Ideas took shape as I watched Charlie Rose interview three tech journalists about Apple's iPad. My goal at this time is still to gain the skills and craft in writing, photography and videos. Since January I've been posting to YouTube; since February to Facebook. Posting videos and text on the Internet is my market research for what people like, for what the market wants or is ready for. I can see the two lines converging and that time feels thrillingly closer!
I've always had the idea I would be distributing digital images and videos on the Internet. I'd love to do a theatrical feature but to be realistic I don't have the time to develop the skills, networking and financing to do that, unless, of course, I do well preserving physical and mental health. Virginia Woolf is quoted to say that in her early 40s she had to be a miser with time. She had to focus on what mattered to her. Of course, she may have had ideas of suicide even then and suicide radicalizes the picture.
Another feature: I've worked with Apple products and the Macintosh so I'll be using Apple or Apple-compatible software. This is not as much an issue today when cross-platform is more the rule. Even Microsoft has been making critical software available for the Mac and Avid in videography likewise has paid more attention to the Mac with the Mac's impressive showing through this recession. Premium pricing has not inhibited Apple's growth. Jobs was right in setting the lead instead of following the herd.
The Rose interview commented on Jobs's strategy and success. He has creative and innovative genius but these are lens through which he looks for what is missing in the commodities market and designs a beautiful product that fills that niche and that people get passionate about. His high tech design is high art.
I still don't know what products I shall eventually be making that will get monetized. Right now, I am still interested in doing model photography but I don't think I'll be doing fashion spreads. Documentary and drama are more interesting to me. I am definitely into videos not film. Right now I am producing 4 categories of videos: travel, modeling, commercials, and people interest. The last is the most intriguing but needs work to develop it so I can give an elevator speech in one sentence. Narrowing the focus is what skills acquisition and market research is about.
Meanwhile here's the elephant in the room. I love images but long ago I already had a first love: words, what I am calling right now "text." Once I feel I've acquired enough skills and craft I can push the envelope and call what I do writing. It's the elephant because it's what gets me up in the morning to start working; it's how I spend my mornings. It's an elephant because compared to video and photography work, writing feels the least likely to become monetized. What I can do is combine my love for words with my love for images, drama and people interest: write my own screenplays, direct and edit the video. Right now that feels like something in a remote future i.e. one to two years from now!
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