So, in April I finally graduated from working retail into my first real full-time video job! I’m working for an awesome company in Chicagoland called Fotodiox. They make pretty sweet photo and video gear and it’s been a blast to be a part of their video marketing team. Here are a few videos I’ve helped them make.
What Easter Isn’t
LifeSpring Community Church asked me to make a video to promote their Easter service. I brainstormed with their artistic team and we came up with video that takes a humorous approach to the holiday, poking fun at what it isn’t really about.
Shooting a shot-for-shot remake of a 70’s TV Show Intro
Village Church of Gurnee recently approached me to make a shot-for-shot remake of The Mod Squad television show intro for their Vacation Bible School program. My first question: what’s The Mod Squad?
A quick YouTube search brought me this:
New Look, New Video
YouTube just launched it’s new look, and I jumped right on board. I’m not particularly fond of the sparseness and diagonal flow of the new layout, but it just makes sense for a viewer base that’s becoming less and less tied down to traditional desktop and laptop computers. I don’t own a tablet, but I’m sure the new design works really well in touch-based browsing.
In other news, I’m over my post-Christmas slump and back into full-tilt production on videos for Probably Okay. Here’s one of our newer entries, based on a famed Marvel comic hero. (Note: the military jet in the first shot was just a stroke of good luck.)
Another Probably Okay Christmas
My comedy channel on Youtube has always seemed to focus on holiday themed videos. Maybe it’s because they’re so fun to make. Or maybe it’s just my way of getting into the holiday spirit. Whatever the reason, I make quite a few of them, and this Christmas was no exception. The goal was 25 Christmas themed videos. We didn’t quite make it, coming out with only ten, but it was still a whole lot of fun. Here are some of my favorites.
A Probably Okay Halloween
I haven’t made many videos for my youtube comedy series lately. Life’s been busy and ideas have been a bit slow coming. So I was really excited for Halloween this year, which, being based almost entirely on the human imagination, is one of the best holidays for creative content.
Promoting “Winter”
My friends are in an excellent band called Chicago Winter. They have a new album coming out this September called Numen Inest and they asked me to make a series of promotional teaser videos for them.
Severson
I wanted to test my Canon T2i in a hand-holding, shooting off the cuff situation. I shot this at my second favorite nature preserve and scored it with my brother Erick’s amazing improvised music. I’m happy with how the footage came out. It’s leaps and bounds above anything I ever shot on my older video camera I use Final Cut Pro 7 for editing, and the SmoothCam filter is a life-saver.
User beware: too much SmoothCam can be a bad thing. Some shots are just too shaky to save.
Reel 2012
My video work reel for 2012.
DSLR Video: Set
I love my grandparents’ farm, especially in the sunset. I got my Canon T2i back from the shop and gave it a spin. It feels so good to be shooting with a DSLR again.
Rite of March
Ran around with a wide angle lens at my Grandparents’ farm. Wasn’t sure what to do with the footage until I thought of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Inspired heavily by Malick’s cinematography in The Tree of Life.
Bridge
I met Mike at college in 2006. We share a lot of interests and became fast friends. I noticed when visiting his home that he had a small bridge in his backyard. I had just acquired a Bell and Howell Filmo 70, a few rolls of 16 mm black and white reversal film and was dying, after months of dull practice shooting for classes, to shoot a narrative. A few weeks later, and more than a year before we formed Probably Okay, we had shot Bridge.
february
Here’s the project, finally finished, that I mentioned in this post a few weeks ago. Shooting every day of a month was an incredibly taxing but rewarding experience. It’s exciting, if a bit strange, to see my a month of my life distilled down to a few minutes of video. It was a lot of fun and I just might do it again.
Photo Reel 2012
Finally finished: my photo reel for 2012.
Probably Okay: The Whole Time
I think sci-fi cliches are hilarious, especially when strung together. This video took a lot of careful thought, and I learned a few things. Biggest issue I’m still working on: action axis jumps. Some were just unavoidable here, but next time I’m going to pay more attention.
Sledding In The Dark
I like shooting video essays. I learn new things about my equipment, practice new techniques, and end up with a compact, self contained film. Capturing the mundane and showing it for what it really is, the hidden magic of God’s beautiful creation, is one of my greatest passions. It’s what drives me as a filmmaker.
A Probably Okay Christmas
I’ve become addicted to making holiday themed videos for my youtube channel. I realize I have a problem and I am seeking help. Here’s the Christmas season batch.
New Look For Youtube and Channel
I’m really loving the new look Youtube just released. It’s so much cleaner and professional looking. I was a bit wary at first, but once I got my channel set up, I was hooked.
I also changed our avatar to a fitting group shot:
I feel this really conveys Probably Okay’s serious side. We are true artists. Also, we made a video about Batman.