ring true and I may take them to heart, while other comments aren’t really along the same line of my thinking, so I discount them. Some people’s comments are brutal and cut deep, but after I get past the initial hurt, I realize sometimes, that the comments that cut deepest are the one’s that strike closest to the heart of the matter – and my inner voice takes notice.

Overcoming resistance – The most important thing of all. I did what I set out to do and that is to make a film that will motivate others and move them to action. During the first Q&A last week, a man stood up and thanked me for making the film. He told me that he hadn’t even intended to see a movie that morning – he had been looking at the posters announcing the lineup for the TC film festival this week and saw the marquee and came in. He told me that it changed his way of thinking – that it changed his life. And then he told me that I needed to screen this film for as many people as possible. That’s my ultimate goal – to share this film with others – and if one person in every audience reacts that way – well what more could I ask for?

This film may not be perfect and it may not be for everybody (certainly not the cynics), but I did something a lot of others never do – I executed my idea – rather than give myself lots of goods reasons why I couldn’t. I could cite plenty of reasons right now that could have or should have stopped me in my tracks. But I didn’t stop because I had such a strong belief in this dream – I saw it too clearly.

Whenever I pull back from my dreams and succumb to my own resistance, I stop and think about a line from a Joni Mitchell tune where she writes about old friends being “cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark café”. I stop and I think about that. I sure don’t want to end up being one of those people who piss away their own life by passing judgment about other people’s efforts or causes. And then, I get out and do something. That’s how I’m making a difference.

May 23, 2011

The “Real” Cost of Shooting Video With the DSLR

There was an interesting thread on ASMP’s video listservlast week. It started when a still photographer asked if a particular

DSLR camera would help him get into the game – of video.

Jan Allklier, a Seattle based photographer, shooting both stills and motion summed it up:

“If you simply want to ‘explore the medium’ a hybrid DSLR may well be the right ROI, although it really will only give you a flavor for moving images, not the workflow of professional moving image production, which encompasses a wide range all the way from feature film, to corporate work, to webisodes for small business; and many tools and skills well beyond the image capture device at hand.”

Kevin Kamin, Minneapolis based shooter, reminds us that it’s not just about the camera (or tool), but about the story:

“I understand why some photographers are looking to expand into video, it’s definitely doable, but I believe there is a tremendous underestimation of what is required to do so. I feel like video is being perceived as simply moving photographs-95% of the videos I’ve seen on commercial photographer’s website are not at a professional level (most feel like overly long, clunky, rough cuts that lack sophistication and a clarity of message). They say that ‘people who are good with a hammer tend to think everything is a nail’ So along that idea, many  of the videos feel like videos made by photographers, who haven’t fully grasped the spirit of the medium. People can enjoy a still photograph for a minute or  two, if it is compelling and engaging, but if you have three seconds of video footage that doesn’t move the story or lingers 15 frames too long, you just lost your viewer no matter how pretty it looks. Photography functions differently  within time based media.   Storytelling is the core of video. “

And Chuck Fadely, of the Miami Herald, connects the dots for us, first by passing along a link to Shane Hurlbut Visuals blog that lists the “standard” movie making rental gear for DSLR video. More importantly, Chuck reminds us that shooting motion is a skill set. It’s a different way of seeing and shooting.

“The hardest thing about video for a still photographer is learning to shoot in a totally different way. You’ve got to learn to shoot in sequences, with transitions. It takes years to overcome the habits you’ve built up as a still photog — like reframing, adjusting exposure, following action — which are death in video.   I was a news and feature photog with several decades of experience, with extensive lighting skills, good technical ability, and a knack for learning new stuff. I switched over to video full time and it was shocking how little transferred over. Video is a different beast.”

This was one of the easiest blog posts that I’ve ever written and maybe the most beneficial for readers. It brings up another important point and that is how much we can learn from each other. When I started shooting motion back in the mid ‘90’s – there really weren’t any listservs or social media forums where my peers were so forthcoming with information.

When people ask me why I’m so giving and sharing with my knowledge, I always tell them that I get back so much more than I give. What a great time to be alive.

May 6, 2011May 6, 2011

Top 5 Mistakes Photographers Make Moving From Stills to Motion

1.   Give it away – One of the best opportunities that still photographers have when expanding their businesses with video is to offer their new services to their existing clients. I hear from so many still photographers who squash this opportunity from the start by throwing in the video clips for free because they are still learning. First of all, I’m not a fan of learning on the job, but more importantly if you give your new skills away because you’re still learning, then the question is “At what point will you be good enough or have learned enough to charge for it?” Who decides that you or your client?
2.   Audio is an afterthought – Capturing good audio is more important than making a great image. If a viewer cannot understand the dialog, they will walk away. Don’t make audio an afterthought. Hire a good sound person.
3.   Position themselves as “just” a shooter – If you position yourself as just a camera person, then you will not only lose a lot of creative control, but you will leave money on the table by not making a profit on the other aspects of a video production. I position myself as a producer. That’s not to say that I don’t also shoot a job, but I oversee the entire production and charge accordingly for pulling together all the pieces.
4.   Don’t collaborate – Get over the one man band, solo creature model and surround yourself with a crew of experts that will make you look good. Build a team of editors, sound mixers, motion graphics artists etc.
5.   Forget about the story – Every good product, including commercial videos have a great story. You can have the best production values in the world, but if you don’t tell a good story, it will not resonate with your audience or your client.

April 27, 2011April 27, 2011

Validation No Longer Necessary

There seems to be a prevailing attitude of doom and gloom. We have an economy that can’t seem to turn itself around and we’re bombarded by change that technology continues to thrust upon us. We’re scared to death of the unknown and nobody seems to know what to do next and how to make any money doing it.

Yet, I’ve never been more hopeful in my life. Why? Because I no longer need someone else to validate my ideas – and that is a powerful notion. Those of us in the communication business seem to be particularly fearful. Some believe that the “news” business is dying because print publications – newspapers and magazines are folding every week. But the “news” business is not dying – it’s just being delivered in another way – electronically and globally. There are no longer just a few gatekeepers with a lock on the playing field.

Human beings are social animals and we will always have the need to communicate with each other. These days we can communicate with one another globally. An idea or creation can be shared around the world in a matter of minutes. Think of the power in that and think of how we can use that power and the opportunities it presents. I could digress into a discussion on the ethics of this thought but I’d like to focus more on the reach and influence that each one of us has in creating awareness.

Many of us get enamored with the latest devices that enable us to deliver and receive information with speed and ease. As technology’s exponential growth continues to change our lives in every way imaginable, we will constantly be incorporating and upgrading new gadgets and devices as part of our lives. We need to be mindful that these “toys” are merely enablers and that each one of us can use these tools to create and distribute our words, images, designs and ideas across the planet.

I think that we as creative’s or journalists underestimate ourselves sometimes. Perhaps because we chose professions that aren’t lucrative – at least in terms of money. However, what one is paid doesn’t necessarily correlate with one’s worth. We live in a time now where we can use our creative skills to really make a difference and to tell the stories that we feel need to be told. Mass communication has been democratized. We no longer need the traditional gatekeepers to validate our ideas.

I never would have dreamed that I would be able to circumvent the globe, create a documentary with only one other person in my crew – my daughter and then distribute it internationally. I never imagined that I would have the power to create awareness on a global level like I did when I uploaded my trailer to Vimeo. In a little more than a week’s time people in over 72 countries had played that video. Now in less than a month’s time, that trailer has been played in almost half the countries on the planet. Staggering thought.

This was not a commissioned project by a network or a motion picture studio. If I had waited for that – it never would have happened. I assigned myself. I was able to fund it by using my airline points, hotel rewards and doing trades with manufacturers for equipment. I also successfully raised money via Kickstarter a crowd funding site that made it possible for me to hire a professional editor. My daughter and I have been building an audience for our film since we started blogging about our journey. Our readers got more and more engaged as they followed us on our 99-day adventure around the world. They spread the word through Facebook and Twitter and via their own blogs and pretty soon word of our project spread virally. That was precisely our goal. To use our tools and skills to create a film about the change makers of our world so that others would be inspired and motivated as to what they can do.

I often think about how things in my life and in history would have been different if we had the Internet when I was growing up. For starters it would have had a huge effect on the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s and the Vietnam War. But everything happens in its own time and when it is meant to happen. Change can be scary or it can be embraced and sometimes both at the same time.

Never stop dreaming. Never stop learning. Always listen to that inner voice. Then use the means and the tools of the day to do the dance you are meant to do.

April 8, 2011

The Amazing Age of Convergence ….

…where anything is possible. I’ve haven’t written in awhile because I’ve been traveling. Last week I was in Chicago presenting a seminar at ASMP’s SB3 Seminar. It was the last one in a series and now I’m kind of going through withdrawal. There was so much sharing of information and ideas that no one wanted the conferences to end. But now we all need to initiate some of those ideas and apply some of the things we’ve learned. And that’s the part we can’t forget about – doing the work that will bring our ideas to fruition.

In my last blog I wrote about believing that the impossible is possible. I don’t mean to over simplify that notion and to say that all we have to do is have a positive mindset and things will happen for us. What I really mean to say is that without the belief that we have the power to do anything we put our minds to –we would never try – we would never give something a chance to happen. But along with that comes plenty of times when it just doesn’t happen – the first time, the second and third time and many times after that. And that’s when we need try again – and maybe harder.

The good news is that these days it seems like all our tools are converging to make just about anything possible. We no longer need someone to validate our ideas because we can validate our own. We have affordable cameras that shoot stunning still images and video. We have non-linear editing software to create the stories and we have Facebook and Twitter to get the word out about them. We have crowd funding sites like Kickstarter to raise money so that we can make our ideas a reality. And when our videos are finished we can upload them to YouTube or Vimeo and share them. We can also distribute our creations through image portals, downloaded Apps or through iTunes.

Last week I uploaded a trailer for my documentary Opening Our Eyes. As of today people in 71 countries have played the trailer! I sent the link to less than 30 people and they passed it on, embedded it on Facebook and blogs and it took on a life of its own. That simply amazes me because of the power that we now have to connect and communicate with just about anyone, anywhere in the world. That’s revolutionary. That’s a game changer. That’s powerful.

I’ve just arrived in Las Vegas to attend the NAB show. The National Association of Broadcasters has one of the world’s largest broadcast conferences in the world. All the movers and shakers of the broadcast world are here to network, make announcements about new products and learn. It will be another solid week of input overload with my head bursting with ideas and possibilities. And every one of the ideas has the real possibility of happening because of the age we live in.

If only I had more time.

March 28, 2011

Editing a Trailer – Part II

First let me thank everyone for his or her comments and suggestions. It’s very difficult to cut a short trailer because I’m so close to the story(s) that it’s hard not to make assumptions or see the obvious. I’ve always found that getting feedback from people is important at a certain point in the process. I want to be far enough along in the edit that it’s “almost” there but not so far that I’m reluctant to change things.

My first impulse after reading everyone’s comments was to take all the suggestions to heart and I started implementing the changes. I quickly realized it was starting to feel like a corporate job that had been designed by committee and it was somehow missing the mark. I was trying to cover all bases, trying to please everyone and I was losing sight of my own insights.

I took the weekend to revisit the trailer every now and then, in between socializing with my brothers and sister and their families. It was the first time we had all been together since my mother died, over 7 years ago. My brother was up from Florida and it was his kids first time seeing snow. It brought out the kid in all of us – throwing snowballs and sledding down our front yard, which is pretty steep, and not for the timid.

As usual, taking a break from the technology brought everything back into perspective. This morning I knew what I needed to do. I shuffled some things around, cut 20% out, adjusted the sound and the text and came up with something I think that I can live with. It’s not perfect but like Maggie says in the trailer “If I waited for things to be perfect, I never would have done it”. So I’m throwing this out to the universe and see what transpires.

http://www.vimeo.com/21598761

Thanks again to all who took the time to watch and comment on my previous renditions. I appreciate your comments more than you know. Occasionally, when I’m at a conference or another professional event, someone will come up to me and thank me for what I share in my blog or tell me that something I said inspired them. The truth is it works both ways because I get so much in return.

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March 24, 2011

Editing a Trailer

Like anything else the best way to learn how to do something is to “see” how it’s done. I wanted to create a trailer for my documentary. I’m working with a professional editor on this project but while he is getting acquainted with over 160 hours of footage, I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could create a trailer.

For me, it’s always much harder to edit a very short piece. Everything becomes more critical – every cut – every shot – every sound bite and sound effect – every slate and every high and low in the music. And trailers are the ultimate shorts. You need to peak someone’s interest and make them wanting more.

I started paying attention to the trailers on DVD’s and online. I watched them to see how they were constructed. I analyzed them and paid close attention to things like sound effects, music and slates and if it made me want to see the movie. There were a couple of trailers in particular that I really liked, each for different reasons. One trailer was for the film I Am. This trailer gave me some ideas on how to use music and text to deliver the story idea in a concise way and get people’s attention. I also liked it because it was just vague enough to intrigue me but not to confuse me. Another trailer I like is Dennis Connor’s Breaking Boundaries; the Art of Alex Masket. There are a lot of things I love about this trailer. Dennis’s subject Alex Masket couldn’t communicate verbally so Dennis blended visuals of Alex using other people’s sound bites as the narrative. He also had a beautiful jazzy musical score composed for the trailer.

My challenge was that I had to make a trailer for a film that was about 11 stories. The first thing that I needed to remind myself was that it really wasn’t about 11 stories. It was about 11 people but ultimately one story. With that thought I started pulling together my strongest sound bites. One benefit of spending all that time editing the past few months was that I was very intimate with the interview footage and I knew where to look for the gems. I was looking for provocative remarks that left one wondering and they needed to be short and to the point.

Once I got the stand out sound bites on a timeline I started looking for some live action footage and other b-roll. Then I began to interweave the appropriate visuals with the sound bites – pacing them – giving the piece a bit of time to breathe. I also added slates with text to help tell the story.

Once I got it down to a reasonable length – in my case 3:45 – which is still a minute too long – I started looking for the perfect music. I came across Neosounds.com a royalty free music site with some of the best RF music out there. Picking music for me is like picking wallpaper, going back and forth until everything starts to sound the same. After making a few painful decisions, I integrated my musical choices into the timeline. There was still something missing and that was sound effects. There are hundreds of great free sound effects that come with Soundtrack Pro. I picked a couple of them to boost and emphasize certain spots in the trailer but I wanted to keep them subtle. For example I used a sound effect of a motorcycle in one spot and a jet engine taking off in another.

What has resulted from this exercise are two variations of a trailer. I am sharing these both with everyone because I would like feedback. I don’t want to influence opinion here, other than to say one trailer has a bit of more information than the other. One is also 15 sec. longer. Any and all comments are welcome.

Which one should I use?

Watch the links in this order.

http://www.vimeo.com/21241911

http://www.vimeo.com/21376387