Fire-Wired Blog

This is me, day one on the job at Iowa Public Television. That was November 7, 2014. How has five years gone so fast? I am a big time believer in "time flies when you're having fun." While one of the major downsides to believing happiness is the most important element in your life, there's no legitimate reason to complain about being happy? Over the course of five years I've filmed the four corners of the state, directed a bunch of television shows, learned some fun camera tricks, met the President, met countless people who could be president, dressed up as a robotic monkey and danced around on live television, gone on all kinds of outdoor adventures for work, traveled to California for a documentary, met dozens of Iowa filmmakers and talked shop with them, and plenty of other things I'm omitting to keep this list from getting out of control. I REALLY love my job and I love the work I'm allowed to produce. Not every day is cupcakes and confetti, but ...

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you would allow me the distinct pleasure to present you; the eighth 48 Hour Film Project short to be released under the Tiny Explosions banner... red flag . Assuming you watched the film, red flag is easily the most Tiny Explosions-y film of our nine years working together as a crew (nine years in the event, but eighth T.E. film because the engine of our 2012 crew was a good deal of the creative juice behind a 2011 film "Side Effects," by Team Mystery Box) . For an explanation of why red flag is basically Tiny Explosions plutonium look no further than; our ensemble of actors, absurd characters, producing ridiculous things for the movie screen, tons of big laughs, some truly gross out moments, improv style comedy, characters sitting and talking, and Brian Hogan willing to do something spit-take worthy for the greater good. No need to rehash my feelings on 48HFP awards  or how films like ours get handled by judges. So I'll skip over...

For the fifth time I have worked the Iowa State Fair as an Iowa Public Television producer. A lot has changed since I declared I never wanted to go to the Fair again, back in 2013. Now I love the Fair and look forward to grabbing my camera and telling the wacky stories I'm handed each year. Since my first IPTV Fair in 2015, I have been identified as the "fun" features producer. I tend to lean into upbeat, rocking music, and to cut kinetic stories. This year that reputation garnered me four really fun contests to cover; Monster Arm Wrestling, Doubles Horseshoe Pitching, Bubblegum Blowing, and Pie Eating. Quite the awesome rundown if you ask me. For ease of viewing, here are the four videos. I was considering taking a more meditative approach and pacing to my Fair features this year, but when my first interview -Mother Monster- just amped up the fun in her answers... that was just a low and hanging fastball right over the plate. While not a perfect four-som...

Wading in the Boone River with Shane and Tiffany. Over the last couple of weeks I got a chance to dip my toe in a pool I’ve always wanted to swim in but rarely get to enjoy; public speaking. Not saying I want to become a motivational speaker or give weekend classes on video storytelling, but I’ve always enjoyed performing. I’ve acted, sung, played in bands, and now I’ve repped my employer, Iowa Public Television, to audiences five times in three weeks. For the past two years I’ve been working on a project called “ Iowa Land and Sky .” With the assistance of two very generous grants my team as well as a few instructional designers from IPTV’s Education department have been crafting special drone fueled ecological and geological materials for Iowa classrooms and broadcast. Getting my FAA drone pilots license in the process I’ve travelled all over the state to capture unique aerial shots of Iowa’s landscapes as well as tell very specific natural history stories. With my Education ...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com About a dozen years ago Jim Carrey released a brand new website. Now in mid-2000s Carrey was still one of the biggest stars in the world, not too far behind him were golden globe wins, the largest paychecks in filmmaking history, and cultural relevance that could probably only be rivaled by Mickey Mouse or the Beatles. Maybe that is a bit of an over statement but I think we can all agree around 2007 Jim Carrey still grabbed America’s attention. So when he released this beautifully illustrated and imaginative website that was equal parts Salavador Dali and Stanley Kubrick it was visually enthralling. Problem is the site had zero utility. Visitors had virtually nothing to do on the site except take a look, read a bio, and leave. Seeing as Jim Carrey is not trying to sell anything digital I doubt he cared, but his work of art website taught a valuable lesson to anyone paying attention; if you’re digital product doesn’t offer someth...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com The internet can be a fickle place when it comes to success. For years your business can be gaining steam and acquiring users or customers and then suddenly, BANG! You’re MySpace. With many of these hard luck cases the fortunes of a website seems to be pure capitalism; if the public finds your service and enjoys it, than you will be in business for the foreseeable future. But that only works in a vacuum where advertising and word-of-mouth don’t exist. If the internet were a true ‘king of the hill’ meritocracy Reddit would be nearing the summit. If you aren’t already on Reddit, it is very likely you have heard of it. Between it’s great personal heading “the front page of the internet,” it’s passionate following, and content related scandals Reddit has produced a more than modest amount of awareness. With nearly 250 million active users, Reddit is nearing Twitters size with a fraction of the organizational infrastructure and zer...