Rich Samuels's Blog, page 12

Creative Community [Blogging Every Day #19]

[19]

 As of today, I've exceeded my monthly readership stats on this blog over every month since it began in 2007. My previous best month was back in February, 2011 (I'm not entirely sure what "clicked" back then).

This time, my vastly improved stats relate first to the "Blogging Every Day" concept, and my personal commitment to (try to) create useful blogs as much as possible. Also, these blogs are much more narrowly focused on writing in general, my personal writing process, and "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain."
My old friend Mike Lidskin allowed me to launch my book
on his rockin' radio show, The Twirl, back in June, 2013. 
Previously, this blog has had a broader focus related to the relationship between old and new media. Over time, though, my exploration through the social media landscape (over two hundred YouTube videos - including my Vlogger Interviews) has led me back to storytelling, which is at the core of everything I do - from producing non-fiction content to video editing. Over the years, though, I put writing fiction on the back burner. Though being a "writer" was probably the first identity I embraced as a boy, I haven't pursued with as much dedication as I am now.

Why? Simply put: through social technology, I've surrounded myself with creative people the world over who enjoy sharing their passion, whatever it might be. I've come to know a number of YouTubers, some more prominent than others, who enjoy the creative process. Their creative energy led me right back to my first passion - and ultimately, my first book.

So, thanks for reading, and thanks for creating.

You can follow me on Twitter @Rickflix

The End of Film [Blogging Every Day #18]

My father, who was an executive at 20th Century-Fox for forty-five years, never quite agreed with the film historians who mourned the golden age of cinema and complained that the industry was now all about money. "It's always been about money" he liked to point out. True, the days of the mogul have passed, and movie studios are run by multi-national corporations - but making money has always been part of the game. Studios may not take as many risks nowadays - but even then, as it is with any corporation - if you didn't make money, you went out of business. Fox itself nearly did when it bet nearly everything on "Cleopatra" in 1963 (about $40 million then) - adjusted for 2014 dollars, it's likely the most expensive film ever made. Only through a dramatic management shift, extreme belt tightening, and the phenomenal success two years later of "The Sound of Music" did Fox survive long enough to weather the storm. Studios today will rarely take such a risk - and are even more beholden to their investors and stockholders.

With the recent announcement from Paramount Pictures that they will cease film distribution altogether, the first major studio to do so, the "film" era is finally coming to an end. Film distribution is an incredibly expensive process - creating film prints and shipping them worldwide to individual theaters has become a luxury, particularly in a time when high-definition projection has advanced so far that - for the average moviegoer, at least - it's indistinguishable from film projection. Digital distribution is much cheaper, and will win the day.

Yes, I know, there is a difference, just as there is a difference between vinyl audio, mp3 audio and so-called HD audio - but, really, only purists will squirm. Complain as you will, it's not bad at all. It won't ruin the experience, and it's not going to change. Technology will continue to improve on the digital side, while the expertise to maintain a high quality production and distribution process on film will whither away.

Many prominent filmmakers still shoot on film (an interesting article about the debate), but I suspect that this will prove to be a generational divide as time goes on. The economics of using century old technology will make the transition complete, sooner or later.

What would my dad think? Even before he retired in 1987, he spoke of the coming era of digital distribution. He recognized that once the technology was there, it was inevitable. If he were around today, he wouldn't be surprised, shocked or disappointed.

Zac Ward, a YouTuber I've become acquainted with over the last couple of years, created this video about the massive projectors that brought us thousands of films (if you must mourn....)

Earthquake! [Blogging Every Day #17]

I saved the actual calendar page from the 1994 earthquake...notice
the unintentionally ironic comic strip...[17] Twenty years ago today, the earth shook here in the Los Angeles area, when were hit with a 6.8 earthquake, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing several dozen people.  It hit early in the morning - before sunrise, in fact - and shook the world with the force of a jackhammer.  Freeway overpasses collapsed, communication was disrupted and the world was at a standstill.

And, that wasn't even the "Big One!"

We don't worry much about the weather here. While almost the entire country was freezing a few weeks back, temperatures here stayed in the 70's and 80's.

But there is that trade-off, in the form of a gigantic boulder just waiting to drop on our heads. We have small tremors every once in a while - most we never feel.

For those of us that have experienced an earthquake, the little tremors that we do feel take on a whole new meaning.  We always ask in those first few seconds, "Is this it?"

Rising Bollards Ahead [Blogging Every Day #16]

[16] 

I'll keep this relatively short, I think. I had too much going on today, and precious little time to blog! I already have a subject for tomorrow, though!

It's been a challenge to "blog every day." The rules are my own, of course, so I would suppose that there wouldn't be any penalty for skipping a day.

On the other hand, that would defeat the purpose of creating the challenge in the first place.

While I could plan ahead and create blog entries in advance, I think I would consider that cheating. One again - no penalty, but it would make this less of a challenge and more of a planning exercise.

If I were to continue this in some form beyond January, I would likely create a more predictable schedule. When I've written corporate blogs in the past, I made the task more manageable by creating "theme" days.  For example, Tuesday and Thursday might deal address topics related to writing, While Friday might be an update on my own writing projects.

For the moment, though, I'll continue to pursue my current challenge as essentially a "stream of consciousness" blog...it's a good thing I have writing on the brain...

Is Your LIfe Your Message? [Blogging Every Day #15]

t
I'm halfway through my self-imposed "blogging every day" challenge! At the risk of creating a blog that's too short to be official (is there such a thing?) I'll leave you with this sign, mounted on a wall at the Gandhi Museum in India, which I had the honor to visit in 2006. 
It's an especially sobering thought, I think, when seen as a question: 
What is the message of your life?
In my case, I believe my newfound commitment to writing - my re-dedication to a lifetime passion - may be my attempt to discover and share my own message. That's not to say it's particularly important, but perhaps very act of self-expression is a message of encouragement all it's own.
You can follow me on Twitter at @rickflix

What If All Kids Had a Privileged Education? [Blogging Every Day #14]

A while ago, I caught up with an eight part documentary series called, "Harrow, A Very British School," which aired last year on the Sky Network (I saw it on YouTube). The program follows the boys in a single "house" at Harrow, an elite British boarding school, through an entire school year.

The program offered a rare, friendly glimpse into a world that only exists to most of the rest of us in historical classics from Tom Brown's Schooldays and Goodbye Mr. Chips, and more recent works such as the films Good Will Hunting and Dead Poet's Society,  set in exclusive American boarding schools. This documentary portrayed an insulated, close-knit world with archaic traditions, but one of the few places where a well-rounded education is the norm (offering numerous opportunities for artistic expression, in addition to sports).

In England, political power is said to be wielded by what is really the original "Old Boys Network" of graduates from schools like Harrow and Eton and Westminster School, and there's no lack of controversy about the very existence of these schools in the modern era. For the limited purposes of this particular blog, however,  I won't address the extensive pros and cons of such schools, nor the concept of boarding, which here in California is extremely rare, even for the wealthy.

The richness of education that some (not all, I'm certain) of these institutions offer, and the demands placed on students have always fascinated me. Granted, wealth and privilege sometimes dictate just home much of a challenge certain students may feel the need to absorb, but the concept of a rich, challenging education intrigued me since childhood.

Public school administrations, teachers and students, of course, can create positive environments in public schools, but consistency across economic, geographic, religious and racial lines are ongoing issues.

At eleven years old, I moved from a New York suburb to a Los Angeles suburb, where I completed sixth grade. Perception, even at that age, was everything - I was conscious of the fact that the public elementary school offered by the gigantic Los Angeles Unified School District offered only a fraction of the programs and opportunities offered at the public elementary school I attended back on New York's Long Island.  In Los Angeles, we didn't have the music programs, athletic programs, art programs and science programs offered at my old school - even though the areas were equivalent economically. Even then, I was aware that this elementary school didn't value education as much as my old school.

Today, elementary schools in Los Angeles enjoy a selection of outside enrichment programs offered through various organizations, but they're not offered consistently across the board. In today's world, these programs are sometimes considered extras, and not critical to a worthwhile education. "Charter" and "magnet" schools with smaller classrooms and subject specialties have created better models in many cases - but they're not offered everywhere.

Of course, the reality of public education is that prejudices of all kinds may always interfere with the creation of a unified vision of a well-rounded, challenging curriculum. Anytime I've visited a respected private school, I come away wondering what the world would be like if every kid had those  opportunities.

You can keep up with my blog by following me on Twitter @rickflix

Extraordinary Minds [Blogging Every Day #13]

[13] I was (video) editing with a client tonight, so I'm once again posting a late entry, but still meeting my "Blogging Every Day" commitment!

I wanted to share with you a 2012 video I re-discovered today on YouTube. It's a Tedx Teen presentation - an independently organized, teen oriented version of the vastly popular TED videos. TED, if you're somehow unfamiliar with this fascinating series, features lectures from great minds around the world on a wide variety of subjects - science, the arts, self-improvement, technology - virtually anything. TED's overall theme is simply, "Ideas Worth Sharing."



Having said that, I'm sharing this video simply because the featured speaker is Jacob Barnett, a brilliant thirteen year old mathematician that, as my friend Lynette Privatsky said, is almost personification of Alexander, the central character in my book, "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain."

Alexander is a quirky, obsessive, intelligent and hyperactive boy whom readers either love or hate. Even his friends find him a bit hard to take sometimes. I have no idea if the  real-life Jacob Barnett has such issues, but he seems like the kind of kid to which my character would relate. I enjoy writing fiction about kids like Alexander that defy expectations; I enjoying reading about kids in the world that do the same. It feels somehow grandly subversive when a kid like Jacob not only proves the experts wrong, but, by many accounts, may be a truly extraordinary genius.

Jacob's back story is actually quite interesting. When he was a toddler, he was labeled as severely autistic - some "experts" claimed that his learning disabilities were severe, and his prospects for the future were dim.

Jacob's story from there onward is extraordinary.   Here's an article on Jacob from October, 2013 that updates his story.

To keep track of future blogs, follow me on Twitter @rickflix

It's Not About Where You Live [Blogging Every Day #12]

[12]  In 2011, I attended BlogWorld at the Los Angeles Convention Center, a blogging conference (here's my original report), that seemed to consist mainly of services and publications aimed at helping individuals monetize their blogs. During the same conference, a "State of the Blogosphere" report was presented, indicating that most who have successful blogs really don't make much of a living at it.
Vidcon, 2012
I've also been to several incarnations of Vidcon, the YouTube conference. YouTube, of course is a growing industry, and monetization is now within reach of millions of YouTubers. Very few, however, actually have a substantial enough viewership to actually make a living as a YouTube content creator.

Don't get me wrong - in both instances, there are those who can make a substantial living creating regular content. YouTube in particular offers an unprecedented opportunity for talented individuals of all ages to achieve success that might have never have otherwise been possible.

For most, however, I believe "success" will come with the understanding that blogs, vlogs and other means of online expression aren't necessarily a destination, but part of a bigger picture. They're platforms for exposure, a means to build or become involved in a community, and tools to achieve wider goals. For some, they need only be an outlet for creative expression.

For all artists, from writers to filmmakers, musicians and actors, online expression can be a means to develop and build confidence in one's craft. More importantly, it can also be a important avenue to build awareness.

Achievement doesn't always depend upon building subscribers or viewership on a particular platform.

Success, after all, isn't about where you live, it's about who you are.

And There Lies the Comedy (Blogging Every Day #11)

[11]  
A quick thought today...

One of the reasons that I enjoyed writing "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" is the knowledge that many adults seem to forget how rich and complicated the lives of thirteen year olds can become. Some even disdain the sometimes faulty or even bizarre reasoning of a kid trying to figure out how the world works.  Friendships, relationships and simple daily interactions are especially confusing.

Alexander and his friends, I hope, are a reminder that while to adult kids sometimes seem clueless, they are really attempting a sincere attempt to solve their problems. Unfortunately, skill and experience are often the prerequisites for what we tend to call common sense, and what results is profound kid logic.

And there lies the comedy.

One Third! (Blogging Every Day #10)

[10] I'm ten days into my "Blogging Every Day" experiment - a third of the way through the month. So far, I'm on track to record my highest monthly page views since 2011 (when I interviewed a popular YouTuber on my web series and the accompanying blog sent my views through the -relative- roof). Those numbers were tied to a single blog and vlog. In this case, it's both the creation of a series of blogs that focus largely on a single topic (writing), a daily schedule, and consistently sharing that content on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. Several of the writing topics have been shared by others - especially on Twitter - and that's encouraging.

My schedule for the rest of the month will be increasingly crowded, but I'm committed to meeting the challenge. As my writing activities expand, this is naturally the ideal platform to both share those activities, and share my perspective on a craft I love.