I'm a Top 10 Video Finalist - Please Vote!

You may recall that before Christmas i had entered a video competition through Sasktel (the provincal phone company) where the focus was to create a cell phone related video for a chance at winning a grand prize of $5000. I ended up making 2 films, Give it Time and The Gizmo Tree. After a week of waiting, I am very happy to report that not only were both my films well received in the preliminary round, but they have both been selected as finalists in the Top 10!Now comes the tricky part, the campaigning for your continuing votes. Let me first say that i entered this contest initially because it looked like a great opportunity to put my film skills to use, and because i thought it would be a great credit for my ever growing portfolio. Now that i've made it to the final voting round though, i actually have a chance at winning a sum of money that can potentially combat my debt for an entire semester. Let me state again, this isn't just a prize that i'd use for a vacation or something, it would directly effect my ability to pay for another semester of university without sinking further into debt.

It's both a blessing and a curse that both of my submissions were accepted, because viewers can only place one vote every 24hrs. Because of this i've decided to campaign for my video The Gizmo Tree first, and perhaps later focus attention to my other submission. Your help is crucial to my success in this contest, and i can't be more thankful to any of you who take the time to watch and vote for my work.

Voting is simple!

- click on the link http://www.cell-ebrities.ca/
- click Sign Up to create an account
- place your vote by selecting a film from the finalist box on the HOME page (http://www.cell-ebrities.ca/). It will say your vote has been cast, and when you can vote again.
- DONE!

Once again, please cast your vote for: The Gizmo Tree

It can also be viewed on the site again or for the first time if you haven't seen it yet. Keep in mind that you are not giving a star rating, you are just casting a direct vote for the winner. Please check it out! I can't thank you enough for your participation, and please feel free to leave comments on my blog to let me know what you think of my films or if you have any further questions regarding my work or the contest in general.

The contest runs from January 11-25, 2008.

PLEASE VOTE!

www.cell-ebrities.ca

and please pass this message on to others who may be interested.

Free Hugs Campaign

Sometimes you come across things on YouTube that make you laugh or smile, but never have I come across a series of videos that just plain make me feel good the way that the 'free hugs campaign' videos do. You may have heard about this, the original video has over 22 million views - enough to inspire spin-offs and copies from all over the world.

A person, or a group of people, go out in public with a sign promoting free hugs. You then get to watch the reactions of people, and see the humble project snowball into a much larger event. Hugging is a pretty simple gesture and low key idea for a video, but after watching these it's even more clear how much good can be done with so little. If there's one thing the world could use a bit more of, it's probably hugs.

Free Hugs Campaign (original)


Free Hugs Amsterdam


Free Hugs Korea


Free Hugs Scotland

Sunset Time Lapse - Saskatchewan

I shot the following video from my window here in College West Residence. Sometimes I get to witness really amazing sunsets and occasionally I try and capture them. These two sunsets are cut together from different days, but the process became a worth while experiment in time lapses. It's just another day going by at uni.