Bushido - A Short Documentary by TLP Media

"Steven!"

"Yes?"

"I need to shoot a short documentary to teach my AV class how to shoot good material on their iPhones. Can I shoot you practicing and talking about your journey in karate?"

"Ummmm... sure!"

My long-time buddy, Travis Patterson, is a fellow photographer, as well as being a teacher, videographer, designer and all-around media specialist (see his work at TLP Media, Cosplay by TLP Media, etc). We've been hanging out since I was in my undergrad and he was in his masters at UWF, and this project felt like a throwback to the good old days when we would get together on a weekend and just be creative and do a project together.

I don't often get in front of the camera. I post occasional images and thoughts related to my training, but I try not to share too much of the actual training itself. Inherent in traditional karate are tenets of humility and introspection, and I didn't want to veer into self-aggrandizement by talking too much or displaying too much training on camera. Vainly, I was also self conscious to be in front of the camera after a week of being sick, not training and getting a little soft around the edges.

With all that said, I can always trust Travis as a storyteller and image composer, so I decided to go for it.

Believe it or not, this super pretty footage (that is to say that the footage is pretty, the actor is fairly mediocre) was shot on an iPhone 6s, lit with $10 lights and stabilized with a cheap tripod and a selfie stick. You see, kids? It's easy to make a movie!

Travis's Portfolio: http://travislpatterson.wix.com/

Mr. and Mrs. White's Wedding Video

Last week, I wrote about putting my wedding videographer hat back on and shooting Mr. and Mrs. White's Wedding Extravaganza in Gainesville, Georgia.  It was a beautiful event; I love my Gainesville family. This morning I mailed the DVDs to the family and sent them a link to see the video online.  I'll leave the sharing of the full-length video to the family's discretion, but for my devoted followers at large, enjoy the highlight reel.

Mr. and Mrs. White's Wedding Extravaganza

Last weekend saw me driving up to Gainesville, Georgia to video the wedding of some very special people. I met Parker and McClain on my last trip to India, McClain being the daughter of Ken and Tracy, whom I know from participating with their ministry, Net India.

Upon meeting them, it took less than five minutes for me to be convinced that if there is such a thing as a perfect couple, it's these two.  First high school sweethearts, now married fresh out of college.  I've been to a lot of weddings, but there was a joy and purity at this one that I have never felt before.  As I culled through the video footage, I found myself smiling continually as every clip reminded me of the joy of the day.  And, to make it even cooler, McClain used Pinterest to gather ideas and design the entire event.

Congrats, guys.  I'm proud to know both of you.  Thanks for letting the goofy Florida boy be a part of your big day.

Just so there is no confusion, all photography and portraiture was handled by Katherine Williamson Photography and North Georgia Photography.  Contrary to my usual job, I was the video guy, and what you see below are frame grabs from my footage.

"They discovered fire."

Rowan Atkinson as Doctor Who, Richard Grant Jonathan Pryce as the master.  It doesn't get much better than that.  One-liners abound. Also, a pretty good parody of the kind of loop-the-loop writing that Steven Moffat has been doing lately.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-wDPoC6GM]

"Make it Count"

Videos and stories like this make me want to abandon all responsibilities and go galavanting around the planet.

An article by Ari Schulman, which I quoted last week, Jack Kerouac's On the Road as an example of the kind of inspirational journey which is increasingly difficult and even impossible to make today.  After fifty years of media saturation ruining the thrill of the unknown when making the trek to a hitherto unexplored place, journeys of self-discovery aren't what they used to be.

This video, however, reminds me, and should remind all of us, that spontaneous travel can still yield very, very special results.

For me personally, I'm seeing this at just the right and wrong time.  I graduate in two weeks, but I've already applied and been accepted to the only graduate school to which I applied.  It's hardly the time to drop everything and go globetrotting...but after seeing this video, I really, really want to.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxfZkMm3wcg]

Video by Casey Neistat.

Originally seen on Living Superhuman.