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    Film

    Ryan Boyle – Character Animation After Effects Tutorials

    These tutorials helped me greatly, and I hope they help you, too! Character animation is a world of fun, but it can take a lot of time and is tricky. Ryan Boyle really helps by discussing important tools and methods for creating and animating characters in After Effects.


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    Social Media Aspirations 2013

    Recently, I added another key point to my 2013 goals: I want to have 1,000+ Twitter followers. There are sometimes weeks upon weeks of work-less idle for me professionally — the life of a feast and famine freelancer — so I have the space to dabble in different social media circles because it’s something I enjoy. I have been spending more time doing Twitter chats and conversing with people from all walks of life. I have made it my personal goal to get 1,000 Twitter followers in the year 2013 and I’m already more than half way at about 660, hopefully it snowballs!

    You’ll also notice my Post-it also says a Klout score above 70. I used to give Klout a hard time about a year ago when it came out. People in the professional Social Media arena and measurement communities do not like this service because supposedly there’s “no such thing as a social media guru” and there’s “no way to measure the ROI of social media.” I agree with what they are saying, but Klout (and Kred) are definitely the beginnings of a measurement system. (Hell, I can’t complain, Klout gives me free stuff based on my score, and for this I am grateful.) As you can see, score of 70+ is also on my goals sheet, and it should help me in achieving my following.

    All social media is networked, connected; a collective of snapshots from your physical life neatly organized for consumption. Deep down I always knew this, but I am seeing it more and more in my daily life. I am trying to stay as even as I can on my networks, been beefing up the Yelp reviews as well; trying to stay well rounded. My strategy for my Twitter follower goal is to engage on multiple levels on multiple networks and funnel things back to Twitter. Maybe “funnel” is the wrong word to use, since Twitter is another gateway to my social media links. I should “corral people to one of my many hubs.”

    Derek signing off!

     

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    Gucci Vump – Sha! Shtil!

    I love this song and wanted to share it with you all!

     

     

    gucci vump

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    Music

    Le Le – Breakfast and DJ Mehdi

    dj_mehdi

    DJ Mehdi

    I was looking through some music and the late DJ Mehdi came up in my playlist. It made me think back to a time when I saw him play with A-Trak on new years in LA in 2010 (or was it 2011?), where he introduced me to the song: Le Le – Breakfast. I remember the exact moment the track started playing with accompanied video track on-stage; It was magical. The entire dance floor stopped and stared, and it immediately turned into a party filled with laughter, good vibes, and a sick flowing rap. A huge thanks to you, Mehdi, you are missed and you changed my life that night! You are definitely somebody!

     

    Rest in peace.

     

     

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    2012 Year in Review

    This year was not a huge blogging year for me. I tried to update about once or twice a month, but I found myself so involved with the advancement of my life. Half of my year was spent diligently working away as a receptionist (the most involved and difficult learning curve I’ve coped with in a long while) by day and video editor by night. This was extremely good for business, and money was flowing through me at an alarming rate. I spent so much money this year, I also saved, and invested! The other half of the year was spent getting closing to my film and photography roots. I quit my job at the reception desk and joined my employer at JMK Entertainment full-time. I am now a contractor who works exclusively for my boss; the relationship continues to flower. I am very grateful for him taking me in. Thanks Jason!

    I learned a lot about money and time this year. Life has a funny way of throwing a barrage of papers and projects at you at one moment, and the next second there are crickets. This year has been full of it’s very high highs and very low lows. I have been living on the bleeding edge of extreme this year (YEAAAH EXTREEEEME!), and it was exhilarating!

    The hardest part of this professional year (besides the dual-life I lead for about 6 months), was October and November. I was taking on new responsibilities and more projects; there were more shoots. I was learning to animate in After Effects — I’d say I hit my goal of getting my feet wet with this program — and delivering projects the same day. It was extremely rewarding, but extremely draining.

    Socially, this year was not as fruitful as others. It seems like I am slipping further and further into the Facebook world. I don’t know if this is good or not. I seem to have communication with more people than ever imagined, but I am, in fact, seeing less-and-less people face-to-face. I want to make next year a year of strengthening the bonds between my closest friends. I did throw a lot of parties this year (due to the good cash flow), and we had many great times, but I want to start getting to know people 1 on 1. I have been lacking in this area, mostly because of this rocky financial and professional year; but this is just a convenient excuse. I had plenty of time to make time for people in my circles.

    Socially further, I have started to pick up Spanish. Largely in part due to my wonderful girlfriend of 4 1/2 years, who is Mexican. I have been going to more and more family events, being exposed to more and more Spanish. I’ve started watching Spanish television and listening to Spanish music. Also, Rosetta stone helps build my vocabulary and Google Translate helps me understand some colloquialisms. Mostly, Angie has been my maestra in this regard. For this I am grateful!

    My favorite video of the year:

    John Cleese: A Lecture on Creativity

    Happy New Years y Feliz Año Nuevo!

     

     

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    Airports

    Airports make me feel like a caged animal. I’m watching an old film and it reminds me of times when there was more roaming room.

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