On Mentoring

Brien Lee

I’m a mentor. I don’t know when I figured it out, but it is what I’ve been doing most of my life.

I’ve been the owner, creative director and head writer for three of my own companies, and people working at those companies left a lot smarter than when they came in. (Of course, one thing they may have learned is “I’ll never work for that guy again!”)

I’ve taught creative theory, writing, direction, sound design, industrial theater techniques, short and long form video editing, and much more.

My past employees have gone on to success– some running their own creative companies of note and accomplishment.

I’ve helped clients improve their communications efforts, taught both the creative and technical at workshop and university levels, and started friends, relatives and customers on their way to achieving their dreams of being writers, producers, and entrepreneurs.

And this is what I want to do now that I’ve relocated to the New York / New Jersey metro area. Teach. Cajole. Foster learning by doing. Create a few success stories.

You’ll soon see more about this on my various websites– videostory.com, videostorysecrets.com, moderngeezer.com, and avsquad.com (I think that’s all of ‘em.)

I plan on offering a lot of quick-start knowledge for free. Some podcasts, some tutorials, reviews and recommendations, and some running off at the mouth.

It’s taken a while to settle down. Now it’s time to saddle up!

Sincerely,

Brien Lee

NBC’s On-Demand Multi-Cam is Awesome!

Really, you just have to experience it. Pick the angle you want. The best part is the pre-game, where you can see the camerapeople searching for shots, seeking out the stars, and grabbing quick looks at cheerleaders. You can watch all the pre-game lat minute hub-bub and rehearsals and warmups. Just watching the cable-cam is a unique experience. And the stuff that goes on during commercials shows what a… show… this all is. (Okay, I’ve never been to an NFL game live, so excuse me!)

Go to http://player.snfextra.nbcsports.com/player.htm

D-Day for Mercury Marine? Video as Corporate Culture

I was privileged to produce Mercury Marine’s 50th Anniversary video 20 years ago. It was a celebration of an entrepreneur’s vision,  a company’s impact on society, and, in much subtler ways, it’s impact on its surroundings– Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The local impact– on employment, community growth, local pride, freshwater recreation heritage– was never pointed out directly. It was there in the amazing visual documentation founder Carl Kiekhafer left behind of his surroundings through 16mm film and pictures. Mercury’s founding in Cedarburg. It’s purchase of the Coriam Farm in Fond du Lac to be the home of it’s amazing growth. It’s incredible impact on watersports, including Tommy Bartlett’s Water Show in the Dells. The national dealer celebrations Mercury hosted in Wisconsin.

I write this because today (Sunday, August 23, 2009) Mercury’s union rank and file will vote on whether to accept concessions in order to keep Mercury’s headquarters and plants in Wisconsin.

I don’t have a bone to pick or a dog in the fight. What I do know is this video demonstrates the incredible impact Mercury’s corporate culture has had on Wisconsin. To see it go the way of so many other corporations that have left, merged, been bought, or otherwise disappeared from the scene would be a distraught moment indeed.

We have short memories, and more and more companies seem to want to forget their past. The man who hired me for the Mercury gig, Ed Huck, often said “What’s past is prologue.” But what prologue is there if you ignore your past?

Here in slightly shortened form, is “50 Years of Leadership.”

The Wizard of Waukesha and Do-It-Yourself Genius

Les Paul has died.

Self-proclaimed at an early age as “The Wizard of Waukesha”, he deserved the monicker. Not for his legendary guitar-virtuosity, but for his advances in music technology.

My parents might blame Elvis, or Bill Haley, or Allen Freed for ruining radio with that darn rock-and-roll, but in fact it was mild-mannered, “Via Con Dios” playing and producing Les Paul who gave us the toys and tools to rock and roll.

Would there be “Stairway to Heaven” without the Les Paul guitar? Would there be “Sgt. Pepper” without the multi-track recorder? In fact, I doubt I would have had a career without the multi-track recorder. It’s the first purchase I made after Sorgel-Lee Multimedia sold a project. (I was making mix-tapes before you were born, sonny-Jim. Er, sorry. Got cranky there.)

Anyway, smash a Sears Silvertone tonight in honor of Les Paul. He needed tools, couldn’t find them, so he invented them.

Necessity.

The Death of Local Arts Reporting in Milwaukee?

According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, the people that will take the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s latest buyout offer include broadcast media columnist Tim Cuprisin, theater critic Damien Jaques, books editor Geeta Sharma-Jensen, education reporter Alan Borsuk, pop music writer Dave Tianen, music/dance writer Tom Strini and business columnist Tannette Johnson-Elie.

Most are arts writers. All, including Johnson-Elie, who chronicled new business and minority business stories, and Borsuk, on Milwaukee’s volatile local education scene, can be considered important local-oriented reporters, whose detailed reporting on the arts, media, education, and small business gave an important and influential segment of the paper’s readership something to look forward to.

Jaques is a legendary name in Journalism circles. His father was a journalist, and Damien has been consistently and devotedly reporting on the arts for most of his career. Cuprisin brought new life to the TV-Radio section, following on the heels of early Sentinel efforts by Chris Stoehr and others, and always emphasizing the local ups and downs of Milwaukee’s broadcast media.

Sharma-Jensen, Tianen, Strini,  Borsuk, and Johnson-Elie owned their niches, and one wonders if they will even be replaced, or whether their activities will be merged into a one or two “combo” positions, echoing what happened to architecture reporting after Whitney Gould left.

I’m guessing the Journal-Sentinel will be happy to pay for freelance reviews. But behind-the-scenes analysis? Maybe not so much.

You can’t argue with the economics of the newspaper world. But you can argue with a medium giving up it’s unique selling proposition (USP). Local, local, local is what makes a newspaper or on-line publication different.

When big city papers started trying to be USA TODAY, their soul started to evaporate. You can read about Michael Jackson anywhere. What’s in the offing for the Milwaukee Rep, Symphony, Ballet, and so many more institutions, now that their  important voices are gone?

The Journal-Sentinel has yet to announce replacements.

Great Video Installation Ideas

Video installation “Spiegelbilder” TEST from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

Take a look at their other installations as well.

Just Because You Don’t Get It, Doesn’t Mean You Shouldn’t Get It.

I admit it. Despite being an early adopter of the web (I’ve had the same url’s since the mid-90′s) I misread a couple of things.

I didn’t think information could come in spurts as short as a tweet. I forgot about something called telegrams.

I didn’t think about the web as a social place. Yet I’m as old as Walt Mossberg and used to hang out in the same “forums” on Compuserve and The Source.

And I didn’t see it as the ultimate distribution tool for video…. well, I did, but I didn’t expect it to kill off DVD’s and cd-roms. Now we urge our clients to create video just for the web– video that doesn’t even have to go “viral” to do the job. Just find your niche.

A lot of potential users of video on the web don’t get it, so they don’t use it.  They can’t understand the technology, or can’t envision a world beyond cable TV, DVD, or even giant sales meetings. And a good video might cost the same as a basic website, so they put the horse before the cart. These days, you need both– they are synergistic beyond belief.

So you’ve got to believe in the potential of what you don’t know– even if you can’t see what’s in front of your nose.

You can’t be aware of everything. But you can rely on the expertise and experience of good consultants to help point you in the right direction.

Brien Lee (that’s Brien with an “e”, in case you want to call or write. Really, we can see the future– we think.)

Video Viewing for a Happy July 4th (Part 2)

Video Viewing for a Happy July 4th (Part 1)

Video in Emails ups Click-Through Rates 2-3X

Here’s some research published on MarketingVox that states that using a video in your email will up clickthroughs by 2 to 3x. Yes, many isp’s and corporate nets block videos in email, but there are plenty of ways to get around that without upsetting the IT department masters. Read more here, and call us at 908-213-8705 if you’d like to try it out for yourself. It’s an inexpensive investment that can triple your direct email effectiveness.