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6.5 Ways To Start And Finish A Documentary Film Project

Post originally appeared on BlogWorld.com (6.5 Ways To Start And Finish A Documentary Film)

For the past year, I have been working on an online documentary video series called Innovators of Vancouver that documents leaders of vision, passion and action throughout my hometown of Vancouver, WA. Each episode is 5-10 minutes and combines a filmed interview with B-roll of the Innovator doing the work that inspired me to choose their story for the project. I have finished six episodes, currently working on the seventh episode, and because of my work on this project, I often get asked by aspiring documentary filmmakers what they need to know to get started making their own documentary projects. Among everything that one could know about making documentary films, here are six and a half things that any aspiring documentary filmmaker needs to know about starting and finishing a documentary film project.

1) Know What Interests You

A lot of people don’t know where to start when it comes to making a documentary and it is important to start with what interests you. It could be something serious that you have personally struggled with such as depression or cancer. It could be the story of your grandparents coming to America. It could be a visual blog post about your addiction to gator meat or your love affair with coffee and doughnuts.

2) Start In Your Own Backyard

You don’t need to travel the world in search of experts or subject matter for your documentary film. What you are interested in and what you end up making a film about can be filmed in your own community, all it takes is finding the people that share the same affinities that you have. Start with your friends, family, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse or kids. Ask them their thoughts on your subject, this is formally known as conducting a pre-interview. It helps you to develop a report with your subject off-camera, ensuring that you know exactly what they bring to your documentary film. It also helps you with step three.

3) Learn How To Ask Great Questions

Essential to great documentary film production is the ability to ask great questions that are open-ended and specific to your interviewee’s experience with your subject. By pre-interviewing people you learn about the depth of their experience, their passion or dispassion for your subject, and helps you to craft a series of questions that go beyond who, what, when, where, why and how. With that said, the best place to start is:

These aren’t the best questions, but they are a starting point, but you will only get to the ending point if you…

4) Shut Up And Listen

Don’t be like newsanchors and pundits that interrupt to get their agenda and point across, shut up and listen to what the person is saying. Nod your head in agreement, emote with body language, empathize when necessary. If you think of something to ask as a follow-up, write it down and wait until they are done talking before asking the question. Learn how to make people feel comfortable by looking them in the eye and giving them 100% of your attention.

5) Adding Images And Video To Further Tell The Story

Now that your interview is recorded, find photos and film B-roll that will help visually tell the story. Childhood photos go well with stories from your grandparents. Film volunteers serving in the community, follow your subject as they go about their business during the day, and don’t forget to get multiple angles, wide-shots, close-ups and everything in between.

6) Edit Everything To Tell A Broader Story

Open your favorite video editor: Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro, iMovie, Windows Movie Maker and start watching the interviews. Clip what stands out, forget the rest. Start adding the B-roll on top of the interviews. Keep building without worrying about the length of the project. Once you have a strong beginning, middle and end, eliminate the fluff. Fine-tune the edits. Level your audio so that all of your interviews are at the same volume. Add some background music, but don’t break copyright laws: use royalty free music or find a local musician that will let you use their music in return for free advertising.

Now that you have a finished documentary film, here is the final tip:

6 1/2) Do it again

Don’t just check “Make Documentary Film” off your bucket list, do it again with a different subject. You’ll learn better ways to do specific techniques, your editing will tighten, you’ll learn what to shoot and what not to shoot, and you’ll become more comfortable reaching out to subject matter experts that bring depth and credibility to your finished film.

With that, get out there and start your next documentary film. Most importantly, finish it, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo, and share it in the comments of this post.

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Make Better Videos, Part 3: Remember The Passionate Beginning

Post originally appeared on BlogWorld.com (Make Better Videos, Part 3: Remember The Passionate Beginning)

Ask any working filmmaker a simple question: “what movie would you make if you could, right now?” After a second or two, you will most likely hear an accurate and intricate description of the movie that plays in his or her mind. A glimmering glow slowly erupting from the depths of forgotten passion, showering you with excitement and energy, capturing a glimpse of the original desire to make movies. Somewhere along the way, filmmakers inevitably forget about their specific origin of filmmaking passion. They get caught up in the professional pursuits of their career and over time lose their excitement. Regardless, as long as filmmakers desire to learn, grow and make better videos, they must continually remember the passionate beginning of their movie-making career.

Taking Your Pulse: Where Are You At Today?

Filmmaking is demanding, time-consuming and expensive. Creatively speaking, it’s hard to keep the juices flowing day after day, year after year. The little experiments that once brought tremendous joy, gave way to minimized risk, lessened satisfaction, and a deep-seated desire to escape the burdens of professional filmmaking. This is a critical part of the unfortunate, yet necessary, journey of the artist (yes, filmmakers are artists). If you can make it through the severe times of drought and doubt, you will become a stronger and more devoted filmmaker.

So, where are you at on your journey? For myself, I have been making videos for about ten years and I am coming to a point where I need to empty myself of all that I have learned, so that I can reconnect with why I initially wanted to make videos: To tell stories that matter.

Over the years, I have grown in my technical abilities, but I daily struggle with maintaining my passion and excitement. The stories became less about subjects that mattered and more about making sure that bills were paid and obligations maintained. Not the greatest ingredients for filmmaking success. So, how do you rediscover your initial enthusiasm for filmmaking?

How Far Away Are You From When You Began?

The first step in connecting with your passionate beginning—–why you make videos—–is identifying where you are at. This will help you to identify and strip away all of the baggage that has piled upon your foundations of passion and desire, things like:

As you purge these distractions and de-motivators from your creative process, you will actually see that you are closer to your passion than you realize.

Recapturing The Creativity And Passion Of The Early Years

The next step in recapturing the passionate beginnings of your filmmaking career is to make the film you want to make. Here are a few things that you can do:

By letting the naïve filmmaker within emerge and run free, you might just make better videos that surprise even the internal critic. But in order to do that, you must never forget the passionate beginning to your movie-making career.

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Video Tip: Don’t Cut Off Your Action!

A few weeks ago, I was handed some DVD’s with video clips for a project I was hired to edit. As I worked my way through the footage, I came across several clips that were shortened by the videographer prematurely stopping the camera before the scene ended.

Which brings me to a video tip that I need to remember as much as the videographer that gave me the footage:  Don’t cut off your action!

  1. Start recording
  2. Wait 3-5 seconds (This is called pre-roll)
  3. Say “Action”
  4. Your subject will now talk or the scene will proceed as planned
  5. Say “Cut”
  6. Wait 3-5 seconds (This is called post-roll)
  7. Stop recording

That’s it! Seven easy steps to not cutting off your action.

Happy filmmaking!

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Creativity Is Getting Lost To Be Found

Growing up, I remember being fascinated with maps, globes, and road atlases. I would stare at the different countries, trace how far they were from Washington, dreaming of one day making the real-life journey to those distant lands.

I read the atlas like others would a novel, fascinated with imaginary journeys and people, intrigued by the lay of the land. When my family went to the store, I wanted to know which store we were going to, the roads we would drive on, the proximity to major freeways, and the minor roads that connected at different spots. Long before the days of GPS and Google Maps, I used this knowledge to give concise directions from Seattle to our home in Hockinson.

To this day, I don’t like to get lost, preferring to always know where I am and where I am going. However, this desire to always know where I am, never wanting to be lost, has been adapted in how I use and express my creativity.

Creativity Is Knowing Where You Are…

The funny thing about creativity is that you consistently need to take stock of what you have and where you are. You can’t blindly drive down the road expecting to arrive safely and timely to your destination. Your eyes must be open, destination known. But once those two aspects are known, you have freedom to define the journey in an infinite number of possibilities. Projects typically have parameters and goals that need to be met (your destination). You then take your skills and abilities (where you are currently at) and plot a course and plan of action for the completion of the project.

The danger is when you always begin a journey in the same place, never seeking another way to get to your destination. When you never take a chance and risk getting lost, everything looks, tastes, sounds, and feels the same. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

…So That You Can Get Lost

The joy of living a creative life is found in getting lost, eventually arriving at your destination in new and exciting ways. Not only that, but there are additional benefits to getting lost. You stop at unexpected places. You meet people you otherwise would not have met. You see new things and realize that there is more to our lives than what we daily experience.

All of this fuels our creativity. We change the way we speak and write, what we photograph or paint diversifies, our lives grow beyond the borders of our past assumptions, and most importantly, the starting point for our next journey has shifted.

We are not the same.

We will never be the same.

That is what is so frightening and exciting about getting lost. We not only find new ways, but ourselves as well.

I can’t wait to get lost. In fact, I think I’ll go for a drive right now.

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Creativity Is Action

The people that I consider my heroes all have the same character traits: they not only dream big dreams, but they act upon those dreams and bring them to life.

Heroes Of Action

In 2008, I traveled to The Gambia, Africa to produce a documentary on the construction of a school building for an organization called Shared Blessings. The founders of the organization are two of my heroes because they not only inspire me to act upon my dreams, but they are shining examples of what it means to be creative in what they do, and in the pursuit of completing the daily tasks that compose their dreams.

They realized that their dreams wouldn’t become a reality by just dreaming. They had to act. They had to work hard. They had to sacrifice and save, spending wisely. They had to bring others on-board that could do things that they couldn’t do, and they had to be open to what happens when you act upon a vision for a better future: change.

Popular Slogans Aside, Creativity Is About Action

Creativity is all about doing and acting upon what I want to see, witness or communicate to myself or others. I often tell myself that I’m not “feeling creative” or “inspired” and choose to do something else regardless of timelines or deadlines. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t a habit. What I have learned by escaping the present reality of being proactive in the pursuit of my goals is that I become lazy by not working hard through the feelings of non-creativity.

By allowing procrastination to become a habit, I dream smaller dreams, knowing that I can handle them. My actions become sporadic and less structured. I spend more money on reference materials, searching for a new idea or path, even though I never gave up on the path I’m currently on. I have become the hare, cocky and self-assured that I can still win the race regardless of resting and then running at double-speed to catch up. But the tortoise will always beat me if I have that mentality.

Act, Then Rest

Creativity, much like life, is more fruitful and beautiful when you work hard to the point of exhaustion, followed by a period rest and relaxation. This is the cycle of creative regeneration that is not talked about much.

I often hear that in order to grow your creativity you need to feed it, but that is only half the picture. Yes, you need to feed your creativity, but you also need to spend your creativity, to empty your storage tanks so that you can fill them up again. I have a yard debris bin and when I forget to empty it, it starts to smell because the grass clippings and weeds decompose. This is exactly what happens to our creativity if we don’t spend what we have stored. We become mushy and we smell.

Creativity becomes active and alive when we daily pursue big dreams that take more than what we have to offer. This pursuit pushes us to the edge of what is known, shoving us into the realm of the unknown, giving us a glimpse of eternity that is only found in a creative, expressive spirit.

 

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Creativity Is Education

To Whom It May Concern:

You may not remember me, but I’m your creativity. I died when you stopped learning about new techniques and technologies, relying solely upon your past experience. It was a slow death because at first you had something to prove, so you needed to back up your bravado and ego with results. But as your accomplishments increased, your bravado lessened, your ego exploded, and the desire to investigate and learn was the first casualty.

In time, as I died, you started to look at work itself as the source of the problem. You changed focuses and mediums, sacrificed art for supposed craft, and ran around the office like a chicken staring down the farmer’s axe. Never wondering, even once, if the solution to the problem was to learn something new about what you do. Instead you bemoaned the loss of me, your creativity, wondering where I went.

Where did I go?  The truth is that I didn’t go anywhere. I am sitting on the bookshelves that surround you each day. I live in the source code and design of the websites you visit, in the composition and textures of the photographs you look at, and in the story and artistry of the movies you watch.  I exist in the work of your friends and colleagues. I am the expression of acquired knowledge and assumptions, the communication of reflections and inflections, the conversation of questions and answers, and the collective pursuit of learning how to better do all those things. I am living for today and for tomorrow. And you are still living in the past.

The good news? I am not dead forever. I can be revived. It just takes time and a desire to learn and grow. To travel beyond the existing borders of what is known. Admitting that you need me and that you let your arrogance and laziness get in the way of living a creative life.

Most importantly, you need to realize that while it may be true that there is nothing new under the sun, you might just find the secrets of the future, buried in the wisdom of the past.

This is the promise of a fully-alive, creative spirit.

I know this is what you want. I’m telling you that this is what you need.

Sincerely,

Your Creativity

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Creativity Is Experimentation

Want to know the secret to having more creativity and feeling fulfilled in your creative pursuits? Try something new. Put on a lab coat, spike your hair like the evil mad scientist you know you are deep down inside, and step into your creative laboratory. It’s time to experiment!

Start In The Sandbox Before Going To The Beach

I am amazed with the architectural genius of people that build amazing sandcastles. As someone that makes really bad sandcastles—think towers of plastic bucket-shaped mounds of sand—I look at what is created and sculpted by the pros and think that I am not good enough, so I don’t even try. But I need to realize that the pro sandcastle builders started somewhere, and it was probably not at the beach. They probably had a sandbox at home where they could learn and practice the different techniques of sandcastle building without performing for the general public. Eventually, their confidence and abilities were ready for the big time, and they went to the beach.

In regards to technology, we should develop sandbox environments that allow us to try new ideas without first facing the scrutiny of the public. When implementing new code or programming ideas, it is never a good idea to edit live code without first testing the changes. That is why most programming environments actually have an area called sandboxes for developers to test code.

Safe Places To Fail

Adopting sandbox environments create safe places to fail. Without failure, we cannot learn about what worked and what didn’t. We also cannot learn new things unless we embrace failure and try new things.

Common lore says that Thomas Edison discovered 999 ways to make a lightbulb, not that he failed 999 times. That is a very optimistic view of failure and necessary for us to emulate when experimenting with new creative ideas.

But how do these safe places fit in to your business model? Do you allow your employees time to grow and learn without fear that they could lose their job if they fail?

Knowing that jobs are secure in the pursuit of new ideas is the only way to foster creative innovation. But that is a risk that management is going to need to take. It might even be a risk that creatives of the future might have to make regardless, in order to set themselves apart from all of the others in the over-saturated markets.

Have Fun

Experiments are meant to be fun. Smile. Giggle. Get messy. Remember what it was like to be a kid again and try something new.

There will always be structured time, devoted to productivity and profit, but it is a challenge to justify—to ourselves, let alone bosses, spouses and co-workers—that time for creative experiments is vital and necessary to a thriving and expanding creative world that unveils daily treasures of art and beauty.

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Creativity Is Imagination

Have you ever caught yourself dreaming? Of places you’ve never seen before? About combinations of existing objects that would create the unknown and new? Or the unlimited variety of mediums on your magical palette of sounds, images, words, textures and tastes? About the possibilities of life? The endless bounds of technology and progress? About a perfect world free from the confines of disease, poverty, sickness, or even death?

All of these imaginations, whether real or in your mind, are beautiful examples of creativity.

Imagined In Your Mind

Creativity is a two-way street of imagination and creation: imagining in your mind what potentially could be and figuring out how to bring it into being. I often make excuses that I’m not creative enough. We are all guilty of saying that at some point in our lives, but is it because we spend too much time on sustaining what has already been made, and not enough time on what could be?

In 2008, Mike Wallace edited and released a collection of essays called The Way We Will Be 50 Years From Today: 60 of the World’s Greatest Minds Share Their Visions of the Next Half-Century. It is a book filled with raw and pure imagination from scientists, philosophers, inventors, economists, world leaders, and many others thinking about a world free from disease, war, addiction to oil, and even robots.

In Tim Mack’s essay, “Snapshot of a World with the New Nation of California,” a vision of a world filled with non-humanoid robots is laid out in a thought-provoking manner. Mack talks about how much artificial intelligence will have learned in 50 years, yet still have much to learn from the minds of humanity because of their lack of innovation, imagination and curiosity.

This is the beauty of creativity and imagination: the sole expression of an individual’s humanity. Creativity is what makes us human and sets apart from machines and animals. Mack sums it up succinctly, “The ability of the human mind to go beyond the status quo and believe in dreams has proved a cornerstone of our humanity.”

An Unlimited Playground Of What Could Be

Do you remember what life was like when you were a kid? I remember playing with my Star Wars action figures, pretending that I was on Tatooine, saving Princess Leia from the evil Jabba the Hut. I could travel at warp speeds between reality and make-believe. It was an unlimited playground of not only being someplace else, but imagining what could be.

As I grew older, the cynicism of adulthood got the better of me, abandoning me to a bar stool in the mental bar of Mos Eisley, drunk on the spoiled wine of a wasted youth, wishing that my broken-down spaceship could even get out of port, let alone, half way to my imagination.

But eventually, I got off the bar stool and realized something: creativity is not only imagination, but also creation. Creativity implies a sense of intentional and purposeful action.

Created By Your Actions

Imagination without action is just day-dreaming. It won’t bring about what could be. It just reminds of us how miserably discontent we are. We get mad, get drunk, and then forget about what could be until we repeat the cycle the next day.

Creativity becomes alive and meaningful when we act upon our imagination, our dreams. You never know what could be, if you never try to change what is, and that is why creativity is best not to stay imagined in your mind alone. It needs to be shared with the world.

If that intimidates you or you think you aren’t good enough, start with expressing your creativity to yourself. Belief in yourself is a great place to start, but too many end there becoming arrogant. The only way to avoid the trappings of ego is to share creativity with another person, followed by groups of others, allowing them to shape and morph what could be, into what is.

Are you imagining big and exciting things? Are you sharing those dreams with others? Or are you just sitting on the sidelines moping and bemoaning that you are good enough and should be playing in the big game with the rest of us?

Consider this your wake-up call to get in the game. Act on your dreams and express your humanity. If not for yourself, for the sake of the world.

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Creativity Is Fascination

It’s funny what runs through your mind when going through the daily morning routines. Standing beneath the stream of water in the shower, I started to think about creativity. What is creativity? How can I be more creative? What can I learn from the people on FastCompany‘s list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business (June 2011)? Is there a model for long-term sustainable creativity or am I destined to burnout, eventually being stripped of the “creative” label?

Focused Obsession

Creativity is fascination, a focused obsession, with people, places and objects. It’s looking at them with a sense of wonder and amazement, pondering the very methodologies and systems at work in the core of their being.

Focused obsession takes time: sitting, observing, interviewing, questioning, testing, experimenting. One can never know just how much time to devote to creativity because focused obsession could unveil unlimited creative connections in the first minute of your day, or could come after an arduous battle one year later.

Unfocused Time

An absence of rush, putting aside time restrictions in order to get to the core of creative connections is imperative. It helps your mind to wander in and out of different observations, ponder symbolism (existing or non-existant), typography, colors, emotions, form and function.

If you told yourself you had 15 minutes to be creative, could you do it? Chances are you would feel frustrated and be thinking about the impossibility of the task at hand. Compare that to having an hour or even a whole day. The freedom of unfocused time is brilliant and necessary in the initial stages of creativity.

Feeding Your Unlimited Fascination

The funny thing about creativity is that it feeds upon your existing knowledge base in order to make connections between the known and the unknown. If you are writer, do you read? If you are an artist or designer, do you draw? Studying the basics of your craft, be it words, form and perspective, or even scales will give you that much more to draw from.

However the basics are not enough to sustain a creative fascination. You need to go beyond the basics and enter a world that you find intriguing and fascinating. For me, I am intrigued by politics, story, art, photography, mythology, science, religion, people and a whole host of subjects that feed my creative pursuits.

The more that I dive into my underlying fascinations of life, the more creative I am.

The more that I allow my mind unfocused time to be obsessively focused, the more creative my work is.

The more that I stop trying to envision the end-result from the start of a project allowing it to unfold naturally, the more fulfilling, creative and sustainable my life and work becomes.

What do you find fascinating? How does this feed your creativity each day?

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On Abundance and Deficiency: Needs and Wants

Last week, I learned a lot as I delved into the abundance and deficiency of a group of opposites:  Vision and Mission, Leaders and Managers, Education and Information, and Silence and Noise. I end this series (for now) with a look at the differences between needs and wants, and how they ultimately change our perspective on what is important and how we manage resources.

What do you need? Does this change what you want?

There is nothing more subjective than asking the question, “What do you need?” Answers could range from the material and tangible like a gallon of milk and money for bills, to the latest handheld mobile device or a new car. It is in the answers to the question that we are faced with the truth: our culture is confused between needs and wants.

Needs directly impact our daily lives by being items of sustenance, wants are are something that could improve our lives, but won’t make things worse if they were absent.

Knowing the Difference Saves Money

Needs and wants are important to distinguish in business, not just life. If we misidentify our business needs because of tech-envy, techno-lusts, or comparing what we have or don’t have to others, we are in danger of creating deficiencies in money and time.

One of my biggest regrets in business is that when I first started out I did not have a strong understanding of what I needed versus what I wanted. I think that a lot of this had to do with not having a strong vision and mission. By choosing to initially focus on four specialities (web design and development, graphic design, video production and photography), I purchased software and equipment for each specialty, thus spending more money (often in the form of credit) than I needed to.

Now that I have a clear understanding of my business vision and mission, it is easier to save money, curbing the desire to spend the money I do have. I have become selective in my purchases, slower to react to what I might need in order to give the sensation of “I WANT” time to dissipate.

Knowing the Difference Saves Time and Energy

Knowing the difference between needs and wants also directly affects time, specifically in the projects I choose to take as well as the aspects of each project that need to be prioritized and completed each day.

Again, history becomes the teacher as I look back over the years at the projects that I should not have accepted and how they directly affected my time and energy reserves. It is my hope that as I attempt to learn from my mistakes that I become selective at what I need to do, and even more careful in what I want to do.

Time, which directly impacts energy, is extremely sensitive to change. Therefore, it is imperative that I understand the difference between what I need to do to pay bills and plan for the future versus what I want to do in order to satisfy my creative urges and idealistic flights of fancy.

Focus

I tend to focus way too much on wants, which prevents me from doing the work that I need to do. In order to be more productive and effective, taking a few minutes to determine some criteria to distinguish between needs and wants will help me save money, time and energy before it’s too late.

How about you?

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On Abundance and Deficiency: Silence and Noise

If silence is golden, what color is noise? I ask this question as I am bombarded by noise: distractions, information, “stuff.” Music plays in the background, giving my life a soundtrack; an internal laugh-track laughs at every one of my jokes, giving my life meaning; and the images and words of journalists, news anchors and pundits give my world context.

Visually and aurally, progress is becoming exceedingly noisy as more things vie for our attention. Advertisements and advice, news and trivia, meaningful words and pointless punditry, latest technologies and past innovations, who to vote for, which book to read, why reading doesn’t matter, how to be happy and fit, how to succeed in business without really trying, it’s all there and more, in the guise of making us better people. But it’s still noise. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned silence?

Silence and Noise–Visually

Stillness vs. Motion: There is something about the calming nature of stillness, a complete lack of motion. We notice when there is no breeze, the stillness of the air. A soft gentle breeze blowing through the trees is often a picture of serenity and tranquility. Yet, too much wind is scary and destructive. Look no further than the destruction caused recently by tornadoes and hurricanes.

Visual stillness–as represented by media such as photography, painting, drawing and sculpture–can imply a sense of motion, but often the inanimate qualities of those particular mediums force us to stop and ponder the meaning of the art piece. As motion is added, in the case of film and television, the elements of noise available in those mediums increase infinitely, and even the absence of audible noise itself can be noisy.

How do we process the motion? Do we have a harder time stopping ourselves from moving while allowing the visual silence and noise to envelop us? Do we lose focus the faster images are cut together? How quickly do we change the channel or stop the movie when we are bored or fail to see the relevance?

Order vs. Chaos: In many ways, visual silence is bringing order to the chaos of visual noise. Whether that is through form, composition or simply choosing to hold on a specific shot longer, this desire to be less noisy can actually increase understanding of artistic intent. But, it is easier to allow the chaos to unfold instead of processing, analyzing and bringing a visual sense of order.

Chaos can be interesting, and if that is your intent, excellent. Use it. Embrace it. But if you long for understanding, purpose and meaning, you are going to need to allow your audience, the people viewing your visual imagery, time to process what they have seen. Perhaps that is why films end a scene by fading to black, a visual form of a breath, giving us a moment to relax and let thoughts move throughout our mind?

Noise and Silence–Aurally

In the realm of hearing, noise and silence is easier to distinguish than in the visual spectrum. While there are certain similarities between visual and aural, audible noise affects us in deep ways, especially as we look at a trait that is in decline in our modern times: Focus.

Distraction vs. Focus: I love to listen to music, especially the hard rock sounds of crushing rhythm guitars, pounding drums, and thundering bass. But I find that the louder the music, the less I am able to focus on tasks that require intense thought and purposed action. When skills are internalized and have reached a certain level of mundanity, the music becomes louder. But as I move beyond my comfort zone, the volume decreases. Eventually, I have to stop the music, turn off the phone, and focus.

Once I am done stretching myself intellectually, music and other sources of noise are re-introduced, and I move throughout my day.

Ignorance vs. Intelligence: Is there a correlation to the amount of noise in someone’s life with their level of ignorance or intelligence? Does the volume of noise matter? If you are constantly distracted, are you able to effectively learn? Does that even matter?

The establishment, maintenance and growth of our individual intelligence is critical in order to fight the collective ignorance that we face throughout society. The only way to grow is to endure moments of silence, because in those moments, we are confronted with the thoughts that are in the forefront of our minds. Could that be the reason we love noise so much and why progress is so noisy? Because we are afraid to be alone with our thoughts?

It’s All In Your Mind

Ultimately, whether you choose to succumb to the noise or fight for an increased amount of silence depends upon one thing: your mind. The more you learn about yourself, listen to your thoughts and become okay with your place in the world, the less noise you will let into your life. If you are increasingly unhappy with who you are and what you do, I believe that your life will be that much noisier.

However, as you long to be at peace internally, which only comes as you “know thyself,” you will strive for more moments of meditation and reflection. It is only in times of silence that true peace is possible.

So, how noisy is your life?

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On Abundance and Deficiency: Education and Information

I’m not sure about you, but I am swimming in a sea of information about everything. I get up to speed with the latest business information on Twitter, Facebook tells me what’s going on with my friends and family, I get informed about the news of the world through a variety of websites and TV shows, I grow my source of knowledge by reading a wide-range of topics from politics and religion to media consumption and propaganda, and let’s not forget the daily outpouring of social gossip. Information is abundant, we consume it, and eventually move on to the next juicy morsel.

Education, for kids and adults, on the other hand is daily becoming deficient as social networks and technological advancements increase the real-time flow of information. If education is “the act of developing the powers of reason and judgment” (Dictionary.com), how does the amount of information and speed of delivery impact that educational process? How do we learn to make informed decisions upon all of the information that is available to us? In record amounts of time no less?

A Sobering View of the Consumption of Information

In How to Watch TV News, authors Neil Postman and Steve Powers quote some sobering statistics from the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding the amount of television that kids watch in their lifetime:

In America, despite warnings from the American Academy of Pediatrics about the fact that 40 percent of three-month-olds watch TV or videos an average of forty-five minutes a day, or five hours a week, and children between the ages of two and twelve watch an average of twenty-five hours of television per week. The young ones watch about five thousand hours before entering the first grade, and by high school’s end the average American youngster has clocked nineteen thousand hours in front of a TV set. The same youngster will have spent only thirteen thousand hours in school, assuming that he or she is regular in attendance. What it comes down to is that American children spend 30 percent of their waking hours in front of a television set.

19,000 hours in front of a TV set and only 13,000 hours in a classroom? This doesn’t bode well for students learning to discern, process and analyze the information that bombards them.

What would the numbers look like if you added internet, social networks and mobile apps usage? The gap between education and information would no doubt continue to grow.

Does Education Really Matter?

Depth of understanding, reason, knowledge and wisdom matter. The only ways to foster and grow in those areas is through education and time, which happen to be the main enemies of an abundant culture of information. Education, the imparting of reason and judgment to others, is imperative in today’s society because if we never learn to critically think for ourselves, we will become the victims of those that will gladly think for us: corporations, governments, politicians, authority figures, news pundits, and those that seek to manipulate others.

Education takes time, and time is the only true way to look at the long-term effects of the pursuit of reason and judgment. You can’t just expect to know all that there is to know about a subject in a 140 character tweet or even a 1,000 word blog entry. You need to know how to read beyond the particular viewpoint of the author, recognize their manipulation of statistics, question the quoting of quantitative analysis without giving context or the results of the particular study, and most importantly, identify any or all propaganda.

Educational Filters for Informational Floods

As schools and universities struggle to keep up with the declining interest in funding and pursuing education, we need to take an active interest in learning how to better educate ourselves. The best way to do this is to learn how to create filters for the floods of information that bombard us. By learning to tune our eyes and ears to keywords and phrases, we can sift through the raging waters in order to find the gold. But even then we need to process and check the gold to make sure that it is not fool’s gold.

After all, if you are willing to take anything from a stream of information without checking it against your own sense of reason and judgment, you are in danger of becoming the fool. And no one wants that.

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On Abundance and Deficiency: Leaders and Managers

What is the difference between a leader and a manager? This question is what originally got me thinking about abundance and deficiency because there seems to be more managers and less leaders.

Leaders Make Known the Unknown

A leader is someone that influences the behavior of others by the way they live their lives. They have vision for what they would like the world to look like, and they move towards the fulfillment of that vision, guiding others to what could be. A leader can inspire with words, and that is a necessity in order to communicate that which could be, but as the adage goes, “actions speak louder than words.” A leader must act, moving towards a specific vision, thus creating a mission for others to devote their lives to.

I didn’t grow up in the 60s, but leaders seemed to be everywhere. As I think about the influence leaders have on every day people, I hear the immortal words of president John F. Kennedy resonate in my mind:

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility – I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, January 20th, 1961

Managers Keep the Machine Running

Every leader needs a team of managers, people that keep the machine running. They supervise groups of people, direct others towards a specific outcome, and they exercise control in order to ensure that everything is done correctly. But the reality is that every manager needs a visionary leader to guide and direct them towards the creation of a “better” machine.

Managers can be very resourceful and creative in the implementation of someone else’s vision, but where they fail is in their inability to break from the patterns of execution and the exercising of control over other people’s actions. They fail to see the need for a better machine. They become satisfied with perpetuating what is, and not what could be.

That is the primary distinction between a leader and a manager: Leaders are not afraid to fail, managers are petrified to fail.

Can Managers Become Leaders? How About the Rest of Us?

I strongly believe that in order for managers to shed control and become visionary leaders, they must be willing to be mentored and shaped by other visionary leaders. In addition, they must embrace risk, give up the need to control the response and actions of others, and move towards the vision of a better future.

How about the rest of us that aren’t managers? How do we become leaders? Should we forgo being a manager and learn how to communicate and act with purpose and intent, pursuing visionary leadership?

The answer is a resounding yes. Pursuing visionary leadership means that you:

  1. Identify your passion.
  2. See a need in the community that can be fulfilled by your passion.
  3. Begin to act towards the fulfillment of your vision by creating a mission that can be shared with others.
  4. Share with others. Get them on board with the vision that you have.
  5. Never settle until your vision is fulfilled.

Local Leadership, Please Stand Up!

I see a need for more leaders throughout the Vancouver, WA community. I feel that the older generation of citizens are ignoring the passion and desire for change found in the younger generation. Perhaps they have gotten comfortable or have forgotten what it means to aspire for great things. There is an amazing source of knowledge and wisdom found in the older generations that the youth need in order to not only ground them in reality, but also help them to aspire towards visionary leadership.

There are organizations like Rotary and Leadership Clark County that connect young leaders with community moguls, but the high cost of entry prevents a lot of younger aspiring leaders from joining the pursuit of leadership. I’m waiting for a visionary leader to realize that leadership can and must be taught in person, to as many people as possible, regardless of cost. The future of the community, the state, the nation and the world depend on the younger generations.

I just hope it’s not too late.

I end with a quote from Bill Moyers’ book, Moyers on Democracy: “The Talmud tells us that in every age there comes a time when leadership comes forth to meet the needs of the hour. And so, there is no man who does not find his time, and there is no hour that does not have its leader.”

This is our time to step forward and meet the needs of the hour.

Are you ready?

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On Abundance and Deficiency: Vision and Mission

Why is it that there is an abundance of certain types of character traits and societal values, yet those that are most needed are either deficient or non-existent?

This week, I’m going to post a series of thoughts specifically related to the abundance and deficiency of: vision and mission, leaders and managers, education and information, silence and noise, and ending with urgency and immediacy.

Vision and Mission: Which do you need most?

We hear a lot of about vision and mission. Businesses and not-for-profits typically write vision and mission statements that give an overview to the purpose and intent of that particular organization. Vision statements are described as shortened versions of extensive mission statements, a few sentences versus a couple paragraphs. However, vision is not just a brief synopsis of a larger mission. Vision implies a glimpse of what the future holds, while mission is a plan to bring a specific vision to life.

It appears that there is a deficient lack of vision in not only business, but in individual lives, education, and government. A weak mission may exist, but often has less to do with vision and more to do with maintaining a certain standard that is good enough, the perpetuation of the status quo. Why is there a deficiency in vision? Is it because the pursuit of vision involves a fair amount of risk? Or have the powers-that-be allowed sloth and greed to erase the capacity for imagining a better future in favor of accepting an “okay” present?

It is imperative to have an abundance in both vision and mission. Without vision, mission is passionless and fruitless. Without mission, vision will stay in the mind, never becoming reality.

A Personal Journey of Vision and Mission

When I first started my business in 2006, I didn’t have a specific vision in my mind. I had a mission and it was to survive–make enough money to pay my bills. Not the greatest way to start a business, but it’s what I had at the time. I came up with a tagline that served as an entry-level way to distinguish myself from all the other designers, as well as functioning as a make-shift mission statement: Your Image. Your Story. My Passion. Unfortunately, without a mission statement, let alone a solid vision for the future, I was not as stable in the first few years of my business. I survived, but that’s all that I was able to do.

As I work through year six, I am aware of how important vision and mission are to the success of not only my business, but my life. I am currently dreaming and creating what a sustainable future looks like, heavily reliant upon a clear vision and a specific mission. So, how do I foster and develop an abundance of vision and mission?

Developing Vision and Mission

1.) Where Are You At? – Whether you are running a profitable business or the outlook isn’t looking so good for the future, identify where you are at. Look at your finances, not only in the present, but look at past performance. Employee and employer morale is also an important indicator of success or failure. Is morale increasing or decreasing? Are people knocking down the door to work for your company or is the backdoor swinging so fast from the mass-exodus of workers that it is in danger of falling off the hinges? Looking at the past and present will help you to know what needs to change in order to move forward into the future. As author Neil Postman writes, “The only way to see the future is to look in the rearview mirror.”

2.) Where Do You Want To Go? – What is the vision for your future? Write it out. Take a risk. I like the term BHAG: Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals. If your vision doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable, then you are on track for creating a deficient and lacking future. Dream big dreams, that is the first step to changing the world.

3.) What Do You Need To Get There? – Once you know where you are at and where you want to go, only then do you determine what you need to get there. What equipment is needed? Do you need to expand your workforce by hiring skilled and specialized workers? Are there internal funds to adequately cover the cost of bringing the vision to life or is outside venture capital needed?

4.) What Is Your Plan Of Attack? – Now, you need a plan of attack: a mission. Missions are great ways to rally a group of people towards a common pursuit. People give their lives to causes they believe in. If your vision is life-changing and world-altering, and people believe that by working hard and following the plan of attack that vision will come to reality, then guess what? The vision will thrive, grow, and eventually be what you saw in your mind all along.

5.) What Are You Going To Do When You Get There? – There is a cyclical nature to vision. Once a vision becomes reality, a new vision is needed. So, do you have a plan for when your vision is a reality? At what point along your journey to fulfill your vision do you create a new vision? Or is one vision enough to sustain your happiness, profitability and success?

Create a success plan by constantly reviewing and analyzing your answers to the above questions. They can help you to develop an abundance of vision and mission.

Do You Need Permission To Dream?

To answer the question, no one needs permission to dream and to be told to act. Yet, we are surrounded by inaction and laziness. Whatever you need to move forward into the great unknown of the pursuit of your vision, find it, and know that you have at least one person willing to tell you that you have all the permission necessary to change the world.

Now, get to work.

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Innovation Redux

Earlier this week, I wrote Innovation: A Heaping Helping of Hype and Hindrance?, which was an in-depth look at innovation for businesses. This morning, I come across another great illustration of creating successful innovation systems. In Steven Johnson’s book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, he writes about the need for existing platforms that allow innovation to be built upon them:

“Innovation thrives in discarded places. Emergent platforms derive much of their creativity from the inventive and economical reuse of existing resources, and, as any urbanite will tell you, the most expensive resource in a big city is real estate. ‘If you look about, you will see that only operations that are well established, high-turnover, standardized or heavily subsidized can afford, commonly, to carry the costs of new construction,’ Jane Jacobs wrote. ‘Chain stores, chain restaurants and banks go into new construction. But neighborhood bars, foreign restaurants and pawn shops go into older buildings. Supermarkets and shoe stores often go into new buildings; good bookstores and antique dealers seldom do.’”

Interesting. Innovation is built upon existing systems and infrastructures, not on what can be built from scratch or funded from the coffers of big business. Innovation cannot be bought. It can only come from a place that has an established history and is grounded in reality.

Are you trying to innovate in your company by reinventing the wheel or are you building upon established platforms and systems? The choice is up to you, of course, but if you are serious about innovation you might just need to examine your processes and your intentions for pursuing internal and external innovation.

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Vision, Passion, Action–You Need All Three!

I talk and write a lot about vision, passion, and action. I meet a lot of people that have one or even two of those attributes, but it is the rare person that passionately acts towards the fulfillment of a very specific and focused vision. It’s not enough to have vision and passion, yet no action. You need all three working together in complete synchronicity in order to ensure that you are bringing your dreams to life.

What does it mean to have vision?

There is a lot of misunderstanding about what it means to have vision. In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there are six entries relating to vision, and of those only two succinctly describe the sort of vision I’m talking about: “2: a vivid picture created by the imagination” and “4: unusual wisdom in foreseeing what is going to happen.”

Visionaries have an active imagination and that imagination tends to come to fruition. Fortune-tellers and diviners? Magicians and illusionists? Nope, just people that believe in something so deeply, that they have to see it come to being.

Passion? Is that like love and stuff?

Interestingly enough, of the five entries for passion, only two have non-religious or non-sexual connotations: “2: strong feeling; the emotions as distinguished from reason” and “4: LOVE; an object of affection or enthusiasm.”

By labeling what you do as passion, either for a living or a hobby, you are expressing a strong feeling that is not logical. Passion must be devoid of reason because the minute we stop and think about why something is our passion, we move from a realm of subjectivity into objectivity.

If you are passionate about your vision, subjectivity is what will see you through to the fulfillment of that vision. Why? Because you must believe in what you do, even when no one else does. That is the power of subjectivity. To you, the vision is already alive, and that is enough to keep you moving forward.

Act! Do! Create! There is no alternative.

Nine entries for the word action and the best simply states that action is: “the accomplishment of a thing usually over a period of time, in stages, or with possibility of repetition.”

Did you catch that hidden subtlety in the definition? Action implies accomplishment. Whether you are successful in the fulfillment of your vision, or it fails to match the grandiosity of what was in your mind’s eye, you have already accomplished your vision, merely by acting!

Without action, vision and passion are meaningless. Without passion, you can bring a vision to life, but most likely it will take a long time and it might just take a piece of you with it by the time you finish the work.

The solution is…

… passionately and actively making your vision come alive!

Vision, passion, action: all three are essential to the successful fulfillment of your life’s work and purpose. What’s your score?

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Branding Lessons, Tip 3: Build a Fan Base

There is nothing quite like the experience of being surrounded by thousands of people, all shouting praise and adoration towards the stage. The lights are bright, the music is cranked. “How is it going out there! Are you ready? Do you want more?” The crowd always goes nuts.

In many ways, rock ‘n’ roll is a religion: people pay thousands of dollars in time and money supporting the band, they wait in line for hours just to get their hands on the band’s latest offerings, they market the greatness of the band by creating fan sites, and some even evangelize others for the sake of their gospel’s growth and acceptance.

This model is crucial for the longevity of rock, but will it work for your business?

Do you want people paying thousands of dollars in time and money for your products and services?

Are people waiting in line for hours, just to get their hands on your latest products?

Do you allow them to market your greatness by creating fan sites and blogs or do your lawyers earn their keep by sending a cease-and-desist letter instead?

Are people telling their friends and co-workers about your business?

A lot of questions tonight. Here are three suggestions for building your fan base, one fan at a time:

1. Engage Others. Talk with people. Tell them about what you do. Listen to what they are doing. Connect and collaborate. Engaging others is showing that you are invested in them. Yes, you want them to be your fan, but you also don’t want to take loyalty for granted. Rock bands know that fans are the bread and butter of success and existence.

2. Have Something People Want. Whether you sell real estate or take pretty pictures, do people want what you have to offer? If no is the answer, then it’s time to re-examine your purpose for being in business and find something that is wanted.

3. Acknowledge Your Fans. A lot of businesses like to give stuff away to their 1,000 Facebook fan, or 1,000,000 Twitter follower. What I’m talking about is something a lot deeper than that. Acknowledge your die hard fans by giving them exclusive access to you. Whether it’s a fan club, a newsletter, or a video shout-out from the CEO, exclusivity to information before the media is just one way to let your fans know you appreciate them. Conversely, remember a certain band’s drummer and a company called Napster? That is a prime example on how to destroy your fan base. Might want to avoid that example at all cost.

Fans are great. They give you a great source of feedback and inspiration when times are tough. At the same time, it takes a very long time to generate a large fan base. But don’t lose heart and keep focused on engaging people, having something that is wanted, and acknowledging those that are your bread and butter.

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Social Responsibility: It’s Personal and Business!

Special Guest Post By Dr. Roger Martin

I had the opportunity to have a great career in business with a great company. I spent 30 years growing with the company and then transitioned into a new career: teaching business at a local college. I love my new career.

To enhance this new career, I have been able to partner with Missions@WP and travel to Indian reservations in South Dakota and internationally to Honduras to help people understand the benefits of business.

Sometimes I think business is only looked upon as being negative. Something that takes advantage of people while making the stockholders wealthy. In some cases this is true, but is it always that way?

Profit and Positive Change

I believe that free enterprise can help individuals, reservations, and countries improve their standard of living. I do believe in profit, but I don’t believe in the exploitation of people for one’s own benefit. I also believe that business can be a force for positive change. The question that automatically comes to mind when thinking about this kind of topic is: what examples are there of companies that make a profit, but also provide for employees, customers, and the communities that they operate within?

United Parcel Service (UPS) is a $42.6 Billion company that delivers 14.8 million packages within 200 countries. At least once a week my wife receives a package from QVC that is delivered by UPS. UPS is profitable, but is that all that matters? My son-in-law in Tacoma works for UPS and has for many years. Is UPS a socially responsible business? Here are the facts.

From an employee’s perspective, it appears UPS is very responsible. The company provides a livable wage, healthcare benefits, a stock purchase plan, and a chance to advance. The company also provides tuition assistance to help employees become better educated. This is just one example of social responsibility.

Another area that gives an indication of the level of care UPS has is the fact that they have over 1,500 vehicles that use alternative fuels, such as electricity, propane, natural gas and hydrogen. Another indicator is that UPS donates approximately $43 million dollars to fight hunger and improve literacy. They do this while encouraging their employees to volunteer.

Sustainability–Economic, Social, and Environmental

This is a company that recognizes that business is important, but also is personal. UPS approaches business from a sustainable platform. What this means is they adhere to a plan that has three pillars: Economic, Social and Environmental.

The economic pillar is enhanced through good business planning and execution. They run a tight ship. They make a profit and therefore can give money back to the community, which involves the social pillar. This, in addition to the great wages, etc, means they have created a solid social pillar.

The last pillar involves the environment. UPS uses many airplanes and trucks to do their business. They are constantly trying to adjust their carbon footprint with the use of alternative fuels.

Business is Real: How We Do Business Matters

All of us have to work! We need to earn money to pay rent, buy food, and maybe go to a movie. It does not make any difference what industry, whether it is a not-for-profit or for-profit, government or non-government, we all need to work at a job. Business is a reality, and how we do business is critical. We can make a profit while making the world a better place, or we can steal, kill, and destroy the communities we operate in while making maybe just a little more. The choice really is ours.

If I choose to work not just to make money, but to care for others, then I have a purpose. If I have a purpose in what I do as a job, as the old adage says, “I will never work a day in my life.” Just maybe I’ll be able to make a difference in the world.

I strongly believe that free enterprise can make a difference if our motives are correct. We can take or we can give, it is up to us.

Dr. Roger Martin is an assistant business professor at Warner Pacific College in Portland. He has over 40 years of business experience and has taught Chris a thing or two about business since opening Chris Martin Studios in 2006. He also taught Chris how to play racquetball (let’s actually not go there) and how to swear with panache on the golf course. Feel free to read more of his thoughts on his blog at http://docmartin1.wordpress.com/.

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Innovation: A Heaping Helping of Hype and Hindrance?

Innovation is a popular word in today’s business world. In order to stand out from competition or be more profitable, the typical managerial response is something along the lines of improving the quality and amount of innovation, or in some cases, beginning to innovate. But is all of this focus on innovation a good thing for business? Can an organization flip the innovation switch and be just that, innovative? Or is it just a heaping helping of hype and hindrance with a side-order of hope? Short answer: It’s something else entirely.

Like most over-used words in public vocabulary, we have a good idea of what they mean but occasionally misuse them in proper context. That leads me to the question, what does innovation really mean? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, innovation is “1: the introduction of something new 2: a new idea, method, or device.” Innovation is something new.

Innovation is Subjective

The interesting thing about innovation is that it’s highly subjective. What’s new to one business is not necessarily new to others, so can “the new” still be innovative? Absolutely!

Further, business processes and procedures can be built upon that new “idea, method, or device” and produce better products and services for customers and employees. Much like a nuclear chain reaction or an avalanche, innovation builds upon existing innovation, internal and external to businesses, potentially creating a massive situation that alters existence.

Take Apple’s iPhone. Without a myriad of technologies and innovations, the innovation of the iPhone would not exist. Plastics, display technology, circuit design, programming, graphic design, electronics and batteries. A short list of many innovations that allow the iPhone to continue changing the way people use their mobile devices.

Innovation is Collaborative

It’s hard to be innovative by yourself. Yes, ideas develop, hunches form, and theories gel in the brains of individuals, but magic happens when those ideas are shared in a group setting. Connections are created, the circuits of creativity are completed–new ideas develop and form.

So, let’s schedule an innovation meeting and share our individual ideas. That’s how it works, right? Not so fast. First and foremost, people must be willing to share their ideas. Is sharing a part of your corporate culture or are people protective and defensive? Second, people need a safe and trusted forum for sharing and discussing ideas. Is a meeting where people are put on the spot to share their ideas the best way for your company to begin the process of innovation or are there other ways?

Enter IdeaJam.net, a cloud-based idea and innovation management service, which enables the internal sharing of ideas as well as provides tools to rate, comment, promote or demote in order to find the best. It creates a trusted, secure and simple way to generate a lot of new ideas, see what employees think about a specific idea or even see how it could be implemented or fleshed out in more detail. A lot of potential for establishing a foundation of innovation: an abundance of ideas.

However, with an abundance of ideas, organizations still need people to analyze the ideas, connect similar ideas and build a network of innovation. It sounds a little overwhelming, but innovation takes a lot of time. It’s not a switch you flip on for instantaneous results.

Innovation Takes Time

In Steven Johnson’s book on innovation, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History Of Innovation, he devotes a whole chapter to the idea of “The Slow Hunch” and that “world-changing ideas” are rarely the result of quick decisions. He writes:

“Most hunches that turn into important innovations unfold over much longer time frames. They start with a vague, hard-to-describe sense that there’s an interesting solution to a problem that hasn’t yet been proposed, and they linger in the shadows of the mind, sometimes for decades, assembling new connections and gaining strength.”

Johnson tells stories of how long it took Charles Darwin (evolution of life), John Locke (indexing system for commonplace books), and Tim Berners-Lee (World Wide Web) to make the necessary connections in order to flesh out and communicate their individual, life-altering innovations. For most of them it took years, even decades, but the time spent was worth it. If Berners-Lee had not brought his innovative ideas to fruition, you might not be reading this blog post right now.

Innovation is One of Many Core Business Values

It’s important that organizational leaders realize that innovation is just one of many core business values. It should never take the place of sound business decisions, treating employees fairly and with respect, and being ethical.

Innovation can bring “something new” to each business, even to the individuals that make up an organization. However, it is important to remember that innovation is finely-tuned to the culture of your organization; it thrives on collaboration, sharing and connecting; and it takes a long time to generate and create “world-changing” ideas.

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The Art of the Interview: Larry King

I was flipping through the channels this morning and came across Larry King being interviewed on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Two things struck me from what I saw:

In the context of over-promotion, he was talking about the time he interviewed Rock Hudson’s wife, promoted the show, and had the interview fall flat. It was pretty much over in two minutes, even though he had an hour to talk. He muses about this at the 10:00 mark of the embedded video below.

What can we learn from this?

Read The Art of the Interview to learn more ways to really be prepared for those moments that you think will be great, but fall apart.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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The Art of the Interview

If there is one thing that I could do all day, every day, is interview people. I love it because I get to learn about what makes others tick. People are inherently interesting because each and every person on this planet has a story to tell. Some can tell it without assistance, others need to be asked questions in order to draw out the hidden nuggets and arcs of their story.

Last week, Jon Stewart’s guest on The Daily Show was none other than Bill Moyers discussing his latest book Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues. Moyers talked in-depth about the types of people that he loved interviewing–interestingly enough, politicians did not make the list–but what was most intriguing was when Stewart asked about Moyers interviewing process. In Part 2 of the embedded video below, Moyers says that he interviews for as long as wants to ensure that he captures everything that needs to be asked and said. From there, he edits the raw interview down to “the essence” of his subject. Fascinating! It gets even better! At 4:23, in closing, Moyers comments, “you listen for the meaning, not necessarily for the words.” Now that gets me excited!

So, how can you improve your interview technique?

  1. Interview at length. Don’t feel tempted to rush through the process. You need to be conscious and respectful of your subject’s schedule, but did you schedule enough time for the interview to occur?
  2. Do your homework. Research your subject. Craft questions that are simple, yet deep enough to inspire a thoughtful response from your subject.
  3. Listen. You not only need to listen to the words, but the intent. Words are the precursor to what a person means. If the words are there, but the meaning is almost there, be prepared to ask another question that will guide them closer to what they are trying to say.

I can’t wait to dig in to Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues and read more about Moyers’ interview technique. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the interviews with Jon Stewart. I highly recommend that you listen to his passion for meaning and the communication of a subject’s essence.

Bill Moyers on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Part 1

The Daily Show – Bill Moyers Pt. 1
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Bill Moyers on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Part 2

The Daily Show – Bill Moyers Pt. 2
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Header Photo by Aaron Hockley

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Branding Lessons, Tip 2: Embrace Documentary

In Rock ‘n’ Branding Lessons: Tip 1, I talk about balancing the need to experiment as a business with staying true to the core of your identity. Today, I want to talk about the second thing I learned from my life-long obsession with rock ‘n’ roll: Embrace documentary–go behind the scenes, tell your story, and give your fans a glimpse of what a typical day looks like.

Rock ‘n’ roll bands have been using the medium of documentary filmmaking as early as The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter (1970). Led Zeppelin released The Song Remains the Same (1976) combining concert footage with a look at the day-to-day lives of the band members. Over the years, numerous bands have released glimpses into the magic of their creativity, and I have been passionately inspired by Metallica’s A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica (1992) and Some Kind of Monster (2004), Foo Fighters’ Back and Forth (2011), Rush’s Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010), Dream Theater’s The Spirit Carries On (2011) and various U2 documentaries including Rattle and Hum (1988), Zoo TV (1994), PopMart (1997), Elevation (2001) and U2 360 (2010).

Go Behind The Scenes And Tell Your Story

What have I learned from all of these documentaries that relate to business, specifically the business of creativity? There is a story that needs to be told in every creative pursuit. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we film everything that we do, but there are definite moments and opportunities when a documentary (either short or long form) can remove the curtain that divides the customer and the business.

One of the best examples of a creative business using documentary effectively is Pixar’s behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Ratatouille, in which the filmmaker likens the making of an animated film with the craft of culinary art. The documentary gives a glimpse at the magic that goes into every Pixar film, but also serves to illuminate the genius of chefs, and the challenges that go into preparing a delicious meal.

How can normal businesses tap into the magic of documentary and tell their stories? First, separate what people want to know more about from your internal and external marketing language. Is there a specific story about the way your business impacts the community? If people are involved in your story, then there is often more interest.  Second, do you have the means and abilities to tell that story? Accessible technology and affordable software have made it possible for just about anyone to make documentaries. However, there are many businesses out there that will gladly tell your story, leaving you to focus on having a story to tell (also known as running your business).

Allow Your Fans (Customers) To Get A Glimpse Of The Magic

Giving your customers a glimpse into the magic of your business removes any confusion that your marketing objectives might leave in people’s minds. It also allows you to engage your customers by sharing: Speaking, listening and collaborating. By using and embracing documentary, businesses have the privilege and opportunity to show the public what they are made of: People.

It’s the communication of what makes businesses and people “human” that drives interest for each and every documentary. That is what we learn from all of the documentaries listed above. When greatness is achieved, lost, then eventually regained, documentaries are there to show us the power of the human spirit. That is more powerful than any annual report or tri-fold brochure produced in corporate marketing lingo.

Not every business is suited for documentary, but remember, there is an audience that wants to see what you are made of. It is your responsibility as a business to find those rare moments to do just that. Do it well, and it leaves them wanting more. Which is definitely a good thing.

 

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Social Business 101: Don’t Fear What’s New!

Hot off the heels of the NW 140 Conference on May 19, 2011 where co-presenter Bruce Elgort and myself gave a talk called Social Business Strategies (available to watch by clicking the talk title), this week was all about digging a little deeper into Social Business.  Feel free to take a moment to refresh yourself on the four areas of Social Business: Brands, People, Trusted Relationships and Getting “Stuff” Done.

Welcome back. Now for the final piece of advice for the Social Business 101 series.

Don’t Fear What’s New!

Technology, tools, what’s hot and what’s not change at blinding speeds and can overwhelm businesses looking to build an effective Social Business Strategy. If companies choose to build upon one social network, like Facebook, over another, what happens when that network evolves into something that no longer supports your social initiatives? What happens if they go out of business or are no longer the social network of the day? Remember MySpace?

It’s important that you develop a culture of adaptation that utilizes the tools of today, no matter what they are, to communicate internally and externally according to your goals and objectives. The foundation of a business is not the tools that they use on a daily basis, but the brands that the company provides, the people internally and externally that make business a reality, the trusted relationships that enable commerce, and meeting corporate goals and objectives (GSD).

As a documentary filmmaker, I know that I can produce a final video regardless of available editing software, cameras or lighting, because I have developed a process that is not reliant upon specific tools. That doesn’t mean that I don’t prefer to use the same tools over time. It just means I’m not up a creek without a paddle if Adobe no longer supports Premiere or Final Cut Pro is no longer the industry standard for editing software.

With that, don’t fear what’s new. Adapt by not reacting to the latest fads, but instead choose to build the four areas of your Social Business: Brands, People, Trusted Relationships and Getting “Stuff” Done.

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Social Business Strategies

Last week, Bruce Elgort (OpenNTF) and I spoke about Social Business Strategies at the NW 140 Conference in Vancouver, WA. The video of our talk is now available for online viewing thanks to the incredible crew that taped each presentation.

After watching the video, feel free to read more about Social Business:

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Social Business 101: Getting “Stuff” Done (GSD)

The final area of Social Business that I’m going to talk about is the most important: Getting “Stuff” Done, affectionately known in its acronym form as GSD.

It Doesn’t Matter How Social You Are…

…if you aren’t getting your work done. There it is. The truth. Social Business is great, but if you aren’t accomplishing your business goals and objectives, you probably aren’t going to be around very long.

No matter what decisions you need to make regarding your social policies as an employee, a business owner, or a manager in a large corporation, remember to ask these important questions:

P.O.S.T.E.R.

By asking the above questions and focusing on the individual elements of the acronym P.O.S.T.E.R., you will find and develop ways to encourage your internal and external Social Business Strategies, not over-emphasizing certain tools, networks or fads.

Get Social. Do Business.

With that, I encourage you to get social, do business, and remember that effective Social Business is all about Brand Experience, People, Trusted Relationships and Getting “Stuff” Done (GSD).

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Make Better Videos, Part 2: Keep Your Objectivity… Kill Your Darlings!

Post originally appeared on BlogWorld.com (Make Better Videos, Part 2: Keep Your Objectivity… Kill Your Darlings!)

Over the years as a working video professional, I have gotten a lot of sage advice from fellow filmmakers on how to make better videos: “Befriend the person in charge of craft services,” “never date the lead actress,” and my personal favorite, “don’t fall in love with a shot, scene, or line of dialogue unless you’re willing to kill your darlings and leave them on the cutting room floor.” While the first two pieces of advice technically have nothing to do with the final product, the third piece of advice is crucial in maintaining overall objectivity and remaining true to your story and the audience.

“Seeing Around The Edge Of The Frame” – Walter Murch

A lot of time, energy, ego and money goes into making videos and films. Pre-production and production generate an enormous amount of work for a lot of people. Emotions get involved, decisions are hastily made, and the story begins to unfold. Dailies are produced and sent to an editor, who begins to watch them, make notes and construct a rough edit based on the script.

Ideally, there is distance between the production process and the editor, primarily for the purpose of maintaining objectivity. This distance allows the editor to see the story within each shot, and not be clouded by things that happened on set.

In film editor Walter Murch’s book on film editing perspectives, “In The Blink Of An Eye,” he extols the need for an editor to see only what is on the screen. He writes, “The editor, on the other hand, should try to see only what’s on the screen, as the audience will. Only in this way can the images be freed from the context of their creation. By focusing on the screen, the editor will, hopefully, use the moments that should be used, even if they may have been shot under duress, and reject moments that should be rejected, even though they cost a terrible amount of money and pain.”

Murch is known for editing films such as “The English Patient,” “Apocalypse Now,” a re-edit of Orson Welles, “Touch of Evil,” among many other films. “In The Blink Of An Eye” and “Conversations” are two books that every budding and working filmmaker should have in their library as they are jam-packed with nuggets of truth that speak to this idea of storytelling objectivity.

How To Maintain Objectivity In A One-Person Crew

But what about the one-person crew making videos? How can objectivity be maintained when everything is known from start to finish? The answer? Practice!

As a filmmaker, I love making short 5-10 minute documentaries for the purpose of practicing my craft and meeting interesting people. Each video is an attempt to learn how to tell a better story, and in many ways is a lesson in maintaining objectivity. I have learned to let the story breathe and unfold in each stage of creation.

When I get the initial spark of an idea, I think of who the subject will be, the questions I would like to ask them, what kind of B-roll will serve the story, along with technical questions related to production. I may have some shots that I want to try, but I am willing to cut anything that will make the final video weak. From there, I shoot everything that I think that I’ll need. Typically, I shoot roughly 2 to 4 hours of raw video including interviews and B-roll, which I then edit down to the final length of 5-10 minutes.

During the editing process, while I edit to the story that I have constructed through pre-production and production, I also think about issues of pacing and clarity, as well as educational and entertainment value. If one section is dragging, it is often because something that I thought would work, isn’t. By removing a line of dialogue, or even trimming 1-2 seconds, pacing can be improved.

I then think about clarity. Is there a clear message throughout the video? Are the interview clips telling a clear and concise story? Should the B-roll be introduced sooner or later? How long do I hold on the shot of the interview subject talking?

Finally, I think about educational and entertainment value. Did I learn something by watching the final video? Was I entertained? Did other people finish the video with a feeling that they wanted more? Or was there general disappointment in the story told?

Objectivity Is About The Audience

A lot of questions to ask. The truth is that whether you are working in a large crew or by yourself, the final video does not exist in a vacuum. There is an audience that interacts and watches your video, hopefully sharing it with others.

Keeping your audience in mind is the final way to maintain a sense of objectivity. By treating them with respect and telling the story that needs to be told, you will be able to kill your darlings.

After all, you can still release your darlings that were cut on YouTube, or alternatively, as Deleted Scenes on a DVD release.

With that, get out there and practice. Happy filmmaking!

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Social Business 101: Trusted Relationships

I hope that you are enjoying a deeper look at Social Business. If you have missed the previous posts on Brands or People, feel free to read those posts before this one in order to catch up on the first two areas of Social Business.

Who Do You Trust?

Now, let’s talk about the third area of Social Business: Trusted Relationships.

Trust is incredibly important in business, especially in the relationship between a business and the people that support the business. People want to know that a business is making decisions with their customers in mind. As mentioned in Social Business 101: Brands, people build their lives around specific brands and the experiences that they have with that brand. Once the brand is a part of their life, they often enter into a trusted relationship with that business. They become loyal to a product and they even tell their friends. A great value of trusted relationships.

The problem that a lot of businesses end up having over time is they make decisions that look good on paper, but in reality are devastating to the trust they have established with the people identifying with their brands.

One example of a violation of trust in the form of a breach of security, Sony’s Playstation 3 gaming network was hacked. Personal information including credit card information was stolen and this breach of security, which in reality was a violation of a trusted agreement between the business and the consumer, has diminished the trust that people have in the overall Sony brand and in their gaming network.

The lack of trust that consumers have for specific businesses sends them in search of an alternative, often a competitor that can provide the necessary trust, and in the case of personal information, security.

Trust Marketing?

One of the strongest benefits of trusted relationships is the ability to build a core group of informal product marketers or brand evangelists. As people become loyal to your brand, they integrate the products into their lives, they buy the latest and greatest widget that you have to offer, and they even tell their friends. They become evangelists for all that is good about your business. This is known as Social Media Word of Mouth Marketing and it is gold.

However, turn your back on a customer, especially one that understands the value of “shouting from a digital soapbox,” and watch out. They will use their leverage and voice to tell others how they were wronged. However, this potential backlash should not discourage businesses from being social with their customers. The truth is that they have an obligation to address the concerns and issues raised in a logical and public way. This shows that you are listening to your customers, willing to admit when you have done something wrong, seeking to engage and not react in order to right wrongs that are the result of being a business made up of fallible human beings.

Internal Trusted Relationships

Trusted relationships within companies is equally crucial to the trust that businesses develop with their consumers. Whether you are looking for someone knowledgable in a particular subject matter or need a technician to address concerns, building a network of internal trusted relationships is paramount to an effective Social Business.

By understanding the corporate culture and knowing how to identify key players, you set yourself and others up for success. You share the workload, delegate to appropriate workers, and model characteristics of leaderships by getting stuff done that you alone are most capable of completing.

Sharing is a Good Thing

It’s important to remember as you seek to build internal and external trusted relationships that sharing is a good thing. We were taught in kindergarten that sharing was idealistic and important. Whether it was your crayons and paste or making sure you brought enough for every one in the class, sharing was implanted in our minds as good. But as we went through the education process, got our first jobs, entered into a career, we stopped sharing and held on tight to our areas of expertise and our knowledge. We became isolated and scared that if we shared what we possessed, people would steal our ideas, eclipse our abilities and leave us hanging out to dry.

So, I’m going to say it again. Sharing is a good thing. An effective Social Business excels in sharing. Specifically in how they speak, the way they listen to others and for opportunities, and most importantly, the way they engage in collaborative efforts with others.

Get Social

As you begin to see that Social Business is not a new way of doing business, it’s doing business, realize your brand value, acknowledge the people that make up your business and your consumers. Establish internal and external trusted relationships. This is what it means to get social as a business.

Now that you are social. It’s time to do business.

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Social Business 101: People

In a previous post, “Social Business 101: Brands,” I talk about the first area of Social Business, brands, specifically the difference between brand identity and brand experience. The truth is that brands are for and to be experienced by people.

With that, let’s unpack what makes a business social: the people that make up a business and the consumers that interact with that business.

Where Would We Be Without Each Other?

People, as a label, is broad and far-reaching. However, without people, business deals would not be made; products would not be invented, produced or sold; services would not be purchased and used; customer service would be non-existent; and stories, ad campaigns and promotions would have no audience.

In order for something to be labeled “social,” a person-to-person transaction must take place. This implies two things:

1.) Social Businesses, and businesses in general, are not faceless entities that consumers attempt to connect with. They are a collective of individual people working within a specific corporate culture for the direct purpose of meeting goals and objectives strategically and efficiently.

2.) Consumers define the face of a Social Business by the identification and communication with a specific name and face of the actual human being that they connect with.

Internal or External Social Business is Dependent Upon People

Whether you are implementing Social Business Strategies internally between team members or externally between specific corporate departments and consumers, focusing upon the people involved on both sides of the communication divide will improve the effectiveness of your social attempts.

It also leads us into the third area of Social Business, which I will talk about in greater detail in a future post, trusted relationships. Without trust among people, Social Businesses will gradually lose their appeal, overall effectiveness and market share.

Never forgot. Life and business is all about people and how we treat them. As Luis Suarez affirms, “Don’t stop being social, it’s who we are.”

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Social Business 101: Brands

Social Business: It’s not a new way of doing business, it is doing business.

For the past six months, Bruce Elgort (OpenNTF) and I have embarked on a journey to talk about Social Business at a variety of conferences and meetings. From our two-hour presentation at IBM Lotusphere 2011, “How I Went Beyond the Hype, Narcissism and Trendiness to Become a Social Software Super Hero” to our 15-minute, stripped-down version at the 140 Character Conference, “Social Business Strategies,” we have enjoyed not only sharing about Social Business, but ultimately learning from the feedback of others to fine-tune and craft a stronger presentation about what Social Business is and how you can implement different techniques strategically, according to your company culture.

Before diving into what Social Business is, it is important to understand that being a Social Business is not about the tools that you use, but what you are doing and saying as a business, how you treat others (either businesses or consumers) and whether or not you are meeting goals and objectives. With that, let’s look at what Social Business is.

What is Social Business?

First, Social Business is about Brands. Specifically, the brand experience that a business provides consumers and other businesses. Second, Social Business is all about people. If you aren’t connecting with people, you won’t be selling your products or services. Connecting and sharing with people leads to the third area of Social Business, trusted relationships. Finally, if you aren’t getting stuff done (known affectionately as GSD), you probably won’t be in business very long. So with that, let’s dive in for a deeper look at brands.

Yesterday: Brand Identity

In the past, a brand was simply a mark of identification denoting property. The best example would be the use of a branding iron to mark and identify the owner of cattle (a painful, hot, and deliberately one-sided process). In marketing terms, brand identity is all about logos, symbols, Pantone Color Swatches, paper stocks, typography and anything else useful in identifying your product or service, thus marking a specific differentiation from the competition.

However, as social media began to give the consumer a larger and more pronounced voice, it became apparent that the foundation of branding was shifting from identification to experience.

Today: Brand Experience

Brands exist today in ways that would baffle advertisers of the past. There has been a democratization of brand value and worth, thanks to the voice of the consumer being elevated to the same level as the business that created a certain brand. No longer can a brand be a one-sided process of applying pressure in order to mark territory.

A brand, and the business that owns the brand, must be willing to share brand value with the consumer. This sharing of brand value is important because more and more people build their life around specific brands. From designers, artists and filmmakers that build an elite identity around Apple products to hard-core programmers and developers that identify with Linux or Microsoft, any changes to a brand, no matter the size and scale, can have devastating effects upon the psyche and identity of individual people. Therefore, decisions that affect the overall look and functionality of a brand need to be tested and approved not only internally, but externally as well.

A powerful example of a business attempting to re-brand without consulting an external group of consumers was Gap. On October 4, 2010, Gap changed their logo from the classic blue square containing an all-white serif type treatment of “GAP,” to a blue-square with a common all-black sans serif type treatment of “Gap,” outside the boundaries of the blue-square. This change created such a backlash and controversy that Gap returned to their old logo in just one week. A Vanity Fair article describes in detail the fiasco, the response from Gap themselves, as well as the number of spoof websites that were created in response to the failed re-branding attempt, such as “Crap Logo Yourself.”

What is Your Brand Worth?

Whether you are focused on brand identity or engaged in a two-way conversation of brand experience, Social Business is about knowing your brand value and worth. What is your brand worth? In the eyes of your consumers that are potentially basing lifestyle decisions around your brand, your brand has tremendous value. That is why you should protect it. By engaging with your consumers and understanding what your brand means to them, you have an opportunity of learning not only ways to improve the strength of your brand, but in time, can make changes to your brand in response to your company culture and the interaction of your customers.

It is important that you realize that the strength of your brand is also not something to take for granted. If you make a mistake, like Gap, own up to it, don’t blame others. By blaming others, the value and worth of your brand is diminished based on the number of people that experience and interact with your brand. It’s scary to a certain degree the amount of power that the consumer now holds. But perhaps this is the outcome of a business world that has shunned accountability?

Get Social. Do Business.

Hopefully you have a better understanding of the value that brands bring to the table for Social Businesses. Knowing what your brand is worth and the experience it provides others paves the way for deeper and more fulfilling dialogue between consumers and businesses.

Realize the power of your consumer’s voice and be willing to talk with them in order to make decisions that are not only great for your bottom line as a business, but in the best interest of the people that identify with your products and services.

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Do It Yourself: Taking Money Away From Professionals Or An Education In Value?

Recently I have seen a rise in the number of small businesses resorting to the “Do It Yourself” philosophy in order to save money on marketing expenses.

I think that social media is one of the primary fuel-sources of the “Do It Yourself” mentality as people begin to embrace the immediacy of social tools and the message of “you can too, if you do this…” The use of social networks by an increasing number of designers, developers, photographers and filmmakers seeking to differentiate themselves from others has in a lot of ways has led to not only a de-mystification of the creative process, but also the commoditization of creativity.

Other fuel-sources of the “Do It Yourself” philosophy are decreasing costs of professional equipment and software, websites that make creating, viewing, selling and sharing your work accessible to all (regardless of talent level), and an embracement of an amateur aesthetic (thanks to the millions of videos we all watch on YouTube).

The “Do It Yourself” philosophy is here to stay, but I have to ask, are these small businesses that are doing it themselves taking money away from professionals (photographers, videographers, designers, developers, etc.) that have devoted many years and thousands of dollars on defining and refining their art and craft?

Or are they receiving an education in why there is value in paying a professional for their best work?

I think there is merit for both doing it yourself and paying a professional for their services. I don’t necessarily have a problem with people that “Do It Themselves.” But a healthy perspective on why you choose to “do it yourself” is important. One friend and business owner likes to learn about what goes into something, so he starts by doing it himself and then will gladly pay a professional to continue the job for him. It is an education.

Other viewpoints regarding professional services range from “why pay that much for a picture?” to “I can do that better for cheaper” and one of my personal favorites, “it takes that long? I can do it faster myself.” These viewpoints lead to issues of commoditization and not necessarily the advancement of creative professional services.

What are your thoughts on the “Do It Yourself” philosophy?

Is it taking money away from professionals?

Or an education in the value of the expertise of people devoted to their art and craft?

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Make Better Videos, Part 1: Emulate Your Filmmaking Heroes

Post originally appeared on BlogWorld.com (Make Better Videos, Part 1: Emulate Your Filmmaking Heroes)

In an effort to provide valuable information and to learn to make better videos, I am embarking on a series of posts that will unpack some concepts that I learned in college and need a bit of a refresher as I continue the daily journey of filmmaking. The first part of making better videos is an important reminder for all filmmakers, rookies to seasoned professionals: emulate your filmmaking heroes so that you can learn how to tell stories in new and exciting ways.

Emulate. A Dirty Word?
With an abundance of affordable technology in today’s modern digital world, anyone can make a movie. But like any artistic pursuit, each filmmaker strives for originality, to have their own voice and style that is devoid of influence. So, with this framing concept of originality, why is emulation so important to me?

First, to emulate simply means “to imitate in an effort to equal or surpass” (dictionary.com). It is the identification of a style or technique that you want to learn and then imitating what has worked in the past, building upon the accumulation of knowledge to do something of greater value.

Second, emulation helps you learn from the mistakes made by others, why they were mistakes, and how they can be used in different applications or contexts as solutions to new problems.

Finally, emulation goes back through the different periods of art, expressed magnificently during the Renaissance through the relationship of the apprentice and the master painter.

Apprentices started out doing menial tasks around a master painter’s shop, but would eventually start copying the drawings and paintings of the master. If considerable talent was shown, the master would promote the apprentice to work on background and minor details of original paintings, leaving the primary details and figures for himself. If the apprentice excelled at these details, then and only then, would the prospect of becoming a master painter and hiring apprentices be a reality. [1]

Identify Your Heroes and Their Style – How Do They Tell Stories?
As a lover of cinema, who are the master filmmakers that you aspire to be and are inspired by? Are you inspired by the timeless films of Steven Spielberg? The futuristic views of George Lucas and the Wachowski Brothers? How about the iconoclastic visions of Terry Gilliam or the comedic offerings of Kevin Smith? There are a million directors out there and identifying your heroes, why they are your heroes, and what you want to emulate is the first place to start.

From there, start looking at the different aspects of filmmaking and how your heroes use them to tell stories. Does a director favor one type of hero/villian relationship? Is the choice of dialogue wordy or sparse? Are there certain camera angles and shot compositions that are a trademark of the director? How is depth of field used to isolate or bring attention to details? How does the lighting change the tone of a particular scene? How is sound and music used in the context of storytelling? Is there music in every scene like Star Wars or is there room for the dialogue to speak for itself? How does the pacing and editing of a scene fit into the movie as a whole?

Using these questions as a starting point of analysis, start studying the work of other directors. Don’t just stop at gaining head knowledge of how a director works, take the time to grab your camera and try out different techniques. By emulating your filmmaking heroes, you will not only gain a deeper understanding of the filmmaking process, but in time you will make better videos, and shape your original voice.

A Shining Example of Emulation
I want to end with a story that has stuck with me for almost ten years. A friend of mine was mentoring a middle school student who had expressed interest in becoming a filmmaker. His desire and ambition led the young student to recreate scenes from Star Wars IV: A New Hope entirely with LEGOs.

Shot by shot, scene by scene, he used the same camera angles and composition, lighting, editing, music and sound effects. It was an impressive undertaking and to this day, I have no doubt that what he learned by recreating and emulating the vision of George Lucas has stuck with him through the years, especially as he continues pursuing a career in Hollywood.

With that, I encourage you to pick a scene from your favorite movie and do your very best at recreating it shot-by-shot. You might just be surprised at what you will learn about the art and craft of making better movies.

Happy filmmaking!

[1] The Renaissance Connection, http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/artistslife.html

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The Dilemma of Experience

One of my favorite writers is Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, Outliers and Blink.

I’m currently reading Blink, aptly subtitled “The Power of Thinking Without Thinking,” and I can’t help but be amazed by the power of our unconscious minds.

Gladwell looks at the effectiveness of snap judgments vs. taking time to think through every possible scenario, eventually making a decision. The conclusion Gladwell draws is that snap judgments can be just as effective, if not slightly better, than taking time to think through things, because our unconscious minds know when something is off or needs to be a certain way.

This got me thinking about the work that I do and the dilemma I face with each project:

Do I trust my gut reactions or do I internalize and think through every aspect of the project, potentially creating more obstacles than deliverables?

Do I trust that the experience I have gained over the years has fed my intuition and enabled me to make effective snap judgments?

Do I question my abilities and experience by making sure that I cover all my bases?

These are questions that need to be asked and answered not only quickly, but allowed to simmer in your mind because they can help you, like they are helping me, change how you respond when quick decisions are necessary.

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Guest Writer for BlogWorld’s Web TV & Video Section

I was recently asked to contribute guest posts for BlogWorld.com’s Web TV & Video section. Here is a link to read my first article: “Redefining Cinema In A Digital World.”

The best part about writing the article was learning about a new video sharing site called Openfilm (www.openfilm.com) which allows you to not only sell your film, but accept donations and even rent your movie.

Stay tuned to ChrisMartinStudios.com and BlogWorld.com for the latest in the online world of independent filmmaking.

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5 Ways to Breakdown the Walls of a Creative Rut

The other day I came across a comment on Twitter from a friend of mine wondering if he was in a creative rut. That got me thinking about how ruts form, creative and otherwise, and how to breakdown the walls that form when we find ourselves doing the same thing, the same way, for the same reasons.

Ruts are formed when day after day, we travel the same road, the same way, at the same time, in the same vehicle, going to the same destination. So, with the open road being our metaphor, let’s refresh our creativity by breaking down some walls.

Wall #1 – The Same Road

Routine is a blessing and a curse for creativity. Creatives need the rituals, the muse, the superstitions, it puts their creativity into gear. But what happens when routine overshadows curiosity?

Curiosity is the foundation of creativity and is something that must never be lost.

If you find yourself traveling the same road, I urge you to foster your curiosity by asking questions about your creative process:

The best way to not go down the same road is drive down a different road. Turn left instead of right. Ask questions. Find your voice of curiosity.

Wall #2 – The Same Way

“All roads lead to Rome.”  All creative solutions can be found by asking the same questions.  Or not.  Each creative problem is unique and demands that we look at it in new ways.

It is pure laziness that takes away our desire to learn or try something new.  There is also a fear of failure, but sometimes you need to learn that even when you get lost, you actually end up where you need to be.  Creativity works that way as well.  Get lost in a new technique or a new way of approaching a solution.  You might just find what you were looking for.

Wall #3 – The Same Time

The business world runs in a fixed clock of hours.  How do you force yourself to be creative in a specific block of time?  Holding ourselves to large blocks of creative time without a chance to refuel and rest is dangerous.  It is one thing to know when our best times or creativity are, but it’s when we take advantage of the creative muse by forcing it to constantly perform that ruts begin to form and we get “tired.”

Most solutions come when the mind has had time to process and work through the emotions and logistics of everything involved.  Time is the best friend of a creative, because if they can learn the power of slow-cooking solutions instead of constantly deep-frying them for instant gratification, the outcome avoids “rut-ification” and works that much better.

Wall #4 – The Same Vehicle

Ever notice how a road’s appearance changes as we go from driving down it in a car doing 50 miles per hour to walking at a leisurely pace?  Details are noticed in both situations that are essential to the experience of that particular road.  Creativity is the same way.  Take the difference between photographing someone laughing versus filming them.  With a photograph, you capture a single moment at the peak of the laugh.  Your mind fills in all of the gaps and often we hear the laughter, even though it’s not actually there.  We smile.  But when you film the same scenario, we hear the laughter, it might be shrill, it might not be what we heard in our minds.

When you change the vehicle, the experience changes and new solutions are formed.

Wall #5 – The Same Destination

You either know where you are going or you don’t.  How often do you creatively go to the same destination or solution for each project?  Starting with Helvetica, the same lighting setup, the same pre-production process.  It’s time to realize that every creative project is unique, therefore each destination must be different.

On the journey to your destination, pull over at places of interest along the way and ask people what they like.  Seeking the wisdom and sharing in the destinations of others gives you new exposure to things, places and people.

Find a new destination by taking the time to interact with others.  Learn, share, try, fail and experience all of the beauty that the creative life has to offer.  If you give in to the day-in and day-out process that the world forces upon us, the ruts form, you become numb to what you are really doing, and you start thinking the problem is other people, that you weren’t cracked up to be a creative, or even that life sucks.

By taking the time to breakdown the ruts in your creative life, you will find a more fulfilling and expressive work that will encourage and inspire the people that you are around every day, as well as the people that engage and interact with the physical and tangible manifestations of all that you do.

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What Makes a Great Documentary?

What makes a great documentary film?  Beautiful imagery?  A captivating story?  Interesting characters?  A call to action at the end of the film?  All of those attributes?  None of them?

The reason that I ask this question is because recently I have been watching documentary films that leave me feeling a certain way.  ”Exit Through The Gift Shop” entertained me and at the end I marveled at the audacity of the main character and his pursuit of being accepted as a street artist.  ”Waiting for Superman,” a look at the effects of the education system on American families throughout the country, left me feeling frustrated and powerless to do anything about the inefficiencies of the education system.  ”Restrepo” broke my heart as soldiers lost their fellow comrades in times of war.  ”Sicko” exposed the ugly truth of the American health care system.  ”Super Size Me” showed the effects of 30 days of the Mickey D’s diet on one man.

While all of these are great documentaries in their own right, it was the following documentary that really made me question the power of the art and medium that I enjoy.  The 2010 Academy Award winning documentary, “Inside Job,” is a look at the 2008 financial crisis, how the United States got there, what really happened, and how that crisis ultimately impacted Americans.  It was an amazing film.  It presented an overly complicated subject matter with enticing graphics, succinct interviews, a great narration from Matt Damon, and really educated the viewer on all aspects of how the crisis really happened.  But at the end of the film, all I could ask was, “I am so mad that this happened.  Now what?”

In the midst of my anger and rage, I was starting to question the effectiveness of documentary film to invoke societal change.  I truly believe that art has tremendous power to stir the masses for good and for evil.  So, what happened?  Why all of the questions after this film?  The only answer that seems to satisfy the emotions raised by the film, is that there was no direction at the end of the film, no clear call to action.  It was ultimately a grim and hopeless portrayal of reality that gave the viewer no voice, no direction, no place to direct their anger.

Interestingly enough, after writing that paragraph, I went to the website for “Inside Job” (http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/) and found several positive resources available related to capturing the energy and electricity of emotion.  There is a study guide for teachers to engage their students in debate and discussion.  Great!  There is also a link to a Facebook page that gives a list of things people can do.  Excellent!

There still seems to be something missing and I can’t quite put my finger on it.  Would I have “felt better” if there was a slate at the end of the film directing me to the website like “Waiting for Superman?”

Now that the emotions have died down, I continue to believe in and realize the power of a well-executed documentary.  I can’t deny that “Inside Job” and the others mentioned wield that power with precision, talent and craft.  All I can do is pass along the words of Howard Beale from 1976′s “Network” as a response to the emotional power of art:

I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there’s no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV’s while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We know things are bad – worse than bad. They’re crazy. It’s like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don’t go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won’t say anything. Just leave us alone.’ Well, I’m not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot – I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!’ So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, ‘I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!’ I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell – ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!… You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: “I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” – Network (1976) IMDb Quotes Page

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Best Business Book…Ever.

Being a constant reader of business books, I recently came across the best business book ever: Best Business Practices for Photographers by John Harrington.

Why is it the best? Because it helps photographers understand how to actually succeed as a business by understanding everything that goes into running a successful photography business. Setting pricing, establishing usage rates, creative fees, risk and time fees, licensing, copyright, estimates, insurance and so much more.

My mind has been blown wide open by the amount detail in this book. I’m only six chapters in and wish I had read the book years ago. But the good news is, I’m reading it now, taking notes and applying the knowledge and wisdom set forth by Harrington.

I highly recommend that any creative business owner buy and read this book because the reality is, creatives need all the business help that they can get and this book delivers the goods.

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Kickstarting Documentary Projects

It seems that in today’s world of documentary filmmaking, there is an increased demand in not only being creative on-screen, but getting creative in how the film itself is financed.  While there are many ways to fund a documentary film, one of the more popular ways is Kickstarter.com.  You set a financial goal, establish an incentive structure based on dollar amounts donated, make an appeal to the best of your ability and then promote it like mad.  You either get the money because it was pledged or you don’t, it’s that simple.

Recently, I came across two documentary projects on Kickstarter that are very intriguing and worthy of supporting, either through promotion or donation.  I would encourage each and every one of you to do what you can to get both of these films funded and released.

Concerto for Two Brothers

A project by Cristina Cassidy, Concerto for Two Brothers examines the lives of two brothers that are amazing classical musicians and have lived through their share of life-changing difficulties ranging from a controlling father to cancer.  They have both relied on their love of music in order to bring a sense of healing to their lives.  The question that this film raises is simple, “are we who we are because of our past, or in spite of it?”

Watching the five minute teaser trailer on the Kickstarter page, two things struck me.  One, the production value and time spent producing a great film is evident in each frame.  Two, there is a tremendous potential for this film to tell the compelling story of virtuosity, heartache and restoration.

The Concerto for Two Brothers project goal is $25,000 and currently has 5 backers, raised $250, and has 58 days to go.

I would definitely encourage people to find out more about how they can support this project by visiting the Concerto for Two Brothers Kickstarter project page or by watching the video below.

Urbanized

Have you ever wondered what goes into the design of a city? Documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit has and he set out to document just what makes some of the world’s largest cities function including issues and strategies behind urban design.

My first experience with Gary Hustwit was his captivating film on the legendary typeface, Helvetica. His second film, Objectified, was a look at the work of product and industrial design. Gorgeous cinematography and great storytelling is a trademark of a Gary Hustwit film and I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to light in Urbanized.

One thing to note about Gary Hustwit is that he is a trailblazing pioneer in the world of creative funding for documentary filmmaking. He is a passionate storytelling and has an innate ability to get funding in non-traditional, groundbreaking ways. Kickstarter is just an extension of that ability and I for one am taking notes.

The Urbanized project goal is $85,000 and currently has 1,323 backers, raised $85,253, and 11 days remaining.

Find out more about how you can support Urbanized by visiting the Kickstarter Project Page or by watching the video below.

Kickstarter is a great way to fund creative projects and I’m looking forward to seeing both of these projects in their final release because of the support of people sharing not only their money, but their voice. Let’s get these films finished!

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Put On Your Shorts

One thing that I love about watching The Academy Awards is getting exposure to new films that I otherwise have heard nothing about. Case in point are the the films that won Best Animated Short, The Lost Thing, and Best Short Film, God of Love.

First thing this morning, I logged into iTunes and bought both films and was pleasantly surprised at the quality, inherent passion and labor of love infused in the execution of telling original and fun stories.

The Lost Thing (www.thelostthing.com)

Being an animation major and a lover of animated film, I was blown away by the art direction and animation in the short clip shown in the Oscar broadcast. Upon buying and watching The Lost Thing, the story was heart-warming and accented by two distinct visual aesthetics: a drab and monotonous color palette to show what is often missing from our “real life” and a vibrant, colorful palette for the world of lost things to show what is there if we truly look for the things that are lost around us.

Infused with a great sense of humor, there are elements of propaganda and a drab view of society that remind me of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. I appreciate the filmmakers’ view that we forget to look for the things that are lost that ultimately bring meaning to our lives.

I would definitely encourage everyone to pick up this short film on iTunes:  http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=420580932&s=143441

God of Love (www.lukemathenyfilms.com)

Reminiscent of Roberto Benigni’s exuberance in the 1999 Academy Awards, director and writer of God of Love, Luke Matheny, was so excited he commented that he wished he got a haircut. His enthusiasm was so inspiring and infectious that I had to buy his film.

Clocking in at just under 20 minutes, the story speeds by and is just plain funny, expertly told, and beautiful to look at in all its black and white splendor.

Pick up this short film on iTunes in HD, it definitely is worth every penny:  http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=421335326&s=143441

With that, short film is alive and well. There is a labor of love that is infused in each and every frame. Even if you are disillusioned with the films that are being pumped out of the Hollywood sausage machine, you can’t discredit the independent efforts in the Animated Shorts and Short Films categories. It might just give you hope that there are artists out there like Luke Matheny, Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan creating beautiful works of art that look great and tell wonderful stories.

 

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Fight the Indifference

In reading William Albert Allard’s book, “Five Decades,” I was struck by a simple truth that Allard expresses magnificently:

In workshops today I stress to students the need to truly care about what you do.  It sounds simple, but it isn’t.  You may not love the subject; you might hate it and want to show it strongly for that very reason.  War and poverty would certainly be examples.  But one cannot do superior work if one is indifferent.  You have to care.

Superior work requires feeling and caring.  Most importantly, it requires time to listen to the internal voice that dictates what is done creatively.  That need for time runs counter to the immediate nature of making effective business decisions on a consistent and daily basis.

I am challenged to understand the need to no longer be indifferent and to take stock of where I am at.  It gives me a bounce in my step and gets me excited about the work that I am doing.  This passion leads to confidence which leads to making better business decisions.

So with that, read the quote from Allard again and ask yourself, “how will I address my indifference?”

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For the Love of Photography

Being a constant reader of books and a lover of photography, I occasionally discover a book that really hits home and reminds me of what got me into photography: the photographer that not only delivers a striking visual image, but writes compelling stories.

After browsing the new books section at the Cascade Park Library, a book by National Geographic photographer William Albert Allard, “Five Decades,” grabbed my attention, because I recognized the photo on the cover, and I knew that I had to check it out.

Page after page, the words and photography are of the highest quality. The insight and wisdom contained in the writings by Allard show and tell what 50 years in a given profession looks like. There isn’t a whole lot of talk on the latest and greatest technology. At one point, he talks about having to adopt color film photography and how much that changed his view of photography itself.

As you take in all that Allard shares, you get the sense that photography is about the life lived and shared with others, not just the documentation and capture of imagery.

The feeling that this book gives me makes me think of Galen Rowell, the late photographer and writer, who inspired me to want to communicate visually and in writing. From his essays in “Outdoor Photographer” to his magnum opus, “Mountain Light,” his vision was communicated in everything that he did. Photography was about the life lived and he would come to the end of his life in pursuit of that very goal.

While there is a lot of wisdom in the retrospective analysis of a photographer’s career, there are modern photographer/writer combinations out there speaking about the pursuit of photography, communication and business. One is David duChemin, who has impacted me with his mix of technical writing, inspirational stories, striking photography and his use of traditional and new media. His book “VisionMongers” gets me motivated when it comes to establishing not just a vision, but a business model for photography.

With that, I encourage you to live and share your life with others. Find those voices that bring you inspiration, encouragement, vision and direction. They are waiting for you.

 

 

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What It’s All About

I chose to start today differently, focused on doing things that I really enjoy doing.

A book on recognizing and living through fear opened the door to the paintings of Tony Bennett. Inspired strokes of paint swept me across the canvas to the edge of the world with photographer Art Wolfe, reverberating with the words of actor, director and activist Robert Redford: “Storytellers take thought and transcribe it into something else, something that can be passed on to others.”

I needed to get out and think.

What is “this” all about?

The putrid morning breath of fuel and diesel, panic and rush, is quickly displaced by the smell of fresh air, bitter and cold.

A fire roars in a nearby place, filling the morning with the sweet odor of warmth and nostalgia.

An old soul of a tree has fallen. Rotten from the inside out. He wanted to know if he was still alive.

A lone hawk perches on an abandoned fence post. Waiting for breakfast.

The song of gathering geese grows louder and louder and louder. Whispering and shouting, “can you hear us above the roar of your progress?”

A worm inches across the concrete foundation, searching for home.

Another tree splits in half. Reaching towards the forgotten.

Nature has invaded all that we have made.

All they have to say is, “this is what it’s all about.”

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In Pursuit of Beauty

I was at a loss for words this morning.  Something was gnawing at the core of my existence and I couldn’t express it.

Frustration mounting, I finally realized what I was lacking:  the realization that I need to be in constant pursuit of beauty.

What is beauty?

Beauty is the town I live in entrenched in fog.

The perfect cup of coffee from a local coffee roaster.

An encouraging word from my wife.

An abandoned shoe in the middle of a construction zone in The Gambia, Africa.

I need to pay a little more attention to the beauty that I am surrounded by and that helps me to look at my daily task list differently.

How will you pursue the beauty in your life today?

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A Shot of Inspiration: Sundance Channel’s “Iconoclasts”

What do you get when comedic genius Dave Chappelle spends some time with author and living legend Maya Angelou? How about Sir Richard Branson and Desmond Tutu? Artist Chuck Close and Magician David Blaine? You get a mixture of inspiration and collective wisdom that is Sundance Channel’s “Iconoclasts.”

I stumbled across “Iconoclasts” when Eddie Vedder, of Pearl Jam fame, was hanging with surfing legend Laird Hamilton. As a Pearl Jam fan, I knew a little about Vedder, but I knew nothing about Hamilton. As the program unfolded, and the two spent time together, their celebrity melted away, and I got a glimpse at what makes them human. I saw why they do what they do. I heard the passion. I witnessed the way they constantly overcome fear. The balance of family, life and work. It was there, for all to see.

All of the characteristics that define us as human beings are the consistent themes of each episode of “Iconoclasts,” which I have faithfully watched since being transformed by the beauty of the destruction of the icon, and in a way that show has torn down conceptions of what vision, passion and action means for myself.

I’m often asked where I got the idea for “Innovators of Vancouver” and I simply point back to “Iconoclasts.” I was inspired by a glimpse of humanity that went beyond the surface, and I felt that there were enough interesting people in Vancouver that could paint a picture of what vision, passion and action looks like locally.

Sometimes I get lost. I forget why I do what I do. Then I turn on an episode of “Iconoclasts” or talk with my friends and I am reminded of the simple fact that I am intrigued by what people do with their lives, the why and the how, it’s all interesting. It’s fuel. It sends me to another place and I find the daily motivation to finish what I have set out to do.

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Impressions of Lotusphere 2011

I had the opportunity and privilege to travel to Orlando, FL last week to speak at, as well as attend, Lotusphere 2011, an annual conference that covers all things IBM and Lotus.

This was my first large speaking engagement and I shared the honor with Bruce Elgort as we worked through our two hour presentation, “How I Went Beyond the Hype, Narcissism, and Trendiness to Become a Social Software Super Hero.” Jet-lagged and nervous, I was faced with a few hundred people that came to hear what I had to say. I had a few fumbles, resorted to my notes at first, but finally found the groove that got me through the end of the presentation.

From the moment the presentation was over, everything that occurred is all a blur of frenetic, chaotic energy that I was completely unprepared for, but somehow managed to survive.

Instead of rehashing what others are already saying about Lotusphere in their own blogs, I’m going to give my impressions of a world that I am an outsider to and that is unknown to the majority of people. So, without further ado, here are my impressions of Lotusphere 2011.

The IBM/Lotus Community is engaging and welcoming

Every day, I met a lot of people. It didn’t hurt that I was hanging out with Bruce, who happens to be a Lotusphere Veteran, and knows everyone. But while many people were wondering what I was doing there, the vast majority was curious as to what I thought. They asked me questions, they welcomed me into their group of bloggers, and several had a lot of advice for me as a speaker. One man in particular, simply known as Duffbert, had sound wisdom for pursuing more and more speaking opportunities. He said that it would not only give me an increasing amount of confidence and purpose, but would actually help me to learn more about what I do and how to communicate that to others.

I kind of likened the group of people that I met as the veteran rockstars of the technology world. I mean no disrespect, because frankly, they welcomed everyone with open arms. No ego, no agenda, just a view of life and technology that was welcoming of all. I am grateful for what I learned by watching them interact with one another.

Never get into a drinking game with anyone from England, Ireland or Scotland

They will win. You will lose.

Motion graphics and video are the marketing/propaganda tools of social business

I saw my fill of amazing motion graphics and videos throughout the week. Statistics, graphs, quotes, all zooming by eloquently and professionally. I was witnessing a new league of professionalism. I took it all in. Most importantly, what I have taken to heart is that there will ultimately be a blurring of lines between marketing with motion graphics and video, and propaganda.

It’s easy to get hypnotized by the beauty of motion and that is when the message subliminally sneaks in. Clever phrases that stick in your mind. Distracting numbers that steer you towards one view from another, or even different sizes of graphics that are meant to guide you away from one product to a group of “approved” others.

Case in point, was a slide in the Opening General Session that showed four smartphones on the screen. The Droid, the Blackberry and another smartphone were all the same size. The iPhone was smaller and in the background. Since Blackberry was a sponsor, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was intentional. It helps to pay attention to those visual cues as more and more companies rely on motion and video for marketing purposes.

Panels should never be teleprompter-driven

Questions should be scripted. No question about that. But a teleprompter-driven response from a panel of CEOs and experts is about as exciting and informative as watching paint dry. Instead, let me hear your passion and excitement for the future. Get me inspired. That’s the whole point of an opening session, to give guidance, direction, motivation and inspiration.

As people collaborate, the finite potential of humanity provides an infinite number of solutions

This is truly evident in the numerous people that I met and had the opportunity to learn from. From network administrators and developers, to business, marketing and sales professionals, people are eager and hungry to not only make money, but to make a dent in the technology field that is hugely dominated by consumer-level software and hardware. People want to be able to provide solutions for tens of thousands of people to collaborate and innovate. No matter what technology provides in the future, it’s what human beings do with technology that is truly amazing.

Go outside your own world at least once a year

Whether you are a filmmaker, developer, social media expert, or cubicle-dweller, no matter what you do for a living or what you think you are, go to a conference or event that is completely outside your daily realm of existence. You might just learn something. At times you will be bored, at times you will be energized, but you will learn and your view of life will hopefully change, if you are open to it.

Ultimately, what I took away from Lotusphere is that people want to collaborate. They want to make a difference in this world and technology is just one way that enables them to do that. But it isn’t the only way. We look to technology to save our jobs and economy, to fuel cultural revolutions, to redefine how we educate, and even to entertain us, but that is a tough bill for technology alone to fill. It is ultimately about people and what people do with technology that enables change. Every person that I met at Lotusphere is someone that I would want to collaborate and solve problems with because they are smart, passionate and eager to make a difference.

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How to Choose Between Photo or Video…in the Field

It was over one hundred degrees as the sun beat down upon the crew working to build a new school building in The Gambia, Africa and I had a problem, “Do I take a picture of the crew working or do I switch to video and capture the motion of the swinging hammers?”

Afraid that I was going to miss something important, the question of photo or video was an increasingly popular question in my mind.  However, over the course of the two week trip, the question would be answered quicker and with resolve because I had two separate cameras each dedicated to one task, and I was developing a vision for the work that would be completed with the raw footage and photographs.

As modern technology perfects the marriage of high-end still photographs with HD-quality video features and combines two cameras into one, the ability to effectively choose photo or video in the field is becoming a necessary skill for the photographer/filmmaker.  Here are three thoughts on how you can make the switch smoothly, without missing a moment:

1.)  Do the Job You’ve Been Hired to Do

If you’ve been hired to shoot photos, don’t miss a moment because you are switching to video to try something out or to add more value to your marketing package.  There is a significant difference in how you shoot great stills versus fantastic video, and when you are in a fast-pace scenario, stick to the medium you were hired for in the first place.  If you want to add value to your final product, take better pictures or tell a better story, it’s that simple.  Don’t think that lackluster photos or videos are an added bonus.

2.)  Have Vision

Vision helps you to know the story you are telling, the shots that you need and the moments to look for.  Any professional knows what they want and gets it.  The tools simply help them fulfill their vision and satisfy their clients.  Without vision, you will switch back and forth unsuccessfully, create mediocre work and become frustrated that you aren’t getting the shots that you expected.

3.)  Know the Difference Between Creating Great Stills and Fantastic Video

Great stills capture a moment in time.  The lighting, the emotion, the ambiance.  It’s all there in one decisive release of the camera shutter.  The moment is elusive and desires to be hunted, pursued and won.  Fantastic video adds to the lighting, emotion and ambiance a complex array of sounds, motion and language of cinema and storytelling that form the basis of modern filmmaking.  Understanding the differences and recognizing your skill level in each will help you to create stills that fulfill your vision and shoot video that tells the story you want to tell.

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Share Your Voice… Rate the TSA!

TSAzrMobile technology has some amazing benefits in how we can affect change in new and exciting way.

Witness a new iPhone/iPod Touch app by Elguji Software called TSAzr which allows you to rate the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) in airports around the world.

TSAzr not only allows you to share comments, the type of screening processes at airports and whether your junk got touched, but by using real-time Google charts and graphs, TSAzr visually compiles the data into lists of the best and worst airports and how they compare to the overall national average.

I had the opportunity to watch and be involved in the conception, design, development and completion of TSAzr. The commitment and dedication by Elguji Software to create an easy-to-use and functional user experience in a fast-pace mobile world was truly inspiring. I can’t wait to see what is next for TSAzr and Elguji Software.

Buy it today for $0.99 by going to www.TSAzr.com and clicking on the link to the App Store.

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Believe the Hype, Tools Matter

Over the years as a professional digital artist, the biggest struggle in my work has been whether I should buy the latest and greatest tools and equipment or not. I made it through the last five years of business using Windows XP, a Pentium 4 with 3GB of RAM, the Adobe CS2 Creative Suite and a lot of patience.

Along with the old system, I began to foster the mentality that having the right tools wasn’t as important as having the ability to effectively create and deliver the work that was necessary to get the job done. But somewhere along the way, I was getting bogged down to the point of inefficiency, frustration and a tendency to daydream about better equipment.

Enter the moment of change. Recently, I upgraded my computer and software to the latest and greatest from Apple and Adobe. Not because their marketing said that I should, but because I needed to. The results were tremendous. In the month of December 2010, my productivity quadrupled. I produced almost an hour of finished video work in Premiere, animation rendered in After Effects went from hours to minutes, working on large-format projects in Photoshop was fast and discovering new ways of collaborating with Skype opened up doors with existing friends and clients. But most importantly, the new tools made work fun again.

With all the hype that is out there, find the tools that can reinvigorate your work life and bring an element of fun and excitement to your business. You don’t need to be constantly upgrading your tools and equipment, but don’t limit your vision out of stubbornness or refusal to see value in the benefits of modern technology.

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Branding Lessons: Tip 1

Since I was fifteen, I have always had an affinity for the loud, abrasive sounds of rock ‘n’ roll.  From the guttural lyrics of James Hetfield accented by the sharp, percussive dynamics of the machine that is Metallica, to the passionately confusing lyrics of Bono stirring amongst the ethereal sea that is U2, I often get lost in the art that is rock ‘n’ roll music.  But the art doesn’t just stop with the music production and songwriting.  There are also branding lessons that have become embedded in my mind.  From consistency to experimentation, and from illustration to video production, there are a million examples of effective branding that can be learned from my childhood heroes.

For the next several Fridays, I’m going to unveil a branding tip, based on examples from the world of rock ‘n’ roll, which can then be applied to our own businesses and creative pursuits.

Tip 1:  It’s okay to experiment, but stay true to the core of who you are.

Metallica built an empire out of heavy metal music.  Each album became progressively faster, louder and their fan base grew as they went on.  After three albums, tragedy struck their ranks, killing long time bassist Cliff Burton.  It would seem from the fans’ perspective that their beloved band would never be the same and that they would forever be chasing the ghost of Cliff Burton.  Their rise in fame would culminate in their 1991 self-titled release, “Metallica” or unofficially known, “The Black Album.”

After several years of constant touring and excessive living, it was time to dismantle the speed metal machine, experiment with new sounds, and essentially attempt to rebuild an entirely new brand.  Instead of changing a few things over a long period of time, everything changed, seemingly all at once.  Songs became shorter, as did hair.  Solos became more blues-oriented, or non-existent as is the case in “St. Anger.”  The simple CD artwork of the past was replaced with lavish booklets filled with artsy photos by longtime U2 photographer, Anton Corbijn, along with controversial macro-photography by Andres Serrano.  Even the Metallica logo was changed from their sharp-pointed logo to something a little less dangerous.

All of these changes, combined with the Napster trial, would create a fan backlash that would eventually take a decade to recover from.

In 2008, Metallica returned with “Death Magnetic,” a CD full of rip-roaring tracks that felt and sounded exactly like they should.  Their artwork even featured their original sharp-pointed, dangerous logo.  A throwback to the past and a message to the fans that they were back and ready to rock.

Thanks for the music history lesson.  So what?

So, what can we as business owners and artists learn from Metallica?  First, it’s okay to experiment and change things. In fact, if we don’t change or try new things, we get stale, rusty or disenfranchised with what we do.  But in order to be effective in our experiments, we must first identify our core brand, because that is ultimately what fans and customers identify with.

Is your brand built around a logo or an image?  Stay true to that logo or image.  That doesn’t mean that you never update or change that logo or image, but what you are responsible for is staying true to what that logo or image stands for in the minds and habits of your customers.

Is your identity built around a story?  Get creative in how you tell that story, but never forget to tell the story.

Are you building a brand around a service or known for providing a top-notch product?  Experiment in finding new products and offering other services, but never forget what the demand is for.

Too much change all at once can be defeating.  However, change implemented strategically over a period of time allows customers and fans to adapt and realize that change is good, healthy and absolutely essential to success of a business.

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Do You Have a Solo Support Network?

Solo-Support-Network

As I mentioned in a previous post, “It’s Time to Move: Reliving the Pioneer Days,” I have spent a significant amount of time thinking about how to improve my business as I begin the fifth year of pursuing my dream of telling stories.

One area of my business that has really been in need of improvement is support.  As a solo-preneur, someone that has set out in the business wilderness alone, I have come to realize that the most valuable asset that I can attain is a trusted and reliable network of fellow business owners and friends that have the wisdom, knowledge, resources and desire that I do not have.

Times are tough to be a business owner and that difficulty is compounded when you are going at it alone.  Problems seem larger and harder to solve.  Loneliness can creep into the shadows of your day.  Without another person to bounce thoughts and ideas off of, you could lose faith in your ability to be creative and productive.

Enter the Solo Support Network: a group of face-to-face, real-life connections existing outside the confines of your daily pursuits.  I can look them in the eye and tell them how I feel.  They can look me in the eye and tell me what they see.  They become the voices of reason that illuminate the doubt and despair.  Most importantly, they have your back when you need it most.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to continue unloading what the idea of having a Solo Support Network means for solo-preneurs, but for now I’m going to embrace the idea that I am no longer alone.  That even though my business is “Chris Martin” Studios, I am a collaborative studio composed of my Solo Support Network and myself.  Understanding this will only make me stronger, more successful and help me to be a member of someone else’s Solo Support Network.

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Two Steps To Memorable Marketing

Memorable Marketing

It’s not an easy time to launch effective marketing campaigns.  Television commercials fight for our attention, political mailers clog our mailboxes and line our recycle bins, and over-saturation of just about every industry has created apathy in a lot of consumers.

Enter Orchards Financial Advisor Jed Conradi of Edward Jones.  He effectively created a memorable and effective marketing campaign that has planted the seed of who I should call if I need to talk investments.  So, how did he do it and how can you apply it to your business?

Step 1:  Don’t wait for the phone to ring, get out and say hello.

It was another day at Chris Martin Studios.  I’m plugging away at my daily task list when the doorbell rings.  I answer the door and there is Jed.  He introduces himself, asks if I know what Edward Jones does, and hands me a brochure.  After a brief conversation, he thanks me for my time and we both go on with our day.

My first thought:  “Wow, it’s an ugly day out there and this guy is out walking neighborhoods introducing himself.  That’s pretty cool.”

Second thought:  “Must be tough times if he is out walking the streets.”

Third thought:  “Good for him to get out and meet people instead of waiting for people to show up.”

Step 2:  Follow up by flying under the radar.

Yesterday I received a hand-written envelope.  What could this be?  Inside was a thank you card from Jed thanking me for “allowing” him to introduce himself and his firm to me.  He simply said that when he can be of service to give him a call.

Jed flew under the radar by forgoing the standard form letter in a branded Edward Jones envelope, which I would have thrown away without opening, and hand-addressing a simple card sized envelope.

In these simple two steps, Jed has effectively created in my mind the message of who I should call when I need to talk investments.

So, how can you apply this to your business?  It’s simple.  The first step is to find ways to get out there and say hello.  Do you work in a neighborhood?  Do you work in a business park?  Do you frequent a coffee shop?  Go to these places and be friendly to people.  Engage in conversation.  Let them know what you do and take interest in what they do.  Reciprocity goes a long way in not only getting your name to stick in the minds of people, but the first step in establishing a relationship.

Once you have established a connection, it is imperative to follow up, but not just in the traditional ways, get creative.  Send a non-traditional, hand-written note.  Send a gift card.  Send a Virginia Ham.  People will take notice when you go out of your way to acknowledge them.

It’s as simple as saying thank you and perhaps a heart-felt “Thank You” is what will ultimately make a memorable marketing campaign.  So, get out there and create memorable marketing.

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It’s Time to Move: Reliving the Pioneer Days

Pioneers Graphic

As I approach the fifth anniversary of Chris Martin Studios, I have been in deep introspection regarding the future of business and how I can rejuvenate what feels old, tired and mundane.

My design career spans back almost 14 years to when I was still in high school.  The internet, then known as the World Wide Web, was exciting and new.  The dot.com bubble hadn’t quite burst yet and technology was rapidly accelerating and improving as Netscape and Internet Explorer battled for browser supremacy.  I was learning HTML, probably version 2 or 3, and absorbing, copy and imitating just about any cool use of the technology that I could find.

Blinking text, did it.  Scrolling marquees, scrolling text in the status bar, the beginning of JavaScript, VBScript, frames, iframes, embedding media, Flash, VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language), I did it all.  I ended up getting a web development job while still in high school and had my development palette expanded to server-side programming, e-commerce development, database design, the inadequacies of FrontPage and emerging WYSIWYG systems versus programming everything yourself in Notepad and Photoshop.  It was exciting, it was invigorating, and the web seemed smaller and on the cusp of exploding into what it is today.  I had boarded my wagon and I was heading west into new territories.

But somewhere along the journey, I decided that I had “gone” far enough, took the wheels off the wagon and put them out as a reminder of the journey that I set out on years go.  As time went by, life progressed, formal education was received, commerce began to dictate what I did instead of passion, and I forgot what the wheels symbolized.  Most importantly, I lost the feeling of joy for traveling in the vast land of technological experimentation.

As I look out into the unknown, I am excited about the experimentation that exists in the diverse land of technology.  We are seeing a resurgence of the browser wars as HTML5 begins to gather momentum.  We are seeing a change in how we use the internet as mobile apps become the standard of sending and receiving information online thanks to Apple and Google.  Most importantly, we are seeing content become just as important as technology.  No longer does it matter what the app or website is developed with.  What matters is what is said, what the app enables the user to do, and how the app becomes a central part of your life.

With all of this change and innovation occurring, it is time that I build a new wagon, put on the wheels and set out for a journey of experimentation.  No longer guided by commerce alone, but guided by a yearning for trying something new, adding a voice of wisdom to the dialogue, and at the same time, allowing myself to listen to the current technological pioneers that are working day in and day out and heading west into new territories.

This sense of experimentation and journey into new technologies is exciting and foreboding at the same time.  But as long as I am willing to be open to what could be and participating in the journey, I think I’ll be able to regain the pioneer spirit that I once had many years ago.

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Surprising Results. Now What?

It’s Thursday afternoon and I am taking a moment to write up my results from this week’s experiment in productivity, as written about in Goal-Oriented Productivity.  Yes, I know, the week isn’t over yet, but the results are obvious and apparent, and the message has been internally received.  So without further ado, here is what I found out.

Schedule two blocks of focused, uninterrupted time to work.

It seems obvious, but by scheduling focused, uninterrupted time to work, I was able to accomplish more this week then the whole month of October.  I found that by having two blocks of focused and uninterrupted time scheduled each day, separated by buffer times, was absolutely essential to a productive and fulfilling day.

My daily schedule would like something like this:

Having one family car did not affect productivity.

Even though I can spend up to 100 minutes per day driving my wife to work and picking her up, my productivity was not affected by the absence of driving time.  I found this out because for the past two days, my wife was not feeling well enough to drive, so I had to break from the experiment and drive her to work.  The 100 minutes was not coming from my scheduled work time where I was needing to be productive and as long I had an appropriate amount of buffer time before going into the first block of work time, I was just as productive as the day that I wasn’t driving my wife to work.

Limit social media, e-mail and phone calls to the buffer times.

While I don’t need to be as strict regarding e-mail or phone calls, social media needed to be restricted to the buffer times in order to avoid distracting my workflow and preventing me from gaining momentum, which is ultimately what the focused and uninterrupted times provided me.  I found that I could have Twitter open during the afternoon work time mainly because I’m as focused as I will be for the day.

Setting weekly goals of what I wanted to accomplish helped to determine what was important to work on.

My goals for this week were simple:

By Tuesday, I had completed two of the four projects I wanted to complete and advanced four of the eight projects towards completion.  Today, I have advanced all eight projects, almost completely finishing one of them because I was able to focus and have fun on the project.  The four projects have been completed and delivered to happy clients.  I have been working daily on my website portfolio and I have been checking in with clients.

The only thing I wasn’t able to accomplish was a daily blog, mainly because some days the ideas were there and others, nothing.  But that was at the bottom of my list and the least important to my overall sense of fulfillment.

Schedule all in-person meetings one day each week, if possible.

By not scheduling meetings until Friday, my focused and uninterrupted time was just that, focused and uninterrupted.  No glances at the clock to see if I had to leave yet.  No distractions, and it actually gave me something to look forward to at the end of the week.

Conclusion

Going into this experiment, I thought that the driving time was the main time problem disrupting my daily productivity, but it was actually the combination of not scheduling focused and uninterrupted time, not limiting social media and e-mail to the buffer times, and not focusing meetings to one day per week.

I’m looking forward to taking this knowledge and continuing to apply it each week.  We’ll see just how productive I can be.

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Video Marketing: Your Story is Your Message

The hot way to market your business or product today is to create viral video marketing that people share with their friends and tweet endlessly about on Twitter.  The best recent example is Old Spice.  A guy sitting on a horse holding a stick of deodorant, crafting memorable lines such as, “I’m on a horse” or “Ladies, look at your man, now look at me.”  Funny, clever and it plants a seed in your mind for the future trip down the deodorant aisle, “Old Spice, horse, that was funny, I think I’ll buy Old Spice.”

How about BlendTec’s video series, “Will It Blend?”  Each video takes an everyday product like an iPad or iPhone and finds out if they will blend in the high-end blenders sold by BlendTec.  Interjected with a lot of cheesy humor and a quirky host, I was fascinated by what I was witnessing and, in all honesty, wanting to buy a BlendTec blender.  Which is precisely the desired outcome that BlendTec’s marketing department wants.

Rewind to reality.  Most small businesses are not Old Spice or BlendTec, and don’t have the marketing budget to work with premier advertising agencies, so what are they to do?  How can small businesses leverage technology and creativity to make memorable marketing videos?

Your story is your message

Before you start shopping around town for the best videographer that your budget can buy, it is imperative that you know the story that you want to tell.  If you have a great product, can you build some story ideas around that product?  If you have a unique service, how can you get the word out about what you do?  Do you want a commercial?  An infomercial?  A documentary?  A promotional video?  There are a ton of options and the great thing about video marketing is that businesses are story goldmines.  The owners, the employees, the products and services, the awards, being the underdog, returning from the dead, all fodder for creating effective video marketing.  However, it only starts with knowing your story.  Now you have to tell it in a compelling way.

Identify the voice behind the story

After finding the story you want to tell, you need to identify the voice in which it will be told.  Is it coming from the top-down, voiced by the CEO and the marketing team?  Or is it coming from the bottom-up, the customers, or the employees?  By having a voice, you can guide people to a desired outcome, either blatantly or subliminally.  Make people want to engage in your story through humor and authenticity, and the rewards will begin to come, but it takes time and a track record.  By consistently putting out new content, you keep your story in the minds of your customers and that is priceless.

Find the fuel for telling your story

The greatest thing about digital technology and video sharing platforms on the internet is that if you are willing to experiment by spending time and money, you will know immediately what was a hit, and what wasn’t.  That knowledge can then fuel your passion for continuing to create videos that people want to talk about, and ultimately drive people to your desired outcome.  What else can fuel your use of video marketing?  Engaging in a community of people that are talking about your videos, your company and your products.  Hearing people talk about your videos out around town.  People buying your product or service because of the video that a friend shared with them.  Employees see what is going on, they hear the buzz, read the comments and engage, resulting in them getting fired up and excited as they see the impact their work has on others.  All of this is fuel for continuing to tell your story.

There is no magic bullet

It is important to stress that video marketing is not a magic bullet solution to an immediate increase in profits.  It is just one more tool that will guide people to know more about your business and when used in tandem with social media marketing, traditional marketing and actually having great products and services that people talk about, only then will you begin to see the impact that video marketing can play in an over-saturated market.

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Goal-Oriented Productivity

This week, I’m embarking on a journey of experimentation in productivity.  Feeling frustrated with trying to balance the many aspects of being a small-business owner, from marketing to project proposals, and scheduling to completing projects, I’m trying out some new daily scheduling ideas, thanks in part to the book “Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.

While “Switch” is not about scheduling and getting things done, it is about change.  Not just the simple stuff, but deep and impacting change that seems impossible to fulfill.  What really has stood out and resonated with me is that change is possible if you focus and build upon what has been working, simply defined by the authors as “bright spots.”

My experiment in productivity is built upon the “bright spot” that when I focus and have uninterrupted working time, I get a lot done.  I know, novel concept, but the truth is usually simpler than expected.  So, what can I do to make sure that I have focus time?  Find the biggest time expenses and establish ways to reduce the time spent engaged in those activities.  My biggest time expenses are:

  1. One Family Car – Taking my wife to work and picking her up results in a weekly time expense of 500 minutes per week.  That is 8.33 hours of time that could be spent working.
  2. Meetings and Meet-Ups – Last week, I spent over 6 hours of time in meetings, spread over the entire week.
  3. Social Media – Leaving Twitter and Facebook open and active all day creates distractions that disrupt focus and momentum.  I estimate that I spent 5 hours last week interacting on Twitter and Facebook.

Time adds up fast.  My top three time expenses resulted in 19.33 hours not spent in focused, uninterrupted work.  That’s almost 4 hours each day.  How can I fix this?

I will share the results of my experiment at the end of the week, but until then, here’s to goal-oriented productivity.

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Increasing Wonder… Decreasing Monotony

Beaver PondsYears ago, a magnet that was included in a box of tea, much like a Cracker Jack prize, has been living silently on my refrigerator, espousing me with wisdom each time I get water, milk or ice cream:  ”Wonder is the seed of knowledge. – Francis Bacon”

There is something subtle about wonder.  It conjures visions of giddiness, a broad-minded naiveté, and a way of looking at the world that is passionate and exciting.  It speaks of adventure: a simple breath on the edge of a mountain as a gust of wind rustles the hair of the good and faithful servants as they seek and learn, fully utilizing their imagination.  Wonder also suggests danger and alienation from other individuals and structured societies that potentially tell them that they must do things a certain way and in a prescribed manner.  However, the wayward explorers are not discouraged and they continually seek new horizons, wondrous sights and exotic sounds that they themselves have never experienced or heard before.  And the world is better off for these adventurers going off the edge of the known maps to chart the unknown.

My musings of wonder were spurred by a documentary entitled, “Encounters at the End of the World,” where director Werner Herzog and his crew travel to Antarctica to document an eccentric group of scientists and adventurers studying and living at the edge of the world.  He was inspired to pursue this film because of the wonder of imagery that a friend sent him of divers beneath the ice.  What he would find would not only be scientific in nature, but would also be philosophical, adventurous, and beautiful.  Not only in the alien landscape that resides beneath the ocean, but in the minds and spirit of the people that make up the population of Antarctica.

This got me thinking.  What would happen if I ceased to wonder?  If I no longer used my full imagination for fear of failure or success?  What would happen if the rut I found myself in no longer allowed me the flexibility to live in a state of wonder and imagination?  Perhaps the most important question I am faced with is, what happens if money is more important than wonder and imagination?

A lot of these questions need to be thrown in the crock-pot that is my brain so that I can slow-cook the answers to perfection.  But until then, I will hold on to the thought and idea that if wonder and the pursuit of wondrous ideas increases, then the monotony that has crept into my soul and spirit will decrease.

It is in this spirit that I start my day as I seek the wondrous in each project that I work on, each client I interact with, and each idea that races through my over-active mind.

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The Art of Focus

One of the many books that I have been reading is John C. Maxwell’s, “How Successful People Think,” and the chapter that forced me to pause and take a moment to reflect upon my life and business was “Engage in Focused Thinking.”  To sum up the chapter in a sentence, Maxwell says that in order to do our best work we must practice uninterrupted focused thinking and we can only do that when we know what we must focus on.  With this in mind, what are you focusing on in your life, business and career?  Are you trying to take everything in, or are you choosing to emphasize the few instead of the many?

Choosing focus points means having to make choices

One of my favorite technical aspects of photography is shallow depth of field because I am able to bring greater emphasis to one subject over another.  It adds another element of choice to the creation process because not only do you have to create a compelling and pleasing composition with an approximate exposure, but you have to make a choice in the placement of your focus point.  There is so much emotion that can be injected into your photography by choosing unusual focus points.  In a recent photo shoot, I was posing my subject in front of a mural and the words “What the Hell Do You Care?  Your not going there.” were behind him, so in one frame, I decided to emphasize that over my subject.  I made a choice.  And it is the process of making choices regardless of the outcome that allows us to learn more about ourselves and what we do throughout our lives.

Continuous autofocus is putting your ability to focus into the hands of someone else

Modern cameras have a feature called autofocus that continuously sets your focus for you.  It can be very distracting in many applications because if you are shooting a lot of motion or action, the camera is going to be all over the map and nailing the focus can be frustrating.  It is the same in art and business.  If you let someone else make the decisions of how you focus and what you are choosing to do at a given moment, you are not going to be very focused.  One of my greatest struggles is multi-tasking, especially when I am really busy and have a lot of active projects.  I start to panic and in that panic I lose my ability to focus.  I drift in and out of different aspects of each project and nothing takes shape.  But as I force myself to focus on bringing form in order to get further responses from a client, I am able to progress, the value of focus is expanded greatly and clients are satisfied that I am working on their projects in a timely manner.

Response drives progress

Nothing in the creative and business worlds is created in a vacuum.  The only way to gauge where your ideas and career is at is to get your work and yourself in front of an audience and then engage in discussion.  For many artists this involves getting outside your comfort zone and admitting that they don’t know everything.  It helps to see what is resonating with your audience and what is falling flat.  It can stoke the fires of your own creative process and it matures you as an artist.  For business owners, by opening yourself up to the views of the community and your clients, you can utilize your position of leadership to address the concerns of people through a unique response.  Ultimately what people want is the courtesy of a response.  Why?  It helps them to progress in their own lives because they have one less thing that they themselves need to focus on.

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The Art of Direction

I have a sense of procrastination this morning.  My brain is bursting with new ideas on how to blaze new trails for my business as well as my creative pursuits, but the weight of needing to complete projects that were once my primary focus holds me back.  The only picture that I can paint which describes what I am feeling is of a tire spinning in a pit of mud.  Tires spinning, engine whining, mud flying, wanting to break free, desperately needing traction, so that there can be freedom to speed towards the destination.

This morning, Chris Brogan provoked me with a tweet that simply read, “Where are you focusing your energy? Is it ahead, behind, or sideways?”  These questions have led me to ponder what each direction looks like right now as it relates to pursuing vision and how by embracing each direction, I can get unstuck and back on the highway.

Direction:  Sideways
The worst direction I can travel is sideways because I’m not going anywhere.  Using the analogy of a tire spinning in the mud, to go sideways is to start turning the wheel left and right, burying myself deeper in the mud. When following my vision and passion, sideways is avoidance and giving into fear.  I stop making decisions and confronting issues that need to be dealt with.  I give up.  I give into the weight of problems instead of finding creative ways to solve issues at hand.  A great quote that I think illustrates moving sideways comes from Albert Einstein, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Direction:  Behind
Sometimes in order to break free, I need to move in the opposite direction of where I ultimately want to go.  Relating to issues of art and business, that has the potential to not make fiscal or logical sense, but history has shown that by stopping and reversing course for a brief moment, I can get the necessary momentum to get unstuck.

There is a principal of animation called anticipation that is illustrated by Newton’s third law of motion:  “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”  Tony White in “The Animator’s Workbook” writes of anticipation:

When animating any major action in a scene, it is always necessary to anticipate the action before initiating it.  If a character is going to run off-screen-left from a standing start, it is first necessary to give him a short movement to screen-right to anticipate it.

What are some additional benefits to moving backwards?  It enhances my character by helping me learn more about how I got stuck in the first place.  As I look at my past obligations, there are elements in each project that I can learn from and the only way I learn is to not give up, to see them through to completion, no matter how frustrated I get and no matter how much it hurts to not be moving towards the vision of my future.  By learning from my mistakes, it prepares me for the mistakes that I will make further along the road as I pursue my vision.  If I don’t learn, I’m apt to repeat mistakes, and the closer I get to fulfill my vision, the more painful mistakes become.  That is why traveling backwards can prepare me for what is to come.

Direction:  Forward
Without the lessons learned while traveling sideways and backward, moving forward would not be as idealistic and perfect as I imagine.  There will be bumps, potholes and accidents along the way even if I think there won’t be.

This leads me to my final question:  is it possible to move forward while simultaneously moving backward?  Yes, it is possible.  In fact, if I don’t think there is value in fulfilling obligations of the past, I might as well not even commit to new ideas because there will come a time when those ideas will become the “past obligations” that I am fighting right now.

So, what does moving forward look like?  For me, it is grasping hold of my vision of the future and at the same time completing projects of the past, no matter how difficult they are.  It is laying a foundation of character that I can build art, business and craft upon so that as new ideas are attempted I can continually move forward regardless of the outcome.  It is fighting fear, complacency and negative attitudes by being honest with what I can and cannot do.  Ultimately, it is simply telling myself that every pursuit forward and backward is a worthy use of time and that the only direction that I must avoid traveling in is sideways.

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The Art of Giving Back

Yesterday, I received the latest business card from Noland Hoshino of Bcause Media. While I get a lot of business cards throughout the week, what made this particular card stand out was that it was a branded Charity Gift Card from TisBest. It had a pre-loaded $1.00 value enabling me to login to TisBest’s website and give that dollar to three charities (I chose American Documentary, Sundance Institute and Room to Read).

Being a business owner that is always looking for new and interesting products to offer my clients, the branded Charity Gift Card blew me away. It is a great way for businesses to not only give back, but to encourage a culture to give back. This also spurred me on to thinking about how we as artists and business professionals can give back in everything that we do.

Time

One of the best ways to give back is by giving your time to local causes and organizations that are in need of volunteers.  Whether it’s volunteering at your local library, mentoring a child through The Mentoring Project, or handing out meals at a soup kitchen, giving your time without regards to what you get back is an incredible way to motivate your pursuit and passion for life.  It builds relationships that otherwise wouldn’t exist and helps you to see a whole new side of our community.

Money

Obviously non-profit organizations need funding to sustain the programs and services that they provide and the best way to give money is to find a cause that you believe in and give whatever you can.  Not just a one-time donation, but spending the time to build a consistent donation strategy will go a long way for your business and your level of personal satisfaction.

Communicate a Vision Our Through Talents and Skills

If you are unable to give time and money, another way of giving back is to use the talents and skills that we have as artists to communicate an organization’s vision.  Whether it is a brochure design, a promotional video or a new logo, the abilities that we have as artists are appreciated and necessary at all non-profit levels.

To further encourage you with ways to give back, here is a brief follow-up Innovators of Vancouver video from Dale Chumbley about organizations he supports.

For more information on giving back to the organizations mentioned in Dale’s video, visit the following websites:

365 Things To Do Gives Back

American Cancer Society

Muscular Dystrophy Assocation

Mothers Fighting For Others

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The Art of Being a Creative Futurist

The market is flooded with designers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and other creative individuals.  Technological advances put pro-quality equipment into the hands of budding amateurs at insanely affordable prices.  The varying degree of talent in the creative community that is now available to businesses is changing the way that business professionals and artists engage one another in terms of pricing, quality, professionalism and availability.  Art has essentially become a commodity, best defined by Merriam-Webster as “a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price.”

As old world institutions of journalism, filmmaking, design and publishing go the way of the dinosaurs, there is a race to cash in on the new world methodologies that are currently being defined.  As artists, how do we thrive in this new business model?  Do we get scared and cling to how we have always done things?  Do we lower our prices and try to compete with the amateurs?  Or do we expand our vision and look at how we can contribute to the future of the creative new world?  As professional artists, it is our duty and responsibility to help shape the future and the best way to do that is by becoming creative futurists focused on innovation, passion for unique vision and integrating life with art and creativity.

Innovation Drives Us to New Ideas

Written about in almost everything we read today, innovation is driving the creation of new ideas, techniques and processes, while helping artists to continually redefine their artistic identity as well as their business practices.  In some communities, the hunt for innovation is the search for new ways to make money and is often a way to revive the successes of the past.  But being a creative futurist means that you look for new ways to do things, not just to make money, but to shape the future of what art means in our world.

When I share new ideas for projects that I am pursuing, the response is often the same:  “What a great idea…how are you going to make money doing that?”  My calculated answer:  “I’m not entirely sure.  All I know is that I have to do this.”  Innovation produces passion, which is simply a desire to do what you dream, regardless of the cost.

Without Passion, Art is Dead and Vision is Blind

Passion is the driving force in creating new paintings, writing new novels, filming documentaries and dreaming of what is to come in the future.  It gives us purpose, meaning, focus and a direction for our lives, not just professionally, but personally and relationally.  Passion drives us to seek out others that share our innovative vision.  It also drives us to be unique in our projects and pursuits.  Without embracing our uniqueness, we willingly enter into the world of commodities because we are no longer looking at what we bring to the table, but how we compare to others.  Constant comparison and critique is the kryptonite of passionate and productive artists.  As creative futurists, we realize that we set the tempo and pace for our lives driven by passion and a unique vision that impacts not only our own lives, but also the lives of others.

Successful Artistry Integrates Life with Creativity

How we integrate our art into life is where the money is at.  The way that we deliver new ideas through emerging technologies, even creating our own technologies, changes how business professionals will value the work of artists.  No longer will we wear the label “dime-a-dozen” because we, as creative futurists, are focused on redefining how creativity and art is delivered and integrated into everyday life.  By removing art from the commodities market, we retain innovation, passion and uniqueness.

All it takes to be a creative futurist is to believe in your uniqueness, to allow passion for your work to overcome your fear in whether you succeed or fail and to embrace a desire to be innovative, not just for your bank account and production of creative ideas, but for the quality of life and art that we are leaving for the artists of the next generation.

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Color Your Identity

How much of your business relies on color?  Are you thinking in black and white (like I often do for myself) or do you have certain colors that are part of your image?

I was in a meeting yesterday talking about a great photographer named Dave Scott (www.davescottphoto.com) and the person I was with stops and says, “where do I know that name?  I think I get his mailers.”  All I had to say was, “yellow envelope?”  “Yes!  That’s him!”

This is a great example of how Dave’s use of yellow in his identity has increased his recognition among people that receive his mailers.

How can you use color to increase your recognition among the fray?

Simplify: By reducing the number of colors, you can create contrast and reduce visual confusion (unless that’s your goal, but that’s another blog post entirely…)

Consistency: Using the same color palette in all areas of your marketing increases identity recognition.  Without consistency, people won’t equate a certain color to your identity.

Intentional: Be intentional about the colors you choose.  They should be a reflection of the personality of your business.  A male professional photographer shooting sports probably doesn’t want to use Cyan, Pink and White to promote his business.  Use colors that relate to the industry that you are targeting.

I will definitely be using this lesson of color recognition to further the designs that I create for my customers.

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The Art of Asking Questions

One of the most valuable skills available to an artist is the ability to ask really good questions that produce a response, thus inspiring discourse, imagination and productivity.

As an artist, asking questions is one of my core foundations in crafting structure, as well as generating visual ideas for a final project. Whether I am creating an identity for a business, editing a documentary film, or preparing for a photo shoot, the questions that I ask directly impact the outcome.

As I wade through hours of interview footage that I have conducted over the course of the past several months, I realize how my interviewing techniques can be improved upon to produce stronger results.

Keep it simple.
Eliminate multiple-part questions. Word questions in terms that your subject will understand. By keeping questions simple, you avoid long-winded responses and help the interviewee remain comfortable. Have questions that relate specifically to the interviewee’s relationship to the subject matter.

Be prepared.
By being prepared, you not only better understand your subject matter, but you are better able to craft questions based on the interviewee’s knowledge of the subject. Knowledgeable questions create an atmosphere of respect because you have taken the time to understand the interviewee’s expertise.

Don’t make assumptions.
In the art of asking questions, there are no stupid questions. By not making assumptions, you help to put your subjects at ease, as well as show that you have researched and prepared for the interview ahead of time.

Be relaxed.
How can you help your subjects be at ease? Be relaxed. Most people are going to be nervous about how you present their image and if you are nervous, that will increase their anxiety level. Regardless of whether a camera is involved, or even a tape recorder, your job is to ensure that no matter what they say, you will present their image in an accurate and truthful manner. Be conversational in your approach. Pay attention and respond.

These are just a few thoughts on how you can have an immediate impact on the quality of responses that you receive from asking questions. I will definitely be applying these to my own interviewing techniques and look forward to sharing the results in future projects.

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Innovators of Vancouver

Innovators of Vancouver is an online documentary video series that focuses on the leaders of vision, passion and action in Vancouver, WA and the surrounding areas.

Episode #1 with Dale Chumbley is now live on YouTube.

More Info

http://www.innovatorsofvancouver.com

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“The Art Of…” Blog Series

In the mind of every artist is a battle between two personalities.  The protagonist:  creativity.  Otherwise known as inspiration, passion, originality, and freedom.  The antagonist:  business.  Also referred to as rules, structure, organization, and cookie-cutter.  The victims of the battle are often the artists themselves as they struggle to make a living with their art without giving into business (also known as “The Man”).

Fortunately, there are effective ways to not becoming a victim of your struggle between art and business.

“The Art Of…” Blog Series is written for artists who want to leverage the power of creativity and business in order to run successful business ventures that do not compromise their artistic integrity.

Survive the game.  Become the successful creative you want to be.

Welcome to “The Art Of…”

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The Art of Business

Let me paint a picture in your mind.

An artist sits, deep in thought, searching for inspiration.  A business man paces in a circle around the artist, waiting for him to act, making phone calls, unsure of what is going on with the artist.

This is often the portrait people see when the art world collides with the business world.  And the results are never pretty:  a toxic cloud of misunderstanding and frustration.

Without business, art would lack financial success.  Without art, business would be sterile.  When the two combine to create a masterpiece with perfect understanding of roles and responsibilities, life-altering masterpieces are created.

So, what can artists and business leaders do to make sure that both sides are free from confusion and misconceptions?

Education

The best thing that artists can do is to educate their business partners in the ways that they create.  By allowing the business world a glimpse into the process of creation, it helps to eliminate the business person from creating their own image of what the artist is doing day in and day out.

When it comes to educating artists about the business world, it is ideal to show how important the work of the artist is.  This allows artists to leave their vacuum of creation and have a broader perspective for what is truly important.

Communication

Without top-notch communication skills, there will always be misunderstanding.  Whenever questions arise, there should be room to ask without condemnation.  Artists should not be defensive, and business people should avoid attempting to take control of a project without first communicating their underlying frustrations.

When artists and business people educate one another, and establish a system of communication, this leads to collaboration.

Collaboration

Without collaboration, a project will always be one-sided, slanted towards the dominate personality of the project.  True collaboration involves both sides working together, using their strengths to eliminate the weaknesses of each other.  This requires an acceptance of weakness.  Without admitting our weaknesses, this will only create strife when someone stronger then ourselves comes along attempting to make us stronger.  However, this does not give a strong person the right to force their strengths on others.  They must give their strengths as an offering of fulfillment.  By offering our strengths in the spirit of help and growth, and then waiting for the other person to accept our offering, we enable submission and responsibility that leads to true collaboration.

Through education, communication and collaboration, successful works of art can be created, and stereotypes can be shattered.

Will you give?

Will you accept?

Will you go through the process of change in order to shape a new world built on the collaboration of art and business?

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Creative Action

I often forget what it takes to start and sustain creative projects. I confuse the need for perfect execution and the right amount of inspiration with old-fashioned hard work. When I focus on projects with the perspective of momentum and hard work, it is amazing how quickly I can get something done, sometimes better than if I was nitpicking every little detail and demanding perfection.

To work hard means that I rely on the years of training and experience that I have in design, instead of waiting for the muse to show up and bless me with inspiration. Could it be that the muse will only appear when you are actively pursuing creativity instead of waiting for the perfect moment?

As I read “Monty Python Speaks,” interviews with the people behind Monty Python, I see how their reliance on working hard and meeting their deadlines with the skills they had at the time was how they were able to create revolutionary television shows and movies that impacted pop culture for over 30 years.

My favorite film director, Terry Gilliam, created amazing cutout animations for Monty Python because that is what the budget and production time would allow. As he constantly produced the animation, it became a style that impacted the world of animation and morphed his career over time. From an animation to a visionary film director, creating images that some would consider to be impossible.

With that said, what are you waiting for? Move forward with creative action and change the world. You never know what could happen by acting upon your creative impulses and ideas.

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Funding Independent Media…Distribution and Marketing

In a previous post, Funding Independent Media…Independently, I talk about funding independent media projects through consulting, sharing your knowledge with others.  Last night, I had a long talk with a good friend of mine, an independent filmmaker in Northern California, and we ended up talking about distribution.  That conversation led me to think about the next step of funding independent media:  distribution and marketing, specifically distributing quality media that generates and feeds community, the independent method of marketing.

In order to keep my thoughts simplified, I’m going to be talking about independent media under the label of filmmaking and the distribution and marketing of the film.  As independent media producers and consumers of mass media, we have a good idea of how films are made.  An idea is generated, a script is written, a director decides that they want to make the film, a film studio gives money for production if they think it will be a worthwhile investment, a crew is hired, the cast picked, locations found.  The film is then shot, edited, licensed, marketed, distributed, put on DVD, sold at Wal-Mart and Target, and found on the shelves of our movie collection.  An arduous process.  The money invested in the film is primarily regained through the sale of movie theater tickets and DVD sales.  If the filmmaker is renowned, the movie is an adaptation of a popular book, or a spectacle of breakthrough special effects, then the film will typically generate a significant amount of buzz, and we flock to the theaters.

Looking at the traditional system, it definitely has its benefits, as long as you play the game and follow the rules.  But what about the independent filmmaker and media producer that want to develop their own system of distribution and marketing?

It can be done.  And here is the beginning of how I think it could be done.

Internet Distribution = Getting Your Content to Your Audience

With YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, Vimeo, and a host of other video websites, the ability to upload and watch videos has increased exponentially in this decade.  But how do you use that technology as a spring board to make money with your product?  There are a few ways to approach this:

1.  Allow a low-resolution “YouTube” version for free and then effectively lead them to higher quality paid content.

2.  Sell digital copies for iPods, as well as HD files for high-resolution computer viewing.

3.  Sell DVD/Blu-Ray versions of your content.

4.  Sell merchandise (t-shirts, posters, soundtracks).

5.  Allow people to share, reuse or remix your content through Creative Commons licensing.

Marketing = Generating and Feeding Community

In his book, “How to Speak How to Listen,” Mortimer J. Adler says, “without communication, there can be no community.”  What this means for independent media producers is that if we hope to get the word out to our audience, we need to develop and sustain community.  There are many ways to go about this.  Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, websites, printed materials, networking groups, clubs, and colleges.  Regardless of the method of communication, you want to create a community that will tell others about your content.  As I have read on several blogs online, you essentially want to create a community of evangelists that take your message and content to the masses, bringing followers into the fold.  That is the result of social networking done well.

Does Your Content Stink?

Finally, it doesn’t matter what you do, if your content stinks, then distribution and marketing will not save you.  Community will not be developed.  People will not be interested in what you have to say.  But if your content is unique, fresh, and created with a sense of aesthetics and technique, you will have an opportunity to engage others effectively.

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Funding Independent Media…Independently

Dr. Normal and Cami Kaos produce a weekly video podcast called “Strange Love Life” and were keynote presenters at WordCamp PDX on September 19, 2009.  During the Q&A portion of their presentation, the inevitable question was asked, “How do you make money doing Strange Love Live?”  The answer surprised me and it sent my mind into overload as I thought about what it meant not just for the open source community, which by certain definitions equates to free, but also for the world of independent media production where accessibility of content and scope of vision may not equal the available budget.

So, what was the answer?  Consulting.  Yes, you read that right.  Not commercials, not ad space, but consulting.   Merriam-Webster defines consulting as “providing professional or expert advice.”  In essence, you are “providing professional or expert advice” in your chosen field in order to provide free and exceptional content.  In the case of Dr. Normal, he has many years of experience in A/V production and podcasting, and he is able to consult others that want to get their podcast off the ground.  That is a great illustration of the power of consulting, but how could it be applied to other areas of independent media production?

Several of my friends are filmmakers.  A couple of them are attempting to break into Hollywood by playing the game, and climbing up the ladder.  As they move up the ladder, they hope to be rewarded with larger budgets, crews, locations, and success.  But what about the independent filmmaker that wants to avoid Hollywood like the bubonic plague?  There are options.  Loans, credit cards, selling your body to medicine (like Robert Rodriguez did in order to make El Mariachi), recruiting financial backers, having a day job, a night job, blood plasma, etc.  The list is long and extensive.  Instead, what if the independent filmmaker went the road of consulting?  Offering their knowledge and technical abilities in exchange for the money to finance their vision?  What do independent filmmakers have to offer the business world?  Technical skills…check.  A unique perspective of life…check.  A passion to accomplish a deep, underlying vision for their lives…check.  There are many positive aspects to this way of funding.

Are there any negatives to consulting in the mindset of an independent filmmaker?  Yes, there are some negatives.  You could be perceived as “selling out” by giving your knowledge to the man in exchange for his money.  You could forget your vision.  You could have your vision clouded by the acquisition of money.  You could be labeled “not an expert” which in turn could make you question everything about yourself.  But,should these negatives stop you from pursuing a unique way of funding your vision?   I think not.

Consulting could perhaps be the best funding system that fits inline with an independent and open source community.  The willingness to openly share your knowledge with others, placing a price on the knowledge, enabling others to pursue their dreams, and to offer the fruit of your life and mind to others.

I will definitely be taking a closer look at how to fit consulting into my available services, and hope to continue sharing thoughts about the successes and failures relating to that journey.  Until then, get out there and write.  Produce.  Create.

The world needs the independent voice.

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WordPress…the Gateway Drug for Community in the Tech Universe

WordCamp Portland, known on Twitter as #wcpdx, was held at WebTrends in Portland, OR on September 19-20.  I attended the first day, and while it was supposed to be about WordPress, the immensely popular blogging software, it was ultimately about something else.  Community.

It could easily be said that WordPress is the gateway drug that paves the way for community to happen in the tech universe.  The attendees spanned from real estate moguls, to moms, weirdos, techies, nerds, geeks, freaks, commentators, students and business owners.  A million interests in the room, a cross-section of real life.  The person next to me could probably care less about film, art, literature and business practices, but they cared about WordPress and that opened the door for conversations to happen, people to get to know one another, passionate debates to get witnesses feeling awkward (thinking about the Unconference on using WordPress as a CMS), and the chance to break out of the everyday loops that we all find ourselves in.  We were an eager audience.

Now, I could easily recap the day, comment on how much beer and public speaking don’t really mix well together, but that would be boring.  Instead, I will share two responses to insights that were given throughout the day.

Big Media vs. Independent Podcasters

During the talk on podcasting by Strange Love Live, Dr. Normal and Cami Kaos commented on big media’s inevitable entry into podcasting and the impending draw away from independent content towards the polish of the networks.  While they mentioned that quality and entertaining content will always win the day, whether it is from big media or the independent podcast-producer, that got me thinking about another industry that big media tried to take over by aping the independent producers, the world of film.  But as much as the Hollywood Independent film tries to connect with the world, it is the unique viewpoint of the independent producer that outshines the shine that is spit upon us by those pretending to be just like you and me.  So, it all comes down to this.

To all of the independent podcasters out there, big media wants to be like you.

As much as we want to have huge budgets, unlimited distribution, big-name stars to promote our work, Hollywood and Big Media want to be us.  They want to escape from their lives as much we want to abandon our own.  And we should all take comfort in that fact, and do exactly what we want to do.  The internet has morphed into a medium of communication that anyone can use for distribution.  It is leveling an out-of-balance playing field, and it only takes hard work to get your point of view out there for the world to read, see, and experience.

Developing (and maintaining) a Volunteer Community

During the talk on developing and maintaining the WordPress Codex, I was struck by something that I hadn’t really thought about.  WordPress is a volunteer community made up of individuals who are contributing, developing and sustaining this platform, not because they are getting paid, but because they believe in it.

Of course, it is not a perfect community.  There is a need for more volunteers, but this got me thinking about not just developing a volunteer community, but also maintaining the community.  How in the world do you do that?

1.) Contribution

Looking at the many volunteer communities that I have been a part of:  church groups and non-profit organizations, they have the same problem as the WordPress community.  There is a huge group of people to draw from and only a small number that step up and contribute.  Community starts and ends with contribution.  But how do you get people to contribute?  Make it easy!  It shouldn’t be difficult for people to volunteer.

If you are a volunteer community, they should see on your home page and all of your marketing materials how they can contribute.  Lorelle VanFossen, one of the speakers on the topic of the WordPress Codex, mentioned that anyone with any skill level can contribute.  Help is needed in HTML, CSS, PHP, WordPress, design, development, even editing posts.  All critical areas to the WordPress community.  But she was also able to speak to the fact that WordPress is trying to make it easier for everyone to contribute.

2.) Passionate Discussion

With community comes individual ego.  There are multiple skill levels involved, many talents, levels of self-esteem, and when someone is hurt by another, emotion flairs up.  People get hurt, take shots at one another, and ultimately leave.  Now, there is nothing wrong with passion and emotion, but leaving it unchecked and unmoderated is dangerous, not only to the community, but the organization that is currently benefiting from the community.  The only way to truly deal with emotion is to address the elephant in the room.  Make sure everyone is heard, keep each other in check (accountability), have passionate discussions, and then remind one another why you are doing what you are doing.  Remind people what the goal is, the dream, the vision.

Now, I know this sounds rather utopian, but frankly, I have been a part of too many communities that could have been so much greater if the elephant in the room was addressed and talked about, so I can honestly say that it starts there, but most definitely doesn’t end there.

3.)  Guilting People into Participation

Do you find that guilt gets more people participating in community?  It might work a few times, but really, you shouldn’t have this be your primary mode of recruitment.  In fact, please don’t do this.  It only pisses people off and makes them leave community.  Instead, get to know them, and draw out their passions.  Enable them to contribute.  Have passionate discussions with them.  Recruitment starts with getting to know someone other than yourself.  And that is something that we all need to hear.

WordPress is about community, and communicating the passions of the people that make up the community.  We are not the Borg, we are not to assimilate each other into the collective thought.  We can all learn from each other, and that is really what I learned from WordCamp Portland.

Now, shall we talk about beer and public speaking?

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TOPSoccer

Clash at the Border Pin

Clash at the Border Pin

Running my own business has a lot of perks.  I meet a lot of interesting and unique people.  I also get opportunities to work with organizations, companies, and individuals that are changing the world for others.

Over the course of the year, I have been designing logos, trophies, pins, shirts and advertising for Clash at the Border, a soccer tournament that took place last weekend, June 24-26, throughout the Camas, WA area.

Having a blast!

Having a blast!

I was also called upon to photograph a group of kids playing soccer at Doc Harris Stadium on Saturday, June 25.  These weren’t just any ordinary soccer players, but players part of a soccer outreach program known as TOPSoccer.  Kids of all ages with mental or physical disabilities playing soccer alongside teams from local soccer clubs.

As each player had a chance to move the ball down the field in hopes to score a goal, they were cheered on by a group of volunteers, parents and spectators.  There were more smiles than I have seen in a long time, and I found that infectious joy to make me smile.

Through all of this, I realize that there is nothing more joyous than watching someone give everything they have in order to succeed.  That joy leads me to ask myself a very simple question, “What am I doing in my life that has people watching joyfully?”

Clash05Clash03

Clash04Clash02

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Innovators of Vancouver - Documenting Leaders of Vision, Passion and Action.