Portfolio

Thanks for coming by to check out my portfolio. While I think my on-air work shines for itself, as an employee I definitely enjoy taking things and molding them into something special. My current focus of attention? I’m really trying to figure out how web video works, and just like blogging is to newspapers, I want to figure out what makes web video different from TV. I don’t think I have all the answers yet, but below are some of the projects I’ve been working on to try to answer that question.

My goal is to work at a place where I can evolve a product past simple video on the web, and figure out, through methodical data-based testing, what consumers actually want, and how best to give it to them.

If you’re an employer, or know of a gig that sounds like an opportunity to push web video forward, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Guest spots

On occasion, I’ve been asked to contribute to some programs as a guest commentator. These unscripted environments really help show off some of my strong suits as a versatile on-camera technologist.

Fox Business News

I appeared on Fox Business to comment on the launch of the iPad via satellite.

MSNBC

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.

TechVi was created with the idea that the vast majority of our shows should be live-to-tape. My hope was to create a format that would scale well, once we were more successful and had more resources. Throughout last year, we created a minimum of one show per day, and culminated in us getting our own booth at the Consumer Electronics Association’s CES event, where we produced about 75 different videos.

I created all elements, including the technology to allow people to Skype in, the motion graphics, the site design, and (naturally) I hosted the show.

Show hosting

Package

Package

Stacked Sots

Behind the camera

Versatility is my strong point as a producer. You’ve seen some of my on-camera examples, but check out my skills in the edit bay.

The Queue

CES First Looks

Loaded

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.

This page was last updated: April 2010.