Watched the first of 100 movies last night. Pretty fitting movie I guess.
To make a long story short, it’s a b-level documentary about a guy trying to make a movie. Along the way he has some slip ups and it kind of documents his daily life.
I liked how much heart the movie had in it, the content was pretty amazing even though the plot didn’t really go anywhere after 3 years of filming. The interviews were also really well lit, but a tad boring.
I didn’t like how disjointed it felt, and there was no real closure on the film. It just kind of ended without letting us know how the movie did. There were also pacing issues and the cutting was awkward at times.
All in all I’d give it a C+. Probably not worth watching unless you’re really into movies and BTS stuff.
Let’s be honest. No one really reads this blog. They look at the pictures sometimes and that’s it, so it’s really more of a personal journal of sorts for myself. Since that’s the case I’m allowed to ramble when I want. You get what you pay for so deal with it.
That said, 2012 was a good year. My goals going in were a bit misguided and most of them took care of themselves. This year the goals are a bit more focused and they’re gonna take some effort to achieve. So here’s my goals in the order of how difficult I think they’ll be.
Earn 20k.
The first year I was a photographer I made $1,000. Though I was also an ice rink manager and made like 25k from that. The next year I made $6,000, but I was an ice rink manager for half of the year. I made close to $20,000. Last year I was a full time creative. I made $13,000. I will admit I’ve been doing the business end of things pretty terribly. This year I hope to correct that and get back to the point I was at back in college. All I need to do is charge what my work is actually worth and go after more clients. Add in some sugar, spice and odd jobs on the side like free lance writing, money from advertisements off youtube and the odd PA job and I should be able to reach this one with some hustle. Having consistent work through the church certainly helps, and should get me about half of the way there alone.
Invest 1k.
This is simple. I’ve always wanted to have stocks. It makes sense financially and I need to do it. Most of my money gets invested back into new gear purchases, and I think it’s time to start diversifying and investing into the markets, as well as marketing for myself.
100,000 views on CatShirt comedy Videos.
Cat shirt comedy is my primary youtube project right now. If I want to monetize this work I need to amp up the views in a big way. 100k views is a shitload, but at the same time it’s nothing compared to what youtube can provide. This is gonna be one of the bigger challenges on the list, because it’s a lot less tangible, there is no set path to achieving this goal. Not only do I have to make a quantity of quality material, but I also have to figure out distribution and marketing to get people to actually watch the fucking things. There are millions of ways to achieve this, and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna try several of them to reach this goal. Wish me luck, and watch a couple videos and maybe share them too? :)
Watch 100 films.
This should be no problem. The hard part will actually be logging them (which I intend to do here, or maybe on another tumblr). My plan is to watch them and log a basic plot synapsis, what I liked and what I didn’t. Three simple paragraphs that get me thinking about film.
Visit 10 cities outside of nebraska.
On the face of it this one should be stupid easy. Last year I visited 20(?) cities outside nebraska. Though most of them where on the Love Drunk tour. Assuming we do some more touring with the Love Drunk project this should be easy. On the other hand if I have to be road warrior and do it all myself that’s a challenge I openly accept.
Reach High Five #400.
My plan for the high five project was to do it in 3 years. I’m 6 months in and I’m at 90. So I need to really step it up. However I don’t want to cheat this shit. I want it all legit and I want the quality of each photo to increase with each passing step.
Complete the Knock Knock project.
The knock knock project is a side project of cat shirt comedy where I tell 100 knock knock jokes in individual videos. It’s an experiment in “quality vs. Quantity” in terms of getting views and it’s a good way to grind out some videos so I can improve my workflows.
Learn 5 dance moves.
I think it would be neat if I can impress some folks at the weddings I shoot. Could be a great way to make new contacts, and it’s good exercise and fun.
Run a mile in under 8 minutes
I have literally never done this. A friend said that a good work out should be more about practice than a repetitve motion, so this is my goal to get me practicing.
Produce a short film and a music video
I have the skills and equipment to do this. Now I just need to sack up and do it.
Learn to ride a bike.
I don’t know how to ride a bike. Never learned. Good way to travel and a good way to get in shape.
Research Becoming an LLC
As my business world grows, this is gonna become more necessary. Might as well get it done before it becomes an issue.
Create a reel
Having a reel will go along way towards getting me more jobs as a videographer, which will go along way towards getting me to my financial goals.
Make a printed portfolio
Having your photos printed in front of people makes a much larger impact than having those people see them on a screen. I want to start getting in the habit of having my work printed and making an impact so that I can attract new clients and bigger and better jobs.
Redo Photo website
I’ve had the same website for awhile. It’s time to step it up and up the professionalism of my brand. Again, talking about attracting bigger and better customers.
Meet with Dee
Dee is the wedding coordinator of the church I work at. I want to meet with her and talk about becoming the churchs preferred wedding photog. This would be an awesome way to stream in tons of new wedding jobs.
Finish 5 books
I need to read more.
Cook 10 new meals
I eat out too much. I want to impress lady folk. This is a good way to deal with both. Gonna take some recipes off pintrest and teach myself to cook 10 new dishes that I didn’t know how to cook before.
Print one photo a month
Having your work printed makes you feel more good about your photos. There for I’m gonna print a shitload more of it. I had this goal last year but gave up after a few months. Not this year.
Shoot 25 rolls of film
I recently got a medium format film camera. It takes awesome photos. Now I just need to not be lazy and cheap about it and use it. This goal shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain.
Learn 10 yoga poses
Along the lines of being more active, I have always had a curiosity about yoga. This goal is about giving it a shot and seeing how it might impact my daily life.
Eat at 20 new places
One thing I wanted to do was to be exposed to more new things. One way to do that is through food. Omaha has a shitload of restaurants. This one should be easy.
Learn to screen write
If I’m gonna make movies, I probably should learn how to do everything the proper way so people have an idea what the fuck I’m trying to do.
Get a passport
I had to turn down a destination wedding because I couldn’t get a passport in time. That’s not gonna happen again.
Invest in a medium format camera.
This one is already done. Kicking ass huh?
There ya have it. Time to go out and kick these goals asses.
25 goals for 2013. I’ll do a full write up later.
Traveling with family takes all the fun out of traveling.
Getting paid in cake. #fatkiddreamcometrue.
Hey guys I have a great idea, lets kill the lights and force all of our cameras to search for focus on the most important service of the year. #productionfail
No Photos please.
Playing with some more Cinematic grades. I hate it when photographers gush about how much they love their own work (probably because those types of photographers say it about every fucking image that falls out of their camera). So I’ll just say “I don’t hate this one nearly as much as the rest of the photos I’ve taken”.
I don’t know why the formatting isn’t working on the last post.
2012 is winding down. Less than 2 weeks and it’s gone forever. I feel like now is an excellent time to review what goals I set out to do, and use that as a reflecting period to plan out my goals for 2013. Here’s what I wrote last December:
Hustle My Dick Off.
Simplify my life.
Create meaningful work.
Create more. ALOT more.
Experiment more.
Push Myself and my projects a lot harder.
Don’t be so hard on myself when it doesn’t work out.
Go On Adventures.
Be More Decisive.
Learn to Invest.
Tell more Jokes.
Be more positive.
Learn how to ask for help.
Print my work.
Stop wasting time on facebook/twitter/tumblr loop.
Quit wasting time reading bullshit blogs.
Look at more photos/videos/Art. Look deep.
Be More Professional
As far as Specific goals go:
1) 365 Project
The goal is simple. I want to make a lot more work. Everyday I want to create, and publish at least one piece of creative work. Be it a photo, video, whatever. Expect to see all kinds of projects, interviews, portraits, conceptual photos, hell even some cover performances.
2) Invest $1,000
I’ve been interested in investing in forever. This year is the year I finally jump in and make it happen.
3) Practice more “Cinematic” sequences
A lot of my video work lacks any sort of cinematic quality. I’m gonna change that and push myself to learn the different kind of shots as well as video lighting. I’m excited.
4) Learn basic Typography
I feel like there’s a lot of room for typography to boost my photo and video work. It’d also be great on the commercial side of my business to be able to create my own advertisements and ads for other small businesses.
5) Poopstagram!
Since I got an iphone, I’ve fallen in love with instagram, there’s a lot of great work (and piles of bullshit). This goal is simple, every time I poop I want to look at, and comment on at least 5 images. I usually look at 10-15 every time I go, so that can add up to viewing a lot of images pretty quick. It’s not as much as I should be looking at, but it is a great start towards looking at more art.
6) Monthly Prints
I have only ever printed 4 images of my work. I have none of it hanging up. It wasn’t until a couple asked me to make prints for them rather than go through my website that it really clicked how much better my work as gotten. So this year I want to print my favorite 5-10 images each month and post them somewhere I will see them everyday. At the end of the month I might give them out as gifts to random people or something.
7) Pick up an Instrument, every day.
I’ve been playing in bands for 5 years, and guitar for 6. I’m still terribad at it. Mostly because I don’t practice. With all the time I waste on facebook/twitter/internet forums this is ridiculous. I want to push myself out of the reality TV show that is facebook and into productive things. So my goal is to pick up one of my guitars and play it, every day. No minimum time limit, but I figure as long as I touch it, I’ll want to play it. The first project is to learn all the bass parts to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon.
8) Shoot more conceptual work.
I’ve noticed that while my work is often technically good, it usually fails to convey anything past “this is a good portrait of this person”. I want to move past that and create actual thought out art with my work. Every shoot from now will include at least an attempt for a conceptual shot, something that says something other than “This is a picture of a person”.
9) Shoot what I want to shoot.
Last year I pretty much shot a lot of what I was offered, but I didn’t really push to shoot things that I genuinely wanted to shoot. This year I’m going to push myself to create a portfolio of images towards what I REALLY want to shoot. As much as I love shooting bands, I need something else. I want to make some great portraits and do more commercial work. I’m going to make it happen, knowing full well I’m going to need to claw my way towards it. This nightlife stuff is starting to get old and the money really isn’t enough of a motivation to keep me in it, I need to find the exit before I burn out on photography all together.
10) Get Paid.
DISREGARD FEMALES. ACQUIRE CURRENCY.
Well let’s start with the top of the list, the basic ideas.
Hustle my Dick off -> I now work for a Studio, and a church doing media production, in addition to my own freelance work. Mission Accomplished.
Simplify my life -> Looking back, this is a bullshit goal. However, I will concede that my life is much more complex than it was in some arenas, it is less so in others. I think I succeed because more of my life is around creating, and less of my life is about being hung up on a girl.
Create Meaningful Work -> I recently completed a video project that helped a church ministry raise nearly $150,000 in grant money. This ministry provides resources to tons of groups that don’t have access to progressive theology in small towns. In addition, I’ve shot a lot of weddings this year, which I consider to be meaningful work. Mission Accomplished.
Create More. ALOT more. -> I shoot,edit or post something almost every day. Mission Accomplished.
Experiment More. -> Definitely pulling myself out of my shell and trying new things. Panoramic Portraits. Video production. Post Processing video, photo and audio. Mission Accomplished.
Push Myself and my projects harder -> I feel like I’m juggling too many things. I could still be more focused. This year I worked hard and long, but often times I was not working smart. In the future I’ll correct that. WORK IN PROGRESS.
Don’t be so hard on myself when it doesn’t work out. -> I still berate myself on fuck ups, but I’m a lot easier going on the small stuff. Mission Accomplished.
Go On Adventures. -> I went on tour across the eastern coast for 17 days. I also went to Colorado for two weekends. I’d like to do more of this, and more local adventures. Still, I consider this one Mission Accomplished.
Be More Decisive -> This one is coming along as I begin to figure out what I want. Decision delay is a costly time expense, but I get better everyday. WORK IN PROGRESS.
Learn to Invest -> I only have a small amount in the market right now, but fuck if it isn’t a start. Mission Accomplished.
Tell More Jokes -> I feel like I could push this way harder and do more stand up and filming for the Cat shirt project. WORK IN PROGRESS.
Be More Positive -> If I can point to one thing that has been a tipping point for my life, it’s this goal. I still struggle with negativity from time to time, but I wallow a lot less and I’ve cut out shitty folks from my life. I want to continue this trend. Mission Accomplished.
Learn How To Ask For Help -> This is another bullshit goal. Most of the time I can figure out my questions with my own research. Still I have built a pretty decent support network that I can reach out to. Mission Accomplished.
Print my work -> I was doing well for the first two months, than it fell apart. I would like to get back into it. WORK IN PROGRESS.
Stop Wasting time in the social media loop -> I still catch myself doing this from time to time. WORK IN PROGRESS.
Quit Reading Bullshit blogs -> Unfollowed a shitload of dumb twitter aggregates. My bullshit blog reading has dropped significantly. Mission Accomplished.
Look at more Photos/Video -> This one is another bullshit goal. There’s no specifics or measurability on it. I would still say that I failed though.
Be More Professional -> I’ve been making strides in a lot of ways. Better email handling and quicker turn arounds on post processing work. I could still improve in a number of ways though. WORK IN PROGRESS.
As for the specific goals.
365 project - Gave up around day 100.
Invest $1,000 - Not even close.
Practice more Cinematic sequences - I have been filming more, but need to take more risks and go for better shots.
Learn Basic Typography - Put this in the back seat a bit.
Poopstagram - This was stupid. I still check Instagram religiously though.
Monthly Prints - Did it for 2 months. =(
Pick up and Instrument - I feel like photography and Video has dwarfed the passion I had for playing music. This goal was abandoned.
Shoot more conceptual work - Definitely been killing it with side projects.
Shoot what I want to shoot - I still shoot the nightlife stuff, but it’s much less and I do it mostly on my own terms these days. I’ve positioned myself to be quit at pretty much anytime. Though having fun and meeting people is still a nice thing.
Get Paid - It’s down to the wire, but if calculations are correct, I SHOULD hit my target goal of making double what I made last year.
Final Summation -> I made significant progress on my vague goals. I failed most of the specific goals because looking back they were rigid and inflexible and shitty goals that didn’t really point towards the vague goals, which seems to be my “True North”. Overall 2012 was a pretty great year. I made a lot of progress and I have positioned myself to dominate in 2013.
