Blizzard-Like Conditions

Call it the luck of the draw. I am working in Indiana on a day that doesn't come very often. I grew up in this place and rarely in 31 years did I ever see snow like this. It dumped. Doesn't do that too often. I'm sitting here thinking, "I should have bought a lottery ticket!"

I just got the luck of the draw.

Indiana

I am in Indiana (Indianapolis) editing for SPEED.
If anyone wants to connect, let me know. My schedule is fairly tight... but something could work out.

Cheers!
Luke

FedEx Editor

UPDATE:

For whatever reason, the original link was not working. I have updated this post to show you the link directly. For what it's worth, I think the clickable link actually WORKS now... but if not, you can just copy and paste this into your browser and you can then see some stuff:

http://fedexeditor.blogspot.com/

OLD POST:

In the interest of posting some of my professional work, I have started another blog. Now that YouTube allows for high definition video, really, this new blog more of an online demo reel. I won't be posting my thoughts there so much, just showcasing my work.

I call myself the "FedEx Editor" since so many of my clients ship content to me on a firewire hard drive and I edit in my own studio.

Click here to visit.

Not-so-proud moments in TV history.

UPDATE - WE NEED YOU TO CLICK HERE!!!!

UPDATE:

So here's the deal, that vote link is glitchy.

However, several folks have thus far managed to vote. My advice... if you hover your mouse cursor directly over the fifth red star, it will flash and be all glitchy BUT... if you go ahead and click down (maybe several times), I think it will eventually accept the vote. I have written the website asking for this to be fixed. Frustrating. Nonetheless, I ask you to try. Thanks!


Please CLICK HERE and VOTE 5 STARS!!!!!

If we win, we'll be awarded $25,000 toward the Caribbean Institute of Media Technologies. So unless you have $25,000 to give us... AT LEAST GIVE US A CLICK AND SOME STARS!

Don't let Wyclef Jean onto your movie set!

Wyclef Jean is a hero to Haiti and to me personally.

That being what it is... I'm guessing it would be pretty much impossible to film a movie in Haiti with Wyclef at your side. Check out the crowd this man draws!




Preacher's kid - Postmodern revolutionary - Lover of all things Haiti

I love this man!!!

Please say a prayer.

My Aunt Pauline is in the hospital today. She has battled with some pretty serious health issues for a while now. Both Uncle Roy and Aunt Pauline have been so supportive of what we are doing; the least I can do is ask all of my readers to say a short prayer on her behalf.

In times of great difficulty, two things remain clear:

1 - We can all use the support of others.
2 - We should always be willing to give back what we expect for ourselves.

We will be praying for her. Can you do me a personal favor and pray for her as well?

Thanks,
Luke

One film or One Institute?

Over the course of my time in Haiti, I have learned first-hand that an average budget to produce a top-rate movie in Haiti is approximately $250,000 (USD). These are not just hearsay figures, nor am I pulling them out of thin air. This is data that I have gathered straight from the lion's mouth... from those who make such films.

Imagine!

For the same money that is being spent to make a film that is desperately lacking on so many levels, we can launch an entire educational program that will significantly benefit all films to come.

Does anyone know who is funding these films? If so, can you convince them to fund a school instead... just this one time?

Forced Entry

Not much to say of any substance today. This amounts to a forced entry on my part, just to keep communicating with all of you.

Some big stuff has been happening in our family as of late. Just want you to know, we're still on track and still out there doing the work.

Stay classy!

YouTube - The QUESTIONS Series launches!

For those who may have had some basic questions about what we are doing, I am pleased to announce that we are providing very short, concise video answers to the most frequently asked questions. These videos have been grouped into a series called "The QUESTIONS Series" on our YouTube channel.

So far, only 5 videos have been loaded. There are a few more to come, but these should keep you busy for a while. Just press the "play" button to go through all of the clips in order or select a specific Question/Answer clip by holding your mouse cursor over the embedded player, then click one of the videos manually.



It should also be mentioned that you can easily embed this player (or any individual video from our YouTube page) by copying and pasting the embed code into your own blog, web page, or public forum. This is one great way that you (our friends and family) can help us to spread the word.

2009 - A Year of Branching Out

I had a revelation yesterday, on the first day of the new year.

Before I share that revelation with you, the following observations are critical (take notes):

1 - Most of the people who support us right now are FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

2 - For the most part, friends and family generally support WHO WE ARE more than WHAT WE'RE DOING. That doesn't mean that friends and family disagree with what we are doing. It's just that they know us as people first and foremost... and can find a way to support us on the merits of that relationship, even if they may not understand or agree with our choice of "mission."

3 - Most of our "new friends" who do support us ALREADY AGREED WITH OUR VISION before they met us. In other words, we did not change their mind or convince them of anything... we simply found them.

Birds of a feather! Like attracts like.

And now for the revelation...

I woke up from a nap yesterday with one simple thought:

"Preach to the choir"

There are countless people who already think like we do! In our case, these people might include: educators, filmmakers, technology companies, software developers, civil rights groups, etc.

These groups of people already believe (strongly) in the merits of:

- Education
- Mass media as an instructional tool
- The use of technology for human advancement

In other words... I DON'T HAVE TO CONVINCE THEM OF ANYTHING!!! These fine people are already sitting around somewhere, in total (or partial) agreement with what we are doing... they just don't know we exist yet.

Without a doubt, these groups are prone toward lending a helping hand.

The job cannot be to convince people to believe in something. The job must be to find others who already hold the same values we do and invite them to join us.

In other words, I have been working too hard at the wrong job!


While revelations of similarly OBVIOUS STUFF might be personal (for the purposes of avoiding shame), I decided to give all of you this gift as a way of assisting you in your quest to communicate better.

Please, do us all a favor and quit trying to change our minds. We either agree with you or we don't. If we are your friends and family, then don't sweat it either way... cause we support you.

As for your time and energy, spend it on people who already see the world through your eyes. You will find the journey to be much more enjoyable and your traction will be greater.

I'm going to avoid regrets right now as that seems like an enormous waste of time and energy. Instead, I will try to be excited about this revelation and thankful that, at the very least, this subtle mistake of mine has generated some really good promotional materials for us.

They had to be good. Remember... I was trying to convince you!!!

Happy New Year!

I pray that in 2009, God blesses each of you and sustains you as the storms of life come and go. The economy, a new president, our country at war... none of these things is bigger than the source of all life.

Be at peace.

Find rest.

Work hard.

Your friend,
Luke Renner