April 11, 2010
February 6, 2009
Islands Of Adventure Open
Here’s a still from one of the videos I produced for the opening team of Islands of Adventure, a theme park in Orlando, Florida.
Not only was it interesting getting to produce these videos, I also got the chance to witness most of the construction. I was working for a broadcast network on the backlot of Universal Studios before, during and after the construction of this mammoth project. It’s not often that you see gigantic roller-coaster tracks hanging above your building.
February 5, 2009
Bob Parsons™ 16 Rules for Success in Business & Life in General
Copyright © 2005-2007 Bob Parsons. All rights reserved.
Here is a great list of 16 rules from Bob Parsons, the founder of GoDaddy and other companies.
The original can be found here on his blog:
1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.
2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this:”The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
6. Take things a day at a time.No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
8. Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.
15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”
Copyright © 2005-2007 Bob Parsons. All rights reserved.
The post sharing this information originates from sheehe.com. The original content originates from Bob Parsons Blog
February 4, 2009
Calvin and Hobbes
OBVIOUSLY I DID NOT DO THIS, BILL WATTERSON DID, BUT I JUST WANT TO POST THIS TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO CONFUSION:)
What? Why are you posting an old comic strip as inspiration on a site mostly dedicated to broadcast media?
There are a number of reasons:
- Writing to get a compelling story across with very little time/space. This is an area that Bill Watterson excelled in and broadcast promotion/advertising professionals have to strive to do all the time, get a story across in an interesting way that everyone can comprehend. It’s amazing the emotion, drama, comedy, and excitement that Bill Watterson was able to achieve in only four frames.
- Writer/artist Integrity. Bill Watterson was able to do what many mass media professionals cannot, he stifled the attempts at diluting his work by putting the characters on anything and everything. While there are many arguments to support either side, license on everything or not to license, it is amazing to see how well the strip has held up since it wasn’t over commercialized during its heyday. Although I do belive there is a happy medium and I would have liked to see a little bit more development of the characters in other media, I can respect the amazing struggle it must have been to contain the license and keep it “pure.”
- story development and serialization. Reading through the strips, from the earliest days to the final one, you get to see how well the characters developed. In addition, there were times that stories went beyond the daily four frames and continued on for days or even weeks. I think we can equate this to developing campaigns, where we deliver a message over a series of spots that compel the viewer to keep coming back for more. I think there’s a lot to learn looking through Calvin and Hobbes.
- A message that can appeal to almost everyone. Bill Watterson, intentionally or not, was able to craft story-lines that almost everyone can enjoy. It’s great to read these strips now with my kid and she enjoys them just as much as I do. The stories never alienated anyone or tried to be offensive to gain attention. They were well crafted stories that seemed to have many different layers.
I think a great deal can be learned from reading through Calvin and Hobbes, looking at the development of characters, analyzing how the stories were presented, researching the struggle that Bill Watterson went through to get it published and to keep the strip pure.
Copyright Universal Press Syndicate http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/
This posting originates from sheehe.com. The imagery is Copyright Universal Press Syndicate http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/. The author of the comic is Bill Watterson.
February 3, 2009
Army Football Press Pass
Here’s a media pass from one of the games I worked on at Michie Stadium. Not many things can compare to the adrenaline rush from working on live sports. These productions were some of the best I’ve been on. I got to work with some of the best people in the industry doing these games.
This posting originates from sheehe.com.
February 2, 2009
NESN/Red Sox, Faith = Electricity, Image Campaign
Here’s a still from another image campaign I wrote and produced for NESN. This spot was based around the quote, “Faith is like electricity, you can’t see it, but you can see the light,” by an unknown author. This spot helped to extended the overall campaign and tag line, “Keep the Faith.” Created in the final month of the season while the team was making its last push for the world championship. This spot, in addition to all the spots our team was producing, and the great play seen on the field, helped to generate record breaking ratings for the network.
This posting originates from sheehe.com.
January 24, 2009
sheehe.com changes – iPhone formatted site
Well, after an all-nighter, eyes held open with toothpicks, and two full days of work ahead of me, I’ve made some changes to the site. While many of them are “under the hood” there are a few that I’d like to point out:
- I’ve migrated hosting servers to help speed load times and responsiveness of site. My last server was bogged down and it was taking way too long to load the site.
- The site is now formatted for iPhone surfers, as shown in the image below. This will help make it easier to read and view on the iPhone. The site will automatically load with this formatting when browsed with an iPhone.
- I’ve finally updated the about page. Removing the announcement from 6 months ago from the new site.
- Now sheehe.net, sheehe.org,sheehe.mobi, sheehe.com, and sheehe.info should all point to the site.
- I’ve upgraded to the latest version of wordpress and the layout theme, which should also contribute to faster responsiveness and load times.
- I’ve added a new and improved contact form that asks simple questions to stop some of the spam.
- The site and my e-mail should all be back up and running. If you encounter any issues, please use the contact form and let me know. Thanks.
Enjoy… Mike
Sheehe.com formatted for the iPhone
January 21, 2009
Limey – Viral
I DID NOT DO THIS SPOT. I’M POSTING TO SHOW OFF OTHERS GREAT WORK AND FOR INSPIRATION.
Here’s a interesting viral campaign created by director Johannes Gamble. You can read more about how this ad came about here: http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/currentissue/9894.html
This posting originates from sheehe.com. The video is linked from YouTube.
January 20, 2009
WCW Script
Here’s a page from a script from the now defunct WCW. This is from sometime ago when I worked on WCW tapings. It was very interesting seeing how these shows were put together. Some names on this script went on to become well known. Maybe they were well known then too, I didn’t know:)
This posting originates from sheehe.com.
January 19, 2009
Sun Sports Latino Campaign
Here’s a still from a series of latino branding spots produced for Sun Sports. Being a regional sports network that airs around Florida, they wanted to tap into the rich heritage and large population of spanish speaking individuals. The network also wanted to convey that most every program is broadcast with a SAP channel. We utilized Sun Sports large library of content, a rich color palette, and upbeat soundtrack to make a spot that could be enjoyed by anyone.
This posting originates from sheehe.com.