Category / life

Creativity Still Matters

Video cameras have become totally ubiquitous (I think that’s redundant, but it does serve to make the point.) Not only are tiny video recorders like the Flip and Kodak zi8 the new norm, more and more smartphones have the ability to record video, most of them much better than you would imagine.

So with all of this ability to record events literally at our fingertips, it should come as no surprise that we’re drowning in lots and lots of really bad recordings. Spend any five free minutes on YouTube and you’ll agree.

In my opinion, all of this crap desensitizes us so much that it’s easy to become overwhelmed when you see something that is really, really good. And the difference, I think, is in the creative process. These two videos were sent to me recently by my sister. Both were great ideas. One is beautifully realized, the other is just so damn good that it doesn’t require any sophisticated production at all.

Take a look. I’ll be interested to know what you think.

Embrace Life:

Embrace Life from Jim Cota on Vimeo.

u@50:

Swimming with Dolphins on Sanibel Island

Just back from Spring Break in south Ft. Myers, where we spent a day out on Sanibel Island. Around dusk, several pods of dolphin showed up for dinner, chasing fish around and generally making a spectacle of themselves.

They spent quite a bit of time around us, so we were able to get a few decent photos and some interesting video including the item below, where one of them chased a couple of fish directly into the shore about five feet from where Jack was standing. It was pretty cool!

Swimming with Dolphins from Jim Cota on Vimeo.

Panoramic video makes it real

I’m the first to admit that I can fall prey to the “gee-whiz” factor of some new technology, but I’m as likely as anyone to be a skeptic when someone starts talking about game-changing. And if they mention “paradigm shift,” my eyes get all glazed over and my head swims. Usually, it’s all hype.

I saw something this morning that has game-changing potential. CNN has released panoramic video they shot in Haiti. While you’re watching the video play, you can click the screen and move your mouse around to look at anything in the image, 360 degrees. It’s a little like controlling the camera, except the camera has simply recorded the entire scene and you’re selecting exactly what you want to see.

For news events like the situation in Haiti, or looting and riots, or even a Presidential rally, the implications are obvious and clear: this is a seriously cool technology. But imagine the impact this could have on film making. How cool would it be to be able to control what you’re watching on the screen, essentially making a movie a completely individual experience? In fact, it could be different each time you watch…

The quality of the film isn’t up to snuff yet, but like all technologies, it will get there, and probably sooner than you think. Once that happens, we could, indeed, see a paradigm shift. (Man, I *really* hate that phrase.)

[See the panoramic video from Haiti]

God Bless Mr. Stroup

Some time ago, I lamented that too many blogs were full of stories and comments that focused a laser beam on all the things wrong with this world. I, too, fell into the trap; using these pages as an opportunity to vent some frustration about something I had seen, or read, or encountered.

I remember deciding one day to make an effort to include more positive words than negative, to shed light on people that are doing the right thing, even when no one else is looking. The story I share with you today is that kind of story:

Mr. Stroup, the 8th grade Bible study teacher at Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis, began a tradition thirty years ago that continues even today. Watch this short video, hear his story, and be inspired. And then ask yourself, “Is there something I can do that could have this kind of impact on the lives of others?”

God bless you, Mr. Stroup. Keep it up.