Of all of the Christmas specials out there, A Charlie Brown Christmas is probably the one that appeals most to my childhood sensibilities. It's a humble and heartfelt telling of the true meaning of Christmas, and it's tough not to love the Peanuts gang.
Last year my friend Tyler gave me a vinyl copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas (not to be confused with the equally amazing soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi). I've watched the special countless times on television, but just hearing the story is an entirely different experience. There's something very wholesome about a crackling record and listening to Linus' famous speech. I put together this brief clip to share the experience.
In 2009 I was busy trying to balance two very different editing jobs as I felt I was prepping for big changes in 2010. I was becoming more stable as I let go of a lot of my former student stress and began focusing on ways to set myself apart and further prove myself at work. By this time I was feeling more confident and self assured. After several years of feeling like I was behind the curve, in 2009 I felt like things were moving quickly and I was gaining a lot of ground. My change in tone and desire to connect with film students became even more apparent and my blog evolved to reflect that. Here are some of my most popular posts from that year.
1. I Need Your Vote for the Gizmo Tree Originally posted April 12, 2009 With my success in the Sasktel film competition in late 2007 and early 2008, I promoted my short the Gizmo Tree in the Yobi Film contest in 2009. In the end I didn't win, but I did manage to advance through four rounds of voting. Things worked out the next year when I tried my luck in Yobi Film again and finished as runner up for filmmaker of the year, beating out 38 other filmmakers. 2. Cinematic Acrobatic Presents: Alex Lamburini Originally posted October 1, 2009 As part of my shift to help promote other up and coming filmmakers, I started interviewing young filmmakers who I'd met online through contests or on YouTube. The post I did with Alex Lamburini became so successful largely because of his own promotion, but it was also the first time that I had added another voice to my blog and I think readers enjoyed the shift. 3. Advice for Aspiring Filmmakers Originally posted May 19, 2009 This post was popular because it was a simple breakdown of everything that I'd come to appreciate from my time in film school. There was really nothing surprising about the advice, but sometimes it's just helpful to reinforce the obvious. 4. We Two Kings Originally posted December 12, 2009 This was a brand new short film I created for Christmas with my friend Tyler. The popularity for this one was pretty obvious because of the timing.
With my new portfolio site still looming in the background I've been taking the opportunity to update and refresh my various sites and platforms. I don't want everything to look exactly the same, but I certainly want them to feel stylized in a way that's cohesive and representative of my own look. YouTube itself has recently received a subtle, but modern update and I felt the graphics I was using on my channel had been well worn. I opted to bring the color scheme down by switching in some black and gray tones and added a dark wood grain background (which is noticeably similar to that of Editing Luke). I then updated my profile icon with a new fandrix badge and rearranged my featured videos. These simple changes have made a world of difference. My channel looks polished and a bit more modern without entirely ditching the retro video scrapbook vibe. I think this will stick for now. You can check out the changes yourself by visiting my channel HERE.
