General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

If you’re creating web content that’ll be viewed in the European Union, particularly if your content is being used to gather data – any data – on viewers, you need to be aware of the new GDPR for regulating data protection and privacy for citizens of the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Data collection can range from email subscription signups to tracking browser histories via cookies, to interactions with your brand, advertising, and associated digital media. A good rundown is here. But, super high level, the GDPR is designed to limit the kind of data “Hoovering” in which so many companies engage so the activity is lawful, accurate, and transparent; has limited purposes and a specific lifetime; and completely accountable.

You can find more information here.

ACTION ITEM: If any of your EU video productions are being used with the express purpose of gathering user data, be sure to review these new privacy regulations.

I, Like You, Hate To Write

Most writers don’t really like to write. Sure, we wax eloquent about the power of the written word but we also have tons of other things we’d rather do – go hiking, shop for a shirt, or even just alphabetize the pantry. Plus every blank page is a new opportunity for paralysis and failure, so that’s awesome too! So we procrastinate. I do, too. Here are a few tricks I’ve come up with to help me turn delay… into delightful!

1. Be clear on what the deliverable is, precisely. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer size and magnitude of a topic, but it’s almost always the case that the final deliverable is more limited and focused than you imagined. Be clear on what the client wants then deliver only that (display excess only in the speed and quality of your work).
2. Break your writing deliverable into smaller bits. If you have 800 words due in a week, set your goal to write 200 words a day for 4 days, then reserve the final three days for editing. That way you’re only panicked about 200 words rather than 800. Big difference.
3. PROTIP: Writing is re-writing. Don’t try to make it awesome in the first draft – just get something, anything down on paper, with the knowledge that you’ll go back and edit for clarity, brevity, and impact. No one has to see your first draft but yourself, so give yourself permission to be awful.
4. Make writing pleasant. Choose a time of day to write when you’re most relaxed and productive (for me, it’s early morning while the day is young, the air is cool, and the coffee is fresh); find a place that is quiet and free of distractions; pour yourself a refreshing beverage, open a bag of pretzels or pistachios (if your premium time is later in the day, perhaps even a bracingly bitter IPA); and choose an inspiring Pandora radio station or some other music hosting site.

I don’t ever want to sugarcoat the process of writing and suggest it’s easier than it is. But by applying just a few strategies like these you can overcome inertia and get that writing job done.

ACTION ITEM: Add these new approaches to the mix when writing

TRAVEL TIP: You Look Familiar

Not actually a tip but maybe more of a pleasantly surprising discovery while on vacation with the family. We visited the Schloss Nymphenburg while visiting Munich. While exploring its lavish galleries and lush corridors we wandered into the Gallery of Beauties where we saw a lovely painting of “The Spanish Dancer” herself, Grass Valley’s own Lola Montez. She lived here for a while in the mid-nineteenth century, where we’re told she mentored actor Lotta Crabtree, another Grass Valley resident. Just a really remarkable experience to see a citizen of our little town suspended in King Ludwig I’s Gallery of Beauties!

ACTION ITEM: What famous people are from your home town?

Watch It, Buster

I rarely get to see videos I’ve helped to create displayed in the their actual, for-realsies environment. But last month I got to watch 5 videos that I co-produced for client QAD displayed on a huge LED screen onstage at QAD’s premier customer event, “Explore” in New Orleans, LA. These Customer Showcase Videos were beautifully shot and edited by James Barnett and are always well-received by attendees. But what did the in-person experience teach me that I could apply to future productions? On the plus side, they’re well-received and appreciated (I’m trying to be objective here, but the entire audience seemed pretty engaged and attentive) so that’s helpful to know. But I did notice that for anyone in the audience behind the first row or two, anything on the screen under the lower quarter of the frame is pretty much lost, blocked by audience members’ heads and shoulders.

ACTION ITEM: For the benefit of the entire live audience, keep important images and graphics above the bottom third of the screen.

Casting Call

I do like to try out different facets of the production process so I have a well-rounded appreciation for all of its constituent parts (I think it makes me a better producer/director to have experienced, first-hand, how nerve-wracking it can be to be on camera). This week I did something way out of my comfort zone – appeared at a casting call as part of a “Through The Lens” production here in Nevada County. The part is a small one, but I had to study a bit, read lines aloud, and even read with the lead actor to see how we worked together. The most suprrising part was, though I was doing this purely as an academic exercise, I discovered I really wanted the part. I mean it suddenly became important to me that I be selected. (I did, in the end, get the role. But in the spirit of full disclosure I was the only guy who auditioned for it 😉 I’ll let you know how the process proceeds right up to the day of filming (sometime in July).

ACTION ITEM: If there isn’t some part of every job that scares you, you’re probably not taking enough risks. Is there a part of your job – corporate communications, for example – that you’ve never done personally but that you could experience, however frightening, to gain a better perspective on the overall function of your job?

TRAVEL TIP: Christmas in the Sky

Flying home from New Orleans last weekend; someone hung a chai spice-scented teabag in the restroom. I’m not saying we all should do this, but we all should do this 😉

ACTION ITEM: Put the seat back down and wipe off the counter, too.

Router Rejuvenator

I‘m a huge fan of life hacks though sometimes they can be silly and impractical. Here’s one that seems to work pretty well: we live in an area of unpredictable and intermittent Internet service, and one of our coping mechanisms, when speeds slow to a crawl, is to reset the router (in a lot of ways, even your household router is a kind of computer, with an OS and memory – just like your personal PC, a hard restart can solve a lot of annoying problems). To make it a preemptive practice, I placed a timer between the router and power source that automatically cuts power at 4:00 am then restores it 60 seconds later. Seems, so far, to be effective – and as the cost and complexity is pretty low, may be worth a shot 😉

ACTION ITEM: Consider scheduled router restarts to keep Internet service zippy and crisp

TRAVEL TIPS: Slippies

I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned this before, but most hotel rooms will leave these cheap, disposable slippers (here’s a 12-pack on Amazon) in your room – I save ‘em and use ‘em when I’m on a long flight and don’t want to wear shoes but absolutely am not stepping into that plane’s bathroom in socks or bare feet.

ACTION ITEM: Take nice comfortable slippers with you on those long plane trips

Get Some Long Straws

This came up on a shoot recently in the SF Bay Area: everyone on your shoot has some basic physical needs that you need to prepare for in your planning, scheduling, and execution. I know this sounds silly, but I can’t tell you how many times a day has been planned with no time for breaks to use the bathroom; no periods, however short, to catch a breath between set or location changes; or to spend 30 minutes contemplating a tuna sandwich and an apple. These are not nice-to-haves – they’re critical for the effective functioning of your crew (I had the DP mention to me, specifically, as we rounded 4:00 pm with no lunch break, that he was getting concerned about making errors). Plan for having humans on your shoot and accommodating their very-human needs.

Protip: have extra-long straws available for your female speakers to use (I snatch one or two from Starbucks when I grab that morning’s cappuccino) when drinking from a water bottle – they’ll appreciate that their lip gloss doesn’t smear while they sip.

ACTION ITEM: Be sure to incorporate the physical requirements of talent and crew in your production schedule

Just Say Yes

When I started in this business like eleventy billion years ago, I worked on a design project where the graphic designer acted tired and super annoyed at any and every suggestion. He just seemed unmotivated and predisposed to negativity, and I vowed to Not Be That Guy; rather, to approach every job with enthusiasm and a you-betcha attitude and, when practical, never say No. Now I often find myself challenged by clients who sometimes ask for work that’s not likely to happen due, usually, to time or budgetary constraints (BTW, you should know that enough time and enough budget can make the impossible possible ;-), and I hate – HATE – having to say no. To Be That Guy. Generally, my strategy is to say “no, but…” so I can at least provide more practical options. But I’m eager to know: how do you handle a client who – almost always coming from a position of inexperience – asks for something that can’t or shouldn’t be done within the constraints they’ve set? Any thoughts? When has your approach been the most creative or helpful?

ACTION ITEM: Try to find creative ways to say “yes” when a customer asks for something