Don’t Be Greedy

This is something that Jesus has been showing me over the past months is to not be greedy. Where this comes into play for me is in the area of technology know-how and information. For most of my life I kept my tech secrets my secrets because it allowed me to be more valuable and I was very prideful about being able to do tasks that others are not able to do.

And even still I find myself operating in this fashion. I began really taking a look at why I didn’t share information and it all pointed back to my past, wanting to be noticed and told how great of a job I did. I’m not saying telling someone they did a great job is wrong but for me it was an “I deserve this” attitude.

Looking at the benefits of keeping the information to myself or sharing the information I came to realize that sharing the information is much more important, that’s what Jesus did. He shared information that only he had and distributed to others who needed this information in order to advance the kingdom. So through my selfish motives I was knowing and purposefully hindering the advancement of the kingdom. This was the true place of my heart and I knew I didn’t want to be there anymore.

Then I began looking at what would happen if I shared the information I have.  I could instead of slowing the growth of what Jesus  wants to do, I could be part of speeding up the pace. Which translates into people who don’t have a true relationship with Jesus entering into a relationship with him and being transformed to be more like Jesus, which is what I want to see happen. With this comes a lot of growth in my own heart, and I’m learning to not live in scarcity but live in abundance. My heart is growing in a direction of wanting to share information and let other people experience the joy I get to experience of seeing lives and eternities changed.

Going to New York

I’m taking my first ever vacation this year and if everything works out I will going to New York City in July. Anyone got any recommendations of must see places or places to eat? Reply on here or @dbslone me on twitter.

Series Promo

Here is a series promo that I put together in a few hours.

Video Switching Take 3

The most valuable thing a video director can have is knowledgeable camera operators who are on a camera that meets their strength. Some people are not able to keep a steady shot on a free camera (no tri-pod) and so a camera on a tri-pod would be a greater strength for them. The director can only put up the shots that are available and if the camera operator is able to remember their shots and be prepared before you call for them to set up for a shot it makes the transition into the next shot easier. Teach the operators to look beyond what they see and look for ways to add to the shot, and compose the shot well. It should be a gift to the director to teach the operators to look for new ways to get a shot, think ahead, and follow well. If the director and the camera operators are not in sync then both will become ineffective. It’s also wise for the director to learn how to communicate well to each individual. I learned one practice because I would call “Ready Camera 3″ and to me that means be ready and when you hear me say your camera is live then begin your movement, to the camera operator this means start moving and I’ll take the shot. I missed a few shots because of this but after we talked and I both of us had an understanding of what was being communicated, I was able to adjust how I call for Camera 3 and get the shots that were previously missed.

Communication is key, so love the people you serve with the way Jesus loves them and teach them and allow them to teach you things as well.

Bajio

No i don’t know how to pronounce that correctly but it’s a new mexican restaurant in town and on my lunch break today i thought i would try it out. It’s priced the same as Qdoba and the amount of food for you money is slightly less. It did taste good but given the option of eating there again I would pass, I’ll take Qdoba. Just thought I would comment on the place since it just open for anyone interested in trying it.

Plug-ins

So as promised are the plugins that i am currently using:
Trapcode Shine
Trapcode Starglow
Trapcode Lux
Trapcode Particular
Trapcode Soundkeys
Videocopilot Twitch (amazing plugin)

That’s it I just bought Twitch a few months ago and I love it. It can really add a lot to your production value and help you grunge some things up. I used it for our Static Series promo and it allowed me to obtain amazing results. As for the Trapcode plugins I have most of them but really only use Shine, Particular for the particle system I like it better than the CC Particle World.

I’m still working on the screencast for the background and will be working on another as well as I am working on some stuff for our new series which I will announce after we announce our new series so stay tuned.

Video Switching Take 2

So here is the long awaited second take on video switching that I’ve learned.

Thinking Ahead:

Thinking ahead is a crucial part in calling shots. When I started I found myself thinking about the next shot instead of 3 shots down the road. The problem I ran into was during a live element if there was a switch in the plan either the song was shortened or there is a speaker after the song or a transition between into the next song I was unprepared for which camera I would place on the speaker. This matter because all of our live events are streamed online as well and or people on the web the only way they can see what is happening is through the lens of a camera and so to not pull them out of the experience due to poor shot calling, I’ve been asking Jesus to help me with learning to think ahead in my shots.

Another key area where thinking ahead comes into play is when switching during a worship or perform song, I needed to be aware of where we were at in the song, this comes down to knowing the song and allows you to transition into the next element smoothly. Knowing the song helps tremendously, because it allows you to enter into the song and experience it and you know you can adjust your cuts to be on the down beat when the song slows down to switch to a cross dissolve to keep the video temp at the temp of the song.

The gift of getting to call the shots is getting to give people a view of something they might otherwise get to see or something they may miss and with that comes wanting to serve with excellence so that other’s can experience Jesus and respond. With everything I do it’s about keeping the main thing the main thing.

My System

I figured this might be helpful for people to know the system setup I have.

Computer: 15 inch Apple MacBook Pro (Intel Core Duo)
RAM: 1.5 GB
Software:
-Apple Final Cut Studio (Final Cut Pro,Motion,etc)
-After Effects
-Cinema4D
-Photoshop CS2
-Illustrator CS2
-Flash8
-VisualHub
-Levelator

I know the CS2 apps are old but I don’t have the resources to purchase CS3 yet, and I’m still able to be functional with the older apps I just don’t get all the speed I would like.

These are the applications I have installed on my computer, there are various other random programs that I use. In my next post I will list the After Effects plug-ins that I have installed and where you can get them.

screencast in the works

i’m in the process of making my first screen cast. The audio will be horrible because I don’t have a microphone but i should have it up by the end of the week.

sunburn

so while at the race i got sunburned. we forgot the sunscreen and didn’t think we had enough time to go back and the sun wasn’t shinning so i didn’t think anything about it. Man, was I wrong. It’s been a long time since i’ve been burned this bad..most of the soreness to touch is gone but today the itching started and it’s about to drive my crazy.

I’m hoping to get a chance today to post some screen shots and a tutorial on creating a fun motion background