Inspiration.

Imagine working at Nike. Your job? To inspire. To push creativity in the designers, the commercial producers and the sales team.

What a job, eh? Well that job was once held by Kevin Carroll, who called himself "The Katalyst"...

If you've ever heard him speak - you were inspired. If you've read his book - you were inspired.

Kevin has a great story about the desire and passion he had as a kid and how he continues it to this day.

Kevin's book "Rules of the Red Rubber Ball" is a quick read, maybe 15 minutes, tops. But it has a powerful message.

He talks about following your passion and loving every minute of it.

In the book, Kevin explains how a red rubber ball helped him become one of the first black trainers in the NBA, with the 76ers.

He then went on to work for Nike, where he inspired these spots:





Here is one of my favorite passages from the book, that encourages me to think differently everyday:

For creativity to serve you well, you must exercise it daily. You must nourish it, or it will weaken.

How?

Breakout of your routine, everyday.

Put yourself in uncomfortable situations, everyday.

Look at the world with the innocent eyes of a child by approaching everything in your life with wonder, not assumption.

Be playful, not always serious.

His book inspires people to follow their passions and enjoy the ride.

Simplicity.

Sometimes, we get so complicated with our promos. Facts, figures, flying boxes and whiz bang effects.

Sometimes I think we're just trying to trick viewers into thinking we actually have a good story - when we really don't.

Below is one of the best examples I've seen of a promo that is simple, direct and fun. Its from WFAA(late 90's?)...



If anyone has a spot they'd like to share - please let me know. I'd love to use this blog to share great spots that can get us talking, thinking and making better spots.

What's in your favorites?

I love to surf the net. I love to keep up to date on what's going on in the tv industry. I love to see what's going on in the world. Here are my fav websites - how about you?

drudgereport.com --- i love this site, keeps me up to date
tvspy.com -- great tv news website
tvtattle.com -- updated each afternoon, I learn a ton about tv/movies here
ftvlive.com -- sure, its a pay site - but I love it
newsblues.com -- another pay, tv news site
lostremote.com -- great way to keep up on web trends
tvbarn.com -- another tv/movie industry site
welldunne.blogspot.com -- a must for anyone who wants to know who's who and who's where
nbcumv.com -- NBC's media village, good for press releases, etc

I also check out my local newspaper's site and a select few TV station websites(KHOU.COM is a great local news site)

What about you? What keeps you busy when waiting for a script to be approved or for that render to complete?

Share you fav sites below...

The Daily Show vs. One Scary Freakin' Promo

Thanks to Tim Taylor - who forwarded this to me.

I've never been more frightened in my life. very funny stuff...

I love Videohelper

How many of you use Videohelper for your promos? There is a survey to the right...

I have loved that library ever since I received a demo reel with such song titles as "What the funk?" and "Shot in the head"...

Their titles and descriptions can many times be hilarious - but most importantly, the music is perfect for promos!!!

For those of you who are not using it - their website is second to none. You can search for whatever you could possibly imagine and it'll find something! The search engine has a way of knowing what you're looking for. You can also download the song right into your avid - making those silly CDs obsolete.

the website is playvideohelper.com in case you didn't know.

Does anyone have any other great music packages they would recommend?

NOW THAT'S DIFFERENT!

There are a few stations out there that really take creative to the extreme. I'm not sure what I think about it... it certainly seems to be working for some. WCCO has done some great creative and WCNC in Denver does some great/interesting things.

Some of the spots I love. Some I don't get. Some I dislike. But they create a reaction. I'm much more conservative in my style than these - but I wondered what you all thought of these spots. I showed them to a coworker who hated them.

Yesterday, I gave the opportunity to criticize my work... today, lets do it to someone else's!!!







I think there are some really interesting concepts here and I'd love to know how they rank in the market. My hat is off to anyone who breaks the mold, especially if they create an identity for themselves in a promo world that is so bland. Lets discuss... good, bad and ugly.

Good? Bad? I CAN'T TELL!

Have you ever created a spot that you don't know what the hell you've created. People say it is good - but you know better.

I recently produced an image spot for our 11pm news. I'm not thrilled with it but can't put my finger on it. Is it the script? Is it how it was shot? Am I just too hard on myself?

Check it out and PLEASE - give me your opinion. None of us can learn or grow without good, constructive criticism.

Be gentle.