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| See that handsome fellow on the left? So full of promise yet so naive. |
This post gets really long...
SUMMERS IN REMINISCE- 2006
The summer of 2006 started when I graduated high school. I honestly don't remember much about my graduation. After 4 years of looking forward to it, I think it just kind of turned into this surreal event where I just went through the motions and got it over with. I had a great high school experience to be honest, and I think it was hard to comprehend at the time that high school was really over, and that I'd never be going back as a student again. I legitimately loved high school. There aren't a lot of people that would say that.
Towards the end of the school year, I decided I needed a girlfriend. There was a girl in my class named Lindsay that had always just been a friend, but I started to talk to her a little more and I became very attracted to her. At first she wasn't going for it and she just wanted to stay friends...but after a few somewhat successful attempts to woo her, she gave in and decided to date me. At 18 years old, she was my first girlfriend. We graduated on Saturday and started dating the following Wednesday. The first few weeks of that summer were filled with the excitement and bliss of having a new girlfriend that I really liked.
This post gets really long...
This post gets really long...
SUMMERS IN REMINISCE- Introduction
INTRODUCTION:
Something about summer time is always special. I've even found that to remain true as I became an adult. Summer is just a special period of time when you can wear shorts anytime of day because it's always warm. You can go swimming on a Saturday and work on your tan. There's that fresh south breeze that cools you off and feels warm at the same time. You can fire-up the grill and have a cookout at 8:00 PM if you want because it doesn't get dark until after 9:00. Summer is a time to hang out with friends while you relax on lawn chairs and sip lemonade. It's the time for vacations, bike rides, hiking adventures, and thunderstorms. It's hard to argue against the notion that summer is the best time of the year.
During those few warm months known as summer, warm, positive memories are made. A few months ago, Lindsay and I were remembering our past summers as far back as we could. It was interesting how each summer was almost entirely unique. This is my 4th summer working at a Bible camp, and yet this summer is different than any other summer I've ever had. Each summer that passes, you are a year older. There are new challenges you may be facing, new memories that will be made, and sometimes new friends to make those memories with.
I've decided that these memories are definitely worth remembering. That's why I'm starting this blog series- "Summers in Reminisce." Although I could probably go further back, I decided to write a post about each summer that I've had since high school. I would like to finish this series up right around the end of this summer, and then my last post will be about the summer of 2011. Then, hopefully in the future I will be able to continue to add to this series with every summer that passes.
Do note that if you are not from Nebraska or are not a part of my friend group, you may not understand everything that I write about. I may refer to some people by name without giving an explanation of who they were, and I may refer to some things such as detasseling that really isn't understood outside of the midwest. Don't let that hold you back from reading though!
Now, on to the summer of 2006!
Something about summer time is always special. I've even found that to remain true as I became an adult. Summer is just a special period of time when you can wear shorts anytime of day because it's always warm. You can go swimming on a Saturday and work on your tan. There's that fresh south breeze that cools you off and feels warm at the same time. You can fire-up the grill and have a cookout at 8:00 PM if you want because it doesn't get dark until after 9:00. Summer is a time to hang out with friends while you relax on lawn chairs and sip lemonade. It's the time for vacations, bike rides, hiking adventures, and thunderstorms. It's hard to argue against the notion that summer is the best time of the year.
During those few warm months known as summer, warm, positive memories are made. A few months ago, Lindsay and I were remembering our past summers as far back as we could. It was interesting how each summer was almost entirely unique. This is my 4th summer working at a Bible camp, and yet this summer is different than any other summer I've ever had. Each summer that passes, you are a year older. There are new challenges you may be facing, new memories that will be made, and sometimes new friends to make those memories with.
I've decided that these memories are definitely worth remembering. That's why I'm starting this blog series- "Summers in Reminisce." Although I could probably go further back, I decided to write a post about each summer that I've had since high school. I would like to finish this series up right around the end of this summer, and then my last post will be about the summer of 2011. Then, hopefully in the future I will be able to continue to add to this series with every summer that passes.
Do note that if you are not from Nebraska or are not a part of my friend group, you may not understand everything that I write about. I may refer to some people by name without giving an explanation of who they were, and I may refer to some things such as detasseling that really isn't understood outside of the midwest. Don't let that hold you back from reading though!
Now, on to the summer of 2006!
Jr. High Week
Last week was insane. Me and a team of 4 other guys made 19 videos in 5 days. I worked 83 hours and probably did more video work in one week than I have in a year. I loved every minute of it. We made funny videos, we made a series, we made highlight videos from every day, and we made time-lapse/stop-motion videos.
I like to view my life like an RPG video game. It's always good to level up. It's always good to upgrade your equipment and knowledge. But the higher level you get, the more XP is required to level up. It's been getting harder to level up lately, but last week I leveled up...several times.
First of all, I learned to delegate. Usually I'm pretty much a lone wolf when it comes to video, but in order to get 19 videos done in 5 days...I had to delegate. Luckily, I had a spectacular media team around me, and they always exceeded my expectations whenever I trusted them to do anything. I hope I can get back the exact same media team next year.
Secondly, it was amazing to see how much can be accomplished in a week with video when me and 4 other guys put our minds to it. Some of the videos we made, especially the ones with Micah's D7000...were pretty stinking awesome. Seriously, I'm not just talking about the quality of the video in the purest sense of the word, I'm talking about the fact that these videos are just as good, if not better, than anything I've ever made before. And we made them all in 12 hours or less! That was all the time we had. There were a couple times when we maybe wanted to color correct better or add something else, but since we were in a time-crunch we could not. But I haven't heard a single person say "Hmm, that video would have been better if..." I have asked for a lot of constructive criticism. I have compared the videos we made last week in a very short amount of time to videos I've made in a longer amount of time, and they stand firm as great videos that are awesome the way they are.
Once again I was reminded why video is my passion. It's the whole process, from beginning to end. You start with an idea and a "oh that would be funny!" thought. Followed by going out and filming the ideas you had and then maybe coming up with more funny ideas as you film, importing the footage to see that some stuff worked even better than expected while other stuff might not make the final cut, editing the footage, adding music, color correcting, fixing errors in filming so that no one would ever know that there was a mistake in the first place, and then finally exporting the video and showing it to an audience. We did that process many times last week from beginning to end in a short time, and we showed our work to an audience of about 200 people twice each day. Normally that process spans over a few weeks and the pure joy of it can get lost because it's so spread out. However, last week it was video after video after video- so much that it was overwhelming at times. But the joy of creating videos and the high that comes with that was non-stop. I can't wait for next year! Thanks be to God for giving us the creativity and strength to do what we did last week. He created us, we created 19 videos. He gets the glory.
Below is our Media Team intro video that we made for the first chapel. There is an annotation on the bottom of the video that will take you to a playlist with the rest of our videos that week. Enjoy!
I like to view my life like an RPG video game. It's always good to level up. It's always good to upgrade your equipment and knowledge. But the higher level you get, the more XP is required to level up. It's been getting harder to level up lately, but last week I leveled up...several times.
First of all, I learned to delegate. Usually I'm pretty much a lone wolf when it comes to video, but in order to get 19 videos done in 5 days...I had to delegate. Luckily, I had a spectacular media team around me, and they always exceeded my expectations whenever I trusted them to do anything. I hope I can get back the exact same media team next year.
Secondly, it was amazing to see how much can be accomplished in a week with video when me and 4 other guys put our minds to it. Some of the videos we made, especially the ones with Micah's D7000...were pretty stinking awesome. Seriously, I'm not just talking about the quality of the video in the purest sense of the word, I'm talking about the fact that these videos are just as good, if not better, than anything I've ever made before. And we made them all in 12 hours or less! That was all the time we had. There were a couple times when we maybe wanted to color correct better or add something else, but since we were in a time-crunch we could not. But I haven't heard a single person say "Hmm, that video would have been better if..." I have asked for a lot of constructive criticism. I have compared the videos we made last week in a very short amount of time to videos I've made in a longer amount of time, and they stand firm as great videos that are awesome the way they are.
Once again I was reminded why video is my passion. It's the whole process, from beginning to end. You start with an idea and a "oh that would be funny!" thought. Followed by going out and filming the ideas you had and then maybe coming up with more funny ideas as you film, importing the footage to see that some stuff worked even better than expected while other stuff might not make the final cut, editing the footage, adding music, color correcting, fixing errors in filming so that no one would ever know that there was a mistake in the first place, and then finally exporting the video and showing it to an audience. We did that process many times last week from beginning to end in a short time, and we showed our work to an audience of about 200 people twice each day. Normally that process spans over a few weeks and the pure joy of it can get lost because it's so spread out. However, last week it was video after video after video- so much that it was overwhelming at times. But the joy of creating videos and the high that comes with that was non-stop. I can't wait for next year! Thanks be to God for giving us the creativity and strength to do what we did last week. He created us, we created 19 videos. He gets the glory.
Below is our Media Team intro video that we made for the first chapel. There is an annotation on the bottom of the video that will take you to a playlist with the rest of our videos that week. Enjoy!
Stuff I learned from making "I Am Facebook Legend"
Last time I posted I talked about producing I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND. The end result was very pleasing. Throughout the process I learned so much. I learned more about color correction in two weeks time than I did in my entire life. My favorite scene by far is the warehouse scene. The natural lighting in there was spectacular, and I would love to film again there in the future.
This video had about 13 audio layers. Needless to say, that made it easily the most complicated video that I've ever made from an audio perspective. Thanks to some great products from http://www.videocopilot.net (Pro Scores and Designer Sound FX), I was really able to make the audio reach a professional level. I also pulled sound effects from a few other websites with free sound effects and royalty free music (freesound.org, soundsnap.com, incompetech.com). Many people made positive comments on things like the color correction, cinematography, the acting...ect, but to me the audio is easily the best and most professional part of the finished video, and is also what makes the video good in my opinion.
My computer is pretty fast, but it has its limits and I Am Facebook Legend pushed it to that limit. By the end of editing, I was pretty sure my computer was going to just explode into a giant fireball.
I had to stabalize a few shots with after effects. Even though I am still light years away from understanding that program or comprehending its limits, it was good to get my feet wet in it.
Above all, I learned a lot about myself through this project. I learned that if I am ever going to do a "short film" again, I don't want to burden so much of, and I want to delegate some of the project to my very talented friends. For this video I directed, filmed, edited, and produced. I thought it would be good to put a deadline on the video, so I released the trailer and gave myself two weeks. However, in the future if it is just me editing and producing the video, I think I will be more realistic with myself...because after I released the trailer I basically spent every waking minute of free time working on the video. I wasn't getting good sleep, I wasn't exercising, and I wasn't spending much time with my family. It was not the ideal situation. This all goes back to me delegating next time or not putting a deadline on it if it is just me.
However, all that said, I would love to do another short film like this again. Finding the time for it is the greatest hurdle. After that, with my friends' help, we could do just about anything! Especially since next time we would use even nicer cameras and equipment. We filmed this with the Canon HV40, and that camera does a pretty decent job. However, to really achieve that true film look, you need more than just great quality. I think great depth of field is such a huge component to that, and that's why in the future I want to start using DSLR cameras as much as possible.
In the end, this is the first video I have ever done that I feel (kind of) comfortable with calling a "short film." Even though there are thousands upon thousands of short films out there that are better, but this was definitely a positive step. I love challenging myself as I try to perfect the art of film making. I have a long ways to go, but this was a lot of fun, and as I said at the top, I'm very happy with how the finished video turned out.
This video had about 13 audio layers. Needless to say, that made it easily the most complicated video that I've ever made from an audio perspective. Thanks to some great products from http://www.videocopilot.net (Pro Scores and Designer Sound FX), I was really able to make the audio reach a professional level. I also pulled sound effects from a few other websites with free sound effects and royalty free music (freesound.org, soundsnap.com, incompetech.com). Many people made positive comments on things like the color correction, cinematography, the acting...ect, but to me the audio is easily the best and most professional part of the finished video, and is also what makes the video good in my opinion.
My computer is pretty fast, but it has its limits and I Am Facebook Legend pushed it to that limit. By the end of editing, I was pretty sure my computer was going to just explode into a giant fireball.
I had to stabalize a few shots with after effects. Even though I am still light years away from understanding that program or comprehending its limits, it was good to get my feet wet in it.
Above all, I learned a lot about myself through this project. I learned that if I am ever going to do a "short film" again, I don't want to burden so much of, and I want to delegate some of the project to my very talented friends. For this video I directed, filmed, edited, and produced. I thought it would be good to put a deadline on the video, so I released the trailer and gave myself two weeks. However, in the future if it is just me editing and producing the video, I think I will be more realistic with myself...because after I released the trailer I basically spent every waking minute of free time working on the video. I wasn't getting good sleep, I wasn't exercising, and I wasn't spending much time with my family. It was not the ideal situation. This all goes back to me delegating next time or not putting a deadline on it if it is just me.
However, all that said, I would love to do another short film like this again. Finding the time for it is the greatest hurdle. After that, with my friends' help, we could do just about anything! Especially since next time we would use even nicer cameras and equipment. We filmed this with the Canon HV40, and that camera does a pretty decent job. However, to really achieve that true film look, you need more than just great quality. I think great depth of field is such a huge component to that, and that's why in the future I want to start using DSLR cameras as much as possible.
In the end, this is the first video I have ever done that I feel (kind of) comfortable with calling a "short film." Even though there are thousands upon thousands of short films out there that are better, but this was definitely a positive step. I love challenging myself as I try to perfect the art of film making. I have a long ways to go, but this was a lot of fun, and as I said at the top, I'm very happy with how the finished video turned out.
I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND (in production)
After I figure out how the heck I'm going to finish up the bloopers video that I'm currently working on, I'll move on to the next project- I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND
This is a video that we filmed in March and I simply have not had time to work on. I also devoted myself to finishing Never Ever Shake An Adult (which can be viewed by clicking here). I also had to finish up an engagement video for my friend Truman's wedding, which was shown at his wedding in front of 450 guests. That was the largest audience a video of mine has been shown to at once. The reviews so far have been positive. You can check out my professional work by going to my vimeo page. I've created a distinction with vimeo, that I will only put "professional" works there, and the billgripextras channel on youtube will exist soley for absolutely random things that are not deemed worthy of the main Billgrip channel. What do I qualify as a "professional" work? Probably something I'm being paid to do, something that probably isn't comedy. Wedding video is the best example of that.
Back to the main topic of this blog post- I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND. The video is basically a spoof of the movie I AM LEGEND with Will Smith from 2007. We had this idea for a really long time, and it is based on the truth that my friend Micah does not, and will not get a facebook page. Obviously we've taken that idea to the extreme in this video and created a world where everyone is on facebook so much that human life has basically ceased to exist as we know it.
This video is a spoof, not a parody. My friend Brice and I had a heated discussion about the difference between a spoof and a parody, and they are different, as this link makes clear. There Brice, I just link slammed you. We all know that everything on the internet is true, so once you find a link that supports your theory, you have also proven it. A.K.A. link slammed!
The reason I want to make it clear from the beginning that this is a spoof is because, while you'll see some similarities in the root of the idea and even a few scenes, if you actually watched I AM LEGEND followed by I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND you'd probably find yourself saying, "wow, that's way off." I actually refused to let myself watch I AM LEGEND while scripting and filming I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND because I wanted it to be a spoof, and I wanted the pre-conceived notions I had about I AM LEGEND (whether correct or incorrect) to be my starting point for creating the spoof. But I did watch the movie yesterday just to see some editing style and get ideas for background music, and rest assured...this is as spoof as spoof gets.
Maybe you think I'm just giving excuses as to why our short film will be nowhere as good as the original. Let me give you a few more while I'm at it- lack of a multi-million dollar budget, lack of time, lack of people resources, lack of professional actors (with respect to my friends, they do a great job).
Nonetheless, I'm still really excited about it, I think it's going to be super funny, and you should get excited to. I will hopefully have a trailer up within a few weeks and the whole video probably a week after that. Here's a picture to get you excited.
-Billgrip
This is a video that we filmed in March and I simply have not had time to work on. I also devoted myself to finishing Never Ever Shake An Adult (which can be viewed by clicking here). I also had to finish up an engagement video for my friend Truman's wedding, which was shown at his wedding in front of 450 guests. That was the largest audience a video of mine has been shown to at once. The reviews so far have been positive. You can check out my professional work by going to my vimeo page. I've created a distinction with vimeo, that I will only put "professional" works there, and the billgripextras channel on youtube will exist soley for absolutely random things that are not deemed worthy of the main Billgrip channel. What do I qualify as a "professional" work? Probably something I'm being paid to do, something that probably isn't comedy. Wedding video is the best example of that.
Back to the main topic of this blog post- I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND. The video is basically a spoof of the movie I AM LEGEND with Will Smith from 2007. We had this idea for a really long time, and it is based on the truth that my friend Micah does not, and will not get a facebook page. Obviously we've taken that idea to the extreme in this video and created a world where everyone is on facebook so much that human life has basically ceased to exist as we know it.
This video is a spoof, not a parody. My friend Brice and I had a heated discussion about the difference between a spoof and a parody, and they are different, as this link makes clear. There Brice, I just link slammed you. We all know that everything on the internet is true, so once you find a link that supports your theory, you have also proven it. A.K.A. link slammed!
The reason I want to make it clear from the beginning that this is a spoof is because, while you'll see some similarities in the root of the idea and even a few scenes, if you actually watched I AM LEGEND followed by I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND you'd probably find yourself saying, "wow, that's way off." I actually refused to let myself watch I AM LEGEND while scripting and filming I AM FACEBOOK LEGEND because I wanted it to be a spoof, and I wanted the pre-conceived notions I had about I AM LEGEND (whether correct or incorrect) to be my starting point for creating the spoof. But I did watch the movie yesterday just to see some editing style and get ideas for background music, and rest assured...this is as spoof as spoof gets.
Maybe you think I'm just giving excuses as to why our short film will be nowhere as good as the original. Let me give you a few more while I'm at it- lack of a multi-million dollar budget, lack of time, lack of people resources, lack of professional actors (with respect to my friends, they do a great job).
Nonetheless, I'm still really excited about it, I think it's going to be super funny, and you should get excited to. I will hopefully have a trailer up within a few weeks and the whole video probably a week after that. Here's a picture to get you excited.
-Billgrip
NEW BLOG DESIGN
Check it out yo! Especially read the right side of the banner :)
Hopefully I'll have a new more interesting blog post out soon.
Peace.
Hopefully I'll have a new more interesting blog post out soon.
Peace.
Trying to gain direction
I'm married, and I have a 10 month old son. Deep down I'm still the same guy who made the Milkshake Music Video back in the day...in some ways. I love to entertain people and be creative. I love hanging out with my friends and having a lot of fun. Although I'd never make a video like that again and there are certain lines I won't cross...I still love making Billgrip videos.
But what do I do now? I barely have time to make videos with friends. I live two and a half hours away from most of them. When we do get together, we just want to hang out and making videos can be time-consuming and stressful. I don't share the same level of comfort with other people that I live around now, and even if I did that still doesn't eliminate the lack of time to actually put these things together.
At the same time, I want Billgrip videos to reach their fullest potential. But I need some direction...at this moment I'm unsure. Here's some of the questions I'm asking myself about the future of this "hobby"...Welcome to the mind of Billgrip:
.....My job requires me to be creative all day long. I create brochures, posters, manage a website, and occasionally create videos. My hobby and job have become one, yet I've found that my job is not as fun as my hobby. In fact, my job sucks the fun out of my hobby. Should I continue to make videos for fun at all? If so, do I continue to make comedy videos? If so, do I make them about video games? I don't really play video games as much anymore...so that's not really me now as much as it used to be. If I don't make comedy about video games, what kind of comedy do I make? My friends really get behind stuff that relates to video games because they know them well. The majority of my audience subscribed because of Lag in Real Life. That video was a huge success, and we can continue to make those videos for almost guaranteed success...But we aren't really pushing the limit of what we could do...
...I'm a Christian. Should I make videos about my faith? I say I want to glorify God in my hobby, but is it enough to just make clean videos without swearing and to give God credit at the end? That seems lame. If I make videos that pertain to my faith, what style would they be? It seems like it could be more work and time than I currently am willing to give...
...Most cinematography I've ever done has been pretty plain. Someday maybe I'd like to make a legit short film, that can stand up with the millions of other legit short films out there. Legit short films need people who can pull off a convincing acting performance in a most-likely serious role. With all respect toward my friends, I don't know if any of them could do that as well as I'd like. I know I couldn't do it as well as I like. Should we try to make a horror film? An action film? Do I have the patience and attention to detail to pull that off cinematically...
...In order to pull it off cinematically, I'd need to have the right equipment...which I do not. I have the right programs, a decent camera, but no dolly-tracks or lighting sets or people to run that stuff while I'd direct. I don't have the money for that stuff and probably never will. Then, even if I had that stuff, would I have the time, motivation, people resources, and know-how to do it right?...I need direction.
Meanwhile since I'm trying to find direction, I'm actually just standing still.
But what do I do now? I barely have time to make videos with friends. I live two and a half hours away from most of them. When we do get together, we just want to hang out and making videos can be time-consuming and stressful. I don't share the same level of comfort with other people that I live around now, and even if I did that still doesn't eliminate the lack of time to actually put these things together.
At the same time, I want Billgrip videos to reach their fullest potential. But I need some direction...at this moment I'm unsure. Here's some of the questions I'm asking myself about the future of this "hobby"...Welcome to the mind of Billgrip:
.....My job requires me to be creative all day long. I create brochures, posters, manage a website, and occasionally create videos. My hobby and job have become one, yet I've found that my job is not as fun as my hobby. In fact, my job sucks the fun out of my hobby. Should I continue to make videos for fun at all? If so, do I continue to make comedy videos? If so, do I make them about video games? I don't really play video games as much anymore...so that's not really me now as much as it used to be. If I don't make comedy about video games, what kind of comedy do I make? My friends really get behind stuff that relates to video games because they know them well. The majority of my audience subscribed because of Lag in Real Life. That video was a huge success, and we can continue to make those videos for almost guaranteed success...But we aren't really pushing the limit of what we could do...
...I'm a Christian. Should I make videos about my faith? I say I want to glorify God in my hobby, but is it enough to just make clean videos without swearing and to give God credit at the end? That seems lame. If I make videos that pertain to my faith, what style would they be? It seems like it could be more work and time than I currently am willing to give...
...Most cinematography I've ever done has been pretty plain. Someday maybe I'd like to make a legit short film, that can stand up with the millions of other legit short films out there. Legit short films need people who can pull off a convincing acting performance in a most-likely serious role. With all respect toward my friends, I don't know if any of them could do that as well as I'd like. I know I couldn't do it as well as I like. Should we try to make a horror film? An action film? Do I have the patience and attention to detail to pull that off cinematically...
...In order to pull it off cinematically, I'd need to have the right equipment...which I do not. I have the right programs, a decent camera, but no dolly-tracks or lighting sets or people to run that stuff while I'd direct. I don't have the money for that stuff and probably never will. Then, even if I had that stuff, would I have the time, motivation, people resources, and know-how to do it right?...I need direction.
Meanwhile since I'm trying to find direction, I'm actually just standing still.
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