Today is a fantastic day….

After about a month worth of interviewing and an onsite interview, I am now the new Production Supervisor for Chapman University's Panther Productions. 

First off, let me say that it was an interesting experience. I have only really delt with smaller organizations for the hiring process, which will usually take about a week max. This took much longer. I even had to go on set and assist on the shoot of one of their shows 'Dialogue with Doti and Dodge. It was one of the few interviews where I did not feel stressed. I was in my element. I had some fun as well. 

About four days later I was called and offered the job and asked to start right away. I must confess that I am a former Chapman University graduate, which I believe may have helped me. However, I would have never guessed that I would work for my Alma Mater, making television. 

Let me give you a bit of background on Panther Productions. It was a small department which had the primary job of producing TV material for the local channels and PBS. The department did not formalize into 'Panther' until recently, but it has been producing shows for television for 15 years. Chapman University made a bold step to create a marketing department to help the university market to a national audience. Included in that department is Panther productions, who's job is to create TV material to promote the university, as well as, any other marketing.

The cool thing is, the job seems to fit me well. It requires someone with TV, corporate, marketing, and creative experience. A jack of all trades, if you will. Aside from creating TV shows, I will oversee productions of educational events, shoot promos for events, and create marketing videos for the various schools. 

So it looks like its time for me to saddle up for a wild ride. Its going to get busy. 

Work travel

Traveling for work can make you sick and tired and most likely very frustrated. It is something I contend with on a monthly basis and I have come across a few things that always make it a bit less chaotic.

1. Plan

Have a plan. Know where you are going for how long and all the places you will be. It is always good to know your airports, hotels, and immediate hospitals because it makes you a knowledgeable and efficient traveler. If something goes wrong you always know where you are and are flexible to adapt to the situation. This is a big plus especially if you are working for a client who requires a tight turn around on the product.

2. Bring a back up
If your work requires you to bring equipment. Always bring a spare in case of failure or malfunction. You can always get the work done with the spare equipment. It is also good to know where the closest place is to get a replacement, just in case some severe issue occurs.

3. Have a system
It’s important to establish a habitual system that helps to ground you and makes you feel more like you are at home. If you need to lay out your clothing or watch TV before bed, you should do it. The more you do some of you habits at home on the road the more relaxed and comfortable you will be. This will help to improve your mood and health when you travel.

4. Have some fun
This may be the most important. Try to do some relaxing activities, such as learn about the history of the place you are staying in or ask a local a good place to eat. You will be amazed at what you may learn and you never know it may help you later on another job.


Just remember to have a plan and try to relax when traveling. Oh and call friends and loved ones on your travels or bring them with you.

FAIL!

FAIL!

Yep that’s right I said fail! This is possibly the most important thing to learn or learn from in your creative and work life. It helps you to learn what is the right way and wrong way to do something. Now I grew up with parents that taught me this valuable lesson early in my life and as I get older I’m learning a surprising fact about this lesson. Many people are afraid to fail and many times they do not see the value that it can have.

Now I’m not exclaiming that everyone should go out and fail at everything that they do; we need some common sense here people. I’m simply saying that if it doesn’t work, maybe finding out why it didn’t work in the first place will make you better at it next time. We’ve all heard this quote a million times, and for those of you who have not: Thomas Edison spoke about inventing the light bulb and he said : “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work”. By failing we find what works.

Right now I’m learning how to write a blog and effectively communicate my ideas, and guess what? I’m going to fail at some point. It’s going to make me better. So go out and learn how to do something, take pictures, write something, build a kite, or run for office. Learn how to do it better!

If you think about it, I used a quote that Nick Cage used in a movie. I am never going to do that again…

Got to start somewhere....

Well there are probably a billion blogs and quite a few that discuss what I would like to share with the world. First let me preface that this blog has one goal in mind and that is to share what I have learned. I hope that what I can share will benefit at least one person and in the long run, I can learn something as well.

I have spent the last decade working in the broadcast and media industry and I have been a willing participate in the changes and advancements that have occurred. My main interest is the convergence of photography and video fields and how they have affected how I work. That is why I have created this blog.

What I hope evolves is an open forum of idea exchange and open discussion. I will share everything from, Photoshop tips, video editing ideas, photography setups, dealing with clients, expressing oneself, and how to have a little fun in the process.

Please read, enjoy, discuss, and be gentle.....