Saturday, February 18, 2012

I Guess I'll Keep Making 'Em

Hey hay heigh,

So, I'm hitting this youtube channel head strong and I don't know why.  I guess it's simply been something I've always wanted to do.  There have been a series of events however that have been rather motivating that keep me with it.

First of all, my roommate Zach is ward Exec. Secretary (he does a lot of service at church with the Bishop).  He has purposefully not mentioned me and my love for making movies etc. to the Bishop or anyone.  Ok.

So we shot our first video a while ago, but it never got uploaded because of stuff.  I lost my composer and was a bit discouraged.

We continued on with our next shoot with out a composer.  I didn't know what I was going to do, but I just felt like I'd keep going.
Phillip Wang

1)  The night before our first shoot I had a dream about my favorite vlogger Phillip Wang.  This doesn't come as a surprise because lately I had been watching a lot of their stuff.  I dreamed he picked me up in his cool off-road Toyota and then we came to my apartment, which looked like a prison, to get something or something.
My awesome sister Christy

2)  After we shot "Ordering Pizza" I blogged about my current music-less situation.  My awesome sister Christy reminded me she writes music all the time.  Why on earth didn't I think of this before?!  I had a composer again!  I was stoked.  I sent her a movie for her to start making music for.  I told her to take her time.  In the mean time, she made a simple song for kicks and I ended up using in "Ordering Pizza".

Saturday night in my nightly prayer I sincerely asked God if I should continue with the vlog thing.

3)  Sunday.  I'm happily sitting in Sunday School trying to listen to the teacher while I was folding a piece of paper into some piece of origami.  My friend Cameron taps me on the shoulder and says, "Hey Jimmy, could you meet with Bro. Sachs right now?"  Slightly frightened as to what calling I was about to get, I smiled and said yes.  The interview went like this.
"Hey Jimmy, what calling in the ward to you think you would be best at?"
"um....(turns head slightly)", in my mind I was thinking clerk, choir chorister, chorister, exec sec, photographer, videographer, programmer, but I didn't want to be any of them.
"What would you be really good at?"
I didn't want to say because I didn't want a calling lol!  He then said,
"We feel that you should become the ward videographer, would you be willing to accept this calling?"  My eyes widened a bit.
"Um, how did you guys find out I did that kind of stuff?"  This is where a lightning bolt should have come down and struck me.
"I'm not sure exactly, but Bishop thought you'd be good at this type of thing."  In my mind I was thinking, 'how on earth did anybody find out?!  Zach specifically told me he kept his mouth shut.  AND my first video hasn't even been uploaded!'
"Yes."
"You accept?"
"Well you can't argue with the Lord."
"So you think you can do this?"
"I'll be honest, I'm really concerned about time.  This type of thing takes a lot more time that people realize and I'm already extremely busy."
"You don't have to make anything elaborate, maybe just capture the moments...."

I am now ward videographer.  Not exactly the answer to my prayer that I was expecting, but it feels good that I must be doing something right.

4)  Two weeks later the video is ready for upload.  The sound in it needs help, buuuut I just wanted to get this channel going, plus it's our first video and I'm still getting back into things and everyone else who is helping out is still learning the ropes.  We set a goal to get 100 views the first week.  Doesn't sound like a lot, but we literally don't have an audience except for our families.

That night I went to bed and in my dream I dreamt that I woke up, checked the page and had 72 views!  It was exciting.  I soon woke up in real life and realized that it was a dream.  Slightly miffed I proceeded to look at the channel and saw that we actually had 93 views!  Yes!!  Not much, but motivating none the less.  Later that day we hit 100 views.

5)  Sunday.  Big snow storm.  I drove to church and parked BFE (beyond freakin Egypt) and arrived 20 min late.  Some dude was like, "hey, did you sign this?"  I grabbed the paper which said, "If you're not taking a religion class are you currently attending institute?"  I put "no" because I wasn't doing either of those.  Great, just one more thing to cram into my already full schedule.

Wednesday night I'm eating at the BYU cafeteria when randomly one of my BFFs Scott sits down across from me.  I asked him what he was doing that night.  He said he is going to institute and then casually invited me go go with.  I normally would never have gone because of stuff, but then I remembered that paper from church on Sunday, and so I consented on going, but for only thirty minutes.

It began.  It was my VERY FIRST time EVER attending Institute.  The teacher began and it quickly became apparent what the topic was.  It was about "Using your talents".  

A few weeks earlier I talked to Scott about my video stuff.  The channel will give me chance to consistently be utilizing certain talents.  I'll be writing, recording, and posting my songs, making fun shorts, become a better visual effects artists, become a better photography/videographer.  My mom has always told me to sing more.  I told Scott that I've felt a bit of a burden, or guilt even, for not utilizing these talents/gifts I've been given.

In the lesson she talked about how we had these gifts before coming to earth etc.  She also mentioned a "weight" as she put it that people carry around all the time for wasting their talents.  I have most definitely felt that weight.  That lesson was for me.  I stayed the entire 90 minutes.

I'm not that great of a musician, my movies aren't anything special, but for some reason I'm supposed to be involved in this stuff to some extent.  I've noticed that I'm already generally happier just by being involved in this stuff.  Perhaps that is the reason for doing this stuff and nothing more.  I am more than content with that.

6)  This morning Buddy sent me this text haha!

Facetious Face Productions is in the works.  Gotta study now.