The Hero's Journey of Entrepreneurship

I was listening to the Joseph Campbell DVD Mythos while I was editing last night and as he started talking about the Left and Right Hand Paths and the myths that go with each, I did a little search for more information. It seemed like most of the things that Kelsey and I have gone through in making our company were laid out directly on Campbell’s Left Hand Path 

It seems hard to remember, especially when people are feeling down in times like these, but our myths aren’t just there so stories can be written using their framework and convention. They aren’t there just for entertainment and movies like Star Wars, they exist in all of our minds and are archetypes because we are supposed to use their ideas to live our lives.

The myths about the Right Hand Path are about how to live in society, how to get along with others, the ways to fit in and create a sense of community. The Left Hand Path, however, is the one that most of the amazing stories are about, the ones that capture our imagination. People who go out on their own, confront challenges, aren’t taken seriously, but have a strong belief in themselves. Not surprisingly, the heros in our own world follow the exact same chronology of life events as Frodo or Luke Skywalker. Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Mark Cuban, my buddy Lakshmi Mittal, just about everyone follows the same path. As I thought about this I found a great website which outlines the events in an entrepreneur’s life and how it relates to the ordeals that the hero must go through on his journey, which is in Campbell’s book Hero With a Thousand Faces. It was pretty cool to see this structured and in writing!

Starting a business in a recession might be the perfect option for a lot of people. Companies aren’t expanding into new markets, thus leaving room if you want to sneak into a niche somewhere. In fact, most are retreating into little protective shells so they can stay in business. If you have lost your job, have some savings and have an idea about what you can do to improve the world, maybe you should consider taking the Left Hand Path and starting your own company! If you do, here is what you can expect!

The Site: 

Hero’s Journey Entrepreneurship

A Man and His Love for the Steadicam

As some of you might know we do a lot of sweeping amazing shots that pull in and out and really move the medium of video into the realm of cinematic. Well those shots are accomplished by the use of a stedicam.

Which brings me to closet space. Now this is a rather odd topic since what on earth would a stedicam have to do with my closet space? Nothing really, except I have 5 boxes that have stedicams in them that take up all my closet space- that’s what!

Now I know some of my girlfriends complain about closet space and that their guys stuff is taking up too much room- one complaint was my friend’s husband seemed to have stored his entire bachelor pad in boxes shoved in the closet. He says you never know when you might need a beer hat again. I think there’s a word for that- does public storage ring any bells or maybe even the goodwill?

The epidemic of stedicams really came about when we found out the company that makes them was going out of business. Hence the extra purchase of 5 of them. He already owned 2- and was worried he might never get another chance to have one with the company on the rocks. He even keeps one off sight in case something drastic happened to the equipment. His desire for it is insatiable!

The thing is good solid metal so it wouldn’t ever really break or die off and you could probably get someone to reproduce it after seening what one looks like, if you needed another one. But David was scared that because the company was going out of business he might never have another chance to obtain one.

So our unopened stedicams sit waiting patiently in my closet. They sit there waiting for the day that will never come- since the original one hasn’t nor probably ever will break. I could be assuming things, but after 5 years of using the it, it’s still going strong.

Oh well, does anyone know the number of a contractor who can knock out a wall for me, so I can make a bigger closet?

Our Return from Boston

We got back last week from a very fun and educational trip around New England and New York. We will be talking about some of the very interesting stories and places that we saw in the coming weeks. Kelsey and I have had 5 weddings since we got back so we have been tired and not very busy on the posting front!

In the picture above, we were in a gigantic book store in Boston and happened to come across a reference to Charles Lauren Films on the East Coast, very fun! Love when that happens!

The Importance of Families and Home Movies

The night before her wedding, Randi’s father made everyone watch home movies since her birth. They soon discovered the close-knit relationships their family has in San Pedro. Brian, who Randi was marrying, went to pre-school with her and the two fathers had known each other for decades. This shows a little bit of their family history, Randi getting dressed, the ceremony setup and guest arrivals. Brian actually made the wooden archway where they were married. They brought it in their truck early in the morning to the grassy ceremony site. It was a very personal 7-7-07.

The Very Personal Nature of a Wedding Video

We love to see our client’s reactions to the videos that we make for them. Presenting a video to our brides and grooms is like opening night of a big budget movie that we made and we are sitting in the theater, hoping the crowd laughts and cries at just the right moments.

Unlike many wedding services, where you are doing what you normally do in life, such as deciding what kind of food to order, what color dresses you want or the kind of chairs that go with the look you are creating, when you hire a videography team, you are hiring someone who is going to be thinking about what you like and making something very personal for you.

Kelsey and I put all of our time and effort in life into making custom videos that are uniquely fit for each client. That is why we like to think of our relationship with our clients as someone who is painting your portrait. Our role of creating something huge and specific for you is different than if you were to go to Aaron Brothers and get nice paintings to hang around your reception or put on your tables. It is not a product that we can mass produce or keep in a warehouse. Each time we go to a wedding we are starting from scratch with a complete blank canvass. Our choices of what to film, what questions we should ask, the things we shoud anticipage, the perfect angles are all from our experience and the flow of the day that is unique to each bridal party.

We spend a lot of time looking at the footage and thinking about what each couple would like to see based on what we have talked about, how their day went, the songs that they choose, etc. Most of the fun and satisfaction we get from making wedding videos comes from trying very hard to make something that will amazing the couple and family that we are creating the video for. That is why it feels great when we get to hear back about the results of our work.

We got this email today:

Hi Kelsey & David,

Thank you so much for the video, we watched it yesterday and we were amazed on the outcome.
Both of you definitely have a gift for making wedding day seem like a movie. We are very pleased with the video and hopefully we can use you again for the sake of having another video. We are still in awe on the work that the both of you have done. We cannot thank you enough on the wonderful job the both of you have done. Hopefully we can see each other soon.

Take care

Roque & Marissa

Thank you for the nice words!

Loving What You Do by Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson

Brought to you by our favorite priest, Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson  of Saint Monica’s Parish in Santa Monica. This is one of his great wedding homilies.

The Youtuber Generation

I was reading in one of my favorite magazines, The Economist, that 2008 is the United Nation’s International Year of the Potato! Potatoes are great, especially if they are served during the reception and we are hungry from running around all day. Rosemary potatoes, garlic potatoes, they have Twice Baked Potatoes at Anaheim Hills Golf Course that are very good. I’ll bet some of you even had a Mr. Potato Head toy!

Here is the article:

IT IS the world’s fourth-most-important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. It provides more calories, more quickly, using less land and in a wider range of climates than any other plant. It is, of course, the potato.

The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato (see article). It hopes that greater awareness of the merits of potatoes will contribute to the achievement of its Millennium Development Goals, by helping to alleviate poverty, improve food security and promote economic development. It is always the international year of this or month of that. But the potato’s unusual history (see article) means it is well worth celebrating by readers of The Economist—because the potato is intertwined with economic development, trade liberalisation and globalisation.

Unlikely though it seems, the potato promoted economic development by underpinning the industrial revolution in England in the 19th century. It provided a cheap source of calories and was easy to cultivate, so it liberated workers from the land. Potatoes became popular in the north of England, as people there specialised in livestock farming and domestic industry, while farmers in the south (where the soil was more suitable) concentrated on wheat production. By a happy accident, this concentrated industrial activity in the regions where coal was readily available, and a potato-driven population boom provided ample workers for the new factories. Friedrich Engels even declared that the potato was the equal of iron for its “historically revolutionary role”.

The potato promoted free trade by contributing to the abolition of Britain’s Corn Laws—the cause which prompted the founding of The Economist in 1843. The Corn Laws restricted imports of grain into the United Kingdom in order to protect domestic wheat producers. Landowners supported the laws, since cheap imported grain would reduce their income, but industrialists opposed them because imports would drive down the cost of food, allowing people to spend more on manufactured goods. Ultimately it was not the eloquence of the arguments against the Corn Laws that led to their abolition—and more’s the pity. It was the tragedy of the Irish potato famine of 1845, in which 1m Irish perished when the potato crop on which they subsisted succumbed to blight. The need to import grain to relieve the situation in Ireland forced the government, which was dominated by landowners who backed the Corn Laws, to reverse its position.

This paved the way for liberalisation in other areas, and free trade became British policy. As the Duke of Wellington complained at the time, “rotten potatoes have done it all.”

Read the Full Article from 

The Economist

Public Service Message: Don't Smash the Cake

We have seen a few cake smashing incidents. More commonly, the groom knows that his only chance of a great honeymoon is to keep his bride looking good – a tasteful dollop of frosting on the nose or cheek is acceptable. Also, if you are a guest at a wedding, don’t throw cake at the groom because he is your ex. Thank you.

Public Service Message: Save Your Invitation

9 times out of 10 when we are with a bride as she is getting her makeup and hair done, multiple people will call her cell phone asking what time the ceremony is, how you get there, what kind of gift to bring - this is distracting and out of place for a bride and she will start to regret inviting you. Please watch this clip.

Palm Springs Blossoms on Thanksgiving Weekend

David and I got to film a wedding in Palm Springs this weekend! We had originally filmed Gabe’s sisters wedding in Santa Barbra- so when Larry (Twilight and Gabe’s Dad) invited us to come back for a weekend at the Hyatt Grand Champions, in Palm Springs we couldn’t refuse.

As always Jessica, the bride looked stunning thanks to make-up artist Keturah, who did everyone’s makeup for the event. Keturah travels, but is based in the Palm Springs area and we hadn’t worked with her before. Let’s just say she made bridal getting ready about as fun as it gets- and she is a dear friend of Jessica’s, they have known each other since high school- so it made it that much better.

Stay tuned for a clip from the event in about a week- we have something special we are working on for Jessica and Gabe….