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Music  /  PotD  /  video
Music You Can’t Share With Kids
July 2, 2016
charles i. letbetter - music you can't share with the kids

I feel happy to terrify kids. —R. L. Stine

 

charles i. letbetter- don't let the kids watch

The law says you have to protect your kids from porn, but it doesn’t say anything about music videos

For most kids, their first taste of music comes from their parents. They hear what we play on the radio or our phones. We casually fire up our playlists while we do work around the house and don’t give a second thought to what our children are hearing.

Kids love music. Any music. They don’t care what  the words mean. Last year, Little Man’s kindergarten class learned the Jackson Five’s ABC for their graduation program. You think that’s going to be cute until you hear the words coming out of your six-year-old kid’s mouth:

Shake it, shake it, baby, come on now!
Shake it, shake it, baby, ooh ooh!
Shake it shake it, baby, huh!
One, two, three, baby, ooh ooh!
ABC, baby, nah nah!
Do re mi, baby, huh!
That’s how easy love can be.

And then their little booty starts shaking and you damn near fall out of your seat from laughing so hard. You know the kids don’t have a clue that they’re singing about sex. Right now, it’s cute and funny. But then you hear them using the same language with each other. When little boys start demanding that little girls stand up and “shake it” for them, it’s time for some lessons in how to talk to people.

So, we took a look at some of the newest music videos released this week. All are bound to be chart toppers. Take a look, though, and think: is this something you can share with your kids?

Rihanna

Let’s start with the mildest video of the set. Rihanna’s Sledgehammer, which just dropped a couple of days ago, is part of the soundtrack for the next Star Trek movie, which I assume is due later this fall. Kids can probably watch this one and be okay. All the sensuality is muted and preserved in the subtleties of the video. In fact, this  is probably the most dressed Rihanna has been for a video in quite a while. The lyrics are what will get you, though. Take a look.

Where to Watch Music Videos | Vevo Originals

Vevo is the world’s leading music video network. Watch music videos on your favorite apps, streaming services, and devices, including YouTube, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Fire TV, and more.

Fifth Harmony, ft. Fetty Wap

Five attractive young women, in swimwear, on a beach. Both the song and the video are sexy from top to bottom. However, while the sensuality is aggressive and the video frequently gets in the way of the music, it’s still at a level that most kids are likely to ignore the sexy and get more into the rhythm of the music and the bright colors. That is, until Fetty Wap chimes in. Say some of those words around the wrong person and you’ll be picking your little ass up off the floor. Some are already touting this as the song of the summer, though. Best get familiar with it now.

Where to Watch Music Videos | Vevo Originals

Vevo is the world’s leading music video network. Watch music videos on your favorite apps, streaming services, and devices, including YouTube, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Fire TV, and more.

Nick Jonas

Your kids are going to listen to this song and, hopefully, not have a clue what Nick means by the phrase, “under you.” There are also subtleties to the video that seem to infer a level of domestic violence. The imagery in this one could be rough for kids whose parents fight a lot. For adults, it’s just another breakup song, though, if his only regret is that he didn’t get to have sex with the girl then it’s probably a good thing they broke up. For kids, though, there is a lot here that might require some explanation when they start repeating it back to you.

Where to Watch Music Videos | Vevo Originals

Vevo is the world’s leading music video network. Watch music videos on your favorite apps, streaming services, and devices, including YouTube, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Fire TV, and more.

Niykee Heaton ft. Migos

I really hesitated about including this one. There is a form of implied violence throughout this video that reflects the same kind of violence we see too often among inner-city teens. Toss in Niykee’s good looks dressed in little more than a swimsuit, and one can understand why forecasts for this song are pretty strong. There is a particular audience with which this song is going to resonate well. However, the video is not for  kids. We can excuse much of the song as it talks around the topics rather than directly at them. When the first image one sees, though, is an automatic weapon, and gunshots are among the final sounds, one has to question whether this video is unnecessarily promoting a culture of violence that our country doesn’t need.  Proceed with caution on this one.

Where to Watch Music Videos | Vevo Originals

Vevo is the world’s leading music video network. Watch music videos on your favorite apps, streaming services, and devices, including YouTube, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Fire TV, and more.

Fergie

We saved the sexiest for last. Fergie’s latest solo release will hit number one on the charts. Fortunately, there’s a radio edit and if your kids hear the song that’s the version that’s likely to tickle their ears. However, Fergie’s never been a shy one and she drops enough f-bombs to recapture every remaining Daesh stronghold in Syria. Why is it that kids pick up the word “fuck” so easily and quickly? It doesn’t even matter if they never hear a parent say the word. Fuck is part of the first-grade vocabulary whether anyone likes it or not. This song is not going to help that matter at all.

I must say that I love a lot of the pin-up style costuming used in the video. The bright colors and over-the-top styling are quite artistic. Much of the look here reminds me of Christina Aguilera’s Candy Man video. This is much hotter than Xtina’s take on the era. If one is concerned about a child’s body image, this may not be a video they need to  see. Adults will love it, but kids are going to ask a lot of questions. Be prepared

Where to Watch Music Videos | Vevo Originals

Vevo is the world’s leading music video network. Watch music videos on your favorite apps, streaming services, and devices, including YouTube, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Fire TV, and more.

Your Call

I’m certainly not one to make valid parenting suggestions. From an adult perspective, all these videos are about as sexy as they can get without turning to porn. They’re a pleasure to watch and to hear. I know we have trouble keeping adult words and phrases out of the mouths of our kids, and I’m guessing ours aren’t much different than yours. How you deal with the music and the videos are your business. You know what’s best for your family. Exercise caution as you see fit.

And meanwhile, we’ll be over here dancing.

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Advertising  /  Social Commentary  /  video
Awareness You Can’t Escape
July 1, 2016
charles i. letbetter - awareness you can't escape

The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. —Aristotle

 

charles i. letbetter - awareness you can't escape

Awareness sometimes requires cultivation. Other times, one cannot escape it.

Awareness is a state of consciousness, the point at which we realize something exists and are able to understand that existence, at least, in part. Sometimes, awareness has to be carefully cultivated. Physics, for example, holds various levels of awareness, the deepest of which only come with intense learning. Other matters, however, are more straightforward, perhaps even blunt. All one needs to know in order to respond appropriately can be said in a matter of seconds. Fire, for example, is hot. Even a baby understands after the briefest experience that fire is hot.

Every day, we develop more awareness. Perhaps we see a new store or read a new book. Maybe we have a conversation with a friend. Everything we do has the potential to increase our awareness. Even watching commercials.

Each year, at Cannes, the best advertising campaigns are presented and given awards based upon the quality of work. Some do an amazing job of selling a product. Others blaze new trails in technological innovation. What always strikes the hardest, though, are those that create awareness. These are the ads that make you stop and think, and give you information that leads you to act, become involved, and begin conversations.

Of this year’s winners in the film and film craft categories, four gold winners did an amazing job at creating awareness. I want to share those with you. Watch each one and let them change you.

Make Love, Not Scars

Acid. The word immediately raises warnings of danger for most teens and adults. While there are many legitimate uses for acid, however, one of the most frequent is as a weapon of personal destruction. We don’t see as many acid attacks in the United States. Awareness is low because it is usually treated as a felony assault and handled through local justice systems. Elsewhere in the world, however, acid attacks are devastating. In countries were various forms of acid are sold openly and are easily obtainable, acid attacks are a common form of personal vendetta. Most of the victims are women. Many victims are under the age of 18.

Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai created the following piece to raise awareness of this horrible issue. Incidents involving acid attacks are growing, but governments are doing little to stop them. The piece is short. Please watch. If you are inclined to investigate further, please visit Acid Survivors Foundation.

 

Never Alone

For many gay people, coming out to one’s family and friends is one of the most frightening experiences of their lives. One can never be quite certain how people might respond. Will they be accepting? Will they be angry? Will this be the end of relationships?

If one is captain of the Wales national rugby team, that fear is overwhelming. Rugby is a tough sport, one of those games allegedly created for and played by only the manliest of men. Gareth Thomas faced that fear. What he discovered, however, was that he was part of a team that had his back, no matter what anyone said. With millions of fans, there were inevitably some who didn’t understand. Still, the team supported Gareth and they continued to win games.

Guinness sponsored the award-winning film piece developed by AMV BBDO London and produced by Stink London. There’s no mention of beer here, though. No one goes out and has a pint at the end. Instead, the emphasis is on the power of a team, supporting those whose lifestyles are often vilified and misunderstood. Everyone who comes out as gay, lesbian, bi, or transgender needs a team behind them. Be part of the team. The version that won the award is below. You can watch Gareth’s full story here.

https://youtu.be/rBOTKSQ89M8

Manboobs

Censorship on social media is severe. Most apps assume that anything on your computer or especially on your phone is accessible to minors. Argue all you want, I know all too well how difficult it is to keep sensitive materials away from little hands and prying eyes. Once children reach a certain age, the more one tries to deter them the more determined they are to see what’s there.

However, that censorship becomes a complete pain in the ass for organizations trying to raise awareness for things such as, oh, let’s say breast cancer. Talking about breast cancer becomes exceptionally difficult when one can’t show real breasts. How does an organization teach women how to check for lumps, an extremely important form of early detection, if they can’t show breasts?

Some brilliant minds at the David agency in Buenos Aires came up with a creative way to address those problems for an Argentinian awareness and support organization, MACMA. The spot comes with a bit of humor but is also extremely informative. Viewers are then encouraged to make their own video. If you care to do so, let me know. We’ll be happy to help.

https://youtu.be/Ais88Os_CTg

Dear Daddy

Our final piece hits really, really close to home. Until I had a daughter of my own, I didn’t think much about the vocabulary I used and tolerated from others. I didn’t give as much thought to what might be harmful. In watching and helping Tippy grow, I’ve learned that even the most innocuous, unintentional things we do and say truly matter.

We are moderately aware to the sensitive nature of body image. However, this piece developed for Care, Norway, raises awareness to a whole new level by putting it in terms that are inescapable. Just imagine if your unborn daughter could write you a letter. This short film is one of the most moving pieces I’ve ever encountered.

Conceptual credit goes to ad agency Schjaerven Reklamebyrå and production company Tangrystan, both of Oslo. I dare you to watch this film and not be moved. If you’re a daddy, or about to become one, I dare you to not cry.

The majority of ads are not all that serious. The majority of ads aren’t worth our time. These four, though, hit us with an awareness we need. There is no escape. You have now been enlightened. Go, enlighten others.

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PotD  /  video
Minimalism: Doing More By Having Less
June 22, 2016

I have my own definition of minimalism, which is that which is created with a minimum of means. —La Monte Young

 

charles i. letbetter - minimalism

Minimalism isn’t nearly as scary as it sounds and leaves us free to do more

Minimalism is a concept that, at least on the surface, seems to run counter-intuitive to the American way of life. Americans are taught that the advantage of freedom and democracy is that we can have more. Each generation should have more than the one preceding it. Consumerism is embedded into our way of thinking. Bigger houses, more cars, more clothes, and more things seem to be the goal of every person in American. To accept any other form of philosophy feels unpatriotic.

If having more is good, though, then try explaining why those who would seem to be the embodiment of American success, middle-aged white men, are killing themselves at an alarming rate? Does having it all leave us feeling as though we have nothing? At the end of the day, just how much stuff do we really need? Could embracing minimalism actually end up giving us more of the things we truly value?

Mind you, I’m speaking of minimalism in the Zen tradition, not necessarily the art style or the fashion of Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, or Miuccia Prada. Minimalism is the practice of having fewer possessions, fewer things around us, so that our lives are more unobstructed by things that are distracting, freeing us to do more with our lives. This isn’t a minimalism born of poverty, but of purpose.

Minimalism Sounds Impossible

There are different approaches to minimalism and one has to make some difficult decisions at times as to exactly what matters. We make decisions about what is most important to us. We know what we need, what things we use more often, what things are required. When we have more than  we need, everything else can get in the way.

As I was going through my newsfeed this morning, I found this short video rather inspiring. Take a look:

One might watch that video and think, “That’s Japan. The crowded conditions of limited real estate make having less more of a necessity.” To some degree, that’s true. Those living in apartments don’t need lawn equipment like mowers and trimmers. More people ride bicycles rather than driving cars. Yet, Japan has one of the most consumer-driven economies in the world, after our own. They can manage to squeeze a lot into that little bit of space when they want.

What matters more is the realization that not only do we not need so much stuff, but that our over-abundance may be stifling our creativity, limiting our exercise, endangering our health, and making us less intelligent. Our abject consumerism makes us less active, eat more, read less,  and less imaginative. At the most extreme, those who we might refer to as hoarders live in danger of being crushed by all they own.

Having more isn’t necessarily good for us. There are better ways.

Honest Assessment

Several years ago, I sat in my home office in our nice five-bedroom home just North of Atlanta and realized that we had more than we could manage. The demands of keeping up with the house and the lawn, running three boys to various school and scouting activities, and making sure everything was working properly left us no time to breathe.  While that situation did not end as I might have liked, what I learned was that getting by on bare necessities can be a very good thing.

Look around you. How many of the things in your current location do you use every day? Every week? Every month? Are there things you haven’t touched in a year or more? We fool ourselves into thinking we have to keep all those things because we never know when we might need them. While that might be true for the tools of one’s profession, it’s not valid for the 39 pair of shoes or 27 little black dresses in your closet. Why do you have multiple bottles of nail polish when you don’t wear any? How many jogging outfits do you need if you don’t run?

Minimalism actually requires some discipline to not only avoid over-buying but getting rid of the clutter around us. I’m embarrassed when I look at the mess on my desk. From candy wrappers to  almost-empty bottles of beer, the clutter is a sign of laziness. I don’t need these things here, I’ve just not bothered to throw them away yet. We generate a lot of trash, which then becomes the clutter that makes our lives a mess.

Ease Into It Gradually

Minimalism sounds like a great idea until you actually start to do it, then it gets scary. Here are some ideas for slowly transitioning to getting by with less.

  • Except for formal wear, if you’ve not worn something in the past year it needs to go. The limit on formal wear is five years, max.
  • Choose the 14 outfits you wear the most and put them at the front of your closet. Note how often you wear anything outside that set.
  • Buy less, buy better. When you do need to purchase something new, make sure it will last so you don’t have to buy often.
  • Be generous. Consider giving away everything you’ve not used in the past year.
  • Wear less. If you don’t have children in your home, or large glass windows with no covering, go naked. Minimize wear and tear.
  • Let go of sentiment. Once towels begin to fray, toss ’em and don’t replace them. Same for shoes and clothes. Let go.
  • Generate less garbage. Buy food with minimal packaging, stay away from disposables that linger around the house for months.
  • Minimize dinnerware and kitchen utensils. A family of four doesn’t need place setting for 12. You don’t need more pots than you have burners.
  • Limit personal grooming items. Look nice, but you don’t need 37 choices of fragrance.
  • Unplug everything. If you go two weeks without plugging it back in, consider whether you really need it at all.

As you do this, clean and organize so that what you do have is put away and clutter is minimized. Watch the free space open up.

Enjoy The Benefits

Over the past weekend, we helped the kids sort through their toys, which had become excessive. Things went into three piles: Keep, Giveaway, and Trash. The kids made most the choices, though there was a strict rule that anything broken had to go in the trash pile. Our dumpster is now full, a large bin of give-away toys sits by the curb (feel free to come rummage), and what’s left is a much more manageable collection of toys with which the kids actually play. It’s an important step toward minimalism.

Along the way, as you reduce the number of things around you, you’ll notice other benefits as well. You have more time. You save money. You become more environmentally aware. You might be healthier (especially if you have blood pressure issues). What you do have means more. You feel more relaxed.

There are some caveats. We don’t throw away books, music, or art. Tools one needs for employment get an exemption though they should be able to match the flow of the rest of the house. Children naturally require more, especially in terms of clothing.

Minimalism can change our perspective on life. When I had everything down to what would fit in the backseat of a car, I saw the world very differently than I did sitting in a five-bedroom house. It is possible to have too much. Look around you. Do you really need all that stuff?

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Advertising  /  Music  /  Photography  /  PotD  /  video
Smiles And Sadness
June 7, 2016

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. —Mark Twain

 

charles i. letbetter - smiles and sadness

There are moments of sadness we cannot miss and there are opportunities for smiles we should not ignore

The dog just let out a sigh of frustration. One of the cats is noisily clawing the hell out of a scratching pad. This is one of today’s smiles because I know that while the dog does nothing now but sigh and return to sleep on top of the clean clothes I just pulled from the dryer, he’s planning on revenge when said cat is wanting to sun itself in the window later.

I am feeling emotional this morning and apologize for the disjointedness that emotion creates. I’m already planning for tomorrow’s article as the Tipster graduates kindergarten. I’ll have to start writing that one today or it won’t get done. There are plenty of smiles in that one, but also a sense of sadness as well.

That mix of smiles and sadness is running heavily across a lot of things on my mind this morning. When I first heard of photographer David Gilkey’s death in Afghanistan on Sunday, I tried to ignore it. I didn’t know David. I’m not aware of any time we might have crossed paths. So, I assumed I would be able to disconnect from the fact another colleague has given his life in pursuit of a story that no one else is telling.  There are too many of these deaths each year and with every one of them, I find myself drawn to a dark place where I wonder why I’m not taking those same risks.  I’ve not been able to put Gilkey’s death out of my mind, though. Every time I’ve turned on NPR the past two days there has been some mention of this loss of an incredible photographer. NPR has a wonderfully touching remembrance with several of David’s wonderful photographs. You would do well to click the link and take a look.

I’m also feeling mixed about a new video from 360 Google, the experimental VR arm of the giant tech company. Yeah, sure, on one hand it’s a somewhat rough sketch of what the new technology is capable of producing. Investors are show videos like this as proof of concept more than anything. But the story they’ve chosen to illustrate is one that tugs more on the heart strings than an investor’s pocketbook. “Pearl” takes us on a journey of a young man, a would-be musician, choosing to live out of his car. Life moves quickly in the first few scenes. There’s a woman, then a little girl, and we don’t know where the woman’s gone but she’s no longer in the picture. It’s just Pearl and her dad, moving from place to place in that car. She grows up, inherits the car and more. The end, in true story-book fashion, has you smiling through tears. There are a lot of feels in this video, and a lot of smiles, and some important statements about life. You’ll forget this was supposed to be about technology.

After that, I need a distraction or else I’m going to be nothing more than a bundle of emotion all day and that’s never productive. I’ll end up sitting on the couch with the dog watching Netflix and eating those godawful chips I should never have bought in the first place. Another pot of coffee is on. The dog is off the laundry and back in his bed. We can continue.

Advertising has delivered a couple of smiles already this week. The first came with the release of a new ad from cellular carrier Sprint. Normally, it would take a lot for anything in this sector to make me smile. There is so much fraud and disinformation in this whole sector that I usually just roll my eyes. But what makes this fun is that Sprint has stolen Verizon’s long-time spokesperson, Paul “Can-you-hear-me-now” Marcarelli. This doesn’t happen often because non-competes are usually iron-clad and indefinite. Apparently, Paul’s wasn’t indefinite. Here’s the result:

I’m sure someone’s learning a very valuable lesson about talent contracts about now.

Then, there’s the new LG ad for vacuums. Yeah, I didn’t know they made vacuums, either. What they did was pull off an incredible stunt that likely would have never gotten approval in the US. They went to Korea and asked Extreme Rock Climbing Medalist Sierra Blair-Coyle to climb a freakin’ skyscraper using nothing more than a couple of household dirt suckers. The climb took her 30 minutes with the vacuums attached to her back. Now, I don’t know if anyone’s carpet really needs that much sucking power, but it’s a pretty impressive stunt. I’m going to attempt to embed the video, but if it doesn’t work on your device you can also find it here.

 

Then, there was the announcement yesterday that Buzzfeed is canceling its advertising contract with the GOP. This is both huge and unprecedented. Buzzfeed is one of the top five information websites on the Internet. Millions of people are influenced by what they see there. Not being able to place ads on Buzzfeed is a significant blow to what is already a difficult task in supporting the GOP’s choice for president. I’m sure Buzzfeed could have used the $1.5 million as well. But CEO John Peretti decided the company needed to take a stand. He wrote, in part:

“We certainly don’t like to turn away revenue that funds all the important work we do across the company. However, in some cases we must make business exceptions: we don’t run cigarette ads because they are hazardous to our health, and we won’t accept Trump ads for the exact same reason.”

What will be interesting now is whether other Internet media will make similar moves in either direction. In one way, it might be seen as a way of making a political donation to the opposition without infringing upon donation limits or having to work through a super Pac. At the same time, this demonstrates how dependent campaigns are on all forms of media coverage. Should this move be replicated by other companies, the GOP effort could be substantially hindered.

One source of about 9,000 smiles this week came from funny man John Oliver. Since it’s debut last year, Oliver’s show, Last Week Tonight, has gotten a lot of attention for the clever way he brings attention to important but often overlooked subjects. He completely outdid himself this past Sunday, though. The goal was to demonstrate how easy it is for quite literally anyone to buy and collect delinquent debt. What he ended up actually doing, though, was performing the largest giveaway in television history by forgiving the nearly $15 million in debt he had bought. This seriously raises the bar in a couple of ways. First, anyone serious about being generous is going to have to cough up some serious cash. This is double anything Oprah ever did. Secondly, is challenges other so-called news organizations to do more than just talk about a news story, but to actually get involved. Is this good journalism, not exactly, but then, Oliver isn’t a journalist and this isn’t a real news show. The clip runs 20 minutes, so feel free to bookmark it and come back later to watch.

One more set of smiles and then we all need to get on about our day. I’m sure we both have more important things to do, even if we’re not especially inclined to do them. James Corden, host of CBS’ Late, Late Show, used his popular carpool karaoke segment to advertise the fact that he’s hosting Sunday’s Tony Awards. This may be the best carpool yet. Enjoy the smiles then enjoy your day.

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Art  /  Music  /  Photography  /  video
Talent Contests Don’t Understand Talent
May 19, 2016
charles i. letbetter - talent contests don't understand talent

A really great talent finds its happiness in execution. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

charles i. letbetter - talent contests don't understand talent

Any true contest of talent finds that true talent doesn’t need a contest

Talent is elusive. A lot of people can develop skill, but talent comes from the soul; either one has it or one doesn’t. There is no way to cultivate something that doesn’t exist.

Those who know me best understand that I do not submit my work to appear in juried art shows, with very few exceptions. Why? Because those who judge art, in any form, can do no more than reward those whose aesthetic matches their own. Putting a blue ribbon on a piece of art is not saying that the one piece is better than all the others entered, but merely that it would match the drapes were it hanging in the judges’ livingrooms.

Having held this opinion for many years, I am always a bit torn when it comes to televised talent contests of any kind. On one hand, they do provide a platform on which talent might  be recognized that would otherwise not receive attention. At the same time, however, it puts talent into a competitive arena that fails to understand what talent is in the first place. Having talent means that there is something within you, a combination of nurture and nature, a very specific mix of brain chemicals and specific methods of synaptic activity that allows you to do something very well and, in most cases, actually enjoy doing it. There is no competition for who has the best brain chemicals or whose synapsis fire the fastest. There is absolutely nothing about talent that can adequately and accurately serve as a basis for competition.

Look at those things that are competitive, such as sports. There is a definite measure of quality that defines who is the best. One runner moves across a given distance faster than anyone else. That can be measured. He or she in the winner. In a football game, one team or the other manages to move that odd-shaped ball across the goal line. Points scored are a quantitative measure. One team is the winner.

Talent, though, has no inherent scoring system nor means of accurate quantitative analysis that is wholly objective. We can measure range, we can measure decibels, we can measure color and light, but in the end, someone has to make a decision based on opinion, not an accurate measure of quality. Talent is, quite simply, not designed to be competitive in any way, shape or form.

So, we get down to the end of a popular talent contest like NBC’s The Voice.  The concept has been syndicated around the world and is responsible for unearthing some incredible vocal talent. Yet, in each instance, only one person is selected as a winner and, every damn time, one can make endless arguments for multiple contestants that one was “better” than the other, and all of those arguments are going to be wrong.

No one is better. They are all different. They have different tonalities. They have different presentation methods. They have different appeals to people who prefer specific genres. One group of people may prefer the sound of one person over the other, but that is a subjective opinion that is likely to not be shared outside a limited group.

Look at all the myriad television contests that have been on television over the years. From all those, how many of those “winners” have turned their prize into an actual career? The answer is very few because being talented does not necessarily translate into broad commercial appeal. Choose the wrong song, choose the wrong timing, choose the wrong PR agent, and one’s talent career is sunk, but that does not mean that the person is not still every bit as talented.

This week, The Voice chose its four finalists: two women, two men. I’m going to post the video of their recent performance. Listen to the talent, attempt to be as objective as possible (which, in reality, is not possible) and try to make an argument that one is more talented than the other.

https://youtu.be/9wb7HqVNuKg

https://youtu.be/OrTCjntO3_s

https://youtu.be/SSg2xHumQs0

https://youtu.be/vRW3JistcGo

All four of these people hold superb and well-refined talent. You might not like their genre, you might not like the way they sing a specific song, you might not like the tone of their voice, but all of that is nothing more than your opinion. And, I hate to be the one to tell you, your opinion isn’t worth squat. You can bitch and moan and say whatever you want, but no opinion changes the fact these people are talented.

Talent is NOT a competition, whether it is singing or painting or photography or floral arranging or creative writing or acting or playing the cello. There is no contest that can truly say one talent is better than the other. Maybe we need to find a better approach.

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Current Issues  /  Social Commentary  /  video
Fitness And Sex
May 19, 2016
charles i. letbetter - fitness and sex

Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security. —John F. Kennedy

 

charles i. letbetter - fitness and sex

You know you need to exercise, fitness just hasn’t been any fun, until now

Look at the quote above and who made it and we realize that, for the most part, the current American citizenry has never been in the best of shape, and despite numerous fitness crazes we’ve only gotten fatter. This is especially true if one lives in the Midwest, and if one lives in Indianapolis specifically, we’re more out of shape than anyone.

No, I’m not kidding. The American Fitness Index report was released this week and of the 50 US cities surveyed, Indianapolis comes in dead last. This is really bad. Look at this list of areas where we are failing:

Improvement Priority Areas (worse than 20% of target goal): • Lower percent meeting CDC aerobic activity guidelines • Lower percent meeting both CDC aerobic and strength activity guidelines • Lower percent consuming 2+ fruits per day • Lower percent consuming 3+ vegetables per day • Higher percent currently smoking • Higher percent obese • Lower percent in excellent or very good health • Higher percent of days when physical health was not good during the past 30 days • Higher percent of days when mental health was not good during the past 30 days • Higher percent with asthma • Higher percent with angina or coronary heart disease • Higher percent with diabetes • Lower percent of city land area as parkland • Fewer acres of parkland per capita • Lower percent using public transportation to work • Lower percent bicycling or walking to work • Lower Walk Score® • Lower percent of population within a 10 minute walk to a park • Fewer ball diamonds per capita • Fewer dog parks per capita • Fewer park playgrounds per capita • Fewer park units per capita • Fewer recreation centers per capita • Fewer tennis courts per capita • Lower park-related expenditures per capita

Just the size of that list should be enough for us to realize that we have a lot of work to do if we’re going to improve our situation. There is one measure not on the list, though, and it may be the one that gives us a chance to redeem our fat selves: sex. You’re reading that correctly, we might very well be able to sex ourselves into good health. Or, if not good health, at least something less likely to end up in the cardiac ward of your neighborhood hospital.

How is this possible, you ask? The folks behind your favorite porn site, PornHub, have created a new program with you in mind: Bangfit. No, I’m still not kidding. We’re totally wearing our serious face here. This is a legitimate fitness program, or, at least, an attempt at one. Here, watch this surprisingly safe-for-work video that explains the whole thing:

https://youtu.be/DUFjNiusLEw

Okay, so that’s at least the way the thing is supposed to work. I wouldn’t be posting this if I hadn’t checked the thing out for myself and, uhm, … it’s not working. This may be due to the fact that dozens of online magazines and sources reported about the site yesterday and their servers are now totally overloaded; that’s what I’m guessing. When I first tried accessing the web page, it timed out. When I tried about five minutes later, I got the site, but none of the links worked. When I pull up the site on my phone, it asks for a specific code to sync my phone, which is supposed to track my “activity,” with the computer, which is supposed to provide “instruction.” That doesn’t always happen, though. When the sight finally DID work, the lag between clicking a link and seeing any result was rather slow.

In theory, the premise should be correct. Sexual activity should provide serious fitness advantages, especially when done on a regular basis. I’m seeing some problems with the reality of the concept, though.

  1. For there to be any fitness advantage, the sex is going to have to last more than five minutes. C’mon guys, you know damn good and well how rarely that happens. You’re going to have to work on your stamina.
  2. No one is that regular with their sex lives, at least, not if you’re using a partner. The program has the single-person option, of course, which is also likely to be the most popular. But the real fitness comes from the couples play and very few couples manage to make daily sex a reality.
  3. The product is still in beta, so there are still some glitches and not all features are present. For example, only three settings are currently offered: single, couple, and threesome (in your dreams).
  4. The scoring system relies on your phone being attached to your hip in some way and measures your movement accordingly. So, depending on the position, one person might get more of a workout than the other. I also found I was able to adjust my fitness score simply by shaking my phone.
  5. Really cheezy porn from Brazzers plays on your computer while you’re “exercising.” Maybe you like cheezy porn. I’m sure someone does … somewhere.

I do encourage you to give it a try for yourself. Who knows, maybe we can start having group “fitness” parties! Of course, there are the necessary caveats. Check with your doctor to see if your heart is healthy enough for sex (mine always looks at me funny when I ask that question). Be sure to stretch, hydrate, and all that other pre-workout stuff fitness people do. Don’t forget to use appropriate safeguards such as condoms and birth control unless you really, really want an excuse for never working out again.

Sex fitness really isn’t a bad idea, and may be just the thing to help Indianapolis get off its unhealthy and flabby ass. I see a lot of people clicking on the single user option, though. Out of shape people aren’t going to find workout partners for this program too easily. So, good luck with that. Let me know how that works out for you.

 

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Telling Different Stories
May 18, 2016
charles i. letbetter - telling different stories

People are much deeper than stereotypes. That’s the first place our minds go. Then you get to know them and you hear their stories, and you say, ‘I’d have never guessed.’ —Carson Kressley

 

charles i. letbetter - telling different stories

Advertising is at its best when it does more than push a product and tells stories we weren’t expecting

 

Stories are a natural part of any good ad, whether it’s video or still. Ads have to be compelling stories where the viewer can put themselves into the situation or, at least, relate to some aspect of the story. No one buys a product with which they cannot in some way relate. So, a large part of being a creative ad person is knowing how to tell a good story.

Linus Karlsson tells great stories. As chairman of McCann/Commonwealth, though, we’ve seen Karlsson more as an agency builder. Some of us are old enough to remember his fantastic Miller Lite ads from several years ago, but he’s been heading up the corporate side of things long enough many might have forgotten just how creative he can be. Apparently, that is a large part of the reason he started a new agency, Ming Utility and Entertainment. Small and focused on work that is either useful or entertaining, Ming gives Karlsson the chance to spread his creative wings once again, and he has created a most compelling story in the Frank & Marty campaign for Smith Optics.

The trend among makers of sunglasses is to put them on pretty faces, cool people who are doing all the things you would like to be doing if you weren’t tied down with silly stuff like work and children and paying bills. Karlsson goes exactly the opposite direction not only in creating characters who aren’t especially young and hip, but the two people out of ten who wouldn’t use Smith sunglasses while fishing. They consider such an advantage cheating.

We’ve seen similar approaches before, but Karlsson goes all in with a set of short films that allow us to really get to know Frank & Marty, and gives Karlsson and his team plenty of room to tell the whole story. The two characters, both of whom are fresh castings we’ve not seen before, even have their own website and social media accounts. And Instagram (there’s a joke there, but you won’t get it until you’ve seen all the videos)

Take a look at the videos below and enjoy the work of a master storyteller. These are the kind of stories we all want to tell with our pictures. This is what makes being creative fun and worthwhile.

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It’s Not Easy Being Mom (Video)
April 27, 2016
charles i. letebtter - it's not easy being mom

My mother was a single mom, and most of the women I know are strong. —Regina King

 

charles i. letbetter - it's not easy being mom

Being a mom has always been tough, so let’s skip the platitudes and recognize them for the tough, persevering people they are.

We tend to think of mothers as being tender, gentle and nurturing creatures who kiss away our boo-boos when we’re little, mend our broken hearts when that first crush dumps us, and cries when we finally get around to leaving home. Certainly, moms are all those things. But your mom is so much more. In fact, I’ve not known a mom who isn’t just as tough, as hard-working, as creative, and as persevering as any man she might come up against. Moms not only know how to get the work done, they know how to clean up the mess when everything explodes in your face. They’re due a bit more respect than what they’ve been getting.

I don’t like losing jobs, but when I see positions in advertising that have traditionally gone to men not only going to women, but going to a mom, I don’t feel I have any room to complain. Not only does that mom deserve the same opportunity as old white guys like me, chances are pretty high she can do the job better and is going to leave all us old white guys in the dust. As we’re beginning to see more women in top executive roles at ad firms, the tenor of ads both for and about women has changed. Slowly but surely, that condescending tone of ads that permeated advertising through the 90’s and well into the early part of this century is beginning to change perspectives and put in its place is one more real and understanding of women’s lives.

For example, with Mother’s Day coming up in a couple of weeks, we’re seeing ads from the usual places beginning to crop up but they’re not all sweet and smarmy as they’ve been before. This ad from Teleflora does a much better job of depicting exactly what all a mom does. Take a look:

In case you don’t recognize the voice, that’s the late NFL champion coach Vince Lombardi’s famous speech on what it takes to be a winner. All those words about grit, being tough, never giving up, and doing whatever it takes have traditionally been applied to football players. What this ad shows, though, is that they apply just as much to your mom, my mom, and every mom who’s ever given birth to a child. The road isn’t easy.

Even in cultures where women have traditionally been treated as little more than slaves, we’re beginning to see some change. I was struck by an ad from India, a place where patriarchy and misogyny still have a strong hold on the culture. Taking on the perspective of a father who sees late in his life just how hard his daughter works both as a mom and a business person and takes on the stereotype of men not helping around the house. Every father-to-be, in every country, needs to see this:

As we pass from a male-dominated perspective to one that is hopefully more balanced, one of the things we begin to realize is that just the act of becoming a mom is more than we’ve ever imagined. Not only is it painful to become a mom, it’s dangerous. A statistic of which I was not aware until late last year is that almost 300,000 women still die every year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Think about that a moment and do some math. That means someone is losing their mother at least once every two minutes.

Don’t go thinking that statistic is limited to third world countries, either; it’s just as applicable here in the United States and every time some goddamn holier-than-thou politician introduces yet another idiotic bill limiting women’s access to free and/or low-cost healthcare and birth control, he’s ratcheting that number higher. Fortunately, there are organizations like Planned Parenthood and Christy Turlington’s Every Mother Counts (EMC) program who are there to address the issue of mortality among mothers. EMC operates in seven countries, including the US, to not only bring awareness of childbirth issues, but to partner with organizations to address issues such as poor education, transportation to doctors and hospitals, and supplies. They’re directly meeting the needs of moms like yours and mine every day, and not only do they get little thanks for it but often they are ridiculed and bad mouthed and even threatened because they dare to further the cause and life quality of women.

Seeing more women in traditionally male roles, such as advertising, communications, medicine, technology, and pretty much everywhere else is good for us all, good for our society, and good for our economy. Let us not lose sight, though, that many of those strong womens are also the people someone calls mom. They deserve more than flowers. They deserve our respect.

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More Than Mean (Video)
April 27, 2016

I think there is a danger there of being mean to people and humiliating people and embarrassing people just because it might get you ratings. It is a disturbing trend. —Bruce Nash

charles i. letbetter - meaner than mean

The only habit of allowing trolls to be mean, especially to women, whenever and where ever they want has gotten out of control. It’s time to stop them.

“Stop being mean!”

That is the Tipster’s response when I put her to bed for the third time. In her six-year-old world, having an 8:00 bedtime is mean; the sun isn’t quite down yet, there’s still daylight, so she thinks she still has time to play. We have boundaries and schedules I am obligated to enforce for her own good, so therefore, in her mind, I’m the mean one.

Raising a little girl in today’s environment. I want her to be as independent and strong as her mother and she shows every sign of having all those qualities. Grandpa Bob tells me Kat didn’t like going to bed, either. Yet, when I look at the world into which she’s growing up, one that demeans and ridicules women just for being women, I worry. A lot. I think I have plenty of good reasons.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that one of the nation’s top software engineers, Jessie Frazelle, received so many death and rape threats that her employer had to hire bodyguards to guarantee her safety. She recently moved to another company and while she has yet to make any kind of statement the general consensus is that she was harassed out the door, that the company knew about the harassment and did nothing to stop it. Last July she wrote:

Ever since I started speaking at conferences and contributing to open source projects I have been endlessly harassed. I’ve gotten hundreds of private messages on IRC and emails about sex, rape, and death threats. People emailing me saying they jerked off to my conference talk video (you’re welcome btw) is mild in comparison to sending Photoshopped pictures of me covered in blood.

Then, earlier this week, Frazelle tweeted:

I wish I could say this was an isolated problem. I wish I could say this was a new problem. Neither of those statements would be true, though. Being mean to women online is as old as the Internet itself and the toll it is exacting is severe.

The same day that the Frazelle story was posted, The Washington Post ran a story questioning whether 31-year-old Fairfax County firefighter Nicole Mittendorff was harassed so severely that she committed suicide last week. What makes this story particularly upsetting is that the trolls who have continued to hound her claim to be her fellow firefighters. An investigation is underway, but no matter what they find, and it’s almost certain that someone will be charged in this case, the fact that nothing was done to stop the continual barrage of mean comments, that no one was able to sufficiently stand up for her and back the trolls down, incriminates the entire online system.

Being mean, especially to women, has reached epidemic proportions. While this is just observational speculation, I’m willing to be that one could ask any woman with an internet account if they’ve had someone they don’t know say something mean about them online and probably 9 of every ten, if not more, would say yes. I know Kat’s gotten comments, especially when we first started seeing each other. She was able to handle those quickly, though. Not everyone is so lucky.

We laugh when Tonight Show host Jimmy Kimmel has guests read mean tweets about themselves but the very fact we find those tweets and other similar comments funny is a part of what allows the online abuse of women to flourish. Part of the reason trolls say the mean things they say is because they think what they’re doing is absolutely hilarious and that if we don’t “get it” that we need to “lighten up.” There is no humor in threatening to rape or kill women, though. It’s not funny to send them pictures covered in what appears to be blood. There’s no joke behind telling women they asked for it. Every last bit of it is mean.

#MoreThanMean started trending on Twitter yesterday after a Washington Post video was posted where two sports reporters, Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro, sat down and had sports fans read, out loud, some of the mean tweets the two women receive every day. The effect was emotional and drove home just how easy it is to type things that we never would consider saying to someone in person. The men reading the tweets were clearly uncomfortable and some even cried. You not only need to see this video, you need to share this video. Take a look:

Stop and think. Mother’s Day is coming up in a couple of weeks. Would you talk to your mother like that? Would you tolerate someone talking to your sister, your girlfriend, or your spouse with those words? Not if you have an ounce of decency in you, you wouldn’t. Those of you who have daughters, what if someone spoke like that to her?

Being mean has become so much a part of our culture, though, to the point that we have justified it and built organizations around it, and now embodied it in one of our leading presidential candidates. In a follow-up story on the boycotts we mentioned last week, a new article from Business Insider shows just how much hate and meanness there is around letting transgender people use the restroom with which they most identify. People of color have been beaten at presidential campaign rallies and the candidate has encouraged such mean behavior.

We have created a culture of mean and tolerated it far too long. The time has come for us to stand up, to confront the online bullies, especially those who harass women. We don’t have to necessarily be mean in response to meanness. I think responding with, “If you wouldn’t say it, don’t type it,” is a good start. And yes, unfortunately, there are people who are willing to say mean things. One of them is inexplicably running for president and appears to be winning his party’s nomination. Are we really willing to allow the election of a president who is mean?

This is the primary reason we don’t allow comments on these pages. We tried it a few years ago and even then the mean and rude comments were enough of a problem I made the decision to simply not provide a forum where such statements could exist. I am still of the mind that unmoderated comments are unnecessary and unhelpful.

#MoreThanMean needs to become a battle cry. We cannot allow this culture of mean to continue. Lives are at stake. The lives of people we all hold dear, even if they’re not old enough to be online yet. For all the Tipsters and the Ravens and the Emmas and every other little girl out there who are not yet able to speak for themselves, we need to shut this culture of mean down now.

If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t type it. And confront those who do.

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Progress We Think We’ve Made
April 18, 2016
charles i. letbetter - progress we think we've made

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. —Benjamin Franklin

 

charles i. letbetter - progress we think we've made

It’s easy enough to think that we’re above some of the errors of the past, but we may not be as progressive as we think.

I was left shaking my head this morning when Business Insider published an article with 18 ads we would consider horrible and terribly insensitive in today’s society. The purpose of the article was to give us the positive feeling that we have progressed significantly from the ads shown. Among them were racist soap ads, racist Jell-o ads, ads encouraging giving soda to infants, and ads denigrating women in just about every form imaginable. One aftershave ad even seems to encourage rape with copy that reads, “If she doesn’t give it to you, get it yourself.”

We like to think that we have progressed far beyond the stereotypes and social insensitivities of those ads. No one in their right mind today would put a picture of a pear with copy that says, “This Is No Shape For A Girl.” We know better, right? And we’ve even passed federal legislation so cigarette makers can no longer tell us that four out of five doctors smoke Camels. Yet, when we take a broad look at the bulk of advertising in place today, we may not have made as much progress as we would like to think.

Take a look through the advertising on your mobile device or, if you’re old school any major magazine. Notice how many of the ads still favor a stereotypical view of Caucasian people, especially in the areas of fashion, beauty, business, and travel. Within those sectors specifically, a whopping 80% of ads are tilted toward a white audience. Even worse, in many of those ads, especially those related to the hospitality industry, when a person of color is included in the ad it is almost always in a position of service, such as a waiter or hotel staff, further perpetuating the idea that those ethnicities are, for some stupid reason, supposed to serve the white man. Some studies in the health care area show that racial disparities in advertising actually have a negative impact upon the health status of disaffected populations.

Women aren’t faring much better. Just last year, the Bic company ran this ad:

This ad is so offensive to women on so many levels I have to wonder if there was any managerial or even adult oversight in the creation of this campaign. The very notion that women need to think like men for any reason is deplorable, and the inference that women aren’t already the boss are just the start. What does it mean to “look like a girl?” Exactly how does one “act like a lady?” Astonishingly, though, we still see this sort of advertising far too often.

The rape culture in advertising is still alive and well, also. An ad in Bloomingdale’s holiday catalog last year included the caption, “Spike your best friend’s egg nog when they’re not looking,” under a photo of a man leering at a young woman who wasn’t paying attention. Those are the kinds of attitudes that endanger women everywhere as they dismiss the concept of absolute consent. How are we still letting these things get into print?

Ads featuring gay, lesbian, or transgender people are still a hot button and advertising still gets it wrong as often as it gets it right. I hesitate to imagine what our children or grandchildren will think of us when they look back twenty years from now and see that ads such as this one still manage to get air time without censorship:

https://youtu.be/EumiDLgd-T4

Fortunately, the New Hampshire bill passed and the Supreme Court finalized the question of gay marriage, but that doesn’t mean that advertising has caught up or has any fewer stereotypes of gay and lesbian couples than it did before. Even if we didn’t have a part in the creation of such politically misguided advertising, we should be embarrassed that we would even allow such patently offensive material to air in the first place.

Even more liberal advertisers have not made as much progress as we would like to think. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) only removed this billboard after an overwhelmingly large public outcry against it:

Even by 1970s standards, that ad is offensive not to mention that it is misinformative. Eating a vegetarian diet doesn’t help if one’s general intake and eating habits are still unhealthy. Yes, there are diabetic and obese vegetarians. Shaming people because of their size is not helpful.

Ad agencies like to think they’re at the forefront of bringing out social change. Certainly, there are a number of ad campaigns that have done a lot of good in moving us to be more inclusive, understanding, and accepting of each other, as well as encouraging more healthy behavior. But before we get a cramp patting ourselves on the back, we need to take a good look at the places where we still reinforce old stereotypes and insensitive and offensive behavior. We’ve likely not made as much progress as we would like to think.

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Dating Discrimination
April 16, 2016
charles i. letebtter - dating discrimination

I tried to make up for being short by affecting a strut, by adopting the voice of a much bigger man, by spending more money than I made, by tipping double or triple at bars and restaurants, by dating tall, beautiful women. —Mickey Rooney

 

charles i. letbetter - dating discriminating

There has always been discrimination in dating, but when that discrimination turns to blatant racism we need to examine our motives

I’m not too big on giving dating advice for the simple fact that dating is not something I have to do with any great frequency. Sure, I’ve had enough duds and disappointments to understand the emotions attached, but I don’t have the endless horror stories that I know some people experience, either. My criteria are fairly simple: she has to be smart, attractive enough that I’m not afraid to take her picture, and not likely to crush me if she slips and falls. Kat fills those requirements quite nicely along with several bonus points. I’m happy, thank you.

I never was any good at all the dating apps everyone seems to think are the solution to their relationship problems, though. Over the years, I think I’ve tried them all. Match never sparked anything. eHarmony outright turned me down. Plenty of Fish tended to smell. And Tinder left me totally depressed when no one ever swiped right. Yawn. Over it. I fail to see the attraction.

Apparently I’m an anomaly, though, or maybe I’m just too old. For people Kat’s age and younger, those apps are a significant part of their lives and reading their profiles can be very revealing. Sometimes, perhaps a bit more revealing than they intended. While we expect people to be a bit discriminating in whom they might choose to date, when that discrimination turns to blatant racism then perhaps it’s time we seriously started questioning who we are.

Since I’m not on any dating apps regularly, I didn’t realize there was a problem until the issue popped up on The Daily Show this past week. Host Trevor Noah has not been shy in tackling the topic of racism at all levels of society, which is necessary. Too many people think we have gotten past racism when in fact it is still just as entrenched as ever, we just make more of an effort to hide it. At least, we did until this presidential election cycle in which being racist seems to be a key plank in some candidates’ platform. The Daily Show’s  Jessica Williams and Ronny Chieng applied their usual humor in exploring the topic. Take a look:

While the piece made me chuckle a few times, it also caused me to wonder just how widespread this problem of dating racism actually is. After all, I can see where the larger the sample, such as in New York or LA, the more frequently one might see the problem. Do the same signs show up in the Midwest as well? I knew the answer before I asked the question, but I went ahead and verified my suspicions anyway.

Checking up on racist dating isn’t easy for an aging white guy to do. First, I had to go back to all those apps, re-install them, and then request my passwords. Then, after updating my profiles a bit, with new pictures and such, I started looking at the profiles each app thought I should consider. Sure enough, the second profile I hit started with, “white guys only please.” Going on through, some were even more aggressive. “Asian men can keep their small dicks to themselves,” and, “Don’t talk to me if your whole family isn’t white.” Then, there were those who were outright offensive. I won’t bother repeating them. I spent less than 30 minutes on all the apps combined and found over 20 openly racist profiles.

What this shows is that not only are we more racist than I had realized, we’re also incredibly hypocritical. Ask people what they look for in a good relationship and they’ll almost always come back with the standard altruistic qualifiers such as kindness, intelligent, funny, hard working, good with children, and other such nonsense. Based on the profiles I saw, what women are really looking for is someone rich enough to take them nice places, has a house big enough for all their kids and pets, drives a nice car, is down for some kinky shit in the bedroom, and, oh yeah, had better be the right race.

A couple of things worth noting at this point. Obviously, being a straight male, I didn’t see any of the other guys’ profiles. I doubt I would be surprised, though. I’ve met too many men in the Midwest who wear their racism like a badge of honor. Also, the racist statements weren’t limited to white women. Black women, at least those in my immediate area, make the same statements against Hispanic and Asian men as do white women. Dating racism isn’t just “a white girl thing.”

What hurts is that we know better. There’s not a single one of us who wasn’t taught from the time we were very tiny that who we love isn’t a matter of looks or physical attraction, but a matter of hearts that are passionate for each other. I’ve often told Kat that I dislike the question, “Why do you love me?” Real love, where it dares to exist, has no qualifiers. We don’t love someone because they’re pretty, or tall, or a certain race. When we honestly, earnestly love someone, it is because we choose  to love them. Period. End of statement. Love that must come with qualifications cannot be real for love must be pure or it doesn’t exist at all.

I know dating is difficult for a lot of people and yes, we are going to be naturally discriminating about certain qualities we find attractive. If we are being blatantly racist in our search, though, not only are we cutting ourselves off from really wonderful people, we’re also presenting ourselves as someone who hates. No one wants to date a hater. Someone who appears attractive on the outside and has hate on the inside is not someone most of us want even in our circle of acquaintances. No one needs a hater in their life.

This exercise made me really appreciate not being out in the dating scene. I saw a lot on those apps that was unattractive in so very many ways. I was rather shocked at how people chose to present themselves. Maybe it’s time for everyone to take a step back and consider who and what they really are. Find the hate and get the fuck over it. Not only will you be better for it, I dare say you’ll find the rest of the world more accepting as a result.

Good luck.

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Modern Convenience
April 11, 2016

The technologies of convenience are making our sphere of exploration and experience smaller. —Robert Englund

 

charles i. letbetter - modern convenience

Modern convenience saves time, money, and wear and tear, but are we missing something greater?

This is one of those Monday mornings where I am having considerable difficulty finding any motivation. I hit the snooze on my alarm for a full hour this morning before pulling my feet out from under the covers. After a trying week with long hours and too little sleep and too much anxiety, I would just as soon spend the entire day in bed. What’s a little disturbing is that I almost could. Modern convenience gives me the ability to write from anywhere I can manage either a WiFI or cell phone signal. The software and settings on my desktop computer can be easily duplicated on my laptop. My image files are shared on the home network so I can access them from any room in the house. The only reason I would have to get out of bed is for food and coffee.

I am happy to be living in a period where such convenience is possible, and there is even more. I have the world’s information at my fingertips, no matter where I am, no matter what time of day it may be. My middle son, the Marine stationed in Japan, would have been difficult to contact a mere ten years ago, but now we can Skype and chat in real time without inconveniencing either of us. I can watch fashion shows around the world live without ever having to board a plane and sit next to someone wreaking of perfume for 17 hours. I can take a picture and not have to drop film off at the lab. The convenience of living right here, right now, is nice.

With such convenience, however, comes some responsibility, I think. If the universe is going to give us all these advantages, do we not have an obligation to use them for the greater good? If our lives are somehow made easier by the things around us and the abilities we have been given, does that not obligate us to not only improve our lives but that of those around us? Being the beneficiaries of convenience means that we are compelled to learn more, to understand at a deeper level, to be involved to a greater degree, and to speak more when the time is appropriate. Convenience is wonderful but we are indentured to the universe for using that convenience in ways that make a difference.

When I first sat down at my desk this morning, there were a number of news stories that caught my eye. These were among them:

That such a diverse amount of current information and opinions from around the world is available at my fingertips this morning is amazing. While they do come from several different sources, they were delivered as curated links so that I wouldn’t lose time sorting through all the different publications. Everything is right there waiting for me. The convenience is astonishing.

Yet, for that convenience, there is a necessary response. I cannot, morally, just read those articles and not respond. Each demands some form of response that alters my life and my schedule in some form. Consider:

  • The questions Raf asks, though seemingly esoterical on one level, are applicable for every aspect of a very broken fashion industry. This impacts not only how I view current fashion events, but also influences my own shopping habits. To the degree that I take advantage of the convenience of fast fashion, I endanger the creativity that pushes the industry forward.
  • If the weather patterns develop as predicted, we could see a colder winter here in the Midwest. Therefore, we would do well to plant a garden of food that can be easily preserved and hold throughout the winter. Challenging weather patterns lead us to take actions now that make us more self-sufficient.
  • While the extinction of birds in South America may seem to be inconsequential, we know that the world is interconnected and that such events make the world less sustainable. We need to be more aware of purchases we make, especially those regarding paper and plastic products, that impact the areas where avian species are most rapidly dying.
  • Disappointment in the Apple Watch, and how people are not using it even after spending so much money on them, will inevitably affect the future of smart wearables. This is an important lesson in how design can only push society forward so far. When the technology exceeds societies ability to adapt it to their lives, the technology fails. This is going to slow further technology integration. I need to keep a look out for how the industry as a whole responds.

Those may seem minor, perhaps, but they ultimately matter in how I shape my day and what decisions I make. Convenience generates awareness to things that we might have totally missed as little as five years ago. Convenience also makes it easier to respond in an appro

Convenience also makes it easier to respond in an appropriate way. When we know that portions of Asia and India are more likely to face devastating floods later this year, we can begin giving to relief agencies in advance rather than waiting until an emergency strikes. The plethora of financial options available to us now allows us to manage our finances in such a way that we are better able to save more and thereby help more than did previous generations. These conveniences give us an edge in helping to make the world a better place. We direct our creativity and innovation more precisely because it is convenient to do so.

Let’s face it, we would all be lazy and lethargic if it were an option. For 99% of us, though, we have to work to make any progress and anything that makes that work and our living easier is to be appreciated.

A trailer for the new Harry Potter movie was released over the weekend. Being able to see trailers without needing to go to the theater allows us to decide in advance which movies we might want to see. In this case, though, it also raises another question. We have a seven-year-old who is reading rather voraciously. He’s going to find the new trailer interesting, so the convenience of seeing the trailer now, at home, gives us the opportunity to not only discuss whether it is appropriate viewing fare, but also whether his reading level might be at a point where we could introduce him to the first of the Harry Potter books on conjunction with the release of the film.

It also allows us to do this:

Enjoy the convenience you have this Monday.

 

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Casual Friday
April 8, 2016
charles i. letbetter - casual Friday

A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. —Friedrich Nietzsche

charles i. letbetter - casual friday

When Fridays turn foul we do best to just wait the day out and hope for a better tomorrow

There are days when there is absolutely nothing you can do to boost productivity. Some days are just bad and this is feeling very much like it is going to be one of them. Here it is the start of Spring, still early in April, and while we might expect the rain we’ve been having, waking up to a 30-degree temperature this morning isn’t exactly a good way to start the weekend. The cold snap we’re experiencing is thwarting plans left and right and making the children difficult which in turns makes me irritable.

Since productivity is out the window, for the fifth time this week, my plan for today is to simply survive. There’s really no other choice. The kids are feeling the cabin fever just as much as I am and if I want to keep the noise level down to a point where I’m not committing violent crimes against all of humanity then we’re going to have to make this Friday a most casual one and do something I would normally not recommend doing: watching movies.

Of course, for this casual Friday to actually work, I have to select just the right movies, a blend that will keep the little one’s from further destroying the house while simultaneously not drive me to the point of wanting to nuke the entire Disney operation. This isn’t easy. Fortunately, Netflix has a large number of options and recommendations. So, here’s what we’re going to try (hint, click on the titles to go directly to the movies):

The Mummy

I consider it part of my duty to both instill a sense of fear in children everywhere and I can think of no better way to do that than through really cheesy action and adventure flicks. Let’s face it: anything with Brandon Frazer is automatically covered in a pretty heavy dose of cheese. It’s casual Friday, though, so maybe we’ll just use that cheese and make nachos.

Spy Hard

The late Leslie Nielson brought a level of humor and satire to movies that I know is going to sail right over the kids’ heads. That’s okay. There’s enough slapstick to make them laugh. Leave the more subtle aspects for me. Maybe one day the kids will look back and think, “Why did anyone let me watch this?”

Barbarella

Just kidding. Tossed that one in to give Kat a startle. Happy casual Friday, dear!

Bewitched

Proof that Will Ferrel can make a really lousy movie that flops at the box office. I loved the original series, but this just stinks from one end to the other. Perfect for kids who don’t know the meaning of the word “quiet.”

Big Trouble In Little China

Okay, this one’s actually pretty good and by this point in the day I’m going to need something with the right blend of comedy and action and racial stereotypes. Well, okay, I could do without the racial stereotypes. Still, my hope is this is the one that puts them down for a willing nap. Every casual Friday needs a nap, doesn’t it?

I should probably note that were there no children in the equation my list would look dramatically different. I’d much rather watch a good documentary such as Ken Burn’s piece on the Roosevelts, which I’ve still not finished. That would have the little ones bouncing off the walls, though, and this casual Friday would become chaotic Friday and we really, really don’t want that. Not again.

Yes, this is a perfect example of really horrible parenting. You shouldn’t do this. Do not follow my example. If you need to have a casual Friday of your own, I’m sure there are much more wholesome and educational activities with which you could pass the time with your children. I’m sure your children are wonderful, beautiful, and always incredibly well behaved and listen to every instruction you give them. These two don’t, though, and since nothing else this week has worked I’m throwing in the towel and turning on the television. I’m sorry. If you think something different should happen, you are more than welcome to come take over. The backdoor is unlocked (I think).

Oh, and despite the pictures above, this casual Friday does not involve nudity. Again, kids. If they weren’t here, however … (ahem).

Enjoy your casual Friday. If there are no new articles tomorrow you’ll know I didn’t survive.

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A Final Thought
August 15, 2015
charles i. letbetter - a final thought

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls. ― Ingmar Bergman

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]I have had a number of thoughts this week about converting still photographs to video, more than a few of them born out of frustration at not having a clue what I’m doing at any given moment. I had this same feeling about twelve years ago when I first made the leap from film to digital photography. The difference is that the change then felt imperative, that there was no option but to change or be left behind in the dust. I don’t get that feeling about video, but I do have a final thought or two on the subject.

First thought: Video isn’t going away and photographers who want to remain commercially active in the field need, at the very least, a cursory understanding of the medium and the tools involved. My biggest frustration this week has been not knowing the tools. I understand Adobe® Photoshop™, and am comfortable with what I can achieve with that tool. I also understand its features well enough to know that a little goes a long way and that less is often better. I’m not sure those rules apply to video and felt lost more often than not. Perhaps there needs to be classes specifically oriented toward photographers, taking what we already know and translating that to video.

Second thought: The dangers that were present with digital photography are present in digital video as well. Just like Photoshop™, Premiere Pro™ has a lot of different capabilities built-in to address a wide variety of needs and challenges that are common to the medium. A number of the effects and presets are meant to be used in various combination with each other, but exactly how to do that isn’t necessarily obvious. So, there’s the danger of misuse and overuse. That is one of the points we try to make in the first half of today’s project. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. There’s a sense of discretion needed and just as with photography when that judgment is lacking it will drive the rest of us crazy.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Third thought: Video is not going to replace still photography. When I started this project, in the back of my mind were the moving, animated pictures mentioned in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The more I’ve played with things this week, the more I’m convinced that the difference between a still and moving picture is too emotionally complex and different for one to fully replace the other. Sure, as technology provides different applications for viewing both we’re going to see popularity wax and wane. They’ll still remain to distinct forms of visual media, though, and each will have its own purpose.

Fourth thought: For the time being, short formats, such as the 30-second ad-styled projects we’ve done this week, may be better for still photographs than trying to stretch them into a long format. Tutorial material would be the exception to that thought, but beyond a couple of minutes a still image in video format feels forced. We expect video to move, to do something, to change in some way. When a still image remains  static in video format it’s a different emotion than just looking at the same image in purely photographic format.

Final thought: I don’t want to be a videographer. I’m quite happy with my still images, thank you. Video editing is far too complex and highly specialized for my brain to even begin to make that leap. I can’t imagine ever having the patience necessary to edit actual video segments. One thing I take away from this week is a new respect for those who manage to edit video quickly and efficiently on a daily basis.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our adventure this week. Next week we move to something more sedate. We hope you’ll join us. Today’s original photograph is below.[/one_half_last]

charles i. letbetter - a final thought

Pinup Revival (2009)

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One Voice
August 14, 2015
charles i. letbetter - one voice

Hitchcock makes it very clear to us. There’s an objective and a subjective camera, like there’s a third- and a first-person narrator in literature. —Manuel Puig

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Oops, sorry, but if you were looking for the Barry Manilow song One Voice, this isn’t it. You can find that song here, if you’re really insistent. And old. Like me. Actually, it’s the only song from the 1979 album of the same name that I like at all, and it’s actually the 2010 version he did with acapella group Straight No Chaser that I prefer. You can find that one here, but again, the song has absolutely nothing to do with today’s picture. They just happen to share a name. That’s it.  Hope you’re not too disappointed. If you’re younger than 50 you’re probably wondering what I’m even talking about.

What we did with today’s picture, which was completely reprocessed from the original to fit the video format, was experiment with adding a voice over, one voice, specifically my voice, to the video. Narration of this kind is a fairly common thing for short videos such as this, so I figured it couldn’t be too terribly difficult, especially given the challenges we’ve already had this week. My assumption was that this might not be easy, but would be reasonably doable without having to purchase new equipment of any kind.

Let me just say that equipment certainly does matter and the absence of a high-quality recording contributed to the challenges of laying a voice track over everything else. In an ideal world, the voice over would be recorded separately where it could be appropriately equalized and its levels adjusted professionally. Instead, what we ended up with was a recording that caught every possible background sound and left my voice sounding as though I was shouting into an empty room. [/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]To its credit, Adobe® Premiere Pro™ has a number of filters built into its effects selection that did a great job of removing most the background noise. You probably won’t hear the air conditioner running. You definitely won’t hear the cat jumping into my lap in the middle of recording. You won’t even hear my hand bumping my coffee cup right toward the end. The tools in the software are not sloppy by any stretch of the imagination. Any deficiency here is mine. To be able to properly utilize those tools, though, would take much more time than what I have to offer the project this week.

Adding the voice over to this picture was made somewhat easier by the fact we didn’t have to follow complicated motion or animation that would have required precise synchronization between the audio and video tracks. Yes, that capability is there, but again, we would be looking at a severely steep learning curve that doesn’t fit well with the remainder of my schedule this week. There are other things to do. Such as laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. As much fun as synching a voice to animation might be, that’s just a luxury we don’t currently have.

What we have, though, is one voice over what is actually two images. This allowed us to reveal the photograph slowly so that one actually listens to the narration. I like the overall effect, but, perhaps like most people, I’m less than thrilled with the sound of my own voice. We never sound how we think we’re supposed to sound. There’s a scientific reason for that but it would take a lot of time to explain. Barry Manilow is more interesting.

The original image and appropriate credits are below.[/one_half_last]

charles i letbetter - one voice

A Second Thought (2012). Model: Kat Gulling; Makeup: Danelle French; Hair: Kelly Walsh; Styling: Jantina Anderson; Studo assistance: Brian Logan

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Title This
August 13, 2015
charles i. letbetter - title this

You make a film to distract people, to interest them, perhaps to make them think, perhaps to help them be a little less naive, a little better than they were. —Claude Chabrol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]What is a title? We hear the word and most people think of a book title, or the name of a song, perhaps. So, to tell someone that I’ve been playing with titles all day, or that a title has been causing me trouble, or that I can’t get a title to fit, is confusing to the average person without taking the time to give the word some additional context. Let me do that now: A title is to film what copy is to printed material; words that explain or emphasize or instruct or give credit.

Titles are everywhere in almost every form of video. The opening segment of one of my favorite cartoons, Phineas and Ferb, ends with DeeDee shouting, “Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!” Instantly, you’ve learned something about video production you didn’t already know. Any time you see words on a screen in any form or fashion it is a title. So, the opening of a show that list actors,  producers, and the name of a show is a title sequence. The credits at the end of a movie are another title sequence. The product name and tagline at the end of a commercial is another. The video world is full of title sequences.

Titling is one of the advantages video has over still imagery or print. With print copy, there is limited space and text can easily get in the way or even overpower an image. While ads from a century ago tended to try and cram every bit of information they could into small print on a page, we’ve since learned that less is more and often we see ads with only one word and the product logo. A title sequence gives us a little more space and a number of different options so we can say more without it being overwhelming.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]I have to admit that, at least to some extent, I’m not using the best tool for the job here. Video editing is a complex monster, as we’ve learned this week, and requires multiple tools to handle the various pieces that go into the average video. Of course, those tools cost additional money and the cost can grow large rather quickly. Our goal at the beginning of the week was to stay within the boundaries of what comes by default with Adobe® Premiere Pro™, so we held today’s experiment to that confinement, though most professionals would shudder at doing so.

I also avoided the use of any special effects for the title sequences, beyond those that cause them to appear and disappear from the screen. Animating titles seems to be a big thing, especially giving it the appearance that someone is writing on the screen. I actually looked into that one. Again, wrong tools and way too much effort for something not going into full-fledged broadcast. I also question whether such gimmicks actually help the message or distract from it. These are merely experiments and I do have other things to do with my day.

Titles do help drive the point we’re trying to make with today’s image. I could just post the picture with copy that says, “Experience counts,” and you would likely get the message. The title sequences in the video explain why that experience counts and also embeds a concept that photography isn’t something one just “picks up.” Are the titles effective? You tell me. 30 seconds isn’t all that long for those who can’t read well. The original photo is below.[/one_half_last]

charles i. letbetter - title this

The Pain of Beauty (2012)

 

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Subtle Transformation
August 12, 2015
charles i. letbetter - subtle transformation

My fascination with letting images repeat and repeat – or in film’s case ‘run on’ – manifests my belief that we spend much of our lives seeing without observing. —Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]The Warhol quote is appropriate for this morning. Today’s video experiment is one you may need to watch more than once before you actually observe the subtle transformation that takes place over the 30-second duration of the project. I’m not going to tell you right away exactly what it is. Sure, you’ll see the video move; that part’s rather obvious. But there is a subtle transformation that occurs slowly, one that changes the emotion of the image, but avoids being dramatic in its presentation. Don’t be embarrassed if you need to hit the replay button more than once before you realize what’s happening.

I’m going to have to watch this post today. I’ve been uploading the videos to my YouTube channel because not only is that the easiest and most dominant method of video presentation, it also integrates well with our web design. I don’t have to go through a number of steps for it to work as I do with some sources. I could upload the video directly, but I tried that with the first one and was less than pleased with the result. However, YouTube, like many other forms of social media, sometimes goes apoplectic over artistic material. Unlike Facebook, where I can set some images to be seen only by specific, appreciative friends, YouTube videos not set for public viewing don’t embed in other websites. There’s a chance the video won’t survive the day. Or it might. One never knows.

As a backup, I’ve uploaded the video to Vimeo, which has a more tolerant policy toward artistic material. I have to take a couple of extra steps to embed it, should that become necessary, but if it happens that, too, should be a subtle transformation that is less than obvious to the average viewer. There are so very many considerations when working with video.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]I will also be watching to see if today’s video is more popular than yesterday’s. Once again, I was disappointed in the lack of attention yesterday’s image received and have to assume that it was largely because there were no humans in the picture. This is why I post so very few landscape and other non-model oriented artistic images. When we post a photograph to the website, we need for that image to draw people in, to make them curious and interested at what we are doing, what there is to see here. Ultimately, we want people to click on the booking link and set an appointment with us, or contact us if they have questions. That doesn’t happen when I post pictures of barns, even though I think the effect in yesterday’s video was very cool.

I get it; subtle transformation is something that happens in our head the moment we see an image. We glance at a picture and instantly decide whether we want to give it any more of our attention. People, especially faces, are easier for us to engage on an emotional level. We look to see if the subject is someone we know, what they might hold in common with us or someone else with whom we are acquainted. Our instinctive response is to try and personalize a photograph on some level and having a model in the picture makes that easier because, if nothing else, we’re all human. Allegedly.

Subtle transformation is, I think, I good approach to today’s image. One needs to not just look, but observe carefully or they’ll miss the entire point and purpose of the video. I’ll be watching to see how many times the video is viewed. I’ll explain the transformation below the original image. [/one_half_last]

charles i. letbetter - subtle transformation

A Quiet Moment (2012)

If you’ll watch today’s video very closely, you’ll see it slowly moves from black and white to color. That’s the subtle transformation!

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Moved By The Music
August 11, 2015
charles i. letbetter - moved by the music

Music really becomes the soundtrack to the major events to your life. —Sheryl Crow

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]We all know that music plays a fundamental role in film and our lives. As I sit here writing in the morning (the clock just flash 4:30 AM), I have my headphones on listening to the soft, lovely voice of Sarah Brightman singing Time to Say Goodbye. Like many people, I have different soundtracks saved for different moods and different times of the day.  An hour from now, I’ll switch to the “Morning” playlist just before waking the little ones for school. Later this morning, it’s likely to be classic rock blaring through the speakers as I’m editing photographs. For a vast majority of the world’s population, music is what keeps us going through the day and even, in some cases, keeps us from giving up and walking out.

Advertising creatives know all too well that music, or any sound at all, can make or break a commercial, especially when one only has 30 seconds or less. The first sound one hears does more to set  the mood and viewer expectation than does the first image. Pictures can be interpreted any number of ways when left sitting out on their own, especially when the photo is rather innocuous and void of copy. The soundtrack guides the viewer toward a specific interpretation, whether that be serious, emotional, or humorous. When the match-up between music and imagery is done especially well, no voice over or copy is even necessary. A good commercial can be like a mini music video in its effectiveness.

When one only has a limited bit of time, though, finding music that fits a concept can be challenging. Advertising creatives like pop songs because they provide an instant level of recognition and even an implied endorsement on the part of the artist. The problem with that approach is that,  A) it’s incredibly expensive to gain the rights to use a genuinely popular song from a popular artist; the whole budget can be blown right here. B) They don’t write 30-second pop songs, so someone’s going to have to do some creative cutting and mixing; a task that sounds so much easier than it actually is. A bad mix of a good song can have the exact opposite effect from what one was wanting. This is not easy territory.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Knowing all this, and knowing that I’m less than proficient at mixing and mashing soundtracks, selecting music for this week has not been easy. Our filtering process went something like this:

  1. Is it free? We have no budget for this experiment (as usual). Our only choice was to use clips that are either public domain or have an attribution only Creative Commons license.
  2. Is it too long? It’s more likely that we can work with a clip that is under 90 seconds than one that is over two minutes. Limiting the length of the clip immediately cut our choice by two-thirds.
  3. Is it cheesy? A significant number of the clips available are pieces some budding composer authored sitting at their midi keyboard, and the sound betrays the cheapness of their base instrument. Eliminating anything that had a cheesy synthesizer sound again cut the options dramatically.
  4. How does it make me feel? Music affects emotion and certain emotions match with different kinds of photographs. I needed clips that matched what certain photographs make me feel.
  5. How does it make Kat feel? Because we never trust our own opinion to be valid outside ourselves. She has different tastes and immediately vetoed some I would have considered.

Today’s soundtrack immediately caught our attention because it seems to have been specifically created for the type of effect used on today’s image. There is a major chord precisely every two seconds throughout the track, with well-measured changes at points where we would want to alter the effect. Listening to the track, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the image, I just had to figure out how to do it.

Again, I’m more pleased with today’s video than I am the previous two. I hope that trend continues. By Saturday, we might have something truly special. The music and visual effect take a very plain subject and give it an all new level of interest. Can we ask more from a 30-second video? Well, maybe. The original photo is below.[/one_half_last]

charles i. letbetter - moved by the music

What’s Left of the Farm (2015)

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Moving Portraits
August 10, 2015
charles i. letbetter - moving portraits

The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it’s as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all yourself from the clues. ― Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]For all the many facets of photography there may be, portraits probably account, anecdotally, for 60-70% of all commercial business. Weddings, high school seniors, family, babies, and headshots dominate the commercial side of the business and can be financially rewarding for those who dedicate their efforts to doing them well. In fact, I don’t know too many photographers who don’t engage in some form of portraiture. Just yesterday, I sat in the floor of the studio with bubbles dripping on my head while trying to convince a tiny one to smile. Portraits may well be the heart and soul of photography as a business.

So, if we’re going to talk this week about the use of moving pictures as a marketing tool, and that is exactly what we’re doing, then it only makes sense that we look at portraits and how we might turn a simple, beautiful photograph into something more without sacrificing the integrity of the image. Right away, we are faced with a problem. Portraits are typically oriented with the vertical side being longer. Video, however, is oriented so that the horizontal side is longer. Try putting a vertically-oriented portrait into a video setting and two severe problems occur: the picture size has to be reduced to fit the frame, and large black borders dominate the screen.

Solving those problems means not only choosing a landscape-oriented photo, but cropping it to meet the dimensions necessary for final output. This information is not obvious when working with Adobe® PremierPro™. If there is a way to manually set the dimensions of the stage, or what photographers might think of as the canvas, I’ve not found it yet. Instead, PremierePro sizes the visual area according to the dimensions of the first visual media placed on the timeline. I assume this isn’t a huge problem when working with video, since the orientation there should match camera output, but with still photographs it means knowing to what output format you will export, and cropping the image to the dimensions of that format. We chose YouTube’s 1080p HD format as our final destination, so we needed to crop the image to 1920×1080 pixels before importing it into the project.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Video interpolates images differently than do printers, so we have to consider the qualities of our image very carefully before importing it into the project. Specifically, one needs to make sure the color setting is RGB, not CMYK, even if the image is black and white, which we will explore later this week. Clarity is always an issue, but here we have to be careful about using any sharpening tricks or filters because they can create lines that look jagged and pixelated when rendered for video. Our test is to zoom in on the image to 400% and look for, and eliminate, any flaws at that level.

For a portrait as delightfully wonder as this one, I didn’t feel that moving around all over the place served the image well, especially since we only have 30 seconds. So, for the majority of the time we see the full image. When we do zoom in, it’s to the places one’s eyes are naturally drawn: the flowers and the faces. We end with focus on the faces because, in any portrait, that is what is most important.

Music was a critical issue here as well and trying to find 30-second clips in the public domain is almost impossible. The soundtrack one chooses to go with an image is probably the most important decision one makes here after selecting an image. Music guides not only the emotion of the video but also plays a defining role in determining when movement takes place. The music and the animation need to match or the video format doesn’t work at all. Some minor DJ skills were necessary in clipping and overlapping the audio track so that the final guitar chord would occur at just the right place in the video. No one ever said this was going to be easy.

I like this one slightly better than I did yesterday’s video. It still took a tremendous amount of time to produce, though, and the learning curve here is extremely steep, even with already having some (limited) knowledge of video processing. I have little doubt my perspective on the whole issue of video is going to be different by the end of the week than it is at this particular moment.  For the moment, I still prefer my portraits to be still, thank you. The original photo is below.[/one_half_last]

charles i. letbetter - moving portraits

Flowers For Raven (2014). Models: Jenn & Raven King

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Experiments In Moving Pictures
August 9, 2015
charles i. letbetter - moving pictures

Howard Hughes was this visionary who was obsessed with speed and flying like a god… I loved his idea of what filmmaking was. —Martin Scorsese

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]I have no idea what I’m doing. This week will either be delightfully interesting or a catastrophic disappointment. We are delving into an area about which I admit knowing very little but one which, it would seem, is necessary if one is to stay up to date with how best to present oneself as a photographer. Okay, up to date may not be the best term. Jumping the gun is probably more appropriate. Most people are still just fine posting still pictures. No one has told me that I need to change. No photographers of note have started doing anything differently than they always have. I’m responding to what I see as some “handwriting on the wall,” as it were, warning that we need to up our game if we are going to stay relevant.

What I’m responding to are changes in how material is viewed, and how often it is viewed, in social media. Whether one likes social media or not, and there are plenty of reasons to hate it, we cannot escape the fact that it is a dominant part of society, taking over the space that was once exclusive to newspapers and television. The good news is that, unlike newspapers and television, we can participate without it costing an arm and a leg. The challenge is that we cannot be successful with the same techniques we’ve been using since we first discovered the Internet.

We’ve known for quite some time that actually getting your pictures in front of the people on your friends list, or the people who have liked your professional page, is difficult. Facebook is continually revising their algorithms and other resources such as Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr change what gets preference in being seen. Where once that preference leaned strongly toward photographs, it now tilts even more strongly toward video. In some instances, video is three to four times more likely be seen than a photograph without paying for additional promotion, something most of us are reticent to do. So, we need to find a way to create video without succumbing to actually changing the photographs we take.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Creating moving pictures from still photographs is nothing new. We’ve been able to stitch strings of still images together with simple video effects for several years. Videos in that format are extremely popular at weddings and family reunions. They have their place. But, when a photographer places a photograph on the Internet, it is primarily for promotional purposes and ten-minute-long videos of someone else’s family don’t quite make the cut for that purpose. We need something short, something distinct, and something eye-catching that convinces people to take some kind of action, such as visiting our web site’s booking page. Something that acts more like a commercial.

So, all this week we’re taking still images, just one picture per day, and turning it into a video of approximately 30 seconds (today’s is actually 32 seconds). We’re using Adobe® PremierePro™ for editing, and Media Encoder for rendering. We’re at least starting with the basic materials that come with each product, though I can’t promise we won’t look for other sources by midweek. We’re pulling music from Free Music Archive, and yes, music is important for projects like this. We kept titles minimal today, but that may change through the week as well.

Everything I just mentioned in that paragraph involved learning something new. This 32-second video took all day to produce. I’m really hoping I get better quickly. One of the first things I’ve learned is that planning is more necessary than ever. But then, sometimes one can’t plan if one doesn’t know first how to do something. Ultimately, the matter comes down to whether any of this is actually effective. Will more people see the video in social media? Will we see more traffic to our website? Do moving pictures actually help? That’s the purpose of the experiment. We will see.

The original photo is below because we still like images that don’t move.[/one_half_last]

charles i. letbetter - video

Back to 55 (2012). Model: Allison Hublar

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