In a mission to spread art to the public, the Arts Council OKC provides free arts events in Oklahoma City with the Art Moves initiative. Held on each workday from Noon to 1:00 pm, Art Moves events may include artist demonstrations or musical performances, and take place in various locations, primarily in the downtown area. The daily line-up features a wide range of artistic mediums such as live art demonstrations, musical performances of all genres, theatrical shows, poetry, short film selections, and more!
This week’s video is part a segment from my documentary, Inviting Art, which explores the impact of the arts in the city. This video does include some changes from the original version. On the subject of Inviting Art, I am excited to announce that Inviting Art will air on OETA HD on February 26 at 10 pm! It will be a special 30-minute version, highlighting the best and most important parts of my documentary.
It’s now time for my annual End of the Year Reflection. Last year, 2016, was a big year for me. I wrote last year “was, by far, my most productive year.” In 2017, I stepped my game. Before I get into details, here are some numbers covering what I made.
Weekly Videos for Uncovering Oklahoma: 45
Artist Statement Minutes: 19
Music Videos: 1
Feature Films: 2 (Norman Music Festival and Inviting Art)
Quarter Minutes: 9
Yes! Science! Videos: 6
-Uncovering Oklahoma in 2017-
I’m going to review Uncovering Oklahoma first, but starting off with some stats. Keep in mind the for weekly videos, sometimes I would feature multiple places, such as when I did my Coffee of Norman episode. Some of my weekly videos focused on an event rather than a place, which I made more of this year because I had footage from 2016 to do that sort of thing.
At this time, no other video of mine has more views than my Beck’s Garage video. The reason it’s so high is that the marketing company did a paid boost on it. The Poe Bouyz House Sneak Peek Tour video was something that went viral because so many people were curious about what that weird looking building on the highway was going to be. Back in 2009, the very first video I did for Uncovering Oklahoma was about the Underground, which I revisited this year to include as part of my series I was doing about art galleries and for Inviting Art. Downtown OKC was impressed enough with my video on The Underground that they embedded it on their site, which for me, is one of the highest praises.
Now, to mess up those numbers, here’s what was popular on Facebook because this year I started also uploading them directly to my page.
Top 5 Most Viewed on Facebook:
5. An Afternoon in Davis [5.6K]
4. Off The Hook Seafood and More [13.6K]
3. Oklahoma State Fair Food of 2017 [14.8K]
2. Davis Road Trip [17.8K]
1. Poe Bouyz House Sneak Peek Tour [407.3K]
Having the videos on Facebook did affect my YouTube views, however, they were getting watched and that’s what’s important.
The popularity of Uncovering Oklahoma has grown like crazy. On January 2, 2017, the Facebook page likes was at 1,969 and on December 31, 2017, it’s at 10,571! I can attribute a good chunk of that to my Poe Bouyz House coverage. As for Twitter followers, I can’t find out what I started with, but I’m ending the year with 2,959. Over at Uncovering Oklahoma, I wrote a recap there, which includes my top ten pages and videos.
-Books in 2017-
One thing I didn’t do this year – which I also didn’t do last year – was publish any books. Not for the lack of trying. Intertwined by Cracks has been going back-and-forth on the editing process. Granted, the book has been getting better and better with each revision my editor has sent back. I’ve also been working on a sequel to The Crashing of Heaven and Hell, which has an intertwined chapter with Intertwined by Cracks.
-Quarter Minutes in 2017-
This year, I didn’t do as many stories for Quarter Minutes, but on average, they were longer this time around. I’m a little bummed that they didn’t get many views because I felt we did a great job on them. Something for me to work on for next year. Shout out to Daniel Austin, Pallas, Robyn Wheelock, Michael Roberts, Finley, Justan, and Kristy K. Boone for their work this season!
-Yes! Science! in 2017- Yes! Science! is my new series I started this year. The show had a rocky start, which involved some technical errors. I didn’t debut the series until October 3. However, it was well received! I took a mid-season break from it because it was getting harder to schedule interviews with the holidays and their end of the year project/research wrap-ups.
-Travel Adventures in 2017-
The other new thing I started doing was more personal travel videos, which would have me in it or not be related to Oklahoma. I figured, I had a personal channel on YouTube, which I wasn’t using, so I decided to do something with it. The most popular video I made this year on it was about the Oklahoma State Fair Foods of 2017.
Leslie and I didn’t travel out of state until December when we went to Seattle to visit her sister and then to see my parents in Georgia for Christmas. Our schedules and budgets didn’t allow for much travel.
-My Top 18 Most Played Songs in 2017-
These were my most played songs in 2017 according to Spotify, which is how I mostly listen to music. I enjoy sharing what I listened to this year. It’s fun to look back. Nothing from my top 15 this year matched anything from my top 15 of last year. Keep in mind I will often put a song (or playlist) on repeat when writing or for inspiration sessions.
-Now for 2018-
Before I talk about 2018, I feel it’s important to talk about my failures of the year. Despite my growth, I can’t help but feel somewhat forgettable. I’m still figuring out what people are and aren’t interested in watching. Basically, what works and what doesn’t work. More than once I’ve had to tell myself not to compare myself to others – only compare yourself with yourself. I’ve also had some weight gain as I do most of my work in front of a computer. I’m at 220 pounds today and I’ve set a goal to lose weight in 2018.
As a business, I am not financially stable or profitable. I did sponsorships to make three videos: The Food of Lindsey Street, Inviting Art, and Beck’s Garage for American Express. I also did several freelance video projects. However, I had equipment and medical expenses eat up everything. While I am grateful for the paid work, it takes time. Time to court people. Time to work out deals. Time to get paid (for example, on Inviting Art, I was paid half up front and the other half upon completion, six months later). I’m working on building up patron support so I can focus more on making things.
It seemed like overall in 2017, I was doing a lot of learning and getting a grip on everything, which some people may say that’s what every year is like. In the month of October, I had released at least three videos a week – one from each of my shows. I am so proud of that turnout. I’ve had people tell me that they live through me and my adventures. I’ve had tons of people that described themselves to me as “not being good on camera” later tell me how good my video on them turned out. In other positive growth, I’ve done collaborative videos with other professionals, such as in my Davis, Uptown 23rd, and A Solo Day in OKC videos. I plan to do even more collaborations next year. I did get PAID to make videos this year, which is a first.
When I compare the me of today to the me of last year, I’ve progressed.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned this year is that I can’t do everything by myself, but I can get things started by myself. Collaboration is going to be key for 2018. I just need to keep things rolling.
Now, I’m not keen on talking about future projects when they are in the pre-production stages hence why I’m going to be a little vague below.
I plan to release a new book from my 16th Phoenix Universe series of stories. As I mentioned before, Intertwined by Cracks is in the editing phase. Collecting Cassie’s Soul, which is the sequel I mentioned, I’m still writing it out, but it’s been fun to write. It’s told from the first person perspective and although it is a sequel, I’ve been writing it so that it stands on its own. I’ve also written a little on a third book.
Of course, I will continue making videos for Quarter Minutes and Yes! Science! The Quarter Minutes group had some great ideas we just didn’t get to film. In January, I’m going follow up with those who requested I check back then to be interviewed then for Yes! Science! Scheduling and juggling all of my shows has been a challenge.
I would like to attempt to do a non-documentary feature film this year. I have a few ideas I’m bouncing around, but nothing solid yet. As of I’m writing this post, I’m leaning toward a horror film.
For Uncovering Oklahoma in 2018, I plan to do behind-the-scenes kind of videos to show sides of places the public doesn’t get to see. Heidi and I plan to go more small towns and do similar videos to our Davis ones. On the subject of collaboration, that’s one of my key elements for 2018. I plan to do another pub crawl video and A Solo Day in OKC Summer Edition. If funding allows it, I plan to do more coverage outside of the Oklahoma City Metro.
I have an idea for a public art installation. I’ve been inspired by all of the artists I’ve interviewed. I’ve had the idea for some time now, but I’m just now making time to figure out how to build it because it will be an undertaking. Few people know what it is because I’m keeping it quiet until I’m sure I can actually build it. As Jack Fowler advised in an interview I did with, “you just got to do it.”
On the subject of ambitious, I have three words to share: National Travel Show. My goal is to film the pilot episode in the first quarter of the year. This has been something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.
In 2016, I thought it would be fun to do a show involving a live studio audience. In 2017, I started trying to figure what that entails and how to make it happen. In 2018, I take steps to make it happen!
That’s it for my yearly reflection. I got a little personal this time, talked more than normal, and I’ve shared some rather lofty goals. Again, I’m sorry if for my vagueness on the future as I things can change at this point. In January, I’m going to be meeting with people to make things happen.
I want to thank you for your support and I hope you continue to adventure with me in 2018!
As a special present for you, here’s a music video Jarvix and I made together for the season! Holiday Cards is an original song about trying to find that perfect card to send to a special someone. The video was filmed entirely in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, shot on a Panasonic GH5, and edited on a Mac Book Pro with Final Cut Pro X.
If you want to download the song, it’s available on Jarvix’s Bandcamp.
Here are the lyrics:
All the lights are up
In the city that I love
The air is peppermint
All my season’s greetings
To my friends and family have been
Written, sealed, and sent
All but yours
Not yours
Greeting cards can be
So disingenuous, I don’t
Want to phone it in
You’ve been so important
The past dozen months that I don’t
Know where to begin
Oh, with you
It’s true
When you speak
From the heart
All contrivance
Fades away
For release
Is an art
Share yourself
This holiday
I’ve been on the hunt
For the words that say exactly
What I want to say
Got to find the message
To articulate my feelings
And not be cliche
Oh, with you
With you
When you speak
From the heart
All contrivance
Fades away
For release
Is an art
Share yourself
This holiday
When I speak
From the heart
All contrivance
Fades away
For release
Is an art
I’m gonna share myself
This holiday
Now, for the behind the scenes story.
Back in October, I was itching to film a music video as I hadn’t done one at all this year. (The last one was Friction by The Happily Entitled, which the band has broken up since then.) I thought, perhaps I could find someone to make an original holiday song, which I’m going to blame Fowler VW Blackwatch Christmas albums for that inspiration.
I reached out to Jarvix and we met up on November 6th at Classen Coffee Company where we brainstormed the idea for Holiday Cards. If I’m remembering correctly, my suggestion was for a song that could show off Downtown in December and would about a unique subject. We also talked about things we wanted to do for the video. One idea was he would be chasing the card and it would teleport him in time and space around the city. Jarvix used our conversation as inspiration to write and record the song. I’m not a songwriter. That was all him. He sent me a work-in-progress version on November 23 and I loved it!
Then on Saturday, December 16th we met up at District House to plan out the music video. During our first meeting, we had discussed some ideas for the video, but it was at District House where we decided where to film at, the plot device of going through doors to find the card, and having it end where the perfect card was inside him the whole time. We thought the ending was very Wizard of Oz.
And then we went out to film it that day!
We stopped by Tree and Leaf Clothing to see if Dusty was there and would be willing to help with the signs that you see in the video. Huge thanks to him for helping us out on the spot! We had first tried to visit Lindsey at Collected Thread for the sign, but she was at the pop-up shops. I knew Dusty was also an artist and I’m glad we got him. The sign was important to tell the story.
From there, we went next door to DNA Galleries to film that scene. We made this music video guerilla style, asking for permission on the spot, working each location as quickly as possible, and coming up with shot ideas as we went along. It was just him and me. After DNA Galleries, we went to the Holiday Pop-Up Shops in Midtown, Plenty Mercantile in Automobile Alley, Red Earth (but they were closed), Myriad Gardens, and finally, Bricktown. Everything went rather smoothly with the only hiccups being the sign and Red Earth being closed.
On Monday, December 18th, Jarvix sent me the final version of the song at 2 am and I spent the day editing the video. As I was first laying out all of the footage on the timeline, the video came up way too short to the song. I went back, added b-roll clips to show what Jarvix was looking at when he came out of the doors, and extended scenes the best I could. I still missed the end mark. Then I came up with the idea to show flashback scenes of past holiday memories when he was typing the letter, which are clips I filmed for Uncovering Oklahoma last year. The song finally ended with him typing away, however, with the fast beat of that ending section, just having him typing wasn’t working for me and that’s when I decided to do the splice jumps of more holiday memories. The flashback scenes and the coloring of the music video weren’t thought of in advice.
As you can tell, we did this whole project by the seat of pants to get it done in time. We’re both happy with how well everything turned out in the end and we hope you enjoyed it too.
Oklahoma Contemporary’s signature ArtNow celebrates Oklahoma’s vibrant contemporary art community. The exhibition, which opened today, provides a snapshot of Oklahoma’s diverse art scene. The exhibit wraps up with an art sale, the “party with a purpose” on January 19, 2018.
For this year’s exhibition, Curatorial and Exhibitions Director Jennifer Scanlan and guest curator Alyson Atchison have chosen 25 artists across many media, from jewelry and sculpture to printmaking and painting.
This time, I have created two videos. The first video above is a five-minute overview on the exhibition and down below is a full tour. Hear the stories behind ArtNow 2018 at Oklahoma Contemporary in this curator-led tour at a media preview event yesterday.
Shout out to my supporters on Patreon! If you became a patron, you’ll get early access to that video and others. Thank you for watching!
The video does clock in at 15-minutes, but there are about a dozen places featured.
I filmed the majority of this video last Wednesday where I went from one place to the next on the top of every hour from 9 am to 6 pm. The schedule worked rather well, and I was never late to anything. I had 30 minutes to film and 30 minutes to travel. The part with Danielle talking about the lights I did record at an earlier date, and I did a few pick-up shots the next day, which were the art gallery shout-outs and my introduction – shout to Cayla Lewis for filming me! Other than that, this was pretty much done all in one day.
Originally, for the art spaces shout-outs, I was going to do the various mentions. However, on the day of shooting, I decided to let them express themselves because I wanted to make it more about them and less about me, and they know their mission statements best. Everyone was pretty cool with me showing up asking them to say half a sentence without warning.
When I was discussing the idea with some friends, they took to it. If this video does well, which I think it will, I’ll do the same thing for other cities and another one in OKC, but in the Spring/Summer to include outdoor activities.
Greg Elwell wrote a companion article titled, How To Eat Alone, which includes more suggestions on places to eat.
I hope that whatever you do by yourself in Oklahoma City, that you have a great time! If you became a patron, you’ll get early access to future solo day videos and other content. Thank you for watching!
