Upload success!

I tried to post a blog entry before going to sleep last night but forgot I was uploading a client video on their youtube account and didn't realize that it is linked to blogger in a way that I almost crashed the upload. It was about three-quarters of the way done with an upload that took more than two hours to complete so it would have been super annoying to have to start all over again. Luckily, it was completed when I got up this morning. Almost learned the hard way! Ha. Whew!

Bacon all over the place.

Which is just how life should be pretty much 100% of the time... or so pop-culture would suggest. Well, I kind of tested that out tonight and I wouldn't say it's necessarily wrong... because it's delicious. Any day with bacon is actually a day... any day without is but a mere afterthought in the history books... and there is no such thing as bacon hyperbole. Just baconsumate awesomosity!

The team surging forward.

It is always great to get feedback from the people you work with. It is also always great to put together a good game with your on-court compadres. I enjoyed the opportunity of experiencing both today so that makes today just a little more rad than usual. I will now blissfully enjoy my bed(insomnia or not) and hopefully get a good start on the day tomorrow.

Back to the late sack.

I think I got a twenty minute nap in last night before I woke and couldn't get back to sleep until 4ish, I think. Super annoying. Thought I wouldn't even try tonight. Ha. I had lots of work to do anyway so I wasn't wasted time. I know I'll feel like wasted time tomorrow, though, so there's still that. Ha. Ugh.

Polishing the product.

It is one of the things I do, artistically speaking, that I tend to have more focus and patience on than most other stages of creation. It might typically be seen as a form of procrastination, when somebody has a difficult time finishing one's art, but I see more like a form of finishing strong. I do it in athletics and, as I have now taken the time to recognize how I behave with art, I tend to think I am quite similar in my artistic endeavors as well. I really enjoy finishing a creation, getting it just right, seeing it become more closely formed to the concepts formed in my mind early in the creative process. It is the feeling of connecting the beginning with the ending.

Excitedly making progress.

I am almost done with the corporate reel and it is more and more exciting to get past that first step toward building Screaming Flea Creative Media. It is only one tool we plan to employ in our efforts to procure clientele but it is definitely the funnest and most revealing tool we can use, I tend to think. I like the idea of being a part of such a rad team and sharing them with the people we'd like to work for. It's an unexpected source of pride for me, I guess.

Certain cinematic excellence.

I watched The Revenant today for the first time. It was an incredible work of art. Visually, musically and emotionally it was very dynamic and beautiful and, at times, challenging. These are qualities I prefer to experience in art. It then becomes a truer reflection of life's experience despite itself being the expression of it. Not to say all art that is my favorite art possesses these qualities. The more basic, narrower, more simplified expressions also find my favor from time to time. I tend, however, to be drawn to the more complex art when it is represented in cinematic form. I don't plan to give a more specific review of The Revenant beyond my general praise of its quality here. And I am grateful there are artists willing to share such things with the world at large, of which I am a part.

Not quite as expected.

But not something to complain about. The relaxation still flowed. I enjoyed it. And the things I did expect to happen, that did happen, were just as rad as expected. Time management lacking, I think the day was a pleasant start to the weekend.

A solid week of work.

With an expectedly pleasant weekend ahead. Sleeping in will kick it off nicely, a movie with a friend or two, and a Firefly night to follow will set a fantastic tone. Maybe I'll do a little writing on Sunday, watch some of the football, do a little editing(in the most leisurely of ways) and watch another movie or two. It might sound a little contradictory making plans for an actual break in the action... but I think of plans like the oil change that makes the vehicle of pleasant relaxation run like a champ again. And who doesn't appreciate some championship relaxation?

Noticing the effects of age.

I don't consider myself old really at all. I'm not even middle-age by the worlds take on it. I am past my physical prime, though, and for some reason I haven't really admitted to noticing how much I may have lost when it comes to my physical prowess. I know I was a quicker basketball player when I was younger but I have never really felt like it could have been much of a difference... until, perhaps, as I played tonight... and a little bit last week. Maybe I am noticeably slower than I used to be now. I am not sure. All the hustle I can give will certainly continue its downward trend as time presses forward. But I wonder when I will admit to myself that I have given enough. I hope it's more than twenty years away from now. I hope it's more than thirty years away from now.

Actual progress is being made.

And within a couple day's time I might even get to see it. I am referencing the feature film I helped put together nearly a year ago and have recently been asked to do a little post-production help with the edit, as well as going out to get some pick-up shots over the next month or so. The director will be loading the whole project onto a drive for me to retrieve in a couple days and I will finally get to see a rough cut. Awesome! Even if it is still pretty far from complete I am excited to see anything. The fruit of our awesome team's labors come to life!

Late work = later bedtime.

I didn't get home from work until 1am. I was pretty tired when I got home and even thought I might be able to crash a little quicker than usual. I'm not sure what's up but my body and mind seemed to disagree with those ideas... and here I am... again. No worries. I only have to get up in four and a half hours. The day might not be too long, though, so that could be nice. A decent nap in the middle of the day sounds almost euphoric even thinking about it now. Maybe I'll dream about it tonight... briefly.

Come back to the music.

I have been listening to a lot of stand-up comedy lately. I am not sure how long I have been on this kick, maybe a few or so months, but I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I still enjoy it. Somehow, and somewhat mysteriously to me, I have not been listening to much music during this span of time. I don't know if I was avoiding it or if I just felt more inclined to the comedy. Maybe I needed a break? I know I haven't changed up my musical choices much for the last couple or so years. Anyway... I kind of dove back in tonight. And it has been awesome. And it has been the moving experience I have missed for a while. There truly is power in music.

A rough but solid day of football.

Or maybe rough and solid? The Seahawks lost but finished strong so that's just how I'll put it. A certain crop of my nerves(the ones I have assigned to the football season) can now take a nice break for a while. It will be nice. And this week, even with all the work I expect to take on, will even be nicer. Lots of fun things to accomplish!

The lazy-day weekend.

I still have some work things kind of bubbling around in my mind, and maybe this will be the case until I die, but I allowed myself to shed the mental stress of the week quite a bit and that was probably the best aspect of the day. Sure, the games were fun and the socializing was highly appreciated, but the absence of self-inflicted tension is generally incredible. Really.

Crashing into the weekend.

The last three nights have averaged about three hours of sleep due to my work/insomnia mixture and I am fairly perplexed how I did it while working at UPS as long as I did. The really nice part is that I actually get to sleep in for the next couple days so that should be a nice way to reset a little. Noticing the time of this entry it might seem that I have sort of screwed up the sleeping in part for tomorrow morning but I actually went to bed at 11pm and just happened to wake up an hour or so ago for no perceivable reason... but I still got a few hours of sleep and now I'm going to get quite a few more before starting my expectedly relaxing weekend. Nice.

Sorta like bein' in school.

I don't usually pull all-nighters without a big test/assignment due the next day. I guess it's kinda like that since I am getting a project done for a client now but it's still a pretty ridiculous thing to do. I just need to improve at my estimating so I don't get myself caught running behind schedule so much in the future.

More and more and more.

Today we got another order for even more work and it is definitely exciting! We are still building our processes and methods but growing along with the clients is not necessarily a bad thing. The prospect of planning and coordinating is somewhat daunting and simultaneously exciting. And, as always, finding every tool to make the whole thing easier is practically essential to succeeding long into the future! I know none of this is new but it never hurts to say it out loud(or type it in digital absolute silence) as a reminder once in a while.

Insomnia plus long work.

I am not too sure how they actually mix together... not that I don't know they are a bad mixture, rather that I am not sure how they have been mixing together in my life at all. Usually one sort of stifles the other. My eyelids are heavy and my brain is sort of far flung. I will be quite busy for the next couple or so days, too. Maybe I'll get to sleep in on Saturday morning.

The busy days of January.

I suppose some of it comes as the post-holiday lull fades away. It seems to be that at the start of every year there is some kind of something ramping up. It's kinda nice since the general optimism for life seems to follow suit, having renewed at least a little enthusiasm for changes to come. Some of it is probably just the fact that I usually expect some kind of tax return to be coming my way. So, you take it wherever it comes and run with it as long as possible. All of it is a blessing and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Shooting out the fights.

It is a grand feeling to know that the most difficult and intense scenes have been committed to film(or in this case, hard drives) and the single remaining day of shooting should be, comparatively, a breeze. The stunt folks really put their best feet forward(pun intended) to help create a delightfully quality product. Sure, the edit is far from being complete and the ultimate result has yet to be judged but what we could see in the viewfinder screens certainly played well before us. I am quite excited to see how it all comes out on the back end for sure!

Another day in the dark and cold.

But at least the shoot wasn't outside. Ha. It was sort of like working in the biggest refrigerator ever built. I wonder what the temperature generally was, even, and wouldn't be surprised if they were sub-forty degrees or less. Tomorrow is the last day in said climate and I look forward to it however it comes. Good work, even cold work, is still delightful in my book(which I suppose this journal technically is.)

Working longer than long.

Every business goes a little bonkers when the things need to get done from time to time. Fifteen-plus hours, reasonably physically exhausting along with it with two more days to go before the real rest will come... exciting! Challenging! Fun, even! And, oh, how sweet it will feel when we are all done!

Building business relationships.

It, like any other normal type of relationship, will always take time and experimental trust to develop the understanding and respect needed for the relationship to grow and mature. I say "experimental trust" but that might also be another way of saying faith. There is a bit of risk extended in both directions when creating a product together. It is a learning experience that I look forward to experiencing many times with every client so that I can learn how to best serve their needs and help them grow, ultimately enabling me to grow my business in the process. I am sure this is relationship 101... I am sure this is business 101, as well.

Lovin' the business.

And with the current success of Hoarders back on A&E it looks like we should probably get renewed for another season. This means that, even though I could easily consider last year the busiest year of my life, I might find this year to be an even busier one once it's all said and done. And I enjoy that prospect immensely, I have to admit. I am a lucky man, indeed!

A fresh basketball season.

I always enjoy pickup basketball but I always really enjoy playing in the basketball league whenever I get the chance. There's just something different about having a timed clock, refs, and the changed up team dynamics. I really enjoy the chance to perform under pressure and generally always rise to the challenge. Plus, it looks like we have a pretty strong team this year and I expect we will do quite well. Sports rule!

Further into the business of things.

Every business takes time to build. Not just for the monetary components that are intended to grow but for the tools and methods by which it will function, as well. And every tool one can utilize effectively is definitely a valuable addition if the tool suits the business well(I wouldn't have much use for post-hole diggers in my video/film production business most of the time.) And the tools are always changing, evolving, coming and going. I feel quite lucky to find anything that can make my business better at what it does, that's for sure!

Fantastical victory!

After 17 weeks of stat-watching, game-watching, player-watching, injury report scouring, 65 acquisitions and countless hours of speculation, I have finally finished the Fantasy Football season played with my co-workers and among it all have emerged as the league champion! It was a nail-biting first round of the finals but I soundly trounced my poor opponent in the second round to close things out in style. It was a fun experience I hope to repeat again in the future!

Bellowing Leaches

2015 SFP League Champion

Regular Season: 8-5

Post-Season: 2-0

2016 - Year of the Insomniac?

Ha. Well... I know we're only a few days in but I've rolled it 100% insomniac so far... should it be a resolution of its own? Bah. Just kiddin'. Maybe I'll be more creative tomorrow(the procrastinators mantra for sure.)

2015 - A Year in Review - The Year of the Hoard.

I'm not the most consistent at doing these "year in review" entries but I think it is a good practice to pursue. Anyway... here is my basic recollection of what happened in 2015 for me.

The year started fairly hard and fast. We were still organizing and moving into the new office at Screaming Flea. We started prepping for the upcoming season of Hoarders, too. At the end of January I also started working with Charlie and the crew on 25.5 as the Director of Photography for the whole feature. What an incredible, tough, fun experience that was! It was something I would gladly repeat in the future if given the chance.

Somewhere toward the end of the 25.5 shoot we started production of Hoarders at work. This was a VERY challenging undertaking for the first several shoots. It was awesome to fly around the country and see new places and meet new people. I love the feeling of experiencing a new environment and trying to take it in with my actual fresh eyes. The work was very consistent and mostly all-consuming pretty much all the way into October when it finally slowed down on the production-side of things. Most of the season I worked as a Media Manager but they finally gave me a chance to do some Camera Operating for one of the stories and the b-role of another so that was pretty awesome. I hope we get re-upped for the next season and I get to do some more shooting!

Outside of all that, it was a good year in other ways as well. We did some 48-hour projects and did okay with those. Yelling Tick was all kinds of fun. Rolling through the holidays was pretty normal and basic.

Certainly there was quite a bit more that happened that wasn't part of my video production life... but, honestly/sadly, I have a hard time recalling much of that stuff. I would still call it a great year despite it's one-dimensionality and I look forward to the next one with great anticipation! Hope I can be a a better tour guide along with it!

So ends another solid year.

And even though I would have preferred to do my "year in review" post up tonight I think I let the insomnia get in the way of that plan... so I'll do it tomorrow instead. No worries. This entry would be a basic preview, sort of a trailer, for said review. It was a good, fun, exciting, challenging year. How does one mark the time? This journal(among the several that I do daily) is one of my ways of doing it, though I certainly could do SO much better at it. Maybe I should make a resolution to fix that. Ha.