*Please go to this link http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150811921080840 and click “Like”*

I created this Facebook video with my good friend Bibi McGill. Bibi lives here in Portland, Oregon and is a health food evangelist, master yoga teacher, and world renowned musician (playing for the likes of Pink, Paulina Rubio, Le Re, and Beyonce). The purpose of the video is to enter Bibi in Wanderlust Festival’s Teacher Competition. Click this link and show some love to a my good friend, mentor, and constant source of inspiration, Bibi McGill.

I recently filmed and edited this video project for People’s COOP. I had a lot of fun doing short interviews with farmers, artists, and locals who came out to support People’s COOP farmer’s market. Check out the newest post on my video site for more information on this project. Cheers -George

I created this handstand video two weeks ago as a fun side project. If you haven’t noticed, I have not been posting a ton of new content here in the past few weeks. I’ve been pretty busy working on various video projects and getting my new website up and kicking. If you haven’t yet been to the new site, give it a peek and maybe check out the blog too. Have an awesome weekend! -George

I am very grateful to have become friends with a wonderful poet, activist, and artist by the name of Andrea Hope. Andrea lives, works, and performs in Portland, Oregon. Her art is inspired by her desires to increase social justice and help build sustainable communities. My words about Andrea do little justice to give you an understanding about her poetic talent. Please watch and enjoy the short video Andrea and I created in November 2011 of her poem ¨Close Your Eyes¨. You can learn more about Andrea and her performance schedule on her website and Facebook page. Cheers -George

Links from this article:
Andrea Hope´s Website
Andrea Hope´s Facebook Page
Andrea Hope´s ¨Close Your Eyes¨ Video
Andrea Hope´s YouTube Page

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