52 Weeks of Sophia

Since we had Sophia we’ve been doing a little project. Every week from the day she was born, we take a picture to show how much she is growing. We put Sophia in a plain white onesie and place her on a different fabric each week. After we get our shot, we photoshop the week onto her onesie.

It’s been a blast to do and fun to really watch her growth. I gotta give a shout out to Young House Love for inspiring this awesome project.

FilmFellas: Wisdom from the Pros

Part of my philosophy of learning is to seek out those who have lots of experience and wisdom on a topic and learn all you can from them. Study their work and listen to their every word.

This week, I’ve been doing just that. Zacuto—a filmmaking accessories company—produces a web series called FilmFellas. The series concept is a dinner table conversation with professionals in the filmmaking industry. The conversations range from business to passions to education. Each episode is somewhere around 10-15 minutes long.

I watched all of cast 4 & 5 this week and started cast 6. And the first episode of cast 6 (episode 25) is a must see. I was inspired by the candid advice about what is important from seasoned professionals. If you have 11 minutes, you gotta stop and watch it.

iTunes Link: FilmFellas Episode 25: Living Your Passions

Working With Green Screen – Part 3

So, I never intended to write a third part on the lessons I learned working with green screen. But last week I was tasked with shooting some interviews and trying to create a couple products to be used on Sunday.

I had 5 days to pull it all together, which included one whole day of planning, writing, and setting up for the interviews. That left me 4 days to shoot and produce something that would look good (and hopefully have meaningful content). Since I had a couple week window the last time (a.k.a. my first time) working with green screen, I had to crank this out quick.

A quick diagram of my setup I worked with.

I shot this with my Canon T2i/550D using the Magic Lantern firmware hack. Magic Lantern is awesome. You’ve got to check it out if you’ve got a Canon DSLR (except the 7D). Since I lit both the screen and the subject better this time, I was able having a way easier time getting a decent key. This made it possible to key the project in Final Cut Pro—largely because I didn’t have as many lighting/shooting mistakes to fix—allowing me to save a ton of time. And since I learned last time that the order of my filters/effects make a difference, I used that to my advantage.

A Few Life Questions For Ya

I’ve been prepping today for some video interviews that I’ll be doing for my church. Without much of experience conducting interviews, and without a super clear idea of what the end product is going to be, I put together a long list of questions.

And I’ve got to say, they really make you think about where you are in life and what you want to get out of it. For those who want to do a little self-reflection and contemplation, below are some of the questions.

What do you want more of in life?
What do you want less of in life?
If resources, consequences, or failure wasn’t an issue, what would you be doing now? How would you change the way you live?
What are a couple of your big dreams?
What is getting in the way of living the life you want?
What’s best about your marriage/family life?
What’s most important to you in your job?
What brings you 80% of your joy (in leadership)? What brings 80% of your stress?
What are your dreams for your business/company?

Dad Essentials: Pocket Video Camera

One of the things I love doing the most is taking photos and video of my daughter. Not only do I capture memories of my little daughter, but it’s an amazing way for me to decompress.

I use my Canon T2i/550D most often to both take photos & video. Before having Sophia, I thought it would be the ideal solution for capturing as they happen memories. But it’s turned out to be half true.

While I can get some awesome footage & photos in most lighting situations, there are two big drawbacks to a DSLR: size & complexity. The T2i is a consumer level DSLR camera which means it definitely doesn’t fit in a pocket and takes time to pack or get when needed. Also, there are quite a few settings you need to get right as well as manually focus the camera, which you can do pretty quick with practice. But you end up missing some of the cutest moments because you weren’t quick enough or couldn’t get the camera out in time.

The solution? A pocket video camera. You can take them anywhere, click a button and you are recording that moment which my never be replicated. I didn’t really want to go this route at first because I was worried about quality. Then reality hit me in the form of an equation hit me: Memories > Quality.

So, we got a Sony Bloggie Touch. They are PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice for pocket camcorders. I really have been impressed with the quality of the video, even though in low-light situations it leaves you a little disappointed (but that’s the case for all of these pocket camcorders). And it’s great that you can shoot 1080p, 720p at 60 or 30 frames per second, which you can only do 720p at 60 fps with the Flip video cameras. It’s been awesome to have on hand and catch those special moments. Below is some footage shot last night of bath time with Sophia at 720p & 30 fps.