Fire-Wired Blog

 A year and a half ago I had an idea for a short film. Between that moment and roughly a year later I turned that idea into an actual thing, No Shortcuts . That is probably the best thing in filmmaking; a match is sparked and if you've got the supplies you can get a pretty righteous fire roaring. Well my small fire came together this past March and TONIGHT in Burlington, Iowa at the Snake Alley Festival of Film , audiences will get the chance to warm their hearts and minds with it. Did that metaphor work? I'm not sure. Idea, production, creation equals match, spark, fire. Right? Oh well. I've been watching a lot of Justin Hawkins Rides Again lately so I'm prone to metaphorical and performative fun at the moment.  If you haven't been playing along, No Shortcuts is a one-man-band film I produced over the course of 2021 and early 2022. It's a mix of my 8 year-old self wishing he had the strength of The Ultimate Warrior so he could run a mile in 5 minutes and my 38...

Rarely do I frame myself this way, but I am a "creator." I make content. Professionally my creations mostly are for the traditional medium of television, but I also make a LOT of content that goes directly to the internet. If you see a TV camera man around town with a heavy camera on their shoulder, following a reporter and a subject you immediately recognize that the hard work that person is enduring. Shoulder mounted cameras look impressive and heavy. If you turn and look at the reporter that's where opinions vary. Are they actually "working?" Prepare yourselves for a long one. Of course they are, but over time I've learned if people don't understand a role or a job they get frustrated, possibly angry, and denigrate a person they think has it easy. The above video was produced by Tom Buck , probably one of my personal top three favorite YouTubers. Every week Tom releases a video about audio and video production equipment, how they work, and how they c...