This past November I was super fortunate to link up with the wonderful people of prAna in Portland, Oregon. In mid November, I filmed prAna Portland and Portland Rock Gym´s Citizens Comp 2011, a rock climbing competion with a party vibe (or for some in attendance a party with a rock climbing vibe). I had a great time filming the event, talking with some inspiring climbers, and getting acquainted with the soul of climbing. The video above is the edit I created. Please feel free to share any feedback. Cheers -George

Links from this article:
Prana
Portland Rock Gym
Video from Prana Living on Vimeo

As I’m preparing for Steve Atlas’s Body Practice Immersion Weekend, I created a short clip of my current hand balancing practice to serve as a point of reference for future development.

The handstand practice video shows my static handstand ability. I’m working on improving the alignment of my shoulders, hands, and hips as well as increasing stamina.

I find that video gives the most honest insight on one’s physical performance and abilities. In the attached video, I inserted the date of recording into the lower right corner of the screen to help chronicle my practice. Even though I uploaded the video to YouTube the same day that I recorded the handstand, a date graphic in the actual video serves as a quick and easy reference point for viewers who watch the video embedded in various social media platforms that do not share YouTube’s meta data (i.e. watching the video in the Facebook news feed or in the Twitter side bar).

I highly recommend that you check out The Body Practice website and YouTube channel to learn more about the incredible work of Steve Atlas (think yoga mixed with martial arts, gymnastics, circus, and strength training). Namasté -George

[Note-I will have an follow-up to this post after the Body Practice Immersion Weekend. For anyone interested in attending, the Immersion is happening December 2-3rd 2011 in Spokane, Washington. More details about the workshop can be found on the Facebook Event Page]

Hello all, I’ve heard it said from many super-talented creatives that a proven formula to improve your creative skills is actually quite simple. The formula?

Do more work.

It doesn’t matter if the results are amazing or fall very short of your expectations. Simply doing work, and doing more of it, allows you to see what you need to improve on and what you are proficient at. Taking this formula to heart, I created a short clip with my friend, roommate, and superb actor, Leo Patterson. The end result is the first episode of what I’ve termed “The Lifestyle Series”.

Is the work amazing? You be the judge (I’m leaning on the side of not ground-breaking, but I’ll let you decide). Was the project fun and educational? Absolutely.

Be on the lookout for future episodes. Here’s to doing more work! (& continuing to learn ) Cheers -George-

I recently found this graph about the average number of views per YouTube video. Want to know how your videos stack up to the rest? Simply plug your info into the graph and there is your ranking. Interesting to note, as of 2008 any YouTube video with over a 1,000 views in one month was ranked in the top 10% of videos watched on YouTube. Anyone have the numbers for 2011? Cheers -George-

Information came from www.rubberrepublic.com and www.viralmanagaer.com

I’ve recently started to get back into videography and have been searching for an effective methodology on how to take a project from idea to completion (in film making this is called a workflow). Taking inspiration from Tim Ferriss and Adam Patchs’ “Behind the Scenes” post on how to make a book trailer, I’ve decided to share my own workflow.

Here are the ten steps I go through to make YouTube video:

1. Shoot footage Working on projects where the subject matter is of interest to you is highly recommended. The more you enjoy whatever activity you are videoing, the more likely it is that you will produce something that represents your authentic artistic vision. I love yoga and the outdoors, thus I most recently worked on a project for Street Yoga and Yoga Slackers. I had a blast getting close up shots and spending time doing post production.

2. Backup & organize your data Backing up data is essential. Harddrives fail and memory cards accidentally get formatted. Having one backup is good, having two is great.

3. Create a first draft Don’t sweat the details on the first draft. Music choice, graphics, color fixes, speed adjustment are all corrections that can be done later on. It is daunting looking at an hour of footage when you’re wanting to put together a one-minute video. Simply shipping a really rough draft is a great step in the right direction.

4. Send the draft out for feedback Post a message to your Facebook friends asking for their input. To ensure honest and useful feedback, preface the interaction by the saying something to the effect of, “I’m working on video and need  a fresh pair of eyes to tell me what sucks. Please like this comment to be sent a link to the video”. Once you have some friends who accept your invitation, message them saying “Please don’t hold back on being brutally honest/ruthless…etc. I need your help and there are no hard feelings. Thank you.”

It doesn’t matter whether the audience viewing your work is an experienced film maker, photographer, or art critic. Anyone who has ever watched a video on YouTube can tell you what sucks (or doesn’t) about your work. As the saying goes “Any feedback, is good feedback” (Okay, I just made this saying up, but I think it is true)

5. Work out the fine details Finalize your color adjustments, final shot selection, graphics and transitions and then export another draft.

6. Repeat Step 4 I recommend using a new set of test viewers to allow for another fresh perspective. Feel free to repeat the feedback process as many times as you see fit.

7. Upload to YouTube

8. Share Post your video on your Facebook, Twitter, and any other platform you see fit. Posting to Ning Networks or related communities that are interested in the subject matter of your works is a great way to get value added views of your work.

9. Review Savor in the positive feedback, but take notes on all the things that could be better for next project (i.e. figure out better lighting, improving panning technique, improving graphics…etc)

10. Repeat Find your next project and repeat steps 1 to 10. Namasté -George-

Some of the more helpful resources I’ve stumbled upon include nofilmschool.com (think DIY for everything film and video) and vimeo’s forums section (vimeo users unite to talk about production, editing, filming…the list goes on).

Got any tips or tricks you think would help the DIY film community? Share below

For those of you who may not know, I love to volunteer. Volunteering has proven to be an amazing way to meet new people, participate in amazing events, and get involved in positive causes. One of my more recent volunteering adventures has been with Street Yoga.

Street Yoga is a non-profit yoga foundation with a mission to spread Yoga to at risk-youth. With a chapter established here in Portland, Oregon, I’ve been fortunate to link up with Street Yoga on several occasions. Most recently, Street Yoga hosted a pot-luck style picnic infused with a bit of acro-yoga and music. The picnic was the first of many that will be happening this summer in the aim to spread awareness about Street Yoga. Enjoy the short I put together from the event and look out for Street Yoga chapters in an area near you. If you have any volunteer recommendations in mind, please do share below. Cheers & Namasté -George-

I’ve been working a little bit with my friends over at Earth Shift Products. Dr. Robert Cassar, Founder of Earth Shift Products and Earthshift Project, is a brilliant naturalist, parasitologist, doctor and researcher. The video above is just one of the recipes I’ve created with the amazing food stuffs he advocates.

The smoothie is this video is super aphrodiasac powered and has lots of mentally stimulating and clearing properties.

The recipe is as follows:

Cashews (small handful)
Coconut oil (1 tbs)
Cacao powder (2 tbs)
Cacao nibs (1 tbs)
Caca powder (1 tbs)
Himalayan salt (pinch to taste)
Heirloom banana spears (small handfull)
Honey (t tsp)
Spring water (1 liter)
Tribulus (1/2 tsp)
-Blend all ingredients together to a smooth and rich consistency

All ingredients are ideally raw, organic, and heirloom. To purchase any of the foods listed in this video, or simply to learn more about high vibration foods and lifestyle, please visit Earth Shift Products and Earthshift Project,. Namasté -George-

“An idea can turn to dust or magic depending on the talent that rubs against it.”
-WILLIAM BERNBACH, American Advertising Pioneer

Ever had an idea you’ve talked about to so many people you start to wonder when you’re going to get so good at describing the idea that the person you’ve talked to believes it already exists? Common thoughts that feed the procrastination bug include: When am I going to stop talking and actually start doing… I think it could work, but what if… It is so common to have the list of what if’s go on and on and on…until you come to a point where you’ve got to decide-Do I….

A. Stop talking about this idea and wait for someone else to do it and then be the guy that says to my friends “Remember when I was talking to you about this amazing business idea that I had that would change the way/revolutionize/create a market for/fill this untapped niche-well guess what?-someone else did it!”

or

B. I’m tired of creating all these excuses not to do something. I’ll figure out how to handle the what if’s when they happen (by this point you may feel that many of the what if’s already did happen). I’m going to start this thing and correct course along the way.

I’m choosing the latter option.

I can’t specifically point to getting a taste of corporate life or the recent supermoon as the direct causes for my creative idea flows in the recent weeks, but I do feel now is just a good of a time as any to take action. Taking a note from Tim Ferriss, author,entrepreneur and developer of the term lifestyle design, the timing is never right and so it is.

While currently living in Portland and contributing to the population of “underemployed” (hey-being able to pay rent with two days work is pretty awesome) grants me plenty of time to work on side projects and spend ample time in the yoga studio. In the upcoming weeks I’m going to write about the processes I’m going through to build my business. Will my business change the world? I don’t know. Will this be a project that feeds my excitement? I think so.

The first stage of this project and any business idea is one I term “Building Momentum”. A few months ago a friend of mine taught me a few important lessons about momentum. Momentum doesn’t just happen. It happens moment by moment by moment…. In order to build momentum you’ve got to create these moments.

Besides talking about my idea to countless friends, the most recent momentum builder I’ve done is enrolling my business idea to the top social media platforms-Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. While it is a super easy process that takes literally less than 15 minutes, simply creating accounts on these virtual networks makes my idea turn into a reality that is a bit more tangible than an interesting conversation piece. These mentioned online tools will serve as essential vehicles for building community and awareness around my product. Writing about this project is yet another moment that serves to create accountably for followthrough.

Once the ball is rolling, it’s much harder to get it to stop. Create moments for yourself and enjoy the adventure. Namamsté -George-

(Side Note-I’m an avid reader and love hearing what books people are loving. I recently enjoyed The Thank You Economy by Gary Vayenerchuck and highly recommend it to anyone looking to understand the role that social media is playing in the digital marketplace. If you feel inspired, share your thoughts below )

Ariane Glazer, the event’s organizer and Chicago Raw Food community leader, put together an incredible weekend full of presentations and activities about spirituality, fitness, raw food, yoga, and fun! Be sure to check out the official website and Facebook page of Green Synergy for a full listing of the event’s presenters, photos, and updates for next year’s party. Namaste -George-

On Sunday October 10th 2010 (10.10.10) 350.org is hosting a Global Work Party. People will be getting together in cities all across the world to collaborate on work-party projects to develop innovate ways to positively impact climate change. Other than a fantastic way to spend a Sunday, Global Work Party will surely serve as a great way to connect with community members and help inspire new ideas towards becoming sustainable.

A 10.10.10 event that I am involved with is Portland, Oregon’s “Great Garden Giveaway” (I designed the poster above ). The “Great Garden Giveaway” will be a farmer’s market where food will be distributed to community members free of charge. Food will be given out to people who walk, ride a bicycle, skateboard, uni-cycle, rollerblade, or use any eco-friendly mode of transportation to come and support the event. All people who drive to the event will be asked to donate towards the 350.org’s project.

To find a Global Work Party in your area and learn how you can be more eco-friendly check out 350.org. If there is no 10.10.10 event happening in your community, 350.org is a great resource to help develop your project and connect with the greater community. Have a great day! -George-