Photography?

My mind has been blown.

As some of you may (or may not) know, Canon had been teasing us with a profile shot of their upcoming camera on their website for some time. Well, last week they unveiled their new BEAST of a camera.

Not only does this camera have an amazing sensor, it can also shoot up to 12 minutes of 16:9 HD video on a 4 gigabyte memory card. "That's all well and good" you say, "but I can by a mini HD video camera for much cheaper." Indeed you can ladies and gentlemen, but can you film the video using any lens you already own for your camera (in this case canon lenses)? Nay I say to you, you canonot.

If I still haven't convinced you, I suggest you click on the picture below to view a video taken by the new Canon 5D Mark II (using assorted lenses).

Camera "nerd out" brought to you by Lee Stonehouse

...if you didn't click that picture above, I am very dissapointed in you.

8 tips for marketing during a downturn.

It's a natural instinct; revenue drops, you cut spending. And for many, one of the first line items that comes under scrutiny is the marketing budget; after-all, marketing is an intangible, unnecessary expenditure right? Wrong. As the old saying goes, better it is to increase your presence in times of recession than the opposite.

Some of the greatest brands have flourished and grown during recessions. Look at Ivory soap during the great depression, Intel in the early nineties slow down and Wal-Mart during the post .com era.

In these tight times, marketing yourself when others are not will not only bring your original customer base calling, but can also attract customers of the competition; and when the overall economy picks back up you are poised to secure a larger market share than ever before.

This tight economy forces greater creativity and more ingenious ways of stretching budgets; think cost-effective online advertising opportunities. Flexibility is key. Here at Handcrafted Media we pride ourselves on this ability to adapt and offer unique solutions to continue promoting your brand.

Here is a great article courtesy of Harvard Business Publishing that presents a list of helpful tips and ideas when it comes to marketing in tough times...

http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/quelch/2008/02/how_to_market_in_a_recession.html

Thoughts by Miles McIlhargie

Summertime

Fact: As much as I'm looking forward to snowboarding this winter, I will miss summer.

If you live in Colorado (at least along a majority of the Eastern side of the rockies), you know that come evening, the clouds come rollin' in. It usually happens for at least a few weeks. Anyway, what also happens are some amazing photo opportunities.

This picture in particular was a 3 shot pano. stitched together in Photoshop.

"Sunshine, sunshine, it's fine
I feel it in my skin, warming up my mind,
Sometimes you gotta give in to win,
I love the days when it shines, whoa let it shine"

Lee out.

If only it was this simple...

Because voting should be like recess!

Courtesy of ABC.

When good concept meets poor execution.

Don't buy this soap-

It happens more than it should in our industry, a good initial idea that goes completely awry somewhere in the creative process. Who thought it was a good choice to translate a cute cuddly critter into something you would, eat? Seriously, out of all the choices out there...

http://gawker.com/5052544/wash-your-hands-or-eat-this

[via Copyranter at Coilhouse, who has another ad featuring a cat that cat lovers might not enjoy]

Sinister

My younger brother is an amazing fighter. If you know me, by now you probably already know this. Nonetheless, it's a true statement and I'm really proud of him... so I say it every chance I get.

This weekend I finally got the chance to take some lighting equipment up to his gym and get some shots for his personal use (as well as for his sponsor to use). Not only that, but it really helped me some to understand lighting somewhat better.

I think (and hope), that overall, the weekend was a success.

If you'd like to see more shots you can click on the image above.

Awareness

Watch the video first...

It's easy to overlook things when you're attention is focused elsewhere. So many of us easily miss what is going on around us on a daily basis - it is easy to do in today's age of constant information and junk delivered by various mediums. We are being programmed to weed out the unnecessary and get to what we feel is the heart of the matter. For a large part this is a useful tool but at the same time this sort of tunnel vision can limit our ability to see things that surround us; things that may be beneficial or even harmful.

Not Just Marketing

I needed to fly from LAX to Seattle early last Saturday and was delighted to see that Virgin America was a choice. I consider Virgin to be one of the best marketed companies and was interested in seeing how they marketed a commodity like air travel.

Well, from the flowers on the check-in desk to the very pleasant staff... to the amazing in seat entertainment system that remembered what I was listening to and allowed me to order coffee and a snack from the touch screen in front of me, I discovered that VA was more than marketing, they completely redesigned the flying experience.

Just walking on to the plane changed my expectations... walking off the plane confirmed them.

A lot of times we, as marketers, get asked to do things that "convey" a change that really isn't there.  It is very refreshing that Virgin America didn't just try to tell people they were different, they became different.  

We know how great it is to work with clients like this.  In our own world we are proud of clients like Avondale Toyota (A totally transparent transaction at a car dealership) and Payden & Rygel (an independent investment company not trying to pump up their stock price to please investors or peddle funds not controlled by them) who really ARE different.  

Clients like these are why we like to come to work.

Thanks.

dp

110 MPG.

Here is one solution to the still overwhelming price of gas. Well, the mpg's are a plus, but I really bought this scooter because it is just so much frickin' fun to drive! We're loving our new Buddy 50; I highly recommend procuring one for yourself.

Get creative

I stumbled! upon this the other day and thought it deserved a nod on the old blog. Many times it is the fundamental elements of identity collateral that are overlooked and given less attention than deserved. The old fashioned business card is a staple of of brand communication; so getting creative with this piece many times assists in the opening of new and exciting doors. Whether you're a creative shop or not, the possibilities of creating an unforgettable first impression is limited only by the imagination*.


*Here at Handcrafted we're chock full of this stuff.


http://creativebits.org/cool_business_card_designs

Copy Goes Here

One of the greatest advertising/design industry related short films ever, imo. Brought to our blog courtesy of Coudal Partners. Take a few minutes to watch this enlightening little piece, it's totally worth it. You don't have to be in the creative business to 'get it', but it helps. Enjoy...


http://www.coudal.com/cghfilm.php

New Button!

I don't know if you noticed or not, but we're getting so high-tech here at HCM that we now have two buttons on the pic of the week (TWO!!!!). If you haven't already checked out the intro video, you can now do so by clicking on the Second Button™ at our homepage.

This week's pic was brought to you by being tired at the Airport, in Texas, on the way back from my friends' wedding. The coffee was hardcore (as you can probably tell by the incredible rates at which the picture makes it look like I'm drinking it).

This is Cake Town

It was the Big Guy's B-day the Saturday before last, and therefore, cake was had! While it was a pre-made cake, Miles and I decided to ad some of our own flavor with the oh so clever clogan*.

*clogan [cloh-guhn]: cake slogan.

Our cake was no lie, it was delicious.

A Rip Roarin' Good Time

Friend of Handcrafted's Jason Miller at home on Captain Jacks trail - As seen in this months issue of Peak Region Cyclist! Woohoo!

Photo By Miles McIlhargie

Web Development Costs

Here is a nice article that cleanly breaks down the web development process and typical associated costs. Not a representation of exactly how we do business but a nice general overview non the less.

Courtesy of solosignal.com

http://www.solosignal.com/how-much-should-web-site-design-development-and-hosting-cost

Design for Quality

A nice bit here courtesy of Business Week. It is true. In this day and age of excess, consumers are ever more forced into making quick-witted decisions about the products they purchase and the services they contract. The importance of a relevant and clearly delivered brand message has never been greater; and in this melee of advertising one of the most effective ways to get through is by way of strategically well designed marketing efforts.

http://www.fastcompany.com/big-idea/design-more-quality-technology-or-top-down-strategy-%E2%80%93-one-factor-can-make-long-term-profits

Taking You To The Danger Zone

The next wave of dealership commercials? Well, you wouldn't forget it, that's for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnF6i0b9Ux8

Nature is swell.

Living out here in the vast wilderness of Monument has been like visiting a wild animal park. OK, maybe not exactly, but the number of critters that have seemingly surrounded our house is more than I am used to. So far we have encountered numerous species of birds, including 4 juvenile hawks that like to play in our yard, raccoons, snakes, coyotes that wake us up in the middle of the night and I believe a fox visited our deck last night. More nature pics to come!

More like Bald Hill.

It's really called Bald Mountain, but Miles is probably correct in calling it a "hill."

Story behind pic: I was heading home from Denver on Sunday and the clouds were creating really interesting light on the mini-mountain (not to mention I'm camera happy with my new wideangle lens), so I pulled off the side of the road and snapped a few off of my favorite hill in Monument.

BLOG THIS!
~Lee

INTRODUCING!!!!!!

We would like to introduce a new member to our team... ladies and gentlemen I give to you Justin Fillinger (APPLAUSE)!

Justin is a special (effects) guy who hails from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and we are more than happy to have him with us now at the Crooked Porch. It's always a pleasure to add more talent on the Handcrafted team, so we welcome Justin with open arms.

I would imagine everyone here has similar thoughts but, I know I can't wait to see what mad skills Justin brings to the table.

You can check out Justin's Demo Reel here: http://www.g3pro.net/JustinFillingerDemo1.mov