Can Johnny Canuck save the day?

Time is running out for speeches. It’s time for action. It’s time for Johnny Canuck.

Want Better Videos? Watch This One.

For anyone interested in video production, this energetic and informative interview with Miguel Hernandez of Grumo Media is like a video production 101 class.

Producing good video is hard. Many people, even those who really should know better, often don’t understand this. But Miguel serves up some good tips on how to plan and prepare for a video project, how to tease out the essence of what you’re trying to achieve, and lots of practical tips. Plus, the guy is just a great interview!

A couple of quotes:

“I mean, really, in today’s world, you have like 10 to 15 seconds to catch somebody’s attention. If you have a boring video, it doesn’t matter how much love you put into it, they’re going to leave your website. Right? That’s what people are doing wrong today.”

And:

“At the end of the day, to create something that people want to watch, this is what I always say: There has to be a little story.”

Watch the video on Mixergy: http://mixergy.com/miguel-hernandez-grumo-interview/

http://mixergy-cdn.wistia.com/flash/embed_player_v1.1.swf

Note: the animation site by Andrew Kramer he mentions is actually http://www.videocopilot.net/ not dot com.

My Kid’s a Real Champ

Download now or watch on posterous

VIDEO0029.3gp (35389 KB)

My Kid’s a Real CHAMP

My 4-yr-old daughter has been in the media a lot so far in her life. I’m sure she’ll grow up to a fantastic spokesperson for War Amps and who knows what other organization. Today she just had fun being a princess, no matter what angle the reporter tried. Way to go kiddo; you can be a princess for as long as you want.

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Kick-ass Prosthetics

Prosthetics, and amputees, are close to my heart. So whenever I come across something innovative in the field, I pay attention. This is very cool. Great example of using creative design to directly benefit someone's life.

http://www.youtube.com/v/uh6fzLOYp1M?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

@Starbucks why is your Canadian site the ugly cousin of your .com? It’s like walking back into GeoCities.

via TweetDeck

Esquimalt Lagoon

Apple & their culture of fear

This story is (or should be) an embarrassment for Apple. This action kind of exemplifies my entire perception of the company, which is partly why I still don’t own anything Apple.

http://wired.com/epicenter/2010/04/steve-wozniak-on-apple-security-employee-t…

Extreme wind in Victoria

Crazy windy day today. Ninety kilometres per hour. So we took a drive to the ocean to check it out. Just awesome.

Download now or watch on posterous

VIDEO0027.mp4 (642 KB)

Management tips from Pixar

Today I tweeted about a great post from Mashable that distills a talk from Pixar's president about how Pixar manages to balance creativity with commercial success. It's insightful from a creative perspective, but, surprisingly (though perhaps it shouldn't be since the talk is from The Economist's Innovation Conference) it's also a good lesson on management.

 

Trying to accomplish creative work in a highly regulated or bureacratic environment can be a tremendous challenge. There are so many opportunities for roadblocks that getting something innovative or fresh cranked out can seem like an impossibility. Whether it's a government office or a production company like Pixar there are always going to be a ton of distractions and competing agendas that likely have little to do with an actual finished product. The real question then becomes how to create a space where people are supported and feel they have the resources (latitude, trust) to truly create something new.

 

Like it or not, this has to come down to management. Unless a person is creating a masterpiece all alone in their basement, there are going to be people to answer to and varying stakeholders to satisfy. This is part of the package. Yet, this management "package" can take so many forms that one wouldn't be recognizable to another.

 

This is at the heart of what Pixar president Ed Catmull is speaking about.

 

The Mashable article is short enough that it's worth just popping over and reading through. But here are a two excerpts:

• (Catmull) believes in the old saying “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than to ask permission,” but his corollary is that it’s better to fix errors than it is to prevent them, something that he believes many mangers do not get.

• The need to control and know everything as a manager can stifle innovation. Having great people you trust is a far more scalable method.