Filed under: A Little Me, Good Things, Vlogging | Tags: inspiration, motivation, VEDA, vlog
Nothing lights a fire under my butt quite like VEDA does.
You know? Vlog Every Day in August? Yeah, that thing.
2012 was my first year participating in the 31 day challenge to film, cut and upload 31 videos to YouTube–then watch around 1,000 videos of other VEDA folks. Let’s just say it was a bit of a crazy month but I don’t regret it one bit. It was a blast! And the gag reel is still my favorite part of the game.
And this year, August is shaping up to be even crazier thanks to rehearsals for Into the Woods and my inability to avoid social situations with new friends.
You can find my 2013 VEDA playlist of videos below. I’m following the prompts as laid out by WeBlogWeVlog.com.
The people that I’ve met through VEDA are amazing, open-minded, quirky, fun and people who are unafraid to be themselves and bare-all on the web. I’ve made some awesome friends through it, and through BiSC, I had the opportunity to meet a few this year.
Aside from the wonderful people I’m getting to know, there’s something about VEDA that makes me get shit done. I wish I could pinpoint the “why” behind this… Anyone want to take a gander on that?
For example: last year, I expressed my dire want to get out of my parents house. I found a place in my budget before the end of the month, and was moved out in the first week of September.
This year, the idea of starting a side business, while it’s been brewing for months, seems to becoming more concrete. I’m being super proactive in learning up on everything I need to know to start a biz, all the legal stuff thanks to Small Business Bodyguard, and currently brainstorming on a name. Because the name is important, gosh dang it! I was thinking a play with Latin words, then that went to Italian and now I’m just like… “But I’m not Italian!” So it’s becoming this huge game of what to call my business and what to obtain a URL and business license for. This thing will be real in the next few weeks–I can almost guarantee it.
So yeah… VEDA makes me want to do more things and I actually do them. Even though my time is crunched. I don’t know why it happens, but I don’t mind it. It’s kind of invigorating and it’s a great challenge for the Type A in me.
However, right now I just want a good night’s sleep and a free night to lounge… haha.
What inspires you to get shit done?
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Filed under: A Little Me, Song Writing, Updates | Tags: determination, inspiration, paul wesley, VEDA, vlog every day in august, work hard
So I know VEDA was last month, but it was still quite the adventure. I met some awesome people through the loveliness of the interwebs and it was all fun and games until my Macbook nearly died from all the videos.
Just kidding. Sabrina is much stronger than that.
But… and that’s a big but… I realized something. I’m not sure if it’s connected to VEDA or not, but I’d like to say it is just because that’s how the timing worked out.
I got a lot of shit done in August. Really. Aside from my 40+ hours just MAKING videos (not watching–that number is a lot more frightening and I don’t want to fess up to it… fine, I don’t wanna count!), my determination to get shit done was kind of remarkable.
- A big work project was finally finished and I laid a ton of groundwork for my next one.
- I finally set the instrumental track to a song I wrote a couple years ago (and it sounds amazing!).
- Got back into voice lessons. Finally got my ASCAP membership and all other music licensing crap out of the way (for the most part).
- And I knuckled down in my house hunt and found a killer place to move into in Salt Lake City.
All the while obsessing about this beautiful man …
And hanging with my wacky friends whom I love with all my heart.
So… I’m wondering if because VEDA sucked up a lot of my time, I worked/played a lot harder in the time I did have not glued to my computer. The bonus there is that the things I focused on were things that I’m really passionate about. How does this happen?
So whether or not my productivity was affected by my participation in VEDA is yet to be seen… but that determination has kind of gone out like a popped balloon. I kind of want it back.
Maybe it’s just the cold that’s kicking my butt. Who knows…
Nighty night!
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Filed under: A Little Me, Stories, Updates | Tags: blondekel13, copyright, copyright infringement, VEDA, youtube
Last week there was quite a terrifying moment for me and my YouTube account.
For a full 90 minutes, I thought my blondekel13 YouTube account was demolished. Squashed beneath what is known as the big giant copyright infringement bully.
Right as I woke up, I turn off my phone alarm, checked my email per usual. Except this is the email that was in my inbox:
Being an avid YouTube user, I knew this would be my third strike for copyright issues (two of my Anastasia fandubs were my first two). I clicked the Copyright Notice page on my phone and my browser informed me that the account had been disabled.
Cue heart failure.
Over 100 videos (all saved on an external hard drive luckily) from nearly 4 years of fandubs and singing, along with nearly 500 subscribers and several good YouTube friends, lost. That was NOT a fun way to start the day.
When I got to the office, after several tears of course, I pulled up the email on my laptop and clicked the link again, praying my phone was playing a joke on me. And it was. The link took me to my video management copyright area where I was informed–for the first time since my other infractions never offered this–that if I deleted the offending video, the claim would be dropped. So I deleted it… more than happily.
Thus, my YouTube account was saved. Everything I thought I would have to rebuild from nothing is safe. That is, until another production company decides to go all demolisher on another animated movie that I happened to do a fandub of years ago.
About the strikes, I seriously think fandubbing is a great way to promote movies. It’s not like we are stealing the whole show to distribute online. It’s a few minutes of a song or a scene that could potentially draw new viewers in who could go out and purchase the video. Throughout my years as a YouTube performer, I’ve run into several fandubs, songs, whathaveyou that made me go out and buy movies. No lie. It’s good free publicity! But whatever… if production companies have a qualm with it, then that’s their loss.
So I’ve set up a backup account that will take over for blondekel13 when it gets a third strike, which I hope it doesn’t, but you never really know. My first two strikes happened over a year ago so this one came as a shock. It’s always good to have a backup, just in case.
…
Well, that was the original plan until I learned more about VEDA, Vlog Every Day in August. I’ve seen some of my Twitter and blog buddies do this and it just sounds like a lot of fun and a new way to share information. Plus, seeing someone and hearing their voice adds a whole new dimension to blogging that I love.
I’m thinking that my new “backup” channel would be a good spot for those rather than my “performing” YouTube channel so I may be using it before I get pegged with another strike. And should the time come when blondekel13 is no longer around, then I could easily transition most of my videos over to TheMikaelShort, my new account. Not sure if I’d bother clicking that link now since there’s nothing there yet… but you’re more than welcome to subscribe. Same goes for blondekel13. ;)
This whole ordeal kind of makes me glad that I switched my Twitter handle from blondekel13 to MikaelShort. Just saying.
MikShorty 
