Twitter

Created a twitter account so I could follow the latest happenings with #MicroTiles from work. (Notice how I incorporated the pound symbol, that's good old fashioned Twitter-talk.) Can't promise that I'll tweet anything myself, but I'll definetly check out what others are saying.

You can find me at http://twitter.com/steveccoleman

Exclusive Interview: Claire Olivia Coleman

Our little Claire is growing up so fast. I can't believe that two months have already gone by.
At seven weeks she has figured out how to sleep through the night. She has gone from the 90% percentile for weight into the 95%, which is awesome!! And she is such a happy little girl, just like her older sister was and still is.



Here is a little video I took one morning trying to get her to smile. Most mornings it works but I think the camera might have been throwing her off.



More video and photos to come as we get to know this little girl.

TV Shows that I plan on checking out in 2009/2010

These are a few of the TV shows that I plan on checking out this television season in order that they premiere.

Gossip Girl Season Three



Community - New Show



Fringe Season Two



Heroes Season Four



FlashForward - New Show



Dollhouse Season Two

No Preview clips available yet for second season, so here is one from Season One!



Smallville Season Nine



V - New Show



LOST The Final Season

No preview yet, they haven't even started filming yet. But there is this:



For someone without cable or satelite television service, I have a pretty agressive viewing schedule ahead of me.

The Antenna Project Conclusion

Well I am closing the case on wanting to install an HDTV antenna on the roof. Kitchener-Waterloo is located in a 'deep fringe' area and that would require a big and expensive antenna. Rachel doesn't like the idea of something so big being installed on the roof and I don't like the idea of having to get up there to do the installation. We will just live with the channels that we get in. I have bought a indoor antenna to help boost those channels and I think we will leave it at that.

This whole thing started with me getting all excited about the last season of LOST. I want to watch it the night of to avoid people spoiling the plot on me. I had a simular freak-out last January and even bought a Bell HD Receiver and service. That lasted 24 hours before I returned it. After crushing the numbers then and even the other night for six months of service is a ridiculous amount of money. I refuse to pay it. I would sooner use that money, which was around $450 dollars, and buy the shows on Blu-ray when they come out.

The Antenna Project Part One

I built myself a tv antenna yesterday made of cloths hangers to see if could be done. We don't subscribe to any cable or satelite television services because we feel that we don't get our money's worth out of it. As it stands we get the local Kitchener station coming in very clear on its own. And three other stations are visable to some degree.

Well when I hooked up my homemade antenna, I was able to double the amount of analog channels we receive. I was hoping for at least one digital signal, but I'll have to try again. I just had the antenna on the main floor and leaning against the wall, not very safe with two kids in the house. Later this month I will venture into the attic and connect it up there and see if it improves the number of channels we can get. CityTV from Toronto was one of the new stations which is cool, plus some French CBS station came in clear however we will never watch that.

I think that we will continue to download our television content for the time being and watch our shows on the Western Digital HDTV player. Plus iTunes has added a lot of new shows to its listing including LOST and Gossip Girl. If placing my antenna in the attic improves our total channels or adds a digital one, then I think I will consider adding a real antenna to our roof.

This project only cost me $11 dollars by the way. The cloths hangers were free.

Claire Olivia - Day One Video

One of my most favorite part of having kids is making a video about their first day of life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niCv6kjGqmM

I love that it is truely a moment that comes only once and can not be recreated in any way. So when I found out that I could take my camcorder into the operation room, I was stoked. All I really wanted to capture was the doctor announcing if it was a boy or girl. If I only got that, I would be very happy. Luckily I was able to get a few other shots and angles to capture the moment.

As always the downside of being behind the camera is that you are never infront of it. I managed to get one shot of me that I worked into the video, but it makes it look like I was never in the room and that I am still waiting as you never see my face again. I don't think I got recorded with the baby until the second day. That footage I can use for my Fatherhood video that I have been crafting for over a year now.

I filmed everything using my Sony HD MiniDV camcorder (HDR-HC3) and it was all handheld. I had a tripod with me in the van, but I never saw the need; plus it can be bulky and in the way when nurses and doctors are coming into our room to check on Rachel and Claire. I knew ahead of time that I wasn't going to be using much of the audio and I directed people to ignore me and focus on the baby.

I love the music of Michael Giacchino and I love Lost so it was just natural for me to use his music from that show. I knew for a long time that I wanted to use the second piece you hear in the video. I loved that moment in the tv show and now I love it even more used in my video.

Anyways, that is all that I can think of as commentary on my latest video. I knew how I wanted it to look, however I had no idea what the footage would actually look like. Like I said, you only have once chance at it. Until next time...

Why Blog??

What is the difference between blogging, Facebook or Twitter? Do I really think anyone cares?

These are some of the questions or comments I hear about the growing phenomenon of social websites. They are not going away anytime soon, so I best get a handle on the situation or else I’ll totally be clueless around the time Bridget starts using the computer. I think it is a great tool to find out what is going on with distant friends and family, plus a great way to share photos and videos that you are proud of. Some think it is impersonal and I agree. There is no need to pick up a pen and write a letter and mail acutal photographs, which I think has become a lost art. People no longer pick up the phone and call to see how you are, they just log in and read your profile. I’m guilty of it.

I write this blog because I see it as an art. It is a creative expression of who I am. It is a tool that I can use to improve my writing and communication abilities. I can edit photographs and create designs and talk about the process behind them and I and others can learn from them. Being in Marketing it is also important to know the latest trends in getting your message across. I blog so I don’t have to cram information via email to family and friends. They can come to me now. I do it for them, but I don’t want to be too in-their-face about it. Especially sicne we all have stuff going on in our lives right now, and reading an email about Bridget pretending to be Tigger is the last thing someone wants to read.

Anyways, I plan on writing quite a bit more this year since I am excited about the new baby and about my life in general. I plan on sharing, I plan on blogging.

Building Blocks

When I was younger, around 7-9 years old, every Saturday morning I would eat breakfast and then go into our living room, put cartoons on, and get out my wooden blocks. There I would sit building mazes, buildings, race tracks, or anything that my imagination could dream up. After being stored away by my mom for nearly 20 years, the blocks and I were finally reunited.

Bridget sporting her new haircut, being very helpful when putting her blocks away.

When I got them out again, very quickly all those memories came flooding back to me. I’m excited that Bridget has them to play with, as it is a great way to stimulate the imagination. Plus best of all it hasn’t cost us a dime. She is more interested in knocking over any towers or buildings that Daddy makes, but in no time at all she will be calling me into the basement proud to show off her latest creation.

Congrats to Matt and Lesley

My younger cousin Matt is now the father of four kids. Way to go Matt!! Today they welcomed into this world a new baby girl and boy, Layla Elizabeth and Evan Matthew. Our family is so excited for them as we are counting down the days until we get to meet our own new baby. We can't wait to get together with them once all the dust has settled and our wives are feeling up to it. Congrats Matt, Lesley, Owen, and Austin!! Today you have truely been blessed.

Who's teaching who

So Bridget has lately been getting up around 5 - 5:30am and coming into our room. I get up and take her to the bathroom and then escort her back to her bed to sleep a little bit more. She is confused because the sun is just starting to come out and she thinks it is morning. Thankfully she does fall back to sleep for maybe 30 to 45 minutes if we're lucky.

Well last night was the first time in a while that she slept at her Oma and Opa's place. And going to bed I had this nagging thought that I was still going to wake up at 5am. Sure enough, like clockwork, I woke up at that time and sat up listening for her. It was pure instinct kicking in since I knew she wasn't at home.

I figure it is Bridget getting us prepared for the new baby to be walking up at odd hours of the night and she wants her dad's instincts to be sharp. Thank you Bridget for thinking of me, I will remember this lesson when you are a teenager and return the favour.

Marketing my new baby

Is it weird that I have created logos for my unborn child?

Maybe it is just the natural marketer or PhotoShop freak in me that sees this as normal place. I have even started writing up a "Press Release" and scribbled down ideas for a "Channel Communication" to family and friends.

I could care less if it is weird or not, I love it! I am excited and I will express it any way I can.

Now here are my logos.

If it is a boy, for Jack Austin I went with a Cowboy / Indiana Jones theme to match up with his middle name and all things rough and tough about boys.

I hope that people will see the hat design first and then notice that it is made up of his initials. I am very proud of this design despite sucking at using the pen tool in PhotoShop.

If it is a girl, for Claire Olivia I wanted a more modern and simple look. Something that looked regal, or some kind of logo that you would see on a magazine. I like this design too, because it works well when I have a first and middle name version as well.

So there you have it folks, the logos for my new baby. As you can tell I had to do one for each sex as it is completely a mystery to Rachel and I. You'll have to wait until July 13, 2009 to find out which one it will be. Jack or Claire!!

What does Indiana Jones, Captian Picard, and Julius Caesar have in common?

July 13, 2009 - How weird is it that I know when our new baby is going to be born right down to the approximant time of 9:30am. So much for the due date carrying any element of surprise. (Although Rachel could still go into labor before then.) We are so glad that we haven’t found out if it is going to be a boy or girl now.

Right after Rachel told me I googled ‘July 13’ to see if it has any signifigance in history or otherwise. This is some of what I learned:

• July 13th is the 194th day or the year or 195th if it is a leap year
• Julius Caesar was born that day in 100 BC
• In 1985 the Live Aid benefit concert took place
• Patrick Stewart and Harrison Ford were both born that day (Very Cool!!)

I find the last fact the most interesting as I am a Star Trek and Indiana Jones fan. So let the countdown begin: 82 days to go!!

Friend to the Animals

Bridget and I have been planning on making a bird feeder for some time and finally the weather improved enough that we could do so. While she was taking her nap I did all the assembly work. We used a two-liter pop bottle, some twigs that we found around the yard, some string and an eyelet screwed into the bottle cap. We had bought the bird seed earlier in the day from the Bulk Barn. I tied the string around a branch near the back of our yard so it would be ready for us later on. When Bridget woke up she was so excited to go outside into the backyard.

Bridget's job was to scoop the seeds out of the bag and into the funnel. She did pretty good for a while but she was too busy explaining what she was doing that it took forever. You have to love that about her. I finished putting the seeds into the bottle and Bridget was all worried about the seeds that had fallen onto the deck. I insured her that the birds would find them there too.

Once we screwed the bottle back onto the lid it didn't take long for a Chick-a-dee to find it. I was able to walk pretty close to the bird before it got frightened. Bridget and I then took some bird seeds and placed them in the palm out of hands to see if the Chick-a-dee would come to us. Bridget was very patient and stood there a while but the bird perfered the new feeder that we made. One website said that it can take around three weeks before birds in the neighbourhood figure out that the feeder is there. I think we will try to feed the birds out of our hands later at that time. There will hopefully be power in numbers. I'm curious to see how Bridget reacts but I know that she will be very excited and probably talk about it for weeks. I wish I would have had my camera when I was standing right next to the feeder, I bet the picture would have looked amazing. Oh well, Spring has only just arrived and more fun is to be had in our backyard.

Two for the price of one

I’ve started filming my next FeatherStone Production which is currently untitled. The truth is that I was actually filming for two videos that just happen to take place in the same location. The first one which I hope to debut in the month of March is a more comedic video with a hint of conflict, while the second production is meant to compliment future footage of when our baby is born. I wrote on my Facebook page once that “Steve is presently writing his future and drawing parallels to the past.”; well that is what I was alluding to. I’m hoping that I can enhance certain moments by providing a glimpse or two into the past. Yes this is 100% a rip off from Lost – the best show on TV – but only if I am able to pull it off. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out, I expect that video will be ready in August 2009.

Do you like my new “I’m making a video” photograph. That is a Lost poster in the background. And the camera I am using is a Sony HDR-HC3; it records onto Mini DV tapes and does an excellent job.

The March production however needs one more evening for some B-Roll filming and then the next evening I hope to start editing everything together. In the videos I show two books that I have read; one is Watership Down and the other is Fahrenheit 451. Don’t look for any secret meaning behind why I chose these books. I wanted to go down that path and pick something that could relate directly to the scene, but my collection isn’t that immense and my literary knowledge is even smaller for me to pick the appropriate book. So I grabbed two that I read in the past two years.

Well stay tuned for later updates after I have some footage edited. I'll show some exclusive content of the shoot later this month. Thanks for reading and I'll chat with ya later.

The Grocery List

Greetings,

I am pleased to present the latest video from FeatherStone Productions and Side of the Road Films entitled "The Grocery List".

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=sUc0_lzNGJE

This video stars myself Steve Coleman and my wife Rachel and my daughter Bridget. I thank them for their participation and giving me the time and permission to create this video. About this video. It was filmed using my HD camcorder, the Sony HDR-HC3, and was stationed on a tripod for most of the production. I edited it together using Adobe Premiere Elements 3. I used one sound effect at the beginning when the garage door opens as the actual audio was a little weak. Music at the beginning and at the end is "Say it Again" by new artist Marie Digby. Watch out for this one, she is very talented and I recommend picking up her new CD "Unfold" at your local record store or on iTunes.

I won't say much more about the video itself as it deserves a post all to itself which will be coming soon. Expect to see more work from FeatherStone Productions and Side of the Road Films in the near future. Thanks for reading this post and for watching the linked video. I hope you enjoy it.

Steve Coleman