"The Year In Creativity Blog" 2021 Edition
2021 was better than 2020, for obvious reasons. It also presented some fun video projects. I managed to take a few moments to share some of the Top 5 projects I tackled in 2021. It’s an all video year!
5. MOVE: Ignite Camp usually manages to make my Top 5 list, this year is no exception! This years theme was MOVE.
After 2020, we wanted to encourage students to MOVE away from their sedimentary lives, taking action. That theme, as usual, permeated all the things, including logos, promos, t-shirts, set design and recaps.
One fun addition to camp this year was the inclusion of my own drone. Having 2020 Ignite Camp off to recenter ourselves, recenter my creativity and passion for camp, was actually a blessing. But having camp back for 2021, providing some normalcy and reconnections with God was a welcomed friend.
4. Soup Bowl Sunday (Conner Prairie): Well this video sure was fun. Short of an “oral history” this video started with an idea on the Thursday before Super Bowl LIV (2021). My idea was to make something to play off the Super Bowl.
To start I emailed some coworkers and they came back with “Soup Bowl Sunday”! So I kicked into gear: determining what would be happening, what settings to use, who to include, then what music to use and what pacing to set the video. We shared it on Super Bowl Sunday and it quickly became one of the top videos of 2021 for Conner Prairie. I imagine it was due to a combination of the content, the play on Super Bowl and the characters. My favorite part of CP is not just the visuals but the people I get the honor of working with!
3. Inflation Day: 1859 Balloon Voyage Inflates (Conner Prairie): Favorite part of this video, the timelapse!
2021 marked the need for a new balloon at Conner Prairie, that not only included the need to remove the old one (after 6 years), but the need to replace it with a new one!
In my role I was tasked with documenting the event through capturing footage of the assembly / inflation, the people involved and the final product or first flights. It was fun figuring out how to document the inflation (GoPro’s/DSLR’s) and how to string it together in an interesting way.
2. Fistface Year 10: What can I say about Fistface that I haven’t already said?
Fistface has been a large creative part of my life since 2007. Released in 2011, 2021 marked 10 years since we completed the film. Being able to revisit it with this special edition 10th anniversary trailer was fun. Putting a fun new song with some old footage and creating a new poster brought me right back to those late nights editing my passion project.
Honorable Mention: Conner Prairie - Year-In-Review 2021: Conner Prairie is obviously a big part of my work these days. As my full time job it’s a pleasure to create so many exciting things through images and video.
This “Rewind” video of 2021 is a fun use of a recap and a fun way to quickly see all we’ve done at CP this year!
1. Honoring Grandma McGuire: In March of 2021 my Grandma McGuire passed away. I had filmed her and her sister, Lillie, almost 10 years ago, capturing there lives, personalities and voices on camera. Since then both of them have passed away, and when my grandma passed away I wanted to do a small recap of her to share with friends and family. To show people how much she meant to so many and to show who she was and will remain.
Being able to recap her life is probably the most fitting use of a video to me. Having that edited, short video to see as often as possible is something I’ll treasure forever, making it the top video of 2021 for me.
- The Media Buff