23 Hours of Fun

Going back to work today, armed with 23 hours of mini-DV from my trip to Africa, a 1 TB external FireWire hard drive, and enough work to employ a small army. No wonder I woke up before 5:00 AM. Jet lag and a side of anxiety.

Initial Thoughts on My Trip to The Gambia

For many years, I have wanted to come to Africa. I have read about it, seen movies about it, heard songs about it, but it wasn't until I finally traveled to Africa that I realized that I really didn't know anything about Africa and why people end up living the way they do. Extreme poverty, health issues, hunger, thirst, all that things that can destroy an entire continent. Yet, these things ultimately don't stop the Gambians. They continue to live, to eat, to drink in the worst conditions; hot, dry, dirty, smelly. They work a grueling day for about $5, just enough to hopefully feed their families that night. If they didn't make anything, they would not eat. They devote themselves to a religion that doesn't help them, and they are surrounded by tourists.

In some ways, it could seem that they invite you into their misery so that they could have a taste of our good life. But what it comes down to is that they end up teaching you about sincerity, hard work, survival, contentment, and gratitude. All things that you can't truly know until you see their joy in life.

To be among the poor in America and come here, I realize that I am a "two-bob," a rich man, here in the Gambia. I make more in a month than they will in a year. And that makes me think, why does one human's life have more value than another’s? Is it only because of the country I live in, or is there something else that determines the worth of a human life?

All in all, this trip was life changing. It confirmed what I believe God has made me to do, and it showed me what contentment is all about.

Art of the Interview and Lighting Workshops

Well, it was a great weekend of learning some valuable information in the areas of interviewing people and lighting them. The lighting class was great in that it provided some fundamental lighting principles that I haven't really had the chance to play around with since I went to art school. The hands-on portion of the class was great and seeing the ways that you can manipulate and sculpt light was amazing and very exciting.

More inspiring and motivating was the art of the interview class. It lit a fire of excitement for what I do that I haven't really felt in some time. Seeing the process at which I work, and not being afraid of taking chances in asking tough questions, will hopefully push me towards some amazing moments in my upcoming trip to The Gambia.

All in all, the whole idea of a weekend of workshops is not only a brilliant idea, but you get to meet people that are doing exactly what you are, and that is worth a lot.

Jelly Beans

I took pictures of jelly beans today. That was the highlight of my day. Except for LOST of course.

Commercials

Life would be much simpler without commercials. TV shows that are supposed to be an hour would actually be an hour. Lost would be found in the missing minutes interrupted by the constant noise of consumerism. Heroes would actually save the world instead of telling me that I need to feel insecure about the 1987 Crown Victoria that I drive instead of the brand new Toyota Corolla. Do commercials exist for the sole purpose of making me feel so crappy about my life because I don't own the latest and greatest phone, car, internet service, beer, or lubricant jelly? In the words of my wife, "they do honey." Correction. "They do comma honey."

The Gambia; Workshops; Rebel Without a Crew; The Power of Inspirational Friends

My two week trip to The Gambia, Africa is steadily approaching, and I am starting to get really excited. I have had my yellow fever, hepatitis-a, and tetanus shots, as well as filled prescription for malaria medicine. I have purchased over 30 hours of mini-dv tape, a 16GB CompactFlash card, a circular polarizer, and a nice big backpack; everything that I need in order to video and photograph this trip. I'm looking forward to an interesting trip outside of my comfort zone. I have wanted to go to Africa for almost ten years now, and it is finally a reality.

As I go into this trip, I am looking forward to two film production workshops that I am taking this weekend. The first is on the art of the interview and how to draw out the story as you interview people. The second is on lighting. Two areas that I definitely enjoy learning more about.

I just purchased "Rebel Without a Crew," by Robert Rodriguez. So far I am loving what he is saying, more to come as I digest this book.

There is nothing like a friend that inspires you.

Update

This weekend I weighed in at 218. I have lost 68 pounds since I started my journey on Weight Watchers last May. My next weigh-in is on my 29th birthday this coming Saturday. Will I reach the 70 lbs. milestone?

Crazy to think that I am one year away from being thirty.

New Updates

I have added four new videos and two new photos to ChrisMartinStudios.com tonight! Promotional videos for Shared Blessings and People International, an animation for Genesis Performance Systems, a photo for Renewed Life Day Spa's new jacuzzi, and a random photo opportunity from my kitchen.

Enjoy!

Weight Watchers Update

I started the Weight Watchers Online for Men program the last week of May weighing in at 286. As of Saturday, October 13, I weigh 235, which is a loss of 51 pounds.

Tomorrow is my third wedding anniversary, and I can finally wear the clothes that I wore leaving the church on our wedding day! Very exciting!!

ChrisMartinStudios.com updated!

I finally updated the design for ChrisMartinStudios.com. It only took a year and a half!

Being a dinosaur only leads to one place...

...extinction.

I say that because I have been doing web design since 1996, and I am realizing that what I taught myself 10 years ago has become antiquated, outdated and border-line extinct. A great example is my over-reliance on tables for page layout, instead of the use of DIV's and positioning in CSS. I was looking into that the other day and couldn't believe how simple and clean that process is.

The web has changed, and I haven't. Very sad. But the good news is I don't want to become extinct. Time to evolve. Time to change.

Hey, are you there?

It's been almost two months since my last post. It has been a completely crazy life. Last month was dedicated to finishing a very large project called Boeing Production Systems Fundamentals. I was on a team of four people, in charge of animation, design and programming. In a two week period, I put in over 100 hours not including commute time and waiting for the bus! This week, we are finishing up some edits and hopefully that project will be complete.

Weight Watchers update. I have been on the program for three months now, and I have lost 37 pounds, weighing in at 249. Pretty exciting! Some of the shirts that I have received as gifts a year ago are finally fitting.

Several photo shoots coming up. Tonight I am photographing a band called "Crusas." Check them out at www.crusas.com or www.myspace.com/crusas. In the next two weeks, I'll be doing another shoot for Renewed Life Day Spa, as well as another group photo for Bryant & Associates, and I get to be a photographer for my church's upcoming church picnic. A crazy amount of photo taking opportunities. I just bought a 4GB capture card which will allow me to take over 700 RAW pictures (which is the full resolution), pretty awesome! Before I had a 1GB card which only enabled me to take 178 RAW pictures. I ran out of room at a previous shoot, so I wanted to be prepared. It looks like I am going to be getting a great tripod soon. I'm looking at a carbon fiber bogen, which a ball head, as well as a separate video head for smooth pans and tilts.

Well, that's about it for now.

Fireworks and Tow Trucks

Last night was pretty amazing as the subdivision next door to the apartment complex that my wife and I live in exploded in the myriad of colors that is the 4th of July. Being on the second story has some advantages, mainly being able to see an unobstructed view of what was going on. There were some fireworks that lit up the entire sky and I couldn't help but smile, my inner child filled with glee and excitement. It was an exciting time, and I was able to live vicariously through the hundreds of dollars that our neighbors obviously spent. Beautiful!

In other news, our apartment complex is sealing the asphalt in my section this morning. They have spent the last hour and a half towing cars to various parts of the property. The final two cars were just towed away, it's nothing too exciting, but when I only see the kids in the pool, this is pretty darn exciting!

Here's to a hot day!!! One of the disadvantages of living on the second story.

Back to work my brain says. I have a busy month ahead of me. Yesterday was a nice day of relaxing, eating hamburgers and reading some books. Oh, and I even took a nap! Now that is odd, seeing as I never take naps.

Okay, now I really should get back to work!

Workflow

Nothing will reveal the strengths and weaknesses of your personal workflow like a 3-day video shoot, with the final 30-minute video due on the 4th day. I haven't decided if it is insane, impossible, or improbable, but I think taking these projects every once and a while could be a good thing. Maybe it's God's light shining in how I do things, how long I think on things, and just getting things done and moving to the next project.

These are my thoughts this early morning. I am getting too old to stay up all night. I remember when I could go no problem, but after 8-hours of shooting, which is enough to wear anyone out, an all-night editing spree seems crazy. I think I am repeating myself. Time to get back to editing.

Capturing an Experience

I sit here waiting for the video to capture onto my computer that I shot today at the Kid's Camp that my church was a part of. Today was day three of four and shot three more hours of footage, adding to the five hours of day one and two.

Yesterday was pretty nasty as rain soaked everything and a lot of the activities were sent indoors and everywhere there was a covered space, but today the sun was shining, the outdoor activities were in full force and fun, creative shots were in force.

Now the fun begins in putting together a video for the past few days by 12 noon tomorrow. I have the soda chilled and ready, and once the capturing is done, I'll be off and editing.

I only went to a kid camp once as a kid, and all I remember was chickening out on the zip line. My thought today was that if the zip lines were as safe today, I think I would have went down the line. Instead, I had to contend with a plastic swing seat with a scary chain to the zip line. Pretty interesting the things we hold onto.

Journey Down the Road of Meaning (35 MPH vs. 1 MPH)

I have several things going through my head today. The first has to do with some reoccurring dreams that I have been having over the past six months usually entailing me being trapped in my old job and never being able to find the way out. But last night there were some new developments. First, I was being chased by Sylar from the television show "Heroes," and second I was being helped by my friend Loren.

As I went on a walk this afternoon, I was pondering about what that dream meant. Now, it's obvious what the reoccurring dream about being trapped in my old place of work says, but what about Sylar? In "Heroes" he was the evil villain who stalked the people with superpowers so that he could take those abilities for himself, killing the hero in the process. So, putting all of the three elements together, I am in the process of escaping my old ways, being helped in the process by my friend Loren, but the enemy is unhappy and is hunting me down so that he can take away what makes me unique.

What an interesting dream. Isn't it amazing that when you have such an epic dream that you wake up feeling exhausted and worn out?

The second thought going through my mind has to do with breaking out of the monotony of a mundane life. Metaphorically speaking, I have been trying to speed down the road of life doing 120 MPH, but I finally got busted by the cops and I'm forced to go down the road of life at walking speeds and what amazing sites you actually see and experience.

For the first time in a long time, I am actually attempting some new ideas on projects that I am working on. The past two days have been spent doing some new type of animation in After Effects, and I am excited as it takes shape and is different than a lot of things that I have done lately. I slowed down and took the time to actually try new things. How exciting!

What got me thinking about this was a walk I just took. I walked down 28th street to the corner Chevron. Normally, I am doing 35 MPH down this road, but I was amazed at what I saw and how much larger and open my world actually is.

If we could actually slow down more often, our lives would be that much more enriching and worthwhile, and just perhaps we would have something to be passionate about, instead of feeling tired and burnt out.

Weight Watchers Week 3

I just finished my third week on Weight Watchers and I have successfully lost 14 pounds so far. It's great! I golfed 18 holes yesterday and it was a little easier than the last time I played.

Willow Creek Arts Conference 2007 (Part 1)

Last week, I had the amazing privilege to go to the Willow Creek Arts Conference in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. For those of you who do not know of Willow Creek, they are a mega-church oriented towards seekers (people who are investing the claims of Christ and the church), and providing conferences in the area of arts, leadership, and just about anything else that is essential for church leaders and members around the world.

I had never been to Willow Creek before last week, and I had heard a lot about the church, mostly negative things, and as I walked through the main doors and wandered through the lobby and main auditorium, those comments replayed in my mind as if I was hearing them for the first time. The lobby reminded me of a convention center. Waterfalls, escalators, elevators, television screens, book kiosks, coffee shops, bookstores, atriums, chairs and benches to sit in, and free wi-fi. When you walk into the main auditorium, it’s like you are walking into a miniature arena. Giant windows frame the stage as a fog machine pumps out enough fog to define each and every light. Three levels of seating provide enough room for thousands of people to be able to gather, while gigantic high-definition video screens provide everyone with the ability to see, with amazing clarity, what is going on. The whipped cream of this audio/visual sundae was the sound system, which easily rivaled anything that I have ever heard at the myriad of concerts that I have been to. As I pushed those comments to the back of my mind, I really wanted to be open to the experience of this place that I have wanted to visit and be open to what I hoped that I would learn and be reminded of: creativity, inspiration, and passion for communicating the truth through art.

My first thought regarding this conference was the impact that it had on me personally and professionally. Before I left, I was getting pretty tired, drained creatively, and unable to be passionate about the work I was doing. Through the keynote speaker Dewitt Jones and breakout session speaker Mark Miller, I learned that in order to continue providing creative and inspirational creative solutions I need to spend the time and energy to keep my creative toolbox full and if I don’t feel passionate or inspired that I should act as if I were passionate and inspired.

Now, it’s not that I didn’t know these things before, but when you open yourself up to needing to hear the truth, you’ll hear what you need to hear with an incredible clarity.

I’m going to continue unpacking the things that I learned on the trip, but for now, I’m pleased to know that I won’t be giving up anytime soon.

Nikon 12-24mm Lens

One of the disadvantages of a Digital SLR is the 1.5x magnification factor on lenses. I have a 24mm lens that is a great wide-angle on my film SLR, but is a worthless 36mm on my DSLR. Thankfully though, Nikon has the very expensive 12-24mm lens (equating to roughly 18-36mm). I have rented it twice from Pro Photo Supply in Portland, and I love the lens! I did a photo shoot yesterday at Renewed Life Day Spa, and it really made the architecture look fabulous. I was able to get the shots that I wanted without wishing the wall behind me was gone. The next lens to rent is the famous 18-200 VR lens that will be on eternal backorder.

Fragrance of Worth

I have been toying with the idea of doing a photography/poetry book, something that would merge my love for writing and for photography. After dragging my feet for a couple of years, I have decided that I am going to work on this project all summer long and release a free e-book to anyone interested on September 4, 2007.

Enjoy an excerpt from "Quiet Silence" up above, which is a taste of my vision for this project, and stay tuned for more glimpses along the way.