Apr 24, 2012

Streamlining and the Video Business

As of late I've been cleaning house (so to speak).  I've been reorganizing my blog, creating photo sets on a new flickr account, rebuilding my reel, and casually working out ways of adding more punch to my portfolio site.  All of this personal rebuffing may seem a bit indulgent, but I feel like it's already helping me expand in new ways.

Recently my Around the Hat photo series has helped me get a bit of local traction. When I kicked off the series with a set around Medalta Potteries, they were kind enough to give me a shout out on their facebook page.  More in line with what I had been hoping the series might do, it actually gained me a new contact with prospects for future video/photography work.  Work hasn't been in short supply these days either.  

Last week I had to turn down a New York production company who contacted me to shoot some behind the scenes footage and photography of an event for Glenfiddich Whiskey in Calgary.  It was a two day shoot and I just couldn't make it work with my schedule. Although, just getting the offer was pretty flattering considering that it came directly through my portfolio.

I feel like I'm at an interesting point in my career.  I'm on the hunt for new challenges, and ways to reinvent or diversify my approach to the kinds of videos I'm already doing. While making more money is always nice, I think what I'm really striving for is even more freedom in my schedule and maintaining the variety in the projects that I undertake.  Making some of these things a reality is going to require that I cast a bigger net, and I think that's what I've started to do.    


Apr 23, 2012

A Roadster and a Motorbike

I was walking around North Railway street, one of my favorite parts of town, and was snapping shots of the old train station. Just around the corner I stumbled onto this old roadster and motorbike, both in pretty rough shape. They're actually fairly symbolic of the neighbourhood. There's so much character on this side of the tracks, but nothing really seems that polished.


North Railway is full of old brick buildings that used to serve the railway, including warehouses and hotels like the Cecil. Nowadays it's a mix of bars, antique shops, and a few restaurants. The backdrop is still really photogenic in my opinion. Right after I bought my Jaguar I came down here to take pictures of it

On this visit I snapped quite a few pictures out of curiosity because I couldn't figure out what kind of car this roadster was. It kind of looks a bit like a Triumph Spitfire or a Fiat Spider, but I'm really not sure. There were no badges or markings to go off of, and the tail lights kind of threw me when making comparisons. Any guesses? 










Cecil Hotel ca. 1920s



Apr 22, 2012

Ending the Rehash

The first series I ever started with Editing Luke was ELMR, or Editing Luke's Monthly Rehash.  The goal was to share my older projects every month to give a bit more air-time to my videos that had previously gone unseen.  That all began in August of 2007.

Here we are nearly five years later and a lot has changed.  I now have a thorough videography and best-of list posted on this blog.  Every month I link a featured video in the tab above.  There's also numerous related content links below each post that help to resurface previous material.  The point I'm getting at is that the ELMR series seems superfluous and unnecessary now, and while it served a useful purpose for several years, it's become a make work project.

Moving forward, and on the cusp of celebrating five years of building this site, it makes a lot of sense to reassess and retire some of the strategies that I had when I started out. In the end, this leaves more room for something new, and I think you'll agree that that's a lot more exciting.