Good Work,Short Lived

So if you have seen my Youtube channel by now, you would know that I have gotten a job. It is my first big boy job outside of college, actually the first real job I have ever had. If you watch my Youtube channel, you would also know that I no longer work at that job.

I worked for three weeks in a field that I thought was going to take me to my future. It sounded like everything I needed to jumpstart my dreams. Work in social media, film and edit short videos, interview the public, etc. It honestly was all of those things, for the first week on the job and then everything changed.

So let's start at the beginning, a former boss of my brother was looking for an assistant for her representative campaign and she thought of me specifically. I was thrilled to hear this. I had been stuck without a job since my graduation in December of 2014 and with it being August 2015 it was finally time that I get to work. I met with my soon-to-be boss and immediately said yes, the job was everything I needed, and why would I pass it up. The first week, I was constantly working, meeting with people at events, taking photo and video, updating social media, it was great. I had big plans for my boss as her assistant, and I was going to make sure that she had everything she needed. The only thing I didn't know was that she really didn't need me.

The second week of work was sparse and I could barely get in touch with my boss. she would call be later in the day and set up meetings with me or other people. She started to just send me posts to put up on social media, or simply do it herself. The plans and ideas I had talked about for her run for representative had fizzled and failed. She even started to make jabs at my work. I was crushed that what she wanted me to do was not good enough, especially since it was the first time I had ever held a job like that. After a meeting with someone from a different campaign, my thoughts about the job changed and I realized that I was no longer needed. I wanted to quit, but I had no idea what to do.

I stuck it out for the third week and after a Monday of me lounging around my apartment, my boss called me and needed me to film some video for the next day. That day came and went and all I could think about was how shitty everything had turned out. I had to use my own equipment which is semi-professional at best to create professional looking work. Let's just say, it came out subpar. I was devastated and my boss quickly pointed it out, going so far as to insult my intellect and my schooling. I had had enough of work and decided to end it all at the end of the week.

Check out my Vlog on YouTube @ https://youtu.be/l9BHdgp-7UQ

The meeting went well, I no longer work for that person as you already know. I am supposed to do some more work for her, like videos and everything, but she hasn't really said anything and I haven't been paid, so I think I will skip doing that for her. I am truly done with this work and unfortunately I don't know where my next job is going to come along. I have YouTube for now, but even that is starting to frustrate me. I have very few views and only about 43 subscribers. I honestly love all of them so much, but I am so unsure of my future.

Untile the world revolves again....

B.

Creating My YouTube Channel--Where I Am

Starting My Vlogging Journey-

Youtube Channel

Over the past couple of months of being hopelessly unemployed, I decided to pursue a career in the most promising enterprise of my young life--Youtube.

Everyday, I would log on to the infinitely popular video site and see random people who simply uploaded video after video and amassed millions of subscribers talking about everything from the latest tech gadget to what gummy candy topping would make a dessert pizza look more realistic. (yeah, those exist)

I saw these videos and I just knew that I could do that. I knew that I had what it took so I grabbed my closest camera and came up with an idea for a show. I figured I would talk about random topics every day and upload some daily vlog videos. After creating, editing, and uploading my first video I sat back and I waited. I waited for something that I realised would probably never come--views. 


After posting that first video, I had no views. A big fat 0 sat in front of my face on that screen and I just didn't know what to do. So, I kept making videos hoping that more would come my way. I made videos for two weeks and for every video I made, I would get 0 views. I finally realized that the reason I wasn't achieving what I wanted was because I had nothing to give an audience. I had no niche that I could fill. I don't play games, I know nothing about fashion or make-up, and I wasn't about to make a fool of myself on camera for viewers.

So, while keeping the vlog videos going, I took down my earlier videos and started soul-searching. I would look up some of the people that made me want to get on to Youtube and watch them. I studied them and finally decided that I would start my channel with Candy eating videos. Not just any candy, International Candy. Naturally this venture did get me the views that I wanted--well for the first couple of weeks. Soon I found myself wasting money to buy candy and seeing very little response from viewers. I felt like I could literally scream at the camera for people to watch me. So many other Youtubers do absolutely nothing and millions of people subscribe and watch them daily. What was I doing wrong?

After researching the tagging, title, and SEO madness that is Youtube, I finally figured something out. I wanted to be the people I saw on my computer screen every day. I wanted to have the fans and the money to make a difference in others lives. I forgot the reason I wanted to make videos--Because I can! I had to see other successful YouTubers channels to realize that they started from humble beginnings and gradually people flocked to them. So I decided to revamp myself and start making videos that talked about me. I started showing people who I was and not caring about the views or the subscribers. I starting reading books and opening up my vocabulary. I am doing reviews and making funny videos about what I remember about certain things. I am taking my camera into public places and capturing what is out there in travel vlogs. I even still eat candy on the reg. I am learning to just make something out of nothing and hope for the best.

My channel is only 8 months old and I am happy if I get new subscribers and even if I get a few views because it's not about the people who see me, it's about me feeling that I have purpose. I was unemployed, but now I have employed myself in making content on Youtube. I had an empty existence sitting at home so I filled it with something. So myself and my 34 subscribers and counting hope you can join us for the journey. 

It's a start, but it is all about putting yourself out there and seeing who wants to subscribe!

You can visit my channel at BrianRichard

Movie Magic...Well Sort Of.

Well, I think I am back in the blogging mood.....for now

My time off from the site has been due to the overwhelming stress of school. Writing papers, making presentations and preparing for my inevitable graduation this December.

Over the course of this semester I have done some amazing things but one that I am very proud of is the short film that I created. You all might remember the post I wrote about the storytelling process (if not scroll down...you'll see it) well in that post I talked about what I do to write my own material and luckily for me, I got to create some new scripts and film and edit one into a short film. 

Myself and Kimberly Bradford, filming  photo by Ryan Richard

The process was entirely exhilarating and honestly I learned so much about myself in the process. I broke down a few times but most of the time I soared through the work day. We had a great cast and crew and I think the film came out better than what I expected. 

So here is a little bit about how I made my first film.

The Challenge

When faced with a huge project of this scale, it is best to plan ahead. I started out with a simple idea that soon blossomed into a fantastic story. I wrote a script, got actors set for the parts, but then, it all fell apart.

To explain what i mean, filming anywhere is a very hard thing to do, especially if you are going to need to use locations that don't belong to you. We had a problem like that and because i didn't have insurance to cover any damages, I couldn't use any city property. I had to rethink everything.

The Story

Instead of reworking everything, I decided to use the name of the main character from my first screenplay. From there, I deciphered the name and came up with a story all its own. In my attempts to get a story out and to start filming, I wrote tirelessly for a week and came up with a twelve page script that honestly made me cry tears of joy.

For anyone looking to write a script, I say just write what you feel, It will make all the difference when you actually begin filming.

Once finished I created a story board. This element is not necessary but it does help with visualization and I highly recommend it. If you aren't an artist, you can get someone else to draw up your concepts or just go crazy with the stick-figures. Its your choice. Writing a shot list is also a good idea that way you know exactly what you want to see.

The Filming

Here is where that storyboard and shot list come in handy. Have all your equipment ready and start filming

•   Camera
• Tripod
• Light Kit
• Reflectors
• Boom mic

These are what I used but I didnt have a budget and I rented them from my university for free. If you cant do that then just see where you can rent equipment. Remember that the equipment you use will reflect the quality of the film.

The Editing

I am doing a whole lot of editing at the moment. I would say for a ten minute film, it has taken about 2 weeks worth of my time. the most i can say here is to understand what you have and the story you are going to tell. Work with everything you can and make a statement. Add your music and don't forget to credit everyone who helped. 

This is what i did while i was gone and how to film according to B

Food Facts--Honey is For the Bees

I had the chance recently to learn about taking care of honeybee hives. Yes, that does mean that I put on all the gear and got to smoke the bees. It was so cool, it is like nothing you have ever experienced, especially because these bees were wild. The best part is that the beekeepers gave us a taste of the raw natural honey and by whatever deity you believe in, it was so good!

So in honor of that experience, lets learn about honey.

The Sticky Truth

Honey is basically the regurgitated nectar that bees put into their honeycombed hives and seal with wax. Yes, it sounds gross but through evaporation, the nectar becomes thick and sweet, frankly if it tastes good, who care what kind of little insect barfed it up. The honey's sweetness is from mono saccharides and glucose and has the same sweetness as regular sugar. It actually is a bit higher in calories than sugar, but obviously it is better for you. The use of honey as a sweetener has been around for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians even stored it in tombs with the dead. On a side note, this honey that was like thousands of years old is still good to eat. The reason is because bacteria cannot live in the honey because of its low water content so it doesn't really break down which is weird because its sugar and bacteria loves sugar, I mean have you smelled your bread lately, ugh. Of course we all know that young children under 2 years old should  not eat honey but why? Well the answer is that honey sometimes does have a few things living in it. In this case, they are called endospores. They belong to a certain bacterium that creates toxins in the intestines of the infants causing severe illness and in some cases death.

Please don't feed your infants honey....just don't.

Yeah this Stuff is Like Magic.....Right?

Just a little fun fact, honey actually has electrolytes which means that it can conduct some electric currents but don't try to light a light-bulb, its not that good at conducting.

The health factors of honey are numerous but some are a little bit skewed. Some people use it for just about everything: cough suppressant, fungal remover, burns, etc. There is some evidence of honey working on the skin to aid in burns and cuts but there is still not enough evidence for more serious applications like stomach ulcers or cancer.  The truth with honey is that you have to know what you are using. The content of honey is mainly sugar so the best it probably can do is kick start your metabolism. Some types of honey may have better medicinal properties based on the nectar of the plant the honey is made from, but of course there could be little affect on your body unless you want to down several gallons worth of the sweet stuff. Also, if you are immune deficient, I would advise you not to ingest honey because it can lead to bacterial infections just like with infants.

As a safety measure, don't use honey to heal yourself unless you are trapped in the wilderness. Just don't. Go see a doctor instead.

It's Like Gold!

Honey comes in three grades A, B, and C. A is, of course, the best to buy. The grade means it has a normal flavor and its smell is like that of the plant the nectar was taken from. the other grades just get lower from that point B being okay tasting and smelling and C being fairly good.

Honey also comes in different stages of processing. I got to try raw honey for the first time and it is very good. All raw means is that it is straight from the hive with very little processing or none at all. Pasteurizing just heats up the honey to get rid of any yeast living in it, it also make the honey darker, pulling out some of the flavor in the process.

This stuff really is like gold, sometimes the price is quite high but I am sure it is because honey takes about 50,000 bees to create  500 pounds of honey each year.

The Bees

Some interesting facts about bees that I learned while working at the hives.

• The smoker device is not used to get bees high on smoke but to simulate a forest fire. The bees will think their hive is in danger and become preoccupied with saving their honey.
• Several queens may be incubating at the same time but when the first one hatches, the others are destroyed
• Drone bees are the males and are out-numbered by the females. Each winter the drones are rejected from the hive and left to die.
• Bees will work themselves to death...oh yeah. Sometimes bees are seen struggling on the ground around the hive, trying to fly but are so exhausted that they eventually die of starvation. 
• Bees will search out a new home if theirs gets too small. Scouts will fly out and select a new location then the queen will be moves and the bees will gather around her protecting her.
• At beekeeping sites, each stacked box structure is a different hive with a different queen. Like neighboring kingdoms, if one bee mistakes a colony for their own, they will be killed immediately. 
• If you come in contact with an angry bee, cover your face. They will always attack there first.
• Once stung, a bee dies shortly after because their stingers and most of their lower halves fall out of their bodies.

And that is honey and bees According to B.

What do you think of honey and the process it takes to make it? Do you use it for anything specific? What about recipes? Tell me in the comments below.

Wednesday Writing--My Take on the Story Telling Process

A story can bring a listener or reader into a world that can  sometimes not be experienced. It can also create a beautifully detailed account of real life. No matter what story you choose to read, there is always a reason behind them. The author is the master and the lord of the land that he/she has crafted into reality. I know just a little bit about this process because I currently writing a bit myself.

Photo by: Brian Richard (2013)

Now I am not the best creative writer, but I am definitely learning. I started about two years ago with an idea for a novel which i planned to pursue. Unfortunately, I was distracted by schooling which seems to happen a lot and I ended up with about 32 pages of a story and no more interest. I found that I was continuously writing action scenes and leaving out plot development and character arcs. This was not the story I had planned on.

I then changed my mind and decided to create a spec pilot script of this story but change the setting and the characters and make it a bit darker. It is what i am currently working on now and i have to say, I like it. Just to mention, I am only finished with the pilot draft and started on the second episode draft. This process has been going for about a year. It is a lot of work but I want to share that work with you.

The Idea

When I first began to come up with a series, I started with an already workable story line. If you don't have any ideas about where you are going, just look around you. Ideas will come from the strangest of places. The one thing to remember is to write what you would want to read or see. 

For example, walk around your neighborhood and find an interesting place. It can be and old ornate house, a giant tree, even a stop sign. Nothing has to be overly specific because once you see something that interests you all you have to do is make up a story around it.

Lets use the ideas above and create something.

• Maybe the old house you spot is so quirky looking that it could be the home of a retired private investigator who now writes murder mysteries. 
• That tree could have been the scene of a beautiful wedding between two people 
• The stop sign on the corner might be where a tragic accident took place.

These are simple ideas and writing them out can help you determine what you might want to write about. I actually like the first one so lets put something together. I am going to make a few changes though.

• A murder mystery writer is plunged into real police investigations when she realizes, after reading of an incident that seems familiar to her, that her books are being used to used to commit very real crimes. 

Now i know that sounds like Murder She wrote or Castle. Both are great shows and it is okay  use them as examples to create your own version with a unique style. Remember that all series are simply variations of another series. Keep writing and thinking and this could be a great one.

Characters

Now as for characters, this takes quite a long time for me to create. I start out with just simple gender ideas. If I want a woman character I call her lead female and then place her in the plot of the story. In this case, female lead is the murder mystery writer. I would then create a table that has their wants and fears. Knowing your characters will help you write for them. 

As a writer you also have to make sure that characters do not have the same style of voice. If everyone talks the same way, how will anyone connect with them. They have to be real and real people are all unique. 

Another thing to consider is diversity. Yes, the white character seems like the choice to make but I am sick of those leads. Think outside the box. Some shows like Scandal on ABC is an example of a show with a great diverse lead. Maybe give your character African, Asian, Middle Eastern or Indian heritage. Get the audience to fall in love with their personality and their struggle and you will have a great show on your hands.

Episodes

So for this area, i just simply write and write and write. There is nothing really I can say but write. I start with full drafts that are about 15-25 pages long then i take those drafts and forget about them. Come back to them later after you have moved on to the next episode draft. Once you look at it again, some ideas that you wrote will work and some will not. Don't be afraid to make changes. You will also see arcs start to come together and connections come full circle. Remember to get others to read your work because if they don't like it, no one else will. 

I am still working on the whole script writing process myself so i will recommend these books The Screenwriter's Handbook by Syd Field and Inside the Room: Writing Television with the Pros at UCLA Extension Writers' Program edited by Linda Davis

So I don't Bore you anymore that is Story telling According to B.

Hope that you can use some of this to help you write and definitely check out those books. They are a big help for me.

Tech Science Tuesday--NASA Says Life is Probable Out There

According to an article I read  in the Los Angeles Times(2014), NASA is sure that there is at least one planet rotating around every star in our galaxy. So basing that on some rough estimations I made, I am pretty sure it is possible that there are at least 300 to 600 billion planets out there for life to be sustained on.

With this vast number of planets out there, it should be quite simple to find one that harbors life but that is where scientist are still a bit behind. Currently NASA, according to the LA Times article (2014) is working on a telescope lens that will filter out star light that could be blocking these planets from our view.

Caption: August 2013 James Webb Space Telescope mural image. Artist's impression.

Credit: Northrop Grumman jwst.nasa.gov

The telescope in question is called the James Webb Space Telescope or WJST, named after a former NASA administrator of the same name.

According to the NASA James Webb Space Telescope site, this new piece of science equipment will be able help astronomers and scientists unravel the mysteries of our planet and the universe around us.

 "The Webb will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System." (NASA)

 This is really exciting news and it looks like the implementation for this telescope is not far off. The NASA site says that the telescope should be ready by 2018.

As far as the recent news, the LA Times (2014) quoted Sara Seager, a planetary scientist at MIT as saying, "We believe we are very close in terms of science and technology to finding another Earth, and signs of life on another world."

In other words, if we find life out there, it is surely to be a whole lot sooner than we could expect and maybe not so far away.

And That is Tech/Science Tuesday According to B

You can check out the LA Times article HERE or head on over to the JWST site and get the details on what other cool things this telescope can do HERE

What do you think of this info? What might we expect to find out in the vast regions of Space? Share in the comments below.

July 14th--Bastille Day at Last

So I am American, but I am also French. I say that I am French because I live in South Louisiana and my name proves that I am. The culture that has reared me is not unlike the culture that is found in the bustling city of Paris and the exquisite countryside of Languedoc. The French heritage that dwells within me is diverse and every bit as authentic as it should be. So I am happy to take a moment to recognize and remember a very important French National Holiday.

July 14

(AP Photo/Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool)

Bastille Day is the commemoration of the storming of the Bastille on July 14th of 1789. This day was the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison structure that was filled with ammunition and used to hold prisoners who had spoken objectively of the French government. The attack was in an effort to keep the people's representatives safe from the royal army as they worked to create an unified constitution. The people of France stormed the building and in doing so, showed that they would take the power over their government. It was now the People's turn to govern themselves.

That is just a short little bit about the history of the day. If you want to learn more check out this article on about.com.

The Celebrations

To celebrate the day, the French hold a national parade that travels down the Champs-Elysee from the Arch de Triomphe to the Palace de la Concorde. Its is not only a French celebration as many places in America are also celebrating the day including French populated New Orleans. My current city of Lafayette La, held a small event on the 13th.

I will be celebrating a little later today in honor of my Ancestors who were alive and fighting during the French revolution, but also to all the French citizens who love their country and wanted the freedom criticize and change it for the better.

Photo: Pierre René-Worms RFI/France 24

Vive La France et Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!