February Recap: Eliminate Your Backlog

There have been a number of great speakers and events over the past year. There will be a whole lot more coming in 2010!

Talk about starting off 2010 with a bang, we had a ginormous turnout for Chris’ presentation and now have the most members MIVA has ever known! Thanks to all for making MIVA a great place to network, learn, and socialize among the professional video industry in Michigan.

A special thanks go out to Shelby and Aaron from Forever Cherished Productions for sharing a unique piece of art. The video began with the couple sharing portions of their love story and hanging out on the farm together. As the story progressed, shots from the ceremony were brought into the video as an added touch. By the end of the video, MIVA members had their first opportunity to witness a trash the dress on the farm. The bride walked through animal pens, smeared farm “stuff” on her dress, and milked a cow. This was a fun and truly unique video. Thanks Shelby and Aaron!

Chris Jones hails from Austin, Texas and is owner of Mason Jar Films and one of the co-founders of IN[FOCUS].

Here’s just a little of the outstanding info Chris gave to us throughout the evening (It felt like someone just gave you an Apple iPad or PS3, yeah, that’s pretty much how it felt, on Christmas morning even):

Chris shared some incredible suggestions on how to become more efficient during the editing process. One of his goals was to help us reduce our edit time by 5-20 hours per project so we can enjoy life and not be stuck behind the computer day in and day out. He encouraged us to ask the question, “what do I want to do with my life?”

One of the biggest pointers was to cut down on the distractions which includes Facebook, Twitter, email, and phone calls. He suggested setting aside 3-4 hours for some hard core, uninterrupted editing time. Before each editing hour begins, write down your goals for the hour, not only the things you know you can accomplish but also the things that may be a stretch to finish. He commented on Parkinson’s Law “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” When the hour is complete, write down what you accomplished and your goals for the next hour then, take a short five minute break. By staying focused for a chunk of time, you can produce more product in a shorter amount of time.

Another suggestion was to “Unclog the Chi.” If your work space is messy, clean it up. If you are used to editing in your pajamas or sloppy clothes, shower and get dressed. Make sure you sit up straight during your edits and act as you would if you were an employee in the corporate world.

Lastly, Chris shared his method of organizing edits. If you are editing a wedding, lay all of your clips, except the ceremony, in a chronological timeline. Scrub through the clips to blade out good main action, people, details, and exterior which will then be moved into various tracks on the same timeline. This is an extremely helpful method for efficiency. If you would like more information about his time saving methods, you can visit IN[FOCUS].

Thanks again, Chris!

Check out a video Chris made. Actually, it’s real film that he shot with which looks really cool:

CeCe and Trevor, 4 of 10 from Chris P. Jones on Vimeo.