Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up
First and foremost I would like to say thank you for taking the time to come to my Portfolio. Sadly the information that follows closely resemblance that of a dating websites profile.
So what is there exactly to say about myself?
Personal Likes and Dislikes
Well, I enjoy a tall glass of wine in the morning while listening to my Micheal Bolton on cassette tape….not really. When I work I listen to music from composers such as John Williams or Hans Zimmer. Who’s John Williams?! Just listen to the Indiana Jones Soundtrack and you’ll understand. There is nothing quite like listening to Raiders of the Lost Ark as you work to create solutions for a clients needs. Every moment is epic!
I am the type of person that always needs to be out doing things and I have an incredible lust for adventure. Which is why I gain a new hobby every season. I participate in a wide range of activities including Ice Hockey, Roller Hockey, Football, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Baseball, Hiking, Biking, Swimming, Surfing, Eating, Soccer, Traveling, Cars, Boating, Photography, Cinematography, Horse Taming, etc…
Besides sports in my spare time I enjoy photography and creating videos. They key is finding the correct balance between enjoying the moment and not having your wife hit you. Check out my portfolio for a few of my video pieces!
What do I dislike? Boiled Spinach
Digital Media And Me
Nerd At Heart
When I was young I loved to sketch (which I still do). Yep, I was that kid sitting in the back of the class with doodles all over my notebooks. I didn’t always do great at tests, but I was the master of projects.
Kids would bring in color pencil drawings of Human Cells as their project in the 7th-grade and I would bring in a sculpted cell model with closed circuit wiring that would light up different colors depending on the area of the cell you are interacting with. Some would say I was a young Tony Stark in my day….some (mostly me).
Everything always has to be above and beyond.
At a young age I never felt as though I was getting information quick enough in school. Sitting in a K12 classroom listening to a lecture from the book was just not for me. I often would read chapters ahead and start school projects weeks before they would be due.
College was the same way. I would always look beyond the text books for new resources because I prefer to learn from multiple teachers and to be influenced by multiple mediums during my learning process.
I also had to make sure every project was way beyond the capability of the other students.
I survived college somehow with a 3.5 GPA and bought only 2 books (yes, I just flexed that muscle). I don’t recommend it, but that’s what worked for me.
Creativity is all about mixing mediums and that is what I excel at.
I love sharing stories. Today that refined story telling technique is what drives my ability to market my client’s services or products.
But it all started with my obsession with creating videos. I was always lugging around my father’s massive shoulder camera and creating war videos with my friends in the neighborhood. Later I would go home and spend countless hours editing my small movies on all 3 VCR’s in the house. Starting, Stopping and recording each video until it was just right.
Later when my family purchased our first IBM Compatiable Computer (That Encyclopedia on that thing was top notch!) I found a little program called Windows Movie Maker Editor. This was an incredible moment for me. I had to try it out. So I ran over to my buddies house and we created a quick stop motion video using Star Wars characters you can watch here
The next phase was Video Games . I would sit at the computer not only playing the games but dissecting the code in them as well. Later I went on to build my own video game maps with trigger points, sfx and downloadable packages. Oh yes…I’m a nerd!
Soon after that, I began my fascination with this new thing called “The Internet” which was mostly used at the time to chat with friends over AOL with. There was still so many limitations in the early days of the internet. No streaming video, no Facebook and it was dreadfully ugly! I wanted to know more about these “web pages” and how I can build them!
I then was introduced to Microsoft Frontpage, which led me to design one of the first interactive books using a complicated hyperlink network.
Ok, so I like to draw, create movies and code websites…what next?
It all started out with someone photoshopping my face onto a goat and that day I was introduced to the Adobe Suite. My jaw nearly hit the floor when year after year they put out a new program for me to soak up!
“Someone created a 3D Superbowl Commercial! ” I remember saying to myself as the ideas began flying around in my mind. “If they can do that, I should be able to produce a small 3D website for my college project!” A few minutes later I was on the page of the Swedish 3D Software Inventor filling out his contact form requesting the chance to learn his techniques. I received a heartfelt email with documents and beta software. Let’s just say everyone’s Adobe Flash project was a little lame compared to my project as I handed out 3d glasses to the class before hand 😉
So I had all of these cool projects and I knew how to build websites, but how do I get people exposed to my ideas?
You can’t tell a story without marketing. Marketing is the medium for people to buy into your story.
So I dove feet first into every marketing technique I could come across. I wanted to know what made people tick and how I could capture their attention. This is where hours of reading and meeting with influencers came in. My life has been A/B testing ever since.
I don’t want to be just amazing at one skill, I want to be great at all skills.