It’s been all quiet on the blogging front the last few months. It’s not a big deal really, and I’m sure my loyal readers (hi, Mom!) have gotten over it. But I just feel annoyed when I look at my site and see that I’ve posted nothing in the last few months. When I started this site I had grand visions of, at the very least, weekly posts about what I was doing, what gear I was working with, and other narcissistic subjects. But that never happened. When I sit down to write something, it is very trying for my words to hit the page, and I just sort of think “why does anyone care” (and this is EXACTLY what I am thinking RIGHT NOW).
But from a marketing perspective (which I, honestly, don’t think much about) I think it’s important to maintain this site to be somewhat up to date. The stagnancy of my site could indicate to a potential client that I’m not doing much work. I was pretty shocked recently to notice that on my Vimeo account (which basically serves as my online portfolio) I’ve only uploaded one new video ALL YEAR. Now surely it’s not because I haven’t done any work this year, because on the contrary, I have been busier than I have ever been. I think the reason that I haven’t updated Vimeo (or my blog site) much this year, is because of fears of seeming not “cool” enough.
For better or worse, I spend a good amount of time on Twitter and other video people’s blogs. Those two forums, in my opinion, serve three functions: to be funny, to show people how cool you are, or to make people jealous. (That pretty much sums up social media in general, I think.) And I think when I look at a lot of the work that’s kept me busy this year, I often think it’s not cool enough to share. I don’t get paid to climb mountains with my camera or film hot girls at 1000fps, so in contrast, a lot of what I do could seem less cool. So, with this attitude, my online persona on my website, which could be the make or break point for a potential client, basically looks like I don’t do anything anymore. And that’s bad.
So I’m going to make a point to change that, and share more of what I’m doing. Personally, I like to read to about all sorts of projects that people are working on and hopefully some people will here too (you still there, Mom?).
So with that, here’s a little recap (in frame grabs) of some of what I’ve been up to this year, cool or not cool:
I shot a video with a very inspiring group of people at a construction company in Poughkeepsie, NY.
I did a bizarre pro-bono job with Shotgun Media in Boston, which has led to a great relationship with a lot of continued (and paid!) work.
I shot a successful campaign video for Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
I shot a couple segments for the Today Show.
I shot my seventh 48 Hour Film Project.
I DPed some web videos for Home Goods.
I shot A LOT of interviews for a project for a private equity firm.
Nothing I’ve done this year will become the next viral video or get linked on Gizmodo, but I should get past that. I do love what I do and feel very fortunate to make a living creating video. So that’s worth something.
(Right, Mom?)
Tags: corporate video, director of photography, portfolio, Vimeo
Love it, Ben! Thanks for sharing!
I think a lot of people feel this way but have never said it, myself included.
I like the screengrabs you’ve included, I think you should put some of those videos up. (I know some clients are a PITA about this though.)
This is a terrific post, Benjamin. I think what you do is very cool, and I’m not saying this because I am your mom!
Ben… My feelings exactly. I’m just going to post a blog entry to my site with a link to this post. ; )
I’m told Thomas (@TRStudios) once that I’m almost too embarrassed to post my work because,
it’s not necessary award winning nor epic but, perhaps I should, for the reasons you you mention
post my work anyway. Thanks for the post. Say hello to your Mother for me.
Cheers!
You’re working, doing a great job, and that’s what matters.