Portfolio

This page was last updated: July 2009.

TechVi

TechVi is a project I’ve been building since March 2009. From its inception, I’ve intended the show to be an intersection of cable news and technology information. The hope is to create a new type of journalism that brings some of the power of video journalism to the web. Here are a few shows I did the first week of July 2009.

Show (called Bottom Line):

Stacked SOTS:

Package:

CNET

Versatility is my strong point as a producer. Whether it’s behind the camera, in the edit bay, or even in front of the camera, I’m able to deliver a strong, balanced and interesting show. Check out some of my examples.

Package

I created this item about the Audio-Visual art scene in New York for a holiday edition of Loaded. I shot, reported and edited the piece.

The Queue

CES First Looks

Loaded

MSNBC

While this isn’t exactly my production skills in play, this video shows some of my diversity as on-camera talent. I prepared three segments for MSNBC the day after Apple’s iPhone launched. Nothing too flashy, just being myself.

Engadget

I’ve worked for three years at CES covering the tradeshow, two with Engadget and one with CNET. I’ve got a pretty good handle on how to cover trade shows, and put up relevant, interesting content while the show is still happening.

Tech Check Daily

A few years back, I created a show called Tech Check Daily, which I considered the test version of TechVi. I did it every day for two or three months, but the show took way too long to produce, and wasn’t repeatable. I learned from its production, and it inspired some of my future work.

Brother Tribute

This video is edited together by me shortly after my brother’s death. I created the titles in After Effects, modifying a text animation preset (I added a transparency selector and screwed around with some sizing, not too difficult.) Outside the motion graphics, I experimented with the video’s pacing. I slowed down the news story using multiple anchors and timing their segments differently. As you watch, I also did a couple other major edits that are a bit out of character for me, like slowing down Tony Cippola’s voice during the KCOY clip for some added impact. Sure, I’d never slow down someone’s quote like that in a news environment, but the edit adds some impact and helps me express some of my emotions.For the insider info on this story, check out RyanBennett.org.

DV Guru

Client: DV Guru
Video Editor: Myself, Adam Nielson and Taylor Wilson
Graphics: Myself
Videography: Myself, Adam Nielson and Taylor Wilson
Talent: Adam Nielson and myselfComments: This is a pretty good example of what happens when you get really lucky and everything seems to come together. For video professionals, this might be a show they’d actually like to watch, other than our ugly mugs as hosts. I did some color sweetening on the outdoor shots, and we shot Adam’s segment with an old beta cam that had some issues, but other than that, it kind of came out well. No lights for these shows, since we’re micro-budget, so we had to make do with what we had. Graphically, I felt good about the logo animation, and the transition to the show felt good.

Netscape

Client: Netscape
Video Editor: Myself
Graphics: Myself
Videography: Myself
Talent: Ryan Budke
Comments: We got into town and shot some quick pickups for this vid, and banged it out fairly quickly. The piece flows pretty well, but isn’t as great as it could have been if I had a few more hours to tweak. The whole video was on a two hour shooting schedule from the floor opening, then heading home to upload the video. Motion Graphics aren’t bad, but since my 3d skills are lacking, I did what I could with a 3d glass looking logo. All in all, definitely a piece I’m proud of, but more under the time constraints and less for being perfect.

Cinematicast

Unfortunately I can’t take credit for the super sharp writing (props to Karina Longworth of SpoutBlog for the greatness) but I can take credit (and horror) for the rest of the video. Cinematicast is another podcast we tried on Weblogs, Inc. The content is amazing, but I really wish we had some sort of lighting setup, so we wouldn’t be stuck at the mercy of outdoor lighting, but hey, you get what you can take. I’m pretty happy with the overall product, and I really dig the mograph package that I created in After Effects.

Joystiq

Client: Joystiq
Video Editor: Myself
Graphics: Myself
Videography: Myself
Talent: Chris Grant / Myself

Comments: This vid was pretty fun, and toward the end of E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo. E3 was one of the biggest tradeshows in the world, and after a whirlwind of crazy experience, we decided to sit down and shoot some fun stuff. The biggest problem with this video is definitely the lack of lighting. On all Netscape / Weblogs, Inc. shoots, we had a Sony FX1, a Quadcore Mac, but we since getting that equipment was so difficult, we didn’t have any lighting. I tried to make do, but the content of this piece really shines through the lack of lighting.I really enjoyed this graphic package, not so much because it’s uber brilliant or anything (quite the opposite) but the Joystiq logo was just fun to animate and the throwback to Pong was enjoyable.

BloggingMilken

Client: BloggingMilken
Video Editor: Alexia Prichard
Graphics: Myself
Videography: Alexia Prichard
Talent: Andrea Lake

Comments: We covered the Milken Conference, mostly shooting panels and not really shooting stories. This highlights a graphics package I developed for Weblogs, Inc.

I really liked this package, but CNET disabled embedding, so you can go visit it on their site if you like.