A cold snap in Florida has every county declared a disaster area and its my job to show Floridians what their farmers are going through. I attempt to do this beautifully, making the images as impactful as possible.

I posted a teaser of this project a few weeks ago. It is now done and hopefully blowing up the internet and selling this house. It’s cheesy but real estate people have been responding positively. This is my first editing project and I learned lots along the way (clipping audio! drop shadows! the rules of speeding up video!). My dad contributed to a new Macbook Pro–love you pops–so I can edit on my own now and not harass friends who have computers capable of running final cut pro.

I decided this would be the project I would once and for all learn the basics of Final Cut Pro and get some directing practice under my belt.

I’m a bit promicious when it comes to my collectives. Besides Meridian, I also work with another group called Goddamn Cobras. We make videos. Lots of them.

Happy Birthday Serena! As your birthday present, I present to you this video, which represents the beetles of time picking away at yet another year.

In the process of applying for a reporting internship with the Center for Investigative Reporting, I came across “The Price of Sex: Women Speak”–a multimedia expose of Russian and Eastern European women, who were victims of sex trafficking. The project produced six videos that beautifully weave photography, video, music, text and first-person interviews to illuminate the horrifying but all-too prevalent experience of modern-day sex slaves.

This is the kind of journalism I want to one day produce–the gripping, heartfelt stories of injustice that draw people in through sight, sound and subject matter. My eyes were glued to the screen. Check the videos out here. This is a story that needs to be told.

Youtube recently rolled out Reporter’s Center, a selection of videos for journalists on topics such as developing a story and tips for interviewing from some of the biggest players in the game including Katie Couric, Nicholas Kristof and Ariana Huffington.
From the page’s profile:
The YouTube Reporters’ Center is a new resource to help you learn more about how to report the news. It features some of the nation’s top journalists and news organizations sharing instructional videos with tips and advice for better reporting.
While it might be geared to “citizen journalists,” it couldn’t hurt to look around and brush up on how to do investigate journalism by one of the greats, eh?

jackie and i are working, slowly but steadily, on our most ambitious project to date:

a feature-length historical documentary/where are they now?/social investigation about the international phenomenon that was/is FMILLEST.
what’s an FMillest, you say? it was/is our crew from our more formidable years, a group of people brought together by rollerblading. but it turned into much more than a skate crew.

so when jackie was down here a few weeks ago, we decided to:
A) see where everyone was, and what they’re doing
B) see if we can scare up as many old photos/videos/letters/etc. from that time as possible, and
C) put it all together as a documentary

we are now in the interviewing and old-media-gathering phase of the project, which we expect will last a long time. my conservative estimate for completion is one year. each interview, thus far, has been at least an hour. we’re looking at the possibility of acquiring THOUSANDS of stills, and HOURS UPON HOURS of old skate/party video.

Wesside

so this:

is a video i shot/cut for a friend’s band, bus-stop shanking. shot it like 6 weeks ago, but finally got it finished last night.

it actually came out pretty close to what i saw in my head beforehand:

the exceptions to the realization of that vision being
A) not being able to get ahold of a single tarp/sheet big enough, and having to use 3 bed sheets instead, and
B) having to deal with a drunker-than-expected, and astonishingly uncooperative, band. which of course led to fewer usable takes, fewer takes…period, and therefore VERY limited raw footage to work with.

but i gave it the old college try, and am mildly pleased with the outcome.

we finished another one too, which i will put up here as soon as i figure out this vimeo thing…

While I agree in theory with Will’s post on saving money when expensive upgrades will go unused or underutilized, I actually have had a very different experience after buying the 5D Mark II, the very same camera Will forsook. While I purchased the Mark II having very little video experience, I have been shooting more and more video and am starting to figure out the mindset needed for a continuous stream of meaningful imagery (opposed to the decisive moment school of thought). This is the first video completely shot by me edited by my dear friend (and director of the lisztomania video I wrote about) Ian Parker.