Being a Videographer vs. Being a Guy With a Camera

Posted on February 23, 2012 by randerson

I love filming. So much so that I went to college for film and it is currently my job.

(Dreams really do come true kids.)

And ever since I started filming for a living I started noticing the difference between being a videographer and being a guy with a camera.

DISCLAIMER: The last thing I want to do is to come off as elitist or as if people who are “a guy with a camera” are ignorant or don’t know what they are doing. I’m speaking from a perspective of someone who has been and is a videographer for a profession.

The iPhone and other HD video devices have increased the accessibility of video for the world to capture and I think that is great! Film all the things!

But when you’re filming for other people, especially for clients and double especially if they are paying you, you need be a videographer.

Being a guy with a camera is easy. You grab your camera, you film what you think needs to be filmed and you call it a day.

But a videographer is aware of things like lighting, audio, humming air conditioning units that will ultimately ruin all the audio and therefore the video that you took (trust me, it’s the worst).

It is important to have the mindset of a videographer, especially if you are wearing multiple hats during a production, because it allows you to give your clients what they need and for you to have a product that you can be proud of and not make excuses for.

There are sometimes when “a guy with a camera” is needed, like family gatherings, home movies, or really anything . But when it comes to making videos for clients that need to present something more, you want to be a videographer.

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Responsive Web Design

Posted on February 21, 2012 by mmunsie

No, I don’t mean when you click on a link it makes a certain noise, or perhaps you watch a video and a snake comes into view and eats the video. What I mean is that when you scale your browser width or height, the page will scale to make sure all content is still within view.

These days users are not viewing your website from one particular device. You have users with tablets, smart phones, dumb phones, laptops, and desktops. Everyone’s window is a different size and that’s why it’s becoming increasingly important that your content is viewable from any device.

So, just how do I even begin with creating a site using responsive design? The answer: CSS media queries. What this means is that you build your site using a smart stylesheet using conditional statements that basically say “I want the following statements below to trigger if the width is between 500 and 800 pixels”. Also, depending on if you are using a framework or not, you can have content appear only on a particular platform (ex: I want this navigation only to appear on the mobile version).

If you would like to learn more about responsive design, check out the CSS-Tricks video tutorial on the basics of responsive design at:
http://css-tricks.com/video-screencasts/102-braindump-on-responsive-web-design/.

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Work Place Injoyification (New Word)

Posted on February 14, 2012 by csanders

“You are so lucky to get to work there”

Yep. This phrase might as well be tattooed on my forehead. I have been with Anchor Marketing and Design (at the time of this writing) three weeks and I have had no less than twenty people say this to me. I have heard this from my family, friends, ex-colleagues, and anyone else that has ever known anything about this company. This place is creative, exciting, funny, friendly, and funny. (I know, I said it twice. Leave it. It’s that true)

What makes people so unbelievably jealous of my new position is not really what I do but with whom I do it. You see, these people are amazingly talented and fun. I could list all the great qualities of every co-worker, but then what would I write about on other blog posts? I’ll just keep this a general thought on the group.

It is important that you like the people you work with. How you feel when you walk into a place will, in part, dictate how you perform. You need to love it because sometimes it is hard. I don’t care what you do, it will get hard and the best way to get through it all is to feel crazy awesome about where you work. The people are the deciding factor on how you feel about that place.

I have been told so many times that if you love what you do then you won’t work a day in your life, but that is not true. What you love can be work (try having kids); it is whom you get to do it with that makes the difference. Love who you work with and even the most mundane task becomes “Adventure Time” fun (look it up).

Our meetings at Anchor involve crazy hats, funny glasses, and tons of off-the-wall ideas of which an amazing amount make it through to final projects. We laugh, but most of all, this good natured silliness produces progressive professional marketing. I am amazed that every time the finished work is more than the sum of the people involved, but still reliant on each person’s input.

So, how do you love the people with which you work? You can only really change you so: Respect people. Say “yes”, as much as you can. Support the ideas of others. Don’t care where the credit goes. Be goofy. Be trustworthy. Be the kind of person you want to work with and it will spread like a cold in a kindergarten classroom. Doing this will help make the people around you happier to be there and therefore more easy-going. This will cause them to respond in kind and then you will in turn love the people you work with and it will make your job awesome. See? It is really a selfish thing. Go you!

Maybe it is a bit optimistic to think that everyone will be great to work with. There may be a couple of people who are determined to be “difficult”, but what do you have to lose? “Man! I wish I hadn’t been so nice today!” (If you do think this then you are the “difficult” person and need to do a little soul searching ).

That’s it. Like the people you work with. Be a person that is likable to work with. It makes it all better… and fun… and I am really terrible at finishing blogs, so if you need a summation just go back and reread paragraphs 2 and 3.

Great things being done...

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Meet Your New Favorite App

Posted on February 14, 2012 by krwatson

Mike D. Merrill really likes bacon. At a Social Media Club Fort Worth “Build Your Personal Brand” seminar, Merrill told the crowd that he had arranged to have eight pieces of bacon delivered to the Flying Saucer in downtown Fort Worth at 7:30 PM. Unusual? Yes. Intriguing? Definitely.

Merrill explained that he purchased the bacon delivery through Zaarly, the web antithesis to Craig’s List. Instead of posting what you want to sell, you post what you want to buy. With Zaarly, users get what they want from people nearby. Zaarly’s site background is a large map, making it easy to search for Zaarly posts in the surrounding area if they’re willing to sell something. When looking to purchase something, users explain what they want, name their price, and wait for the offers to roll in before choosing the perfect deal. It’s free to post and you’re not required to accept any of the offers made by other Zaarly users when your post expires. That way, buyers and sellers only settle for the perfect deal.

Users looking to make money can browse through the posts in their city. If you’re willing to deliver two lattes to someone’s office, rent out your kayak for the weekend, or weed someone’s flower bed, a simple click will result in a pop-up box that allows users to reply to the buyer. Negotiating on price is allowed. Zaarly offers a guarantee so you’re 100% protected if something goes wrong with the transaction. Zaarly conceals real phone numbers with anonymous ones so users can safely communicate with each other.

Merrill’s post read:
$15 for 8 Slices of Bacon
I’m speaking at an event on Thursday the 27th at Flying Saucer in Ft. Worth. I’d like 8 slices of fresh bacon delivered to me near the end of my presentation. Why? Because I can.

Users also have the ability to click the “I want this too!” button. When clicked, users simply type in the description, service or delivery deadline, price they’re willing to pay, and where they want it. Just click Zaarly It! and voila. Do you think “Zaarly It!” will become the next “Facebook me”?

If you’ve ever wanted tickets to a sporting event or concert last minute, or wished someone could come mow your lawn for $10 or bring you freshly baked cookies, Zaarly is for you. The Zaarly app is free to download on your smart phone. Zaarly encourages social media sharing and makes sharing posts through Facebook or Twitter simple.

What do you want to Zaarly?

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