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

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.

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.

What has Bill been up to?

Let me start by saying that I'm a very busy man. In fact, I'm so busy that even as I write this there are at least 300 other things I could be doing...but I will continue despite the odds working against me.

As many of you know, I am a father. My son, Judah, was born on May 18th. Despite the fact that he is still an infant and really doesn't do too much more than eat, sleep, cry, and poop...I'm loving every minute of it! The wife and I have a family youtube page, and we've posted a couple of videos of Judah if you're interested. Click here to check it out.

Becoming a father has been a big adjustment on a couple of levels. In addition to the fact that there is a tiny human who needs his parents to take care of him constantly, my wife is now a stay at home mom. Before Judah was born, her and I worked together every day doing media for the camp where we work. Now, I am the only media person here...and it's summer time. That means that I don't get to see her as much because there is much more to do at my job.

My job is awesome. I am very blessed to have it. I get to use the gifts that God gave me to serve Him! I'm also learning a lot. In fact, everyday I learn that I knew less than I thought I did the day before. I graduated college with a degree in "video production" and when I started here I thought that would be the main thing I'd be doing. But I was wrong. In fact, video is probably one of my lowest priorities here. My job includes many other responsibilities. I am now very capable in photography, graphic design, print media, marketing, web maintenance, and web design. I even have live television experience now! Basically I am getting to the point where I can do almost anything media. I haven't arrived yet, but I'm definitely a lot closer than I was a year ago.



Work keeps me busy during the day, and my video hobby keeps me busy at night. On the nights where I don't meet with my small group (usually we meet two-three times per week), I have been editing wedding videos. I have not even advertised once, and I have already done 4 weddings and I will be doing a 5th wedding next week. Who knows, maybe this will become a full-time business someday.

And last but not least, my relationship with God, my understanding of God, and my desire to glorify Him have grown immensely. The same thing that I said above regarding life in general also applies to knowing God- the more I learn about God the more I discover that I don't know as much as I thought I did. That is the best part of knowing the Creator- He is infinitely glorious, and once you know about His glory, you know that it is the only thing that is worth pursuing in this life, and that it is the only thing that makes eternity so worth looking forward to.

Thanks for reading. I'll have more time at the end of the summer to post videos and things. In fact, I already have a few edited on my computer and the list of great ideas is growing longer and longer! Peace out!

-Billgrip

P.S. I mentioned that I'm improving in the area of photography...here's a video I threw together of some pictures I took of fireworks the other night. I hope you enjoy! =]