Mountain Biking in the White Light!

After meeting my neighbor Dave, we opted to do our first mountain bike ride together at nearby White Ranch. Having only ridden there once, I thought it would be great to go with someone that knew the place well, as he does. Despite the brutal, relentless climb to the top known as Belcher Hill, White Ranch has some fantastic trails and single track. Add to this the peak of wildflower season and having a buddy to ride with, made it an awesome day. And then, about 3/4 of the way through our ride, the skies started turning a sinister color of black. Earlier in the day the storms seemed to be staying south, but within minutes, we were getting blanketed by waves of intense rain. At this point we were still pretty high up, and quite exposed. We turned up the speed and worry a few notches and bombed off the top as quickly as possible. Then, within two or three minutes of the waves of rain, came the giant bolts of wicked lightning. When the time between the flash and the thunder is a second or less, you know you're in the middle of something. We immediately threw down our bikes, took off our Camelbaks and scrambled off trail to ponder our situation. I had noticed a small cliff of rocks a couple hundred feet back or so, so we bushwacked up and across to the spot I saw, and managed to perch ourselves under some rocks that not only seemed to protect us from the bolts falling from the sky, but soon it was as though we were standing behind a waterfall given the amount of rain that was falling. Having only been in the middle of a lightning storm once before, I had forgotten how scary, exciting and amazing it is all at the same time. Seeing bolts come down that close to your location, and feeling the concussion of thunder that rattles your teeth is a sensation like none other and truly a powerful earthly experience. We waited out the storm and within a half hour or so were back on the trail and safely on our way home.

The next day, my wife picked up a copy of the Mountain Gazette and I happened to read this very timely story on lightning. Something to think about next time I get stuck in honest-to-goodness Rocky Mountain Lightning Storm.

Building the Afrobeat Band

In March of 2011 I finally decided to build an afrobeat band here in Boulder. Using the prodigious Craigslist, I cobbled together an ad looking for players and have since built a nine-piece monster of some talented musicians - playing obscure african funk, jazz and afrobeat.

Dates in Colorado this Summer:
Sat. June 11th - Denver - Cervante's Summer Music Fest, 10pm
Wed. June 29th - Boulder - Laughing Goat Coffehouse, 9pm
Sat. July 9th - Coal Creek Canyon - Community Center (private)

Check it out:
FACEBOOK
MYSPACE
OURSITE

Sticking with the old school - RADIO!

Those of you who know me, know I have an affinity for old school radio. One of my film school projects was a short documentary called "College Radio - The Bay Area Bubble" - which documented the unique format of San Francisco Bay area college radio stations (KALX, KZSU, KFJC, KZSC). I also have been known to pack my transistor radio on backpacking trips, hoping to tune-in Coast to Coast AM and pick up a UFO program while star-gazing in the backcountry.

For someone who grew up in the classic rock environment of Portland's KGON - I was weened on a steady diet of Boston, Led Zeppelin, Steve Miller and all the standards which I grew to either love or hate. I owe much of my early musical knowledge to KGON, but once in my twenties, I quickly became dissatisfied with the their repetition and moved beyond radio, embracing alternative music and more.

Fast forward 30 years. Now that I live in Colorado, I've rediscovered FM radio mostly due to a fresh array of options. I get the standard jazz station (89.3) which is quite good, a metal station from Denver (80% of which bores me with nu-metal) a Boulder community radio station called KGNU which is pretty awesome and even an AM college radio station from CU - which, when I can actually pick it up, plays some really obscure stuff, the newest hip stuff and a nice mix of reggae, punk and other programs. And of course, I get classic rock stations. Two in fact. One of the two (103.5 the Fox) plays your standard fare, KGON-like classics. All too familiar - but occasionally I'll catch a song worth staying for. The other station however - is largely the reason for this blog post. KYEN Denver/Severance/Ft. Collins at 103.9 plays the most unique, diverse and interesting mix of classic rock I've ever heard. As their website states: "103.9 FM KYEN is a Rock 'N' Roll radio station like no other. Playing lost tracks, forgotten artists, deep cuts, b-sides, bootlegs and just about anything that we like. Our music library spans thousands and thousands of songs and we’re adding music each day. We love music and we do it for the music. Listen and Enjoy…" Sure - you're going to run into the occasional over-played Stones track, or some other song that borders on bubble-gum pop sweetness. But the majority of their playlist actually doesn't seem like a "playlist" at all. When I'm driving and actually listening to the radio - I'm usually here - taking in (and learning) about so many songs and bands I never knew about. Paul McCartney songs I've never heard, Elvis Costello, Todd Rundgren, obscure Yes and Genesis tracks... the list goes on and on. With KGON I could name the artist or band within split seconds of each new song coming on - here - I'm lucky to name the artist, and rarely can name the song.

Good stuff. Thank you KYEN. Keep it obscure.

Building an AFROBEAT band in Boulder!

So f-ing jazzed on this. Getting great response from the players in the Boulder area. If you play horns, drums, percussion or think you can sing like Fela - holler. We want to hear from you. Drop a line to etkeeney (at) gmail. Stay tuned for a play by play of "The Building of an Afrobeat Band" - right here on my blog. Stoked.

Busy is good. Corvettes are fast.

Busiest I've ever been. Thank you Colorado!

Back to back out of town shoots for PhoCusWright and Adam's Polishes. PhoCusWright is the industry leader on travel research and insight. They just presented this year's PhoCusWright conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Super long, busy days interviewing folks and events. An awesome time and as usual, I'm learning a little something along the way.

This most recent Saturday and Sunday I found myself in Orange County at West Coast Corvettes - shooting Volume Seven of the instructional DVDs for Adam's Polishes. Adam Pitale makes only the finest custom car care products in the U.S. And because of the high level of craftsmanship required to detail a $100,000 car appropriately - he produces detailed videos for every step of the process. Fun shoot, great group of folks - and he even let me take his '62 super-modded Vette for a hotlap around the neighborhood. Scary Fast.

Now... we're hunkered down in the editing bay for an unprecedented run of editing for all of December. Whew!

Boulder Video Design Ubiquity

Working as a freelancer is not easy - feast or famine they say. Some weeks it is slower than molasses - and other weeks I'm so busy I barely make the call between shoots. One thing is certain, I can't let up on the endless search for the next gig. How do I find gigs? Craigslist has been immensely helpful - and adverting myself in every place conceivable doesn't hurt either. I've also learned a thing or two about keywords. So if you've happened upon my blog and need video or design services - you've come to the right place. We are a Colorado video production company specializing in videography, video editing, motion graphics, DVD authoring, podcasting and producing and optimizing video content for the web. Click over to our company website to learn more and thanks for reading!

Rrrrrrush!

Countdown to Rush - Live! Rush is one of those rare bands whose fans are as loyal as they come. I am one of them. As long as I've been listening to their records (since Jr. High) it wasn't until 1985 that I actually got to see them live in the flesh - The Power Windows tour in Portland. I was absolutely mesmerized by their flawless reproductions of so many of the songs I'd grown to love. Expert musicianship on display, song after song, stirring up that magical feeling in your gut that only special music such as this can evoke. Since then, I've managed to see just about every tour they've put on - even tours supporting some of their more mediocre, latter-career albums. Even so, they've never disappointed in a live setting and always play an pleasing mix of old stuff as well as new. So fast forward... "a quantum leap forward, in time and in space" - one week from this Monday, a bunch of the old gang are rolling into Boulder and Denver, to descend upon Red Rocks (to be my first concert there) for an evening with Rush on their "Time Machine" tour. Not only are they playing a couple of new, yet-to-be heard tracks - the highlight of this show will be the first time ever performance of the entire "Moving Pictures" album, start to finish. A treat to behold. We'll see if I'm able to snap a few live pics and maybe even a little video. Yay.

Still toying with the logo...

My favorite thing about my job.

I heard someone say it this way once: "I know a little bit, about a lot of things". So true. For just over seven years now, my life as a cameraman, producer and editor has introduced me to so many new places, people, ideas, industries and all manner of subject manner that I would otherwise not have come across. It's so awesome. Last year in Portland I was hired to shoot a trade show at the convention center in Portland. The show's focus? Supercomputing. Rather than make a feeble attempt at explaining it - just watch this bad-ass Flash movie presentation that details what to expect at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis. Embedded in the presentation are a variety of interviews and B-roll, which I shot at last year's conference. Intense.

CLIENTS!

Thank you Boulder. Thank you Denver. Thank you Colorado. Staying biz to the hizzy - or is that hiz to the bizzy? (Not sure on that, have to consult my "Snoop Dogg's Guide to Modern Vernacular"). In any event, just finished an editing session for Serac Films here in Boulder - first draft is off to their client. So stoked on this project and opportunity - they make some amazing, wonderful and gorgeous films. Big thanks to Stacy, Dr. Shralp, Rob and Michael. Other clients keeping the gears turning: PhoCusWright, Wheels Manufacturing, Adam's Polishes, Rich's Tennis School, Skydance Skydiving, Linda Allen and a slew of new irons in the fire too, which I can't mention yet as not to jinx them. I love it when a plan comes together. Thank you to all my new clients, previous clients and future ones. You're helping get this show on the road, set up our new home and provide for the forthcoming little baby Rowan! I feel blessed.

Hands Upon Black Earth

My friend Bobby who lives deep in the magical Northern California has released his 3rd album. It came out last month... but I have just discovered it. Bobby and I worked together once upon a time shooting an N-Sync project (yeah... with Justin Timberlake) and I've been a huge fan of his music every since meeting him (Bobby, not Timberlake). I loved learning that Bobby used to be a death metal drummer once upon a time in S.F. and has graduated to such grandiose music. He moved north to this little town called Pottersville, where he works as a music producer and audio engineer and creates these incredibly rich, haunting and beautiful records. He plays all the instruments too for the most part, just has guest vocalists here and there.

Check it - and if you like this one, dig backwards into his other two albums. Such fantastic music:




The True Harvest by hands upon black earth

Logorama!

This short animated film called LOGORAMA kicked my ass. Concept, writing, animation, music and execution are all top notch. It's no surprise it's winning awards. How can you go wrong making Ronald McDonald the evil kidnapper with a speech impediment? Awesome.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Video = Fastest growing website feature for Small Business

Small Businesses need all the help they can get. A short video to tell your story not only educates your potential customers but helps personalize their shopping experience and will more likely bring them in your door. Here is a great article from Reelseo.com on why you should incorporate video into your website.

Video content on the Web? You'd better you bet.

A recent Kelsey Group study estimates that 74% of the online population is watching video content. Video has become part of the core behavior of all online demographics. Online video even challenges television. The projected growth is enormous; in 2009 there were 187 billion streams which is projected to double to 310 billion by 2013. That is an exponential number! The possibilities are endless for people, businesses and non-profits, large or small, who are thinking up new ways tell their story, advertise and increase their online presence and/or profits. Leveraging video-sharing sites like Youtube, Vimeo and Revver is also a fantastic way to boost search engine returns for your company because of the "add keyword tags" option on each of these sites. I witnessed firsthand the power of this tool in a previous role as Marketing Manager for Test Drive Videos. We were able to deliver top ten search engine results for a Portland Metro area Toyota dealer by strategic keyword placements within all their video content at the top five video-sharing sites. In today's marketplace it is no longer enough to just have a web presence. Having dynamic content, like video, is a crucial piece of the puzzle in the chaotic landscape of today's marketing strategies.

Off to ATLANTA!

Knee-deep in shooting this week at a Travel Industry trade show. PhoCusWright is the authority on the buying and selling of online travel and hospitality. They put on these trade shows to educate and share information. Yet another project where I get to learn something. Love my job. :)

Sixteen - is the magic number.

For all of you video geeks out there! I just learned a little something important, and very cool. When exporting .mov files from Final Cut - via - Compressor, occasionally I would get this bizarro vertical green line down the right side of my frame. It was happening infrequently and no matter how I changed the settings, it was still there. Turns out, when you're using the H.264 codec (which I do for most everything), your video's final dimension needs to be divisible by the number 16. Apparently, H.264 encodes in blocks of 16, or something like that. In any event, since I frequently change the dimensions of my final file due to overall file size, or where it's going to be delivered, etc., I just had to incorporate a little math to make it work. And indeed, work it does! Example: A current project is being output at 520 x 390 pixels. This equals 202,800 pixels. Divide by 16 = 12,675. A whole number! God bless Apple forums.

I ♡ Final Cut.

BIKES BIKES BIKES!

Soooo happy to be able to accomplish tasks via bicycle again. Quick trips to the store, client meetings, knocking out one-hour cyclocross laps from the house - all part of life again. Thank you Boulder.

What I get in trade by moving from Portland to Boulder.

1. Giving up shared space with Portland's bushy-haired, skinny-jeaned, tattoo-sleeved hipsters who reek of cigarettes. In exchange: Legions of "kind brothers" in tattered jeans, dredded hair and puppies on strings, who reek of skunky herb.

2. Giving up the moldy, mildewy wetness for the dry, hot, potentially dusty, life near the high plains. Luckily, Boulder is just far enough from the plains, nestled up next to the mountains. A bubble of goodness.

3. Giving up the proximity to majestic Mt. Hood and her frequent dumps of snow, however wet and heavy they may be. Gaining access to over a dozen ski resorts in the most vast mountain range in the lower 48. I'll likely be signing up for one of these bad boys. Pretty cool. And yes - the mountains are high. The snow is fluffy. Goodbye worries of another El Nino... and a potentially tragic global-warming reality for low elevation, coastal ski resorts.

4. Giving up nearness to friends and family. Gaining nearness to friends and family. :)

5. Giving up the comfort and calmness of my home state. Gaining the excitement and exploration of yet another new state.

An incredible adventure is unfolding - so excited!

Sea World Sucks.

http://www.ksbw.com/news/22666239/detail.html

F@$% all the Seaworlds. Set the Orca free. I am sad for the trainer and her family, my heart goes out to them. But can you really blame poor Tilikum the Orca? He is bored and very unhappy being put on display like a circus sideshow, criminal or some fascinating fossil. No respect for these animals at all. The blame lie squarely on the shoulders of the shareholders and owners of Seaworld. Shame on you.

I urge you to NEVER, EVER visit a Seaworld and support such ugliness.

An industry of shame.