TRAVIS PITCHER

Ukraine Pictures 1

2012-02-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

Mali Pictures

2012-02-06T02:08:00.000-08:00

2012-02-06T00:51:00.001-08:00

Cool video...

2011-02-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

... for reference.

flight patterns from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.

What I have been working on recently...

2011-02-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

... has been secret until now. The problem with working at a corporation is that everything is pretty hush hush until the "big release". Well, here is the "big release" (not really). I just wanted to share some of the stuff that I have been working on that I can share. So... here it is!

I did all of the editing on this one. It was shot in Hawaii the week I arrived at Unicity.

We had a really big, all day shoot for these short commercials for heart health month (Feb). I did some of the shooting and lots of the lighting and editing. There are about 8 more of these to come.

Here is one that we just got done doing. This is the reason we flew to Myrtle Beach, SC this past week. I actually edited it on the airplane ride home.

These were all shot on the 5D Mark ii (which is awesome to use). I am learning a lot and am enjoying the job still despite having limited creative claim on anything that is released. But I think that will slowly change as I keep doing jobs and they become more acquainted with how I work. Thanks for watching!

A very neat technique...

2011-01-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

... that would be fun to play with. I wonder how it would work?

Light Works from Supernormals on Vimeo.

Here are some other great videos...

2011-01-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

... all from m ss ng p eces

Behind the TEDTalk 2010 from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo.

COOL HUNTING VIDEO episode 53 : OKAMOTO STUDIO from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo.

AMEX MEMBERS PROJECT: KATIE'S KROPS from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo.

SEED TO SCENT GoldenEye from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo.

This is why I love Africa...

2011-01-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

... and so many other developing countries. They take what they have and they just make it work. They do it themselves. They are a great example to me. I was really touched by this short documentary and the quality of the story. I love it. You should definitely watch it.

Moving Windmills from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo.

It is from a firm called m ss ng p eces. Really good stuff.

I am back...

2011-01-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

... and I hope to keep writing on this blog. I am sorry for the leave of absence. A lot has happened in the past two months.

My last post was about how we found out we were having twins and the videos accompanying that surprise. Since then I have graduated from BYU with a degree in Media Arts and a minor in International Development. While looking for jobs I applied to one in Orem and got it. The company is called Unicity and they specialize in producing nutritional supplements and marketing them. You can see their YouTube Channel and watch some of the videos that they have made in the past. I will be working with a very talented group of individuals (motion graphics guru, talented writer/director/producer and an awesome DP/colorist). I was hired to help them make spotlight videos or short docs of stories from normal people along with helping with everything else. I will be learning a lot and trying to perfect my storytelling more. My friends and I are also forming a company that specializes in short docs as web promotion tools. We have worked with a few clients and are looking forward to working with more. We are excited about the prospects that this might bring and hope for the best. More on that later.

Other than that, things are really well. I have decided to let Becky do most of the blogging and to use my blog as a resource to myself to highlight great videos I see and ideas that I have as well as highlight work that I do to share that with the few of you who actually look at this thing. So, to see my work and what I am interested in, you are in the right place. To see more of my family life, check out Becky's Blog (it is really good and she posts every day).

Thanks for your support and we look forward to 2011!

tp

Twins video...

2010-11-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

... of the first ultrasound. This is our raw reaction along with some nice shots. If you look right you can see the babies faces (though they look a bit "skeletor" as Becky says) and them moving around. We show each of them though "Baby A" probably gets most of the face time. You can see that they already have Becky's lips as well.
Anyways, here is the video.

First Ultrasound from travispitcher on Vimeo.

And just in case you wanted to see how our families reacted to the news, we took some video of them as well.

Pitcher Twins Reaction from travispitcher on Vimeo.

Froelich Twin Reaction from travispitcher on Vimeo.

Twins...

2010-11-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

... and they are not the Minnesota Twins (thought that is a nice pun come to think of it). They are the Pitcher twins.

Yesterday Becky and I found out that we are having twin boys.

Yes. Twins. Both boys.

We are stoked.

We will get the ultrasounds and short video up as soon as we can.

Story of my life...

2010-11-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

... which is funny. I actually think a lot of Becky when I watch this. Both of us are kind of destructors who are well-intentioned, but destruction and trouble inevitably follow.

Giant Episode 2 Sun from Celine&Yann on Vimeo.

An experiment...

2010-11-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

... that makes me feel alright. Kind of fun actually. You might have already seen it, but just wait and watch. I like it.

Run On Water from travispitcher on Vimeo.

Try not to be moved...

2010-11-08T22:54:00.001-08:00

... by this wonderful piece of music.

Komaza...

2010-11-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

... is my favorite right now. I have been trying to get the edit right for the short Komaza doc for a couple of weeks and I am finally feeling good about it. Here is the video-

Komaza- A Growing Organization from travispitcher on Vimeo.

I miss being in Africa. I miss the people and the sincerity. I miss the hard work and the family values. What beautiful people! I hope to go back some day. I am so grateful for that opportunity. I am going to continue to edit really short pieces for Komaza. They are on a fund-raising tour and want these to show how things actually are. I like that I get to be part of that. I don't have to lie or manipulate. The stories that are in the doc and in other footage I have are the truth and I was just there to capture it. It feels good and right.

Let me know what you think!

New toys for me...

2010-10-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

... and for Becky (but mostly me). As most of you know, we have needed a car for awhile since we are expecting a baby. We were fortunate enough to get a car from Becky's cousin for a very affordable price. It is a 1995 Honda Accord with half a billion miles. It runs and is clean despite having dented doors and strange quirks like unlocking itself. We are fortunate to have good family and friends who are kind enough to help us out. Thanks!

The second toy is actually more of a toy. I have been wanting these things called DSLR sliders for my camera work. They are 2-3 feet in length and mount to tripods or on stands. These mount to the camera and then slide along a track so you get a "dolly-ish" kind of camera move. I have wanted one because I actually really enjoy working off of a tripod more than handheld but I still like movement in my shots. These DSLR sliders came out and solved the problem along with increasing the production value exponentially. The problem was that they were SO expensive with cheaper models running about $500. I wanted to try and make one but decided that would be hard because I have no tools. That is when I came across indiSYSTEM. They make price point equipment that really suits an independent filmmaker's budget. I got the indisliderMINI for $100. I will make that much renting it out a few times. Anyways, it came today and I was so excited to go and test it. I just shot some stuff around the yard and apartment to give it and test and it worked great. Not perfect, but definitely worth the $100. Here is the result.

Autumn from travispitcher on Vimeo.

Here is the new Resume...

2010-10-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

... for your viewing pleasure. Thank you SO much to everybody who critiqued and helped bring up my resume to the next level. So, here we are at round 2. I tried to take every critique into consideration. I even printed out all of the comments and made marks and crossed out things after I was done trying to fix it. So, yeah, thanks everybody.

Here is the second round. As you can see, things are more lined up and have a similar flow and style. I got to experience more InDesign learning curve and I think that this next draft is much better. I also added a couple of "Experience" points (too many?) that I felt would be good to add. I changed the font from Helvetica to Helvetica Nue (sp?) and because of that, was able to play with the font a bit more. It is more centered and easier to look at than the last one. I think it is a bit dull and am trying to figure out how to stay "in the box" because this is going to be going to large companies (Discovery, Canon, National Geographic, etc) and I want to not be eccentric but I do want to stand out.

So, here it is. Rip it up. Tear it apart. I would appreciate the help again.

I missed one...

2010-10-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

... that I shouldn't have missed. This is too cool. Science is amazing.

FOTB 2010 Titles from Süperfad on Vimeo.

Just some videos...

2010-10-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

... that I want to remember.

This one reminds me of Africa in a wonderful way.

Ken's Song - A Traditional Era from David Tree on Vimeo.

This one reminds me of passion.

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

Resumes...

2010-10-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

... and such. So, nobody probably cares because I don't ever post really anymore but I am looking for jobs for when I graduate. After having a good conversation with my old teacher and great mentor I have decided to go big or go home (which means staying in Provo, heaven forbid!). Becky and I will be shooting for the stars and will work to land gigs in NYC, NY, SF, and many other cities with short acronyms (or not, whatever). I spent a couple hours tonight doing my resume in InDesign (thanks for the help love) and I am fairly satisfied with how my new resume turned out. Feel free to critique. I wanted to be creative but stay organized. Be original, but not annoying. I wish I was a font pro and then it would be even cooler.

Anyways, here it is:

I really do want to know what you think. Would you hire me? How can I make it better?

For my friends...

2010-10-03T21:47:00.001-07:00

... on the day that they had their engagement pictures taken on the shores of Utah Lake. And you thought that you might never get it.

Matt + Lana from travispitcher on Vimeo.

I am liking the idea more of doing wedding or engagement stuff. It is kind of fun to make things look pretty.

Take 5 mins...

2010-09-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

... and watch this. I have watched it 4 times now and there is something very incredible about it. I haven't quite figured it out, but it is transcendent to me.

I would love to know what you think.

Umbra (HD - 2010) from Malcolm Sutherland on Vimeo.

I love my Becky...

2010-09-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

... especially in the mornings with pancakes and strawberries and whipped cream.

Becky Breakfast In The Morning. from travispitcher on Vimeo.

Help smart poor kids...

2010-08-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

... that can really make a difference.

As the upper class becomes more elite and the lower class becomes poorer, I feel that it is important for us proletariates to stick together. Here is one way to do just that.

WISHBONE- Dare Your Courage from travispitcher on Vimeo.

Music...

2010-08-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

... has been on my mind lately. Polly asked Becky, "What kind of music does Travis play?" and Becky responded, "Oh, you know, mostly folk-ey kind of stuff." and I thought to myself, "False". I say "false" because I don't play music anymore really. It is going the way of the skateboard, that old piece of wood that sits up on the top shelf in our house rotting. It gets used maybe a few times a year and those are good times. The other piece of wood (aka my guitar) sits in it's case, safe from being played or used, but sad.

I love music. It inspires me and motivates me more than most things. I imagine videos to music. That is how they usually start, with a song. But the video has taken over and the music is repressed.

Luckily I have outlets until the day where I can have the time that music essentially requires. There are things like this, which amaze me and motivate me.

Quad Time from The Joy of Box on Vimeo.
Watch the whole thing. You won't be disappointed.

PS Sufjan Stevens came out with a new EP. He is a strangie, but a goodie.

There is something great...

2010-08-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

... about old stuff. The history that it has. The stories it can tell. Becky and I have been really into the idea of old stuff and styles lately. Her parents were kind enough to bring down some furniture for us (yeah! for new couch, lounge chair and other stuff) of which contained some great vintage stuff.

Here are some pictures:

Here is our new old chair. It is from a Judge from the 1930's.

A book by one of Becky's favorites, A.A. Milne

The book was given to Becky's great grandmother in 1931

A cool wool bicycle hat that I want. They are so cool.

Vintage bikes are the coolest. Touring.

I could probably site a bunch of other stuff but I are going to eat breakfast instead.

Just something I did yesterday...

2010-08-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

... for the Tipping Bucket. This next bucket is really cool I think.

Just as neat is the video that I made (if I do say so myself). The product of a day's work (hence why I am posting at 1am). I went and bought the book Thermodynamics from D.I. and proceded to tear out pages and print pictures onto them. I would then glue them back into the book in order then Becky was kind enough to lend her vocal talents and hand modeling talents (though I wish she wouldn't have worn her ring). So the book turned out cool and so did the video part.

My favorite part is the music though. I composed it and put it together in about 1/2 hr. It helped me to remember how much I enjoy making music. It is a super fun thing to do. I was going for the raw kind of humming that you get with medioqure guitar playing like you see on the sound tracks to Where The Wild Things Are and Juno. Kind of fun. Anyways, go to Tipping Bucket to help build this library and enjoy the video!

Go full screen if you can.

Build a Library in Malawi from travispitcher on Vimeo.

Just a reference...

2010-08-15T17:30:00.001-07:00

... for future stuff. What a dork (not me, this guy).

What I am working on now...

2010-08-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

... is trying to finish up my senior project as much as I can before school starts. We are working each week with a new farmer for the Farmer's Market episode and we will probably feature 3 to 4 farmers in the episode and their thoughts on community and what the farmer's markets mean to them.

We met Ralph Steele the first day of the Provo Farmer's Market and I instantly knew that we would be filming eventually. He has a small farm down in Santaquin and has been around chickens his whole life. He was very kind and led us around for a good two hours talking to us and showing us what he does. You will get to know his story a bit more through the final doc. I will be editing a ton for this over the next few months. Anyways, he is there every Saturday and his eggs are the best. Check them out.

Here is the teaser.

Farmer's Market Farmers- Ralph Steele from travispitcher on Vimeo.

My new favorite video...

2010-08-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

... for right now. I love this stuff. So everyday, so clever, so great.

Let's see if you can figure it out.

I have been impressed lately...

2010-08-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

... with Henry David Throeau. You know, the guy that went and lived in the woods in a cabin by the lake for like a year and then wrote a book about it. Yeah, that guy. He had some neat ideas, like this one:

"Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind."

How interesting. Besides being a philosopher and talking about man's constant need to minimize the "luxuries" and find what is truly important he was also a political activist (which I have been feeling recently).

"I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government"

I think that my mom would even like him. He said that his "nose is [his] most predominant feature" which I know that she loves.

Anyways, I should read some of his stuff. On the list is Walden and Civil Disobedience.

Someday...

2010-08-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

... I will edit like this and shoot like this. I love this style. I takes you into what somebody is feeling and experiencing and it creates an experience vicariously. Almost like remembering something. So cool.

Dear Japan from Matthew Brown on Vimeo.

Came across this today...

2010-08-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

... and I thought, "What if our modern day government did PR like this? How would this affect people and cause them to change?" I think that it worked in the past and though times are very different, something so cutting and didactic might just do the trick. What do you think?

Also, if you don't collaborate in a car pool already, take this example and start car sharing.

Just some videos...

2010-08-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

... for reference.

The Mast Brothers from The Scout on Vimeo.

Zimoun : 361 prepared dc-motors, filler wire 1.0mm, 2010 from ZIMOUN VIDEO ARCHIVE on Vimeo.

The Diary of a Disappointed Book from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

How to feed the world ? from Denis van Waerebeke on Vimeo.

Our time is brief from Ian Berenger on Vimeo.

Meet Your Farmer - Chase Farm from Pull-Start Pictures on Vimeo.

Your secret from Jean-Sebastien Monzani on Vimeo.

Seaweed from Tell No One on Vimeo.

TakePart: Participant Media - Waiting For 'Superman' - Infographic from Jr.canest on Vimeo.

Vimeo Festival + Awards – VsTheBrain from VsTheBrain on Vimeo.

I love being a Mormon...

2010-07-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

... for a ton of reasons. The latest is this great website that they designed. You can click on each profile and watch a short documentary about each person. My personal favorites are Josh, Jeff (both of whom I already knew about), Jane, Aaron and Emily, and Ron. All of the docs are so well done. I would like to believe that they were done with DSLRs like the one that I have, but I have no way of knowing (right now). They could have been done on Sony EX-3s with RedRock or Letus lens adaptors to get that really intimate, shallow DOF feel that DSLRs are now famous for.

Anyways, check out their profiles and watch the videos. I love what the church is doing to help define itself and get itself out there. I feel that this is the right way to do it. Of course it is, it is the Lord's inspired way.

I am a student, a videographer, a tinkerer, a husband, and a goof-ball. My name is Travis Pitcher and I am a Mormon.

Here is a page...

2010-07-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

... and it is about me. My Tipping Bucket internship is coming to an end at the end of Aug so the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance asked me to fill out a quick thing about my experience. They have posted it on their website along with some of the other interns.

Thanks to the Ballard Center I was paid for my internship and that helped pay our rent every month this summer. What kind souls.

If you would like to read what answers I put to their questions, click...

HERE

Thanks!

What I have been doing...

2010-07-22T10:16:00.001-07:00

... when I can't sleep at night. Read the description of the video. It is very rough but I will be getting it done soon. Hopefully by next week.

A long, boring email...

2010-07-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

... that I sent to the head of the Peery Foundation (the people who sent Becky and I to Africa) that I wrote in response to him asking about DSLRs. Needless to say, I am a dork. There is WAY too much info here but I put it out there anyways. Since I sent it to him, I decided I might as well share it with everybody. So, here is my long, boring and technical blogpost about the world of DSLR filmmaking and equipment.

WARNING: If you are a techie, you might actually enjoy this. I sure did.

PLEASE READ FIRST!!: I started to write this email and I just kept going. If you want, you can read the whole thing, but if you want the overview (which is much shorter) scroll down until it says "summary" in bold letters. I am happy to share any info or research I have done over the past year as well.

So, DSLRs. There is a myriad of options that you have but I will try and keep it concise. I am glad you are a Canon man because Canon pioneered this technology and are at least 1 year ahead of the competition. The Canon Mark ii 5D was the first to offer video as a photojournalist tool but filmmakers recognized the power in the technology and used it. Now it is becoming a standard of sorts. Nikon was second, but them, along with Sony, Panasonic, and Olympus, are still a bit behind. They are good, but Canon is better in my opinion. Anyways, there are pretty much 3 different options (all Canons) when it comes to shooting video on a DSLR.

Canon Mark ii 5D- This is the original and is the best quality DSLR out of the 3. They all will shoot 1080p (1920x1080 being the resolution and p stands for progressive which means it is more "filmy" looking) but the 5D has a full frame sensor. This means that it is capturing more light on a larger sensor. This helps your lenses really perform with a shallow depth of field and correct optics (meaning a 35mm lens will act like a 35mm lens. More on this later with the 7D) This also helps the 5D perform really well in low-light. You can have the ISO (low light sensitivity option on the camera) really high (which makes it more sensitive) and you will still get a clear image without a lot of "noise" or pixelation. Another cool thing that they just changed was putting the 24 frames per second (fps) option on. Earlier this year the 5D would only shoot 30 fps and many filmmakers prefer the more "filmy" look of 24fps but now this camera can do both. This camera (with a lens) is usually $3000. If I had the money I would probably go with this option for general use (easy editing after you shoot, etc).

Canon 7D- This is the camera that I have. It came out last year (Oct?) and quickly became the workhorse of the DSLRs because it shot 24 fps and 30fps and also 60 fps (slow motion!). It is also very user friendly and I feel is a bit more simple to navigate than the 5D. It also shoots 1080p but it does not have a full-frame sensor. It has a 4/3 sensor or 1.6 crop factor. This means the the image projected onto the sensor is larger than the sensor. This has two consequences. One: it means that the lens that you are using is going to be modified a bit; for example, a 35mm lens will become more like a 50mm lens, putting your subject closer than they otherwise would have been. So a 24mm lens is more like a 35mm and a 35mm is more like a 50mm and a 50mm is more like an 80mm, etc. Second, it doesn't have the low light latitude that the 5D has. Don't get me wrong, it is still great, but after about ISO 1600 it starts to get a bit grainy. This camera is also only about $1800 with a lens so it is an absolute steal.

Canon Rebel 2Ti- This camera just came out this past spring (March?) and is also a great deal. It has all of the same features of the 7D but in a smaller, more economical body. It cannot take all of the lenses that the other two cameras take because it is part of the Rebel series, but it takes almost all of them. It is not as weather proof or as strong as the 5D or 7D which are professional cameras, but is a great deal still. It runs at about $900 with a lens and can shoot 1080p. 24fps, 30fps, 60fps, and everything. It is just lighter which is significant when doing the filming because with all of the DSLRs, there is a large shake factor. But this one is just a killer deal.

So that is the video rundown of each. There are photographic elements that play into this as well like the 7D shoots 8fps while the Rebel does 3 and other things like that. You can look into the specific cameras for those details. I feel that it is really an option between the 7D which is more user friendly, cheaper and has slow motion and the Mark ii 5D which has the full frame sensor and low light sensitivity. I have been absolutely satisfied with my 7D though in Africa, in the huts, I wished I had more low light sensitivity. But for me, the 7D has been great with shooting slow-motion stuff and general things. I was shooting the day I got it and it was really easy to use. When I get some money though, I am investing in a 5D.

About lenses, it depends on what you are using the camera for. If you are just using it for general stuff, there are some options. I will tell you what lenses I have and that will kind of illustrate what you might use them for and then you can choose different lengths that work for you. I also assume that you know about f-stops and basic lens/photography stuff. If not, let me know and I can explain it.
I have two zoom lenses, a 17mm-85mm f4-5.6 and a 28mm-135mm f3.5-5.6. I like the 17-85mm because it goes wider which is good for my 7D. It bends a bit around the corners which is fun for filming (I think) and is good and versitile. I use the 28-135mm for interviews because it is a f3.5 but can also zoom in and out pretty far. It makes for more dynamic interviews. A good zoom lens is always good to have. There are better zoom lenses that Canon makes that I can't get right now, but these work well. I would try to get the fastest lens (the lowest f-stop) with a good zoom. If I got the 7D I would get something wider like a 17mm or 20mm because of the 1.6 crop factor, but with the 5D it won't be as much of an issue because of the full frame sensor. A 24mm or 28mm would work great.
I also have a prime (or non-zoom) lens that is wider. It is a 30mm f1.4. This lens is new and I haven't used it too much yet, but it has a very shallow depth of field which makes it really nice and it operates more like an eye would. It does great in low light situations because it is a f1.4 so it is very versitile. I am planning on using this lens much more. It is good to have a good wide-angle lens that is fast.
I also have 50mm f1.8 which is great as well. This lens is a medium telephoto/standard lens. It is fast as well so great in low light and very versitile. On my 7D it operates more like a 80mm. I shot the short video of our trip to Africa pretty much all on this lens (http://vimeo.com/13208111).
It is also very good to have a Macro lens. This helps with those really up close moments that are super cool to film because it is like you are entering a new world. There are a ton of different Macro lenses, 50mm, 80mm, 100mm, etc but I would try to get the one that can get the closest to the subject. I have the 100mm 1.2 Macro and I can be 7 inches away from something and still focus on it. That is really close with the 100mm! It is fun.
Another good thing to know about lenses is that with the DSLRs you will get something called "rolling shutter". You can see how jiggly some of my footage is when I am walking or just from my hand shaking sometimes. Rolling shutter will make it even more jiggly and bad. Lenses with IS (Internal Stabilization) will help reduce this effect and make it smoother. IS is mostly on the Zoom lenses and Canon has the best lenses for that.
Though I prefer Canon lenses, there are other brands that are also very nice like Sigma and Zeiss, even Nikon with the right adapter, they are all good. When you buy a lens, it is always money well spent because they won't depreciate for years, while the bodies will be outdated in just a few short years.

Also if you are interested in DSLR info that is easy to understand and digest good sites are http://philipbloom.net/ and http://blog.planet5d.com/. They will have lots of opinions, solutions, forums, etc. DSLR shooting is revolutionizing filmmaking because it is now so inexpensive to shoot really high quality video but you should know that there are some problems with it as well. There is a capture limit on how much you can film at one time (it is 4GBs) and so on the 7D you can only film for about 12 mins before it will stop and you have to start another clip. On the 5D it is about 10 mins. The footage is pretty large. Like I said, 10-12 mins will be about 4GB which can turn an hour into about 25GB. I brought two 1TB harddrives with me and I filled them up. I have to now spend money on storing that footage, which can be fairly pricy. Also, the footage usually has to be converted or rendered if you are going to edit with it. If you are just using iMovie it will be pretty hard to edit things together. I use Final Cut Pro and I have to convert all of the footage to a different file type before I edit which can be tedious. Sound is also an issue. You can plug in a microphone but you can only plug in one and you have no way to monitor or adjust the sound volume. For just somebody shooting around, wanting to post something that looks good to the internet though, this is a plus because it is one thing that you don't have to worry about that much. Another thing is that other camera companies like Sony, Panasonic and RED are using this same technology and putting it into more "film friendly" bodies that will enable better sound and post production. Those are scheduled to come out within the next 6-10 months and will probably run about $5000. I am keeping that in mind for sure.

Anyways, this post has become HUGE with a ton of info. I hope I haven't overwhelmed you. I will summarize below.

SUMMARY-
The three best cameras right now are the Canons, the Mark ii 5D, the 7D and the Rebel 2Ti. They all shoot very high quality HD video. The 5D has the best sensor inside and is the best in low light but it can't shoot in slow-motion like the other two. The 7D and the Rebel can shoot slow-motion but there is an image crop, meaning that if you are shooting with a 35mm lens it will become more like a 50mm. If you are shooting with a 50mm it will look more like an 80mm. The difference between the 7D and the Rebel is the quality of build. The 7D is more weather proof and feels more stable in your hand while the Rebel is lighter and not quite as "tight".
I would suggest getting a few different lenses to your liking. A "wide-angle" lens (e.g. 24mm, 28mm, 35mm) all with the lowest number you can afford (f1.2 or f1.4 is very good). A good zoom lens that is versitile (e.g. 28-135mm, 17-85mm etc) that also has IS or Internal Stabalization. This will make you images smoother using the DSLR. And the last lens I would recommend is a Macro lens. They are usually longer (50mm, 80mm, 100mm, etc) and help you get really close to things. A must have also is a 50mm. A photographer's best friend.
DSLRs are great because they are relatively inexpensive and are very versitile. They take amazing looking video and can be taken most anywhere. They are (partially) the future of filmmaking. They do have their problems though. The footage is harder to edit with (iMovie is more or less a no-go with these) and the footage takes up a lot of computer space (1 hr = about 25 GB). This aside, I would encourage everybody that has an interest in filmmaking and photography or even just high quality homevideos, to seriously look into getting a DSLR. Businesses could take care of most of their own media needs, people can learn more about filmmaking, and the technology is only going to get easier and less expensive. Also if you are interested in DSLR info that is easy to understand and digest good sites are http://philipbloom.net/ and http://blog.planet5d.com. Overall, a DSLR is the most bang for your buck right now and what I would consider a good investment.

I am happy to expand on any topic or be any sort of help I can be. Let me know.

Thanks!

Looking for a...

2010-07-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

... job. That is what I want right now. I nice full time, fairly steady job that I can work at and not have to do anything else (okay, who am I kidding. Maybe a couple side projects). My work at BYUTV is... well, it helps pay the bills. It is alright but after having a conversation with one of my coworkers today I was again reminded of the fact that I am not doing what I was hired to do and I was also reminded that all I really do is sit in a dimly lit room on a bad chair looking up facts, contact info, stories, etc that other's don't have time to look up. I always work hard and have become a fast and reliable "research assistant" but I want something more. Not only something more, but something different.

Which is why I am looking for jobs other places. Pretty much any place other than Provo. SLC, Seattle, Portland, DC, NYC, Chicago, Minneapolis, Montana, even places like Tennessee or Virginia. My focus word is "diversify". I graduate in December (finally) and Becky thinks that she can do the rest of her courses through independent study (we will see) which means that we will be free to look around. I need 1-2 years of "experience" before I even start applying to graduate school so this might be a good chance. We have a good strong contact in San Francisco that we think could pan out by Jan and I am sure that I could make it freelance in places like Montana. We have contacts in DC, NYC, and Portland and we are open to that. Discovery Channel in DC? National Geographic in Denver? NYU in NYC? MicroDocs in SF? There are opportunities. Let me know if you have preferences.

Did I every say that Kayaking...

2010-07-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

... was the most intense thing I have ever done? I have snowboarded in the back country, swam in the ocean in a tropical storm, and have had my share of "intense" experiences, but kayaking was the most intense. Something about being stuck in a little plastic cage and not having much control against the river. Watch this and you will understand that kayaking is something that is SUPER intense.

WildWater North Fork Payette Teaser from Anson Fogel on Vimeo.

Coolest...

2010-07-16T10:17:00.001-07:00

... idea ever.

Pacific Star II from Colin Rich on Vimeo.

Is technology ruining us...

2010-07-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

... or building us? This is the question that I have been asking myself for awhile now. While I am in a field that technology drives, I often question the merits of such a career. I watched a Frontline documentary, Digital Nation, about this topic. I appreciated the opinion of one person who seemed to strike a good balance within the topic. Sherry Turkle is the Director of the M.I.T. Initiative on Technology and Self and had good things to say. Here is just something simple that she explores

I am grateful that I found that "stillness" that she talks about in movement. Early morning biking and longboarding along the Provo River Trail. Long hot afternoons with just my skateboard. Quiet evenings with my family. These "still" moments, though many times I was moving, provided me time to contemplate my place and what I really wanted. It provided me time to think of the way to get what I wanted. I could speculate, imagine, define, wander, or even pray during those moments and that is something that I consistently yearn for more now.
Life's lessons learned only to be relearned down the road.

Our journey towards Africa...

2010-07-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

... took a long time to make. And so did the video. Mostly because we were working on other stuff. This is just something that I threw together to show. Enjoy!

Kenya stories...

2010-06-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

... that I know you will all want to hear. I will try to be descriptive yet brief.

There will be more stories that I will be telling as I go through footage and remember more. Here is one that was not recorded in any way that I would like to share.

Also, ugali is the cornmeal doughy stuff that Kenyans eat all of the time.

Becky was sick in the morning. Something about feeling nauseous and tired. I feel like it was more the later. I left with all of my equipment in the back of an old 1986 Volkswagon Passat that was painted bright green at 7:30. We had been filming farmers around the rural area for a couple days and the rain hadn't helped the dirt roads. We bounced through the mud, getting stuck twice, on our way towards some specific farmers that we had lined up to interview. The first interview went well. When we asked her to show us around the farm and her homestead she was embarrassed yet proud. I think the embarrassment came from the camera I was holding. I am sure that people found it to be a bit excessive, but I had to do my best to make it look natural and organic. I had spent the last two and a half weeks carrying around the large tripod, camera bag and strange looking camera with the large, fuzzy mic attached and was used to how silly it must have looked.

Our second interviewee also found the camera to be more off-putting. Martha was a middle aged woman who was rounder than most. Though middle aged, she kept referring to herself as "old". Much like people in the early 20th century, Kenyans don't believe in smiling at the camera. When people see a DLSR photography looking camera, the pose, not knowing that I am taking video. The interview was fairly quick and after her stone-faced remarks were made, she also took us around to see her farm. She had a bit more to show. Their family had lived on the farm for the past century as far as she could tell. Her forefathers had hand-dug a well over 50 feet deep that had cool, fresh water inside. This place had become a hub of comfort for the neighborhood because of the security that well brought. It was also far enough away from the eucalyptus trees that the well maintained its water level. Her grove of eucalyptus was planted a bit over two years ago. They were some of the first farmers to start with Komaza and the trees were large and healthy. The trunks were strong and thick and the branches reached high overhead, a good fifteen to twenty feet, bringing shade. The air smelled fresh and alive and as it moved through the tops of the trees you could hear the leaves grace each other. She obviously took pride in her tree farm and it showed. Every time I would turn the camera towards her to try and catch a more candid moment, she would turn to me and pose against a tree, leaning her weight against it as if to say, "We are strong".

We finished the tour of the farm with her picking some fresh cassava for us and teaching us how to eat it raw. She led us back to where we had left some of the other equipment by her house and I started packing up. As I was putting away some of the reflector stands from the interview she and our guide/translator started speaking Swahili very quickly. After she was done speaking she turned to us and gave us that strong look again. Our translator turned with a smile on his face and announced that we would be having a late lunch at her house later.

After we communicated that we had one more interview and that while she cooked, we would quickly go and get that done, we left for the last farmer's house. This was an impromptu interview and it was very informal. She didn't want to be interviewed as much as she wanted to show us her farm and how well it was doing. Again, she stood tall and proud with her trees.

We had to push start the car again and so we arrived at Martha's house sweaty and dusty. She led us to some arranged seats and stools around a short table. Our interpreter and driver became increasingly excited because they knew, unlike their Mzungu companions, that Martha had graciously taken one of her chickens and cooked it and that we were in for quite the treat. Martha wanted to show that she was well off and also honor her guests that had come from so far. She told us that "welcoming and feeding visitors brings blessings on her house" as she took a pitcher of her clear well water and poured it over our hands into a basin, cleansing them from the dirt of a hard, sweaty day. I felt extremely comfortable and safe there. She brought the chicken and the ugali and set it in front of us. Lime was cut and the juice was dripped over the chicken with a bit of salt. Water was then poured over the chicken to create a type of chicken lime broth after the chicken was removed and put on another plate. This was for dipping the chicken in and also the fairly tasteless ugali. She made us stop before we ate and said a prayer, blessing the food and those who ate it. Afterwards we timidly looked at her and each other and then reached for the food. It was delicious. The chicken was meaty and rich. The ugali complimented it quite well and soaked up the flavors of the lime and chicken like a sponge. We ate communally, as brothers, as Martha watched with a small smile on her face. Matt, our Komaza representative, ate little because he doesn't like ugali much. I think it was because he was afraid of getting sick from the untreated water. I didn't want to offend anybody and so I drank up after taking a good look through the glass and water to look for unknown particles. I had brought my camera to document the experience, but it didn't feel right to bring it out. This was not moment where technology needed to barge its head in and greedily snatch the light, colors, people and soul of the moment. No, it was a moment of reverence. We were participating in a type of cultural sacrament. I would not ruin that to get an extra four gigabytes of information. Instead, I would take the wing that was torn off from the chicken plate, ignore the small feathers that were still embedded in the skin and start to tear away the small bits of tough flesh while rolling a small ball of cornmeal in my right hand.

When we left I shook Martha's hand. I made sure to grasp her hand strongly, put my left hand on my right forearm as a deep sign of respect, look her in the eye and say, "Asante. Asante sana." I had become part of her, and her, a part of me through that simple meal. Through that Kenyan sacrament.

Writing is not my form...

2010-06-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

... and that is why I am in Africa. I do video as some of you regulars know and I don't write too much.

But today I am at the Heathrow, London UK airport and it is midnight and I have been here for almost 10 hours now. Our flight starts checking in at 5am and so one of us has to be up to watch our luggage and stuff since it is all with us right now. I am glad for Costa coffee houses that stay open 24 hours and though noisy, they are relatively safe and comfortable.

We are here today because we missed our flight to LA. How did that happen? Well, there was a mishap with our luggage. It was left in Entebbe Uganda for some reason (I don't know). We had three of the four check in's but were missing the fourth. They told us that it would come up in time for our flight, so we put our trust in them. Luckily the luggage missing was mostly just dirty cloths. Our trust did pay off, but too late. We arrived at the customary early time (2 hours) so that we could check in. Since there are multiple terminals at Heathrow, we had to go to one to go through the long and arduous process of getting our bag back. After we did we had to catch another train to get to the right terminal and then get all of our stuff up to the check-in station. We were about 20 mins too late when we got there.

I started to freak out a bit while Becky stood in disbelief as if I were telling some sick joke. We kept calm enough to understand what the United help desk was telling us though. We would check back in the morning, at 5am, to see about a flight leaving towards Chicago then route back to SLC. This routing would get us back about 10 hours later than the original flight but would get us back on Wed. That was the good news. He was even kind enough to book our flight to SLC from Chicago and give us our boarding passes. This left me optimistic that we would be put on the flight to Chicago in the morning despite having "stand-by" status.

So here we are, in the airport at midnight with some other stragglers. Everybody looks tired. Becky is sleeping on the table and I am trying to pass the time. This is the first time that I have missed a flight, but I don't know how we could have avoided it. We did our best and luckily it will probably only cost us those 10 hours in the US and possibly some jet-lag sleep (I do have to work on Thurs and Fri).

Well, hopefully this will wear me out so I will sleep the way home and be alright.
We will see.

I will have to share stories...

2010-06-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

... later. We are in Oxford now and it is really cool. Everything has worked perfect. What a great trip. We will see you all very soon.

Uganda...

2010-06-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

... we are here and safe. We don't have much access to the internet and we won't be able to upload pictures of ourselves as the computers have super viruses and we have to use internet cafes. That sentence was probably backward. Anyways, we are in good hands and are looking forward to filming here and then coming home in about 10 days. So, love you all and lots of hugs and stuff. We are good and look forward to sharing it all with you.

Thanks!

tp

Done with Kenya.........

2010-06-16T02:30:00.000-07:00

... and moving on to Uganda.

Becky and I have completely enjoyed our stay in Kenya. The people have been wonderful and Komaza has helped make our stay here very comfortable. I have enjoyed working here and I feel I have captured some great footage that will make a great short documentary.

I am also excited to move on to another project. Having worked almost every day and thought about the same thing for about 2 weeks, I am a bit burnt out. A new place will suite me and will help stimulate some more creativity (I hope). We leave tomorrow morning at 7am (10pm MST I believe) and we will get to Entebbe, Uganda at about 7pm at night. We have a 5 hour layover in Nairobi and we hope to meet a friend at the airport. Suchi came to Utah in April and we did a short video interview for a possible project for the Tipping Bucket. He is based in Nairobi and is actually the Stake President here for the LDS church. We hope to get some lunch and enjoy some conversation.

If not, I have my iPod.

Another thing that will be nice about Uganda is that I am not going to have to form the documentary in my head as we are shooting. For Komaza, I feel responsible to develop the approach, style, pace, and narrative of the whole piece. The pieces in Uganda are going to be short and about a specific thing and so pretty much all I have to do is let the camera do the work and document it. It will be a neat chance to make it look as good as it can and I won't have to worry so much about the other stuff. I still will because I am more or less a perfectionist, but the pressure will not be there.
The bad thing about Uganda is that I don't expect it to be nearly as organized and comfortable. I still don't know who is picking us up from the airport or where we are staying.
Note to parents: Don't freak out. I have telephone numbers and we have money. Anything that we spend because of lack of organization should and will be covered by HELP.
We will really only be there a week though so we don't have too much to worry about.

I look forward to sharing our experiences with you and posting some videos. Coming home will be good but also strange. I feel that we have adapted to Africa quickly and quite well. It will be fine though. We adapt and move on.

I am also really enjoying watching the World Cup here with people from Africa. I am glad that I am not in the USA where the World Cup is just a 30 sec update on the evening news.

I know what you want...

2010-06-10T04:57:00.000-07:00

... you want some actual pictures from Kenya. Though I don't have much time to write, I will post some screenshots I grabbed this morning from the footage we have shot just in the past few days.

Enjoy!

So, those are some pictures. Sorry they are low quality, but that is what the internet can handle here

We are very good here and are still loving it. We are sad that our time is almost up but other great adventures await as well. Also I am STOKED to get back and start editing these.

Loves and such,

Travis

We will give you a Kenyan name...

2010-06-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

... tomorrow. Or that is what they said earlier today.

Becky got her Kenyan name and I should get mine tomorrow. I got this from the neighbors from across the street of one of the Komaza houses when we were visiting them for lunch today. They were so kind. We had a great time. I think it was the most fun I have had yet in Kenya.

While we ate communally some cornmeal and lentil soup/sauce stuff (delicious for reals) we did our best to understand eachother. Our Komaza friends, Rajiv and Leah were helping us and being very nice. I got permission to film around (take pictures they call it) and because our camera looks like a photo camera I guess that works. I started slowly, taking discrete pictures and then some video. Some of the kids wanted to see the screen after I took the pictures and that turned into showing them video which turned into some of them running and waving in front of the camera which turned into them dancing and singing in front of the camera and then getting all of their friends from around the area to do the same. We then had 10-15 children running around us dancing, singing, rapping, cart-wheeling, shouting and having a great time.

Needless to say, it was super fun and I got some great footage. We helped out on the small plot farm of our hosts for a bit and they laughed at how inept we were at working. We had a really good time.

Anyways, we have a tuk-tuk waiting and we have to go.

Cheers and good night from Kenya.

Wait until you see these videos too, you will probably pee your pants either out of pure happiness or because you drank too much water.

Lovin' it...

2010-06-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

... here in Kilifi. The weather is nice and things are good.

We started filming on Wed and on Thurs we went out the Ganze. Ganze is just about 40 km outside of Kilifi and is one of the poorest places in Kenya. We talked to some of the people that work with Komaza about what Komaza does and their stories and it went really well despite some setbacks.

The setbacks always turn into experiment times for me. I love playing with the camera and trying new things or just filming things around me. When our car broke down at night on the way home from Ganze I was able to practice long exposure takes with neat star stuff. When we were waiting to go somewhere I filmed a giant millipede with the macro lens. It is so much fun. I have the perfect job for me.

That is all for now. I am alive and well and so is Becky. We will post more soon.

First post...

2010-06-02T00:07:00.001-07:00

... from Africa!

Okay. Just so you know, Becky is a much better writer and is way more interesting to read than me. I am still practicing and Africa will probably help me.

Well, we made it! London was long and the flights were longer but once we were here, it made it totally worth it. I am going to upload video as soon and I can get to it. Also, the internet is not that great so videos will probably happen infrequently (same with pictures). I am loving Africa though. When we were leaving the airport and I was looking out the window and watching the homemade pushcarts with huge piles of everything on it and the motorcycles with two people carrying large gasoline tanks on either side (for gas or water or something) and the people with bicycles riding on the highway it reminded me why I enjoy coming to third world countries. There is so much to learn from these people. They thrive on almost no income and little resources. I say "thrive" not because these people are rich or even have everything that they need, but if any western person was put into the same circumstance we would not last. The people in the so-called "third world" are much more resourceful and ingenious than anybody that I know of in the western world. They know so much more than we do. Everybody here speaks at least two languages, English and Kiswahili, and possibly the speak more. Though they may not have degrees and certificates, they can assemble and dissemble almost anything mechanical with just a few tools, they know how to farm, fix, harvest, breed, butcher, grow, negotiate, innovate and create.

Seeing this all around me is inspiring. If western culture could see the example of the so called "developing" countries, there might not even be a need for that "developing". If we used all that we had as wisely as many of the people here, we wouldn't have nearly the amount of problems that we have currently. I am excited to learn all that I can from them and be able to capture that with my camera. Thanks for your support and we will write soon and as often as we can.

Time to go...

2010-05-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

... to bed.
To Africa.

Time is a funny thing. It seems to be so exact and even for everybody but I swear that it is relative. I have been waiting a month for this Africa trip and now I am up at 1am working on a video that I should have had done 3 days ago.

I hope it goes by this fast in the airplane. I don't like them much.

It feels that time has become a valuable commodity these days but I am confused. Time is free for most everybody. Everybody has it (though I don't believe that it is equal for everybody as stated before). Time is not manipulated though it can be molded. I have been thinking about this recently and I think that we should value time probably most of all.

I apologize if this is crazy and incoherent because I am tired and stressed. Fun posts will follow soon. Very soon.

Math is very useful...

2010-05-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

... especially if you are a Portuguese janitor who wants to be a baller. Confused? Watch.

3x3 short-film from Nuno Rocha on Vimeo.

An amazing biking video...

2010-05-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

... showing how a city can be bike friendly. Wow. If only more cities had bike lanes on their streets. I think UDOT would have a fit if they had to shrink the size of their streets to put in a bike lane.

The thing is that biking in the Netherlands is very efficient and safe. Out of all of those people (who are very smart and concerned with their health and safety like modern Europeans are) who do you see wearing helmets? They don't have to because they have their own safety rules and actually follow them. There is a bicycle culture there, where here, it is just a sport. I recently was talking to Brad Woods of MadDog Cycles about biking culture and he completely agreed with me. Biking needs to be instilled in the culture of America and when that happens, there will be much more change than we could have imagined. So, go biking to the grocery store or school or to your neighbor's house or to work. Give it a try and see what happens.

This is a test...

2010-05-22T20:33:00.001-07:00

... and it is only a test. Just got the remote timer today to start doing time-lapse photography and wanted to give it a try. There was too much light and then not enough, so I adjusted things and it didn't turn out that cool, BUT it IS cool that it worked out pretty good. THAT is what is cool.

2hrs in 15 secs. Not bad. More tests soon.

I am a monster...

2010-05-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

... because I got stung by a BEE on my EYELID! Here is the aftermath.

Yep. That was a bee. Yesterday I was fine. I guess sleeping caused it to be rubbed around and irritated and I woke up this morning like this. A bit embarrassing but one for the records. I am fine just so you know. Thanks for the concern.

Now you can know...

2010-05-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

... how I sound on the radio.
Here is the link

http://media.byub.org/mp3/fmarchive/thinkingaloud/2010/5/ta100517.mp3

Check it out and let me know how I sound. It is all about Beehive stories and was actually very fun despite me being a bit embarrassing.

If you want to hear me...

2010-05-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

... you can listen to "Thinking Aloud" of KBYU FM. It will air on Monday at 11am and 8pm on Classical 89.1 KBYUFM. I went with Brad Barber and being the generous person that he is he invited me to talk with him and Marcus (the host) to talk about our experience and everything. The interview went great and Brad did an excellent job at describing things well. He has a knack for being calm and level-headed. Meanwhile, I was super nervous and probably sounded stupid. I will let you decide for yourself. Check it out on Monday and know that you can hear my goofy voice on the radio then!

PS I really do love the radio and I hope that it does not die.

Another beautiful video...

2010-05-14T11:47:00.001-07:00

... from my favorite video community, Vimeo.

my daughter, winnie. from jared hogan on Vimeo.

Late night...

2010-05-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

... but I got results this time. So, I stayed up late last night again but I was having too much fun. This is the new video that I made for the Tipping Bucket (a one and a half day miracle start to finish). It was a ton of fun. Sometimes I wish I would have studied animation because I think it is so much fun. Maybe I can learn it in my spare time? Ha.

Here you go.

If you have a buck, help build a school in Ethiopia.

I am up...

2010-05-13T01:09:00.000-07:00

... and it is way too late.

These are the things that I do for the Tipping Bucket.
I do like them.

The video is something new that I haven't tried ever before, so you will have to tell me what you think.

While I am up and the video is rendering I would like to take this time to apologize to all of my friends and family. You see, because I am working on a billion different projects (Kenya, Uganda, Tipping Bucket, Conservation Conversation, Central Utah Gardens, HELP International stuff, JRCB Law School, and BYUTV) every single brain cell that I own goes to thinking and managing all of those projects. There is planning and producing and sketching and stressing and bureaucrating and saving and spending and communicating and creating and destroying and a bunch of other things. Needless to say I get very worn out and I forget things and I question my sanity. I am looking forward to going to Kenya and loosing myself in working there and concentrating on one thing. It will be nice.

Until then, please forgive me if work is all I will talk to you about. I have forgotten to talk about anything else because work is all that I think about. I am obsessed and I don't live a well rounded life (right now). I hope this will change fairly soon and we can have other conversations about other important things like bugs or the weather. Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely,

Crazy Travis

Just a little brag...

2010-05-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

... about myself. These are my grades for this past semester.

I am awesome.

I also got a small Dean's Scholarship for spring semester and fall semester. Yeah!

Beautiful...

2010-05-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

... and amazing. I love this video SO much.

The Dancer from Kensington on Vimeo.

Here is another one by the same person that is also good (for reference).

Kenya 2010 from Kensington on Vimeo.

Our flight plans...

2010-04-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

... are here. I went through this morning and translated all of them into some form of english. I hope this helps you all know where we are going and gives you a kind of time-table.

FLIGHT PLANS-

UNITED AIRLINES
MAY 30, 2010
Depart SLC UT- 5/30/10 4:33pm (1633)
Arrive Denver CO- 5/30/10 6:00pm (1800)

Depart Denver CO- 5/30/10 8:07pm (2007) overnight flight!
Arrive London GB- 5/31/10 12:15pm (1215)

KENYA AIRWAYS
Depart London GB- 5/31/10 8:00pm (2000)
Arrive Nairobi KE- 6/01/10 6:30am (0630)

Depart Nairobi KE- 6/01/10 8:30am (0830)
Arrive Mombasa KE- 6/01/10 9:30am (0930) we arrive right on time.

Good times with Komaza!

JUNE 17, 2010
Depart Mombassa KE- 6/17/10 10:30am (1030)
Arrive Nairobi KE- 6/17/10 11:30am (1130)

Depart Nairobi KE- 6/17/10 12:55pm (1255)
Arrive Entebbe UG- 6/17/10 2:10pm (1410) these are fast flights!

Good times with HELP International!

JUNE 27, 2010
Depart Entebbe UG- 6/27/10 5:10am (0510)
Arrive Nairobi KE- 6/27/10 6:20am (0620)

Depart Nairobi KE- 6/27/10 10:50am (1050)
Arrive London GB- 6/27/10 5:50pm (1750) church on an airplane

Good times in London!

JUNE 29, 2010
Depart London GB- 6/29/10 4:20pm (1620)
Arrive LAX CA- 6/30/10 12:42am (0042) I don't like this

Depart LAX CA- 6/30/10 7:32am (0732) good luck sleeping
Arrive SLC UT- 6/30/10 10:23am (1023)

Home again! JUNE 30, 2010

I am NOT looking forward to spending the night in LAX. I don't like LA that much and their airport isn't exactly the most comfortable place to sleep. I am looking forward to London. I am also looking forward to the fact that really we don't spend that much time in airports. I do like the overnight flights and how direct we are flying. I hope that I can negotiate some kind of sweet seating arrangement so I have legroom. If you have any tips for getting good seats, sleeping on planes or in airports or eating in the same, they would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Just a thought...

2010-04-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

... and that was pretty much all that it was. I had this footage that I had been looking to use but couldn't find anywhere it fit in. This week, talking with some friends about the Slow Food movement, I started thinking about the pace of the world and I have to ask is it good to move fast? My short answer is that I don't really know. Sometimes it is good, and sometimes it is completely destructive. I feel that creatively it is good to move fast, but I don't know how possible or sustainable that is. This short and slow video is just a 'meditation' on moving fast. I love this footage anyway you think about it.

WalkOnWater from travispitcher on Vimeo.

What I like to do...

2010-04-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

... in my spare time. What spare time you might say? I don't know, but there is some time that I find. So Becky is always finding new shows to watch, most of which I think are a waste of time and a waste of brain. But I found what I thought was my own waste. A cartoon which I can enjoy much more than a teen drama.

I started watching "Avatar: The Last Airbender". I thought that it would be my own waste of time but it turned out being a complete favorite. Talk about a great cartoon. It reminded me of the cartoons that I used to watch when I was a kid, good basic story, didactic morals, and fun characters. It was an adventure. Avatar (way better than the actual movie "Avatar") was super fun to watch and it really taught some good morals that come from Asian theology, things like respect nature, have balance, do your duty, respect and listen to your elders, make time to search for spirituality and more. I found it very nice. Now I want to add it to our list of good shows for our kids to watch.

If you are looking for something great to watch then check it out. I think it is very worthy.

This time...

2010-04-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

... victory was mine!

Thanks to a helpful comment (thanks Polly!) I was able to win the mic that Becky and I need in Africa and this time it came with all of the accessories that we needed (hand-boom, boom, cables, sweet windguard, etc). This deal was even better than the other one that I lost so I count my lucky I lost the first. Thanks to that we saved about $400. We are some lucky kids.

I hate loosing...

2010-04-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

... especially on eBay.

I am trying to buy a professional grade microphone, the Sennheiser ME-66/7 K6 system, but they are great and expensive and when one goes up on eBay, it is cut-throat and it quickly goes beyond my budget. I was so close on one. I lost by $1. How could that happen? I am the eBay pro! I had never lost until I got into this crazy battle for audio equipment, now I am undone by people with more money and seemingly faster internet connections, though I don't know if that is possible really. It is eBay and should be pretty much the same for everybody with broadband right? Not too complicated... None-the-less, I loose. But someday I will win and I will be able to hear the people across the street whispering under their breath from 200ft away. Someday I will win...

To let you know how great this mic is here is something shot on another DSLR (like the one I have but a bit different, the Mark ii 5D) with the Mic that I would like to get.

Africa, news, shots, gardens...

2010-04-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

... and so on, etc.

It is official. Becky and I are going to Uganda with financial help via HELP International. We are planning on being there about a week to help document material for two short docs; one about the eye clinic that will take place (check this video out for our preps) and the other about the other activities that the volunteers participate in like building adobe stoves, helping build schools etc. We are very happy to have this extra experience without having to dig into our own pocket to pay for it. We won't make any money, but we will establish a great relationship with HELP and I will have more to add to my portfolio.

We are shooting stuff (finally) for my senior project about conservation and sustainability. We are headed to the community gardens up in SLC this afternoon and are excited to have a few hours to explore the area and hopefully meet some people. We are also planning on shooting the recycling doc and biking doc within the next month or so. Moving right along.

Now that we are going to Africa and we know exactly what is happening (more or less) we are finally ready to start pushing along with our flight plans. HELP gave us their contact who books the cheapest flights available and I talked with her yesterday. We should have flights booked by the end of the week. That being said, we are also planning on getting shots (malaria, yellow fever, the hepatitis', etc). Lucky for us (sarcasm) BYU insurance does not cover any shots, even for BYU stuff. I love their plan (heavy sarcasm). We can get cheaper shots at our county health office here in Provo and we will schedule those today for ASAP. I can tell Becky is stoked for that (I am being rather sarcastic, aren't I?).

We will keep you posted on dates and more as they come out. We feel very blessed and hope that those blessings also include a long layover in London so Becky can fulfill a childhood dream of going there. I want to help her but we both know that we can't stay long because it is expensive there and we won't be working for almost the whole month of June. We should be fine financially, but we won't have room for much excess.

Thanks for your support!

So I haven't been on in a while...

2010-04-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

... but I hope that this will help you.

Astoria Scum River Bridge from Jason Eppink on Vimeo.

Probably the neatest thing that I have seen all week!

In other news, I am working on putting together a documentary for the J. Rueben Clark Law School about some of the professors that are retiring this year that were there when the school started. It is fun and interesting to see how much progress the law school has made from meeting in the basement of a Catholic private school to having one of the best law libraries in the world and being a top 50 law school. Neat.

I have been working a ton on Tipping Bucket stuff this week. I am really enjoying my work with them. This week we did a short video in one day. On Wed we woke up nice and early, went to the Eye Clinic where Dr. Monson had generously gave us permission to use his office for the video. The lighting was terrible and we had the AC or some air filter going the whole time so the sound was shot, but we worked with what we were given and made a video out of it. You can check out the latest project, an eye clinic in Uganda, at tippingbucket.org.

Speaking of Uganda, after the video Ryan and I were talking about my going to Kenya and they were like, "Hey, we are going to be right next door in Uganda. Why don't you come over there after Kenya and we can do a short doc there too?" I was stoked on the idea of being able to develop my portfolio more and get a free trip to Uganda, so this next week Becky and I are meeting with HELP International to see if we can work something out so we can go to Uganda for about a week. Apparently Becky's old roommates, Paige and Nichole, will be there on internships so Becky will have company and a mini internship experience. How neat is that!? We will be working out the details this next week, but we hope that it works out.

Other than that, I am looking forward to the end of finals, starting my internship officially, starting a steady 20hr/week job at BYUTV again starting in May and that is about it. Good times ahead. I am also planning on sticking with my original plan of graduating in December. Graduating in Aug would be SO much work and I would really like to take a few more development classes. That way Becky and I can save more money and I will have more time to figure out what the next step is going to be.

Loves etc.

To my lovely wife...

2010-04-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

Becky.

OdeToBeauty from travispitcher on Vimeo.

What is going on...

2010-03-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

... in my hectic life? Well, there is plenty. First off, Africa is going well. We are in contact with Komaza in Kenya and have a phone or Skype interview with them next week to get more of the specifics of the exact schedule and any concerns that we have. We are aware of the most recent travel advisory and are going to be addressing that with Komaza. We are aware of the danger but I have also read most of the US Travel Agency's information on travel there. The northern areas are more dangerous while Nairobi and Mombasa (the main tourist areas) are fairly safe. We would be right north of Mombasa in a town called Kalifi at the headquarters of Komaza where we would be with other Americans, Canadians, British and native Kenyans who have lived there for the past 3-4 years. Still, we want to be safe. If any of you have concerns or questions, comment and we can relay that info on and then post it back to you to answer your questions. Or just talk over the phone or whatever. This is just a way to get all of the questions, concerns, hesitations, anticipations, etc our in open air so we can find solutions. Thanks for your help!

I interviewed for a short internship with BoomStartup because they are new and want to also have good media on their websites. I got the internship (aka work for free) and start this Friday filming some of the new company participants. This will (hopefully) be a good experience because of the networking opportunities. The guys who are helping start this new company recently sold their older company, Omniture, to Adobe for $1.8 billion. That is a whole lot. If I can network with these guys, I just might have a chance at scoring some good paying people that need help with their own company media or maybe training videos or something. I am also working in a team, but am the director and producer, and as such I get most of the credit.

More good news is that The Tipping Bucket has hired me as a paid intern for the summer. I am SUPER stoked about this one. They are my new favorite thing ever. They started their first funding project about a week ago and are half way there with 6 days to spare. If you read this please go to their site and help out with just $1 and please tell your families, friends, coworkers, neighbors and everybody else you can think of. This is a new company who needs your support. They are the best, economical approach to good development I could think of. Transparent, interactive, democratic. I really think they can change the world. So please, donate. Change the world or your money back. And I will be doing their media for the rest of the summer. How exciting!

My friend and I are also planning a new series for BYU TV International. They have a large latin audience but no latin specific programming. With the help of a great donor, they have some money to pursue new pilot shows and the executive director of BYUTVI is allowing us first shot at it. $25,000 to produce 4 half hour episodes of latin specific programming. We have a great program in mind and the executive was VERY excited with our idea. Right now it is going up through the bureaucracy to get OKed. I don't want to talk too much about it because it is not set in stone quite yet.

Other than that, I am just working, scholastic-ing, and spending time with my beautiful wife. I play basketball every Wed night. We have the scooter up and running. With part of our tax return we bought a new iMac (we really needed a new computer and this was one we could afford). I am filming a lot and am excited to get moving with all of this other stuff. My senior project is coming along well and things are good. I pray that they stay this way.

Well, if you were wondering what is going on in our lives, this is it. A long post full of new and exciting things. Thanks for your support!

I am still a good student...

2010-03-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

... most of the time. Because I have not posted in a few days, I will make up for it with a few different posts throughout the day. Here is the first.

I have really grown to love school. I don't have to worry about generals and classes that are thrust upon me. I just have the joy of learning ahead of me these last semesters. I graduate in December (finally) and am really excited to move on into post-undergraduate life and get into the work force. I feel more and more ready to do so as each day goes by. But while I am here I might as well do well in school.

In my experience, school is a balancing act. You have to balance how much you spend financially, where you spend your time (work, school, social, wasting it) and sometimes you have to leave things behind. Maybe it was that weekend job that asked you to come in or maybe it was the reading for a class and so you miss a few points. There are things that need to be left behind. Because work and experience are so important to me the things that have usually been left behind are school and social. This semester I feel that I am doing a better job at not leaving those behind. I haven't done every assignment and I don't get ahead, but I do keep up.

To prove this I would like to show you this picture of my History of Film midterm.

Yep, that is a 99. Like 99% as in almost 100%. I don't think I have done that well on a midterm test since elementary school. That made me feel really good. It just proved that though I do leave many things behind, even with school, I can still temporarily achieve an almost perfect balance.

Well, its official...

2010-03-11T20:33:00.000-08:00

... Becky and I are going to Africa. We had our final interview with the Peery Foundation and we got the confirmation email today telling us that we each got the grant to be able to go to Africa and profile a social entrepreneur and their work. We will probably go in early June. The social venture we decided on working with is Komaza They help subsistence farmers get access to a cash crop of fast growing, drought tolerant eucalyptus trees that they can farm and then sell. This helps them increase their profits bringing them out of poverty and bringing resources to the family (ie education, sanitation, etc).
Here is a short video I found by a person I have ended up admiring quite a bit for his work in documentary that is about a very similar thing to what we are doing (at least I imagine it as such).

Bio Shields - IDRC from jason taylor on Vimeo.

Becky and I still have a TON to learn and to do and we are excited to start. I feel like this is a true answer to many prayers and I hope to do my best in helping out with what I can.
Thanks for your support! We will keep you posted on progress with this.

P.S. Have you noticed how good I have been about posting? Pat on the back for me.

This is my new favorite thing...

2010-03-10T14:03:00.001-08:00

... because it is so SO great. It is called The Tipping Bucket and it is an organization who is going to completely change how development is done.

First of all, you should know that it is a BYU development that was encouraged by the Brigham Young University Center for Economic Self-Reliance in the Marriott School of Business (currently ranked #1 in the nation) and that it was pretty much a student project that really took off. The idea won the Social Venture Competition and got $10,000 in seed money. After some more was raised they started off running. They just got the website up and have their first project.

So, this is how it goes:

The selectively choose a small venture to invest in and then they post that venture on their website. This first one highlights a school in the DR Congo in Africa that is raising money for solar equipment so it can be financially self-sustained. It is a project that is inexpensive and very worthy.

Now, this is where you come in.

They need $2500 to purchase the last of their equipment and get the project running. The Tipping Bucket is where we can donate our pocket change to help fund the project. It utilizes social media such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs to spread a call to help donate. Just think, 2500 people is not that much and if we all donate a dollar and invite our friends to do likewise we can raise that money in no time. If we don't raise the money then you get your dollar back and the next project is up.

I don't see any reason why we should not be able to raise that much money though. I am a poor college student and Becky and I donated $2. I think I can afford a couple bucks every couple weeks to help promote world change.

So go to the website, sign-up and "change the world, or your money back"!

This is also the company that I applied to an internship with yesterday. Let's help them out. If you have questions or concerns, email me or comment and we can talk about it.

A short video highlighting what The Tipping Bucket does.

I am a super lucky person...

2010-03-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

... for a myriad of reasons. Number one: I have an awesome wife.
Number two: We really don't have to worry about things that much.
Number three: I have at least 100 more reasons that I am a super lucky person...
but I won't bore you with all of the details. One of the reasons that I am feeling so blessed right now is that I never have a lack of opportunities. One such opportunity came up last weekend at the Hunger Banquet right as we were leaving. Though I was not happy that we were leaving early, I still wanted to stop by an area where a bunch of social entreprenuers and NGO's and non-profits had set up booths to help inform people about what they are doing and possibly get help. I quite a few that I recognized and was familar with and then I saw one that I had recently just become aware of. The organization is called The Tipping Bucket and they help generate money for small development projects using online social networks and pocket change. Earlier that week I had recieved a small notice that they were offering a paid internship for the summer. Well I talked to the guy at the booth and we exchanged information and yesterday I submitted my application for the internship and should hear back by the 15th.
The reason this is significant is because this is exactly what I want to be doing. This, the Peery grant that Becky and I want to do this summer, my own work with Central Utah Gardens seem so serendipitous. I am not even graduated and I already have more work offers than I can take and not even that, they are all in the specified field that I want to work in. I thought that I would have to "blaze the trail" but I have found that the trail has more or less made itself.
What I am trying to say is that I appreciate it, so thank you.

Here is a neat video that accompanies my thoughts. It was even made in Kenya (fingers crossed).

Djemba, a boy from Kibera from jason taylor on Vimeo.

So I will be writing more now...

2010-03-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

... because apparently I am a bad writer. I met with my faculty advisor last week to follow up on my senior project (which is going to be GREAT) and he congratulated me on receiving some additional funding and then told me that though I was on the right track that I had a difficult time representing myself and what I was doing, mostly in my writing. I needed to be more concise but eloquent as well. He told me to read and write more so that is what I am going to be doing for the next while.

After this experience I thought about how I had always had more of a difficult time writing and depicting what I really think and feel. This also translates to my conversations and has recently made me extremely self-conscious. I feel like I need to look back at what I have said and see if it has context and is something that makes sense to the other person. I look into their faces in the hope that there is a glimmer of understanding. If not, I try to reword the sentence or make it more brief. Usually I think that I just dig myself deeper into the pit of no-conversational-return.

I feel that part of this is that I am pulling myself in too many directions. I am working 3 to 4 jobs always, working on at least 3 proposals, watching 2 internships and balancing all of that with 14 credit hours, church and of course, my lovely wife. Oh the joys of being a film-major. I do really enjoy it and I love being able to have my hands in so many cookie jars. I only have two steady jobs with the others coming in and out during the weekends and usually don't take more than 10 hrs to complete. School isn't too hard and I really only have like 6 credit hours I need to work on. The proposals do take a ton of my brainpower and when I get one done another starts right up (right now we are working on getting a project that has $25K behind it). So my life is not too crazy though it is busy.

I guess what I am trying to get to is that I have decided that I need to take more time to think, relax and better myself through literature and writing. I will have to let go of some of the responsibility that I feel for all these projects and give that time to myself. Becky is excited because now I have a huge stack of books to get through. I am also happy about that.

So, in summary, I am bettering who I am and by so doing, you will get a read a whole lot more from me most every day. Some topics that might come up are documentary, transcendence, technology, fishing, development, internships, and changing ideas about where we fit in. If you have a request of what I should talk about, leave a comment and I will get to it. Everyday is a lot for me, so I will get to it. Thanks for your help. Critiques are welcome as well!

OK Go...

2010-03-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

... and watch this video by OK Go.
All I can say is WOW!

Cool Video...

2010-02-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

... for a reference. I like it because of its awesome cinematography.

APRICOT, short film by Ben Briand (sponsored by his incredible actors and crew) from Moonwalk Films on Vimeo.

Beehive Stories is...

2010-02-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

... finally here! Last summer I worked on a couple films for a thing called "Beehive Stories". Later that fall I helped on another. Now they are put together in their first "season" and we are having a fun little showing that I would like to invite you to. If you wonder what I do then this is a good chance to see a bit.

I learned a ton during this and really appreciated the experience. I am grateful for the chance to participate in something great like this. Come and watch!

Lady Danburry...

2010-02-15T15:55:00.001-08:00

... holds some of the most stylish cloths in town. Last week I had the opportunity to meet her and go to her shop. She was nice enough to let us in and talk to her for awhile and film around the shop to test the 7D. That video will be posted soon but until then, go and check it out yourself. She is having a giveaway for a great wool jacket that she made. Check it out at her blog and enter to win.
Thanks for looking!

Film is not...

2010-02-08T08:26:00.001-08:00

...dead. Reminds me of a film that I made but way better and more personal.

Facts About Projection from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

"This was my first video..."

2010-02-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

"... so I am sure I made a lot of mistakes." he says. I found this on Vimeo today and was blown away. This guy's first video and it looks like this. All I have to say is that I hope I have the same luck. Enjoy

The White Mountain from charles on Vimeo.

So I haven't posted in a while...

2010-02-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

... but that will change soon. I am going to post about my trip to California and tell you about it and I will also soon share about some new fun toys. I just have to play with them first. Also new grants, jobs, projects, and well other new stuff. I just have to find time to write. I will try and do a better job.
But until then, here is something WONDERFUL to tide you over.

Like hockey? Like polar bears? Like space travel? Then you will LOVE this video!!!

Alaska Nanooks 2010 Hockey Intro from Szymon Weglarski on Vimeo.

Stop motion is...

2010-02-01T10:54:00.001-08:00

...so cool. And if you don't believe me, just check out these two videos.

Zeus "Marching Through Your Head" from Alan Poon on Vimeo.

The Making of "Marching Through Your Head" from Alan Poon on Vimeo.

It makes me want to go tromping through the forest.

Yesterday was a wet day...

2009-12-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

... and a great one. Tate, my little brother and I went snowboarding yesterday. It was his first time going. After a "good effort" first run he really got the hang of it. This is a little video I made of his progress that day.

First Day Snowboarding from travispitcher on Vimeo.

As you can see we had a good time. It was snowing like crazy. So much so that they had to close the road leading up to Sundance because cars without 4-wheel could not make it up. Many of the cars coming down were going too fast and would end up in the creek on the side of the road. All day the ambulance, police trucks and tow trucks were running all day long. Luckily we were very safe. Anyways, though I would like to consider myself a great snowboard teacher, I think Tate really got it fast. Good times.

The Babies are coming...

2009-12-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

... to a theater near you. In October when Becky and I went to watch "Where the Wild Things Are" there was a trailer that we saw that we have been looking for ever since. Thanks to Lisa we found it. I am posting it and encouraging everybody to watch it because it is amazing. The story, concept, way that it was shot (observational), the music (Sufjan Stevens), and just everything about it is great. I am super inpressed and cannot wait to see it. Hopefully it comes to Utah. Well, without further adieu, here is the trailer. Share it, send it, rate it, go to it.
Here is the website too.

First snow of the year...

2009-12-08T15:46:00.002-08:00

... and it also snowed in dear ol' New York. Someday I will have a 7D. Looks amazing. I like the slomo.

The First Snow, Canon 7D from Reid Carrescia on Vimeo.

If I were more of a nerd...

2009-12-08T15:46:00.001-08:00

... I think this kind of stuff is all that I would do all day. Love it.

Box Animation from Jordan Clarke on Vimeo.

This just might be a part...

2009-12-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

... of Becky's best day ever. If only they had a baker...

Beautiful Day from Derek Doublin on Vimeo.

The world needs more music...

2009-12-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

...and TakeAwayShows. I love these things. Check them out. They are positive, fun and simply ingenious. Part documentary, part music video, part live show. I love it. Watch it and have some fun like it was 1901.

Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Wizard smoke...

2009-11-28T21:17:00.001-08:00

...Just in case the Death Eaters, Order of Phoenix, or Gandalf want to be even cooler.
I love skateboarding.

Wizard Smoke from Salazar on Vimeo.

For cool stuff that is free...

2009-11-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

...Look here.
I like this place (CrumplePop) because they have some neat stuff. I want to try out some of this stuff in personal projects. They have cool fonts you can use for free and some fun for-profit programs for FCP. Many of them are just wasteful because you can do it yourself, but some are pretty cool.
Anyways, download the fonts that you like and have at it.
Good times.

Shift-Tilt...

2009-11-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

...Rocks my socks. I am going to do a project like this sometime. Like this summer.

HP "Create Amazing" - Director's Cut from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Salt Flats...

2009-11-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

... this one's for you Boston.

Sufjan Stevens is back...

2009-10-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

... and up to his usual, strange ways. This time the Brooklyn Academy of Music commissioned a work to be done about the Brooklyn-Queens expressway. Sufjan, in his usual methodical way, spent 9 months researching and filming and writing about the expressway and made an album out of it. Just the other day I was telling Becky how I was sad that Sufjan Stevens didn't release anymore music because I love his strange music. It is very cinematic. Then Chris told me this morning about this Sufjan Stevens BQE album. I read about it and then purchased it because I love it. He also made a movie using Super 8mm and 16mm film. This is like a trailer for the film. Strange? Yes. Hoolahoop super women? Yes. Don't ask. I don't know.

THE BQE- A Film By Sufjan Stevens from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo.

Something else cool...

2009-10-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

... just in case you are even more bored.

Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse from Theo Jemison on Vimeo.

Still here...

2009-10-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

... and might I add, doing quite well. Well, let's see what is one the plate. Hmmm...
Married? Check. Love of my life. 10-10-09
Honeymoon? Check. Heber, Park City and SLC for 3 days.
Back to school? Check. Finally almost caught up.
Swine Flu? Possibly. Not me, my wife.
ORCA grant? Check (almost). Due at the end of the week and looking good.
Other film projects? Check and check. SEEL is progressing, TRA is looking great.
Poor? Check. You better believe it.

Well, that is my seven course meal and pretty much catches me up on my blog. I am going home to keep working on my grant proposal before I have to go back to school until 9pm. I am sorry Becky.
Here is something fun to watch.
Made my a BYU student, one of my favorite docs.

MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.

Patience is a...

2009-09-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

... Virtue but sometimes it can really be hard. Having been raised in an LDS family, there were two things that really capstoned my life. The first was going on a mission and the second is getting married in the temple. As I grew older, there were also other priorities that came. Graduation from BYU, acceptance to graduate school, getting out of Utah, working, traveling, etc. Now I feel I am on the brink of everything. I am less than a month away from getting married. I am just two semesters away from graduating. One test and a few applications away from grad school. A couple interviews away from a good job. And with all of that waiting just a bit away, all I keep hearing is, "enjoy the moment" or, "take advantage of today while it lasts" and yes, I know that this is important. Learn from the past, plan for the future, and live for today. But with everything so so close, I just hear, "blah blah blah". Today is filled with work at the law school, classes, and then some interviews tonight with some bikers. This will all be great and I think it will be a great day, but I really can't wait until that turns into breakfast with my wonderful wife, meeting with a potential client, editing of a spot for TV, class with other collegues, and an evening shoot for my Sundance documentary. It is so close. I am so close to getting paid to film, and not filming for free. I am so close to being with the person I love more than anything and making her breakfast. So yes, live today in the present and enjoy the moment, but in the back of my mind I feel a bit more like this. I want it now, though I know better.

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

I am sure that you understand.