Silver
We won a silver Addy award in Salt Lake City on the national level for our cinematography on “THE LETTER”
just a clown
They say anthropomorphism has ruined a generation of kids. But sometimes the eggs look back at you and tell you what you’re feeling deep inside and you feel a connection.
small town stud
An original song I wrote this year.
Based on a local legend.
Everybody knew his name, he was the one who ran the ball
His daddy was in the stands yellin’ that he’d take em all
We couldn’t wait to see him when games start up this fall
Everybody knew his name, he was the one who ran the ball
/
Whatever happened to the small town stud
Did he ever get famous, did his rocket prove a dud
We always said he’d get big and be our bud
Whatever happened to the small town stud
/
When the season finished he was in the local news
Up and down the main drag, the players they did cruise
The girls all threw their pearls he didn’t know what to do
Cause 4 TD’s in the title game will make a legend out of you
/
Whatever happened to the small town stud
Did he ever get famous - did his rocket prove a dud
We always hoped he’d get big and be our bud
Whatever happened to the small town stud
/
Could he run? Could he catch? Could he throw? you bet.
The whole town surely owes him a great big bit of debt.
He was the hardest working country kid that anyone ever met
Just what did you expect from a kid named dewey sweat?
/
Whatever happened to the small town stud
Did he ever get famous - did his rocket prove a dud
We always hoped he’d get big and be our bud
Whatever happened to the small town stud
/
The cruelty of time will one day take us all
No matter if you hit it big or if your world seems small
Don’t let it stop you from giving it your all
You never know who’s watching you and when you’ll get the call
Hot Dog Cool Floor
Don’t worry, this doggo was fine. this was from one of several visits I made to Omena for the Michigan Beer Film to visit an organic hop farm. It was a 90 degree Michigan summer day with a light breeze that kept us all afloat.
Austin 3x3
THE LETTER
b-roll from Mt. Juliet
Funding goal hit: $47,597 / 421 backers
Amazing. Thank you all so much, means the world to me. Now we’ve got a film to finish.
Get the inside out
a wise old woman once told me if you can play, then you should play.
she explained to me that if you have been given a gift from God, then it becomes a matter of fulfillment to use your gift to glorify the giver. Make the world a better place. Bring some light into a dark place by sharing your gift. However it makes sense to you, I think it’s a beautiful way of looking at purpose.
one of the reasons I stay fluid is that I get what’s inside out.
i speak my thoughts.
i ask people about theirs.
I write songs.
i make films
I draw
I paint
the more one can get the inside out, the more opportunities to sharpen who you are and become you
Nothing beats honesty
commit to being honest with the people in your life.
For me, it’s the old adage - if you tell the truth you don’t need to remember anything you say.
That’s an appealing sentiment.
I can live free by telling the truth.
Sometimes it can be really hard to see through the fog.
When chaos is happening all around.
start with telling the truth. first to yourself, god and others.
telling the truth is a prerequisite for a real life.
An affection for bier
Still proud of these simple images for Bell’s (2014).
St. Elmo's on the border
Smile sometimes.
Sometimes I go through long stretches where I’m tired, uninspired, and not seeing the light. I like to look at images like these and remember how much fun we have when we try really wild ideas and watch them fail.
Making movies with your pals is one hell of a way to do it.
KR
cain + abel
no one is the same at every moment.
No one is at their highest moral level all the time.
there is only the now.
Abel is the version that’s fully living up to potential.
doing good.
being good.
in the moment.
loving, faithful, strong, true.
Cain is when it all goes really bad.
We live in the tension between the two.
Tucson
I enjoy the opportunity to be disconnected for a few hours on a plane ride.
After long trips, I typically do one of two things.
Both begin with music.
I play Chopin or Akira the Don on a downloaded playlist, and I review all of the photos I snapped on my phone over the trip. I then edit them in an app called VSCO. Rarely do I get the time to just tinker that way, it’s great.
The other thing I do, debrief in a stream of consciousness on a note on my phone. This has proven hugely valuable, as often nodes, memes, names, and ideas are lost in my subconscious if I don’t take the time. It also proves as a moment to pause in gratitude for the past few days, as well as take inventory of my heart aching to see my wife and kids.
On this trip back from Tucson, I mostly looked at photos in VSCO. Arizona is absolutely stunning for this michigan boy.
Little sleep. Little coffee. Little jet lag.
A little whiskey at ‘big nose kate’s” saloon in Tombstone, AZ.
a song for Luke in Old Tucson.
new friends and interesting characters in Bisbee.
Heart full.
Thanks for reading.
- KR
Drowning in Mediums
If the medium is the message as Marshall McLuhan so aptly put, then it stands that we should carefully articulate the mediums we work in, and are building messages for.
An amphitheater is a medium, and therefore the message.
A phone is a medium, and therefore the message.
A platform is a medium, and therefore the message.
A TV is a medium, and therefore the message.
A book is a medium, and therefore the message.
A billboard is a medium, and therefore the message.
A poster is a medium, and therefore the message.
A t-shirt is a medium, and therefore the message.
A theater is a medium, and therefore the message.
An iPad is a medium, and therefore the message.
In our modern society, we are drowning in mediums (and therefore drowning in messages).
All the more reason carefully select the mediums we will choose to work in and understand them.
Beautiful Bozeman
Live Longer
The following talk is purely anecdotal, and while it may actually be true… it’s just my thoughts.
Make my day. - Dirty Harry. Classic line.
One of most harsh realities of life is that it goes by too fast.
But does it?
I have an observation/maybe a theory that the reason why time moves so slowly when you’re a kid and moves so fast as you get older is that you stop trying new things.
To lead an effective life and to make it easier on yourself. You build circuits in your mind and automate your life, but that also means your on autopilot, and you’re missing things. Your brain dumps the memory because it’s literally not important.
That’s why new experiences are critical.
Start with simple stuff.
Stop ordering the same shit. Change it up. Do the George Costanza.
Order new food off the menu.
Listen to music you’ve never listened before. Even if you don’t want to.
Watch a film that you don’t want to watch.
Try greeting someone a new way. Think of a new way to say hello.
Don’t worry about the awkwardness.
Awkwardness is what stops so many people from trying.
Ask the hard question. Open up and be honest.
Your days and weeks will feel more rich and more full.
The next step is to write these things down.
Reflect on them. What did you like?
What really bothered you?
what could you maybe do about it?
Can’t know if you don’t ask the questions.
Don’t live on autopilot.
Don’t outsource your thoughts and feelings to the endless scroll of phone time.
Creativity is critical to long life.
KR
Cody, Wyoming
They say there is no road to happiness, happiness is the road. - Luke Bell
I can’t say much about the trip, but I wanted to share a few simple phone snapsl
