Post of the Month: May 2008: What's your Reno earthquake experience?
The Post of the month for May was another tough call. This time, it really came down to the dogs. Their vote was crucial.
There were two contenders with one real longshot. The longshot was Priva-ate Eyes. It obviously couldn’t win due to the meat of the post no longer actually being there (check the picture here) and notice the way I spelled “their.” Not the right way. That might resonate with some of you, but it might not. Rest assured, I know the proper usage. Other people do not, and that’s why I did it that way. The only reason that post was in the equation was the reaction it generated. Several people who matter a lot to me thought it was real, and the response was overwhelming. So I took it down. To quote one person, though, “The genius was that so many people did think it was real. They really thought that was possible.” That was coming from someone who thought it was real as well. But it doesn’t win.
The other non-winner was A brief update on my situation and copyright law. I find that post very significant because it is another example of me doing the right thing while I continue (yes, continue) to have to defend myself against threats and intimidation through what are, but certainly should not be, legal channels. My concession that I posted “copyrighted” material should indicate that I am willing to do the right thing. Because I am. To be following the law, but still be subject to threats to my livelihood and “financial future” should not be allowed. Unfortunately, it is. Of course, that could change, and I can only hope that it does. The bottom line here is that I am the one operating above board and without secrecy and without demanding a thing. I say start publishing all the things that are being said about me and let’s have this out in public. By the way, what have the private investigators come up with?
Finally, the winner. The dogs decided this one because, frankly, they’re now bored with lawsuits. And they once barked when this played. I can’t stand @Jim_S’ ice cream ordering, either. Here’s the background, so that it’s all on the record in one place.
I was asked to make a video to help promote the My Nevada Dream Job campaign. That video was supposed to kind of be a mocking “earthquake hunt” similar to some videos I made in the past, namely Reno Floods Again which I shot on New Year’s Eve, 2005. The whole first-person perspective was the real key. I was given a deadline about a week and a half out, so I meant to hit that deadline. As time approached, I was still uninspired and had no way of really scripting it, plus there weren’t any actual earthquakes happening, so the journalistic instinct™ in me couldn’t kick in. Then, two days before the deadline was a Sunday, and with the required editing, I knew I had to shoot. I had a window of two hours to get it shot, so @Jim_S and I took production assistant The Boy and went to Wingfield.
We stood there for about 15 minutes wondering what the hell to do. Then we saw someone we wanted to interview and I just went and asked her. She wouldn’t do it, so she told me to interview her boyfriend. He wouldn’t, either, but his buddy the tattoo guy was into it, so we rolled. From there it just got easier. We found Ed the guitar player and asked him to freestyle a song about earthquakes and he did, then we just walked around and talked to a few people. We meant for it to be about earthquakes, and it was, but there was so much good footage that day that it couldn’t just be about earthquakes.
We even saw two petition gatherers arguing about their petitions. It was classic and we tried to get them both separately on tape explaining their petitions but they wouldn’t do it. The best part was that one guy was collecting signatures and the other guy was following him around with a petition that, if signed, would remove your signature from the first guy’s petition. At least that’s how he explained it. And that came from a direct question, as we wouldn’t let them tell us what they were gathering for unless they did it on camera. They were fun.
Anyway, we got the thing shot in the allotted time, and I had two nights to edit it. I did. I was on time with my submission. Nobody else was. One group even shot their video the night they were due (Ed). Forget editing it on time. And that’s where we stand. I still have no idea if this “contest” was even real, or if I was duped by a friend into doing a video so they could have stuff for the site. I was so pissed that I made a new video to throw in there. It was fun, and the earthquake video gave me something to use to base upcoming videos on. So, without further adieu, I present May 2008’s Post of the month:
About Ryan Jerz
Ryan Jerz is an all-around good guy who shoots photos and video, builds websites, and works in the marketing department for the State of Nevada's official tourism agency. He recently started a consulting company called Milk Noodles. Milk Noodles helps clients put together comprehensive online marketing plans and then implement them. He received a Masters Degree from the University of Nevada, Reno's Reynolds School of Journalism in 2007.
Comments
ExGeekDogTrainer, Jun 9, 08:28 PM #:
The sound was pretty rough, but I really enjoyed it, and I was disappointed when it ended too soon. The ice cream truck tune brought on one helluva set of flashbacks :-) I’ve read the other two contestant entries, and I agree with the dogs (which I usually do anyway). Say ‘hi’ to Piper (and the rest of the Jerz clan, particularly the very capable little dog trainer) for me! – g^2
P.S. Love the “All your base” t-shirt.
Thanks, Greg! Our little dog trainer enjoyed your class. I have been meaning to post about Piper’s graduation (and maybe put a picture of her in a t-shirt up) but haven’t gotten to it yet. I don’t get to a lot of posts I “mean to do.”
The one thing about my camera that really stinks is the audio. I can’t hook a mic up, so I’m stuck with the camera mic and that’s really tough to deal with at the park. The song was drowned out by the drummers to our left, but it came out at least so I could hear it on my computer, so that has to be good enough, right?
My All your base shirt is so old now that just about nobody even remembers it if they ever did know it. But it’s held up quite nicely. A testament to the quality of Think Geek products (shirts, at least). I’m glad you caught that. Take care.
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