as i continue to ponder the idea of a video blog, i’ve started learning some of the necessary skills. i’ve already played around a little with imovie, editing a video of two for the abercrombie for governor campaign. and while i need to continue to develop that skill, i’ve also started puttering around with creating animations in photoshop. here’s my first attempt:
i haven’t settled on a theme, topic, etc. for the project, so this is just a quick attempt at animation, to see if i could figure it out and get a sense of how time-intensive it could be later on.
stay tuned for more updates on my video blog project!
since i got no useful feed back to my last post (in fact i got no feed back. at all.), i’m hesitant to reach out into the inter-web for more input and suggestions. still, since this is what’s on my mind at the moment, i will optimistically do so….
i’ve been giving a lot of thought to the creation of a video blog, vlog (i’m not sure how i feel about that abbreviation, or whatever you call it). during this past week, i reached out to two of my oldest and smartest friends to see what they thought of the idea of a vlog, solicit concept ideas and suggestions, and if they might be interested in participating in a collaboration. both, intrigued by the idea, said they’d give it some thought.
in the meantime, i continue to ponder the idea myself, while also poking around the internet for ideas, tips, etc. also, i started watching other video blogs, to get an sense of what others are doing, and came across the vlogbrothers, which i find very entertaining, and have been watching, starting from their first post and working my way to the present. it channel is done by two brothers, both very geeky and funny.
i recently purchased a shotgun microphone to use with my canon rebel t5i. it’s original use was to do some video recording for a reelection campaign event for governor abercrombie. it worked really well for the event and i’m pleased with the purchase, but i’m quickly realizing how rarely i’ll actually need such a mic, unless i create an expressed need for it.
to that end, i’m considering starting a video blog; creating my own channel, or whatever, on youtube. part of me likes the idea, part of me is hesitant.
as such i’m reaching out to invite comments, suggestions. what do you think about it? good idea? bad idea? what kind of topics, issues, etc. would you like to see, if i decide to give it a shot?
every year, as the legislative session winds down, and as legislators and staff start to plan vacations, one of my busiest times of year is just getting started.
in total, this year the legislature passed 245 bills:
3 constitutional amendments
7 vetoed
6 became law without signature
229 signed in to law
the vast majority of the bills were signed between the end of session and july 8 (roughly two months). that may seem like plenty of time, but when have to collect comments and recommendations from all the various departments, schedule time to review the bills with the governor, not to mention getting them actually signed, two months can go by really quickly.
to help the policy staff and myself keep track of everything, i print a list of all the bills enrolled, then mark them off as they become law, or are vetoed. the analysts like it because its sometimes helpful to be able to see visually how much we’ve done, or how much is still left to do. for me, it’s satisfying to cross out the bills as they’re finished.
this year, i thought it would be entertaining to do a stop-motion-type movie, showing the wall of bills get filled in over time. here’s the result:
(granted, it’s my first foray into stringing individual pictures together into a video, so it’s not the best quality, but it was cool enough to do that i’ll likely try again in the future….)
today is july 10, days after the deadline and things are quiet in the office. it won’t stay that way for very long, but i’m happy with the respite.
first, a disclaimer: i am an abercrombie appointee. i want to be up front about this, if only so i can’t be tagged with hiding it later.
in the past, a post of this nature would be written on my other “political” blog, but since it is sorely in need of an update, i’ve opted to post here until i get around to doing it….
i understand politics… well, mostly. i understand that to win, often a candidate has to appeal broadly to as many voters as possible. this means a campaign is built on easy to understand and readily digestible sound bites; talking points. it is, frankly, one of the things i dislike most about our electoral process. that’s for another time, but i bring it up here to try and frame how i (and many others) perceive david ige, the other major candidate in the democratic primary race for governor.
as i understand it, ige threw his hat into the gubernatorial race not as a result of his own desire to serve in that office, but because a handful of very powerful democrats, angry with abercrombie for one reason or another, asked him to run, promising all the support they could offer. their primary selling point? david ige is not neil abercrombie.
realizing how rarely i’ll actually need such a mic, unless i create an expressed need for it.