Mary Did You Know? - #ShareTheGift

Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoy this edit I made of the LDS Bible Videos set to my favorite rendition of "Mary Did You Know?"

Focus, Capture & Develop

#FallingPlates

As a videographer myself, I can really appreciate the amazing use of visuals to tell the story of the Atonement and Repentance. I love how this piece uses modern parables and analogies of things that are part of our everyday life; from breaking plates to the battery dying on our computer. "What are you searching for?" is the phrase that stood out to me. We are always searching online for something to make life easier and more fulfilling, but that is why we are dying spiritually, because we are looking for healing through everything but him, Jesus Christ.

Look Up!

I Am Speechless... Never Has Anything Touched Me This Deeply.

“This media we call social is anything but, when we open our computers and it’s our doors we shut”… This is one of the most vital messages that everyone needs to hear.

Look Up is a spoken word for the “online” generation. Written, performed and directed by Gary Turk, it is an extremely important life lesson for our youth.  Children are growing up in a world where they don’t play outside or communicate with their friends. It seems today everything is done via text message or over the internet. It’s heartbreaking… I feel guilty myself. We need to spread this message before it’s too late. Please do your part and SHARE it with everyone you know.

Read more at http://blog.petflow.com/i-am-speechless-never-has-anything-touched-me-this-deeply/#HMtsrd8DzwzCgKXd.99




Here are some other videos that are powerful sharing this same message but in different ways.

Oh Come, Emmanuel - Lindsey Stirling & Kuha'o Case

Our personal gifts, talents, qualities and capacities often go overlooked by those around us and even by ourselves.

The Science of Happiness - An Experiment in Gratitude

Scientists Discover One Of The Greatest Contributing Factors To Happiness — 

You'll Thank Me Later

The Christmas Scale

It's hard to believe that the greatest message the world will ever hear is contained in one simple scale.

Can a gum commercial make you cry?

Im currently taking an Advertising class learning about what makes an advertisement more efective than an other. In this video I love how its not about how great the product is but rather selling an emotion. A parent child relationship is something we can all relate to. Even in a matter of 60 seconds, they are somehow able to establish a deep emotional meaning behind the origami gum wrapper which would be meaningless otherwise. Showing a father going the extra mile to give a small token of his love for his daughter is something that produces a sense of love inside of us. Even if its trying to promote a brand of gum, we can all connect to and appreciate the inspiring message presented:
"Sometimes the little things last the longest. Give Extra, get extra."

"Build a Life, Don't Live One"

"You can build your own life that other people can live in. So build a life, don't live one, build one!"

Ashton Kutcher Acceptance Speech Teen Choice Awards 2013

The Time You Have (In JellyBeans)

Your Life = 28,835 Days
What Will You Do With That Time?

Lead Me - (Earthly Father, Heavenly Father)

This Is a re-edit I made of a Mormon Message That i saw on LDS.org Titled "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father".

I couldn't help but feel that the images in the Mormon Message I saw was a perfect depiction of what this song ("Lead Me" by Sanctus Real) is all about. So I decided to edit them together to visually show how we often ask our father in heaven "Lead Me" just as our own children are asking us.

See it and you will Capture it!

What If Money Was No Object?

Give a Little Love

One kind act you make can inspire another to serve. You never know who will fallow your example and spread to love to serve.

Life Is Beautiful - Moments That Matter Most

"We would do well to slow down a little, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most." - DIETER F. UCHTDORF 
Read the entire address "Of Things That Matter Most" at http://bit.ly/momentsmatter



This Is a re-edit I made of a Mormon Message That i saw on LDS.org Titled "Moments That Mater Most". I also recently saw a movie called October Baby and the song "Life Is Beautiful" by the Afters is the main track on the motion picture soundtrack.

I couldn't help but feel that the images in the Mormon Message I saw was a perfect depiction of what this song is all about. So I decided to edit them together to visually show how "life is beautiful."

Sometimes we get caught up in the fast paced world we all live in today, we miss the things that matter most. We are so busy we forget what we are working toward, we run so fast we loose sight of where we are going. We are all connected. Although you may think you are just one person and wonder, what difference  just one person can make, we can make a difference.

The people who love us are affected more than we realize by the the simple acts of love, kindness and charity that we display to them.  We need to take time to stop and smell the roses they do not last forever. The days pass quickly and we will not pass this way again, so touch the life of others in a positive way, be the one to make a difference.

This is Not an official edit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Im not trying to alter the original message the LDS church intended to depict. Im merrily trying to depict my own interpretation of what the original video made me feel by making only slight modifications to the original content.

To view the original Mormon Message that inspired this re-edit, go to: http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#moments-that-matter-most

to view the original music video of "Life Is Beautiful' by the Afters, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv1vgPrdQq4

People Caught Doing Good!

Sometimes, security cameras catch something totally different.

When I first started watching this video, I expected to see some crime footage or some horrible accident, but much to my surprise I saw what no one ever seems to highlight when is comes to security camera footage. 

It showed the complete opposite perspective of what I'm used to seeing. People were doing good, living and enjoying life! From Dancing in the streets to being a good Samaritan, It helped remind me that a lot of people can be caught doing something good in the world. 

In the news and media we see so much negativity in the world we live in. At times it can be difficult for me to spend more than a few minutes watching the news because I end up feeling more depressed about the world in a matter of minutes. 

I'm not saying that we should shut out the world and never watch or listen to the news. Im saying that sometimes I think that we, as a society and as individuals tend to focus so much on all the bad things that are happening around us, that we tend to think that the simple and joyful things are not noteworthy. Sometimes we just don't notice those things at all.

To learn more about the "Love Everybody Campaign" visit:  www.loveeverybody.com

Our Family Fusion Moment - TV Commercial

October 20, 2012 - Our Familiy Ford Fusion Moment

It all started as just an ordinary weekend with the family; We got up and got ready for the day. We had planned to go up to the lake for the day to go boating like we have done many times before and this was our last chance to go for the year.

The day before we got a call from my sister and brother-in-law that they wanted to Skype us the next morning to make a special announcement. So before leaving to go boating for the day we got together in the living room to have a Skype call with my sister, Sharlene and my brother-in-law, Dustin who live more than 700 miles away in Anaheim California.

My Sister-in-law, Tanya was in on the surprise to help make sure everything went smoothly and convinced me to make sure to used my professional cameras to film and capture this special announcement that Sharlene and Dustin were going to make.

We tried to guess what this announcement might be. We thought that maybe they were going to announce that there was going to be a new baby in the family. Then as we watched the screen, we saw to our surprise that they were sitting in our driveway in front of our house!

All  the footage that you see in the commercial of my family in the living room and on the TV screen during the Skype call was footage I filmed on my tripods. Luckily I was convinced to do that and now what I filmed became essential footage in improving the video for Ford's Fusion Moment commercial!
They were so grateful for my footage and I was really hoping they would use it. So now I can officially say I helped film a national commercial for Ford, and I didn't even know it!

Im so thankful for family and that out of all the extravagant things that Ford could have made happen, my sister and her husband choose to use this special opportunity to spend a day doing the things we always used to together, as a family.

To learn more about "Random Acts Of Fusion" and possibly enter to win yourself, visit: www.randomactsoffusion.com

A Nation of False Entitlement

This Is a subjet that I see as probably the biggest problem in our world today. Its a problem that keeps us from living life with a true perspective of ourselves and keeps us from seeing the things that are truly important in this life.

In today’s society we are all affected by the common mentality called, False Entitlement, a belief that you deserve to have something you didn’t necessarily earn.

The race is on. Everyone is looking for the smartest phone, the coolest car and the biggest flat screen. Add the latest computers and you've created a list of America's growing "necessities."

We live in a society heavily marketed, rushing to keep up with “The Joneses” the problem is, the Joneses are broke! 

The Media uses entitlement to convince you that you deserve to spend, whether you can afford it or not. You see it every day as you turn on the TV: “L'Oréal: Because your Worth it!” Burger King: “Have it your way” Or the luxury vehicle commercial with the word “RESPECT” in big letters on the screen. The chant “I want it all, and I want it now!” rings in our ears. 

Scott Hannah, President of the Credit Counseling Society said,
“The problem is, that it’s hard, often impossible to detach the emotion from the purpose of spending and to separate the rational part of spending on genuine needs.” 

The problem I want to express is that False Entitlement creates overspending. 

The first evidence of this wide spread problem, is the number of home foreclosures that popped the housing bubble in 2008. 

Jonathan Kohn & Sarah K. Bryant Of The University of Pennsylvania said: 

“Consumers went on a spending spree driven by higher and higher, real and perceived home equity values, as well as equity market increases. In the US market, “bigger is better” or “as much as one can afford” became the mentality of home buyers.” 

According to RealtyTrac.com (as featured In The Huffington post)
On average, 104,000 homes have entered the foreclosure process each month this year. 

The second piece of evidence is the nation’s massive credit card debt. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, The Total U.S. credit card debt is $793.1 Billion, the average credit card debt per household is $15,800, and the average credit card debt carried by undergraduate college students is $3,173 

We live in difficult times. Our society’s mentality of Entitlement as a nation has helped damaged our economy, but there are solutions, and hope for a brighter future for us and our nation but, it requires each of us to be responsible for our individual actions. 

It is an everyday dilemma weather to use cash or plastic for a new outfit, a dinner out, or perhaps a vacation. Since plastic postpones the moment of reckoning. We should limit credit card purchases and practice self control. We must come to grips with the reality, that feelings of entitlement emotionally grants us the ability to buy without guilt, whether we really need the item or not.

As featured in The Wall Street Journal, Here are 7 helpful tips provided by MoneyCrashers.com to help you cut back on spending: 

1. Rarely use credit cards or other lines of credit. using cash, forces you to consider how much you’re spending.
2. Withdraw cash from your bank account yourself, so that you can see the dwindling balance.
3. Pay for everything as it comes, and you’ll better understand how all that money  “gets away from you.”
4. Be vocal about your savings goals. If you tell close friends and family how much you intend to save, they’ll hold you accountable. You can even use personal goal setting tools like stickK.com
5. Reward yourself when you meet your goals, but only by spending a small percentage of what you saved. This can help prevent “frugal fatigue”.
6. Stop and ask yourself before each purchase “do I truly need the item or not.” Know the difference between needs and wants.
7. Look at the future, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Ask yourself “how much money do I need to retire?”, or “how will I pay for my child’s college education?”

If we can practice these steps, we can overcome the guiltless effect of false entitlement and be better equipped to tackle overspending.

I challenge each of you to make a difference in your own life and in society. Take responsibility for your individual actions and by seting financial goals, budgets and limiting spending.

If you or someone you know, needs more information to take control of personal debt and spending, go to the website for the The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors:
napfa.org to locate an advisor near you and start making a difference today.

Videography

Video By: Josh Stephens - Idaho Falls Temple

I film professionally as a videographer. This is a sample of one of my favorite wedding videos I have produced this year. The couple was really energetic and friendly as well as photogenic. It always enhances the final product when I film a couple that are both attractive and have a great attitude. It was my first time filming in Idaho Falls and it is definitely one of the most beautiful locations I've filmed.

I started filming wedding videos in early 2008. I have always had a desire to love the work that I do. No matter what job I have I will always want to film on the side.

I took several College credit classes my senior year in High School and one of them was an entrepreneurship class.  I was also in DECCA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) and we were asked to come up with a business idea and write up a business plan with charts and projections for possible income.

After competing in DECCA several times in different locations, I unexpectedly came home with several awards.  It was not long before I realized that I could actually put my hypothetical business plan into action and maybe make a little money in the process. 

I filmed my first wedding for free asking only for permission to use their images in the video as a sample to start my business and to use for the DECCA competitions. The video was the first to go on my website. I won some State awards and trophies and went on to nationals in Atlanta Georgia.

Everyone loved the video and the more weddings I filmed, the more I put on the website.  And the more I put on the website the more weddings I booked.  I’m still keeping busy and making enough money to get through school and cover other expenses including upgrading my equipment as often as possible.

After several years of filming and editing videos, I continue to enjoy producing wedding videos for all the people that come to me requesting my services. A big part of what makes me love this business is the satisfaction that I get from creating something myself and how happy my customers are with their new personal treasure.  Not only is it important to know what footage to capture and to have a steady hand to film it but, editing is the most important part of video production.  If you were to watch hours of unedited, raw footage it would be boring. The trick is to making it cinematic and entertaining.

To see more video samples of my work and to learn more about my professional services, please visit my company website at: www.reflectionweddingvideos.com

The Falling Leaves Outside my Window

It’s late on a typical fall night; I go to bed once again in the early morning hours tired from the constant days and weeks of demands. I greet each day stressed and pressed with too much to accomplish and tired of spending so much time working in front of a computer. I feel trapped, in a seemingly never ending cycle of work and stress, never looking outside but to gauge what to wear as I rush to my next destination.

One morning as the fruits of my labors were beginning to lift the pressure and I was finally digging my way out of tests and work projects, I began to feel a slight release from my usual gripping schedule. I took in a deep whiff of the autumn air as I rushed to start my car for another hectic day. The fall leaves blew effortlessly off the car as I backed out of the driveway. Still on auto pilot, I paused for a few moments to check passing traffic. I looked down the street; I was momentarily struck motionless by the site in front of me.

I sat there spell bound by the beauty of nature, the sun brightly shinning over the majestic mountains, the fall leave that just days ago were barely notice outside my window. “Look what I have been missing,” I told myself. I had literally been trapped in a vortex that was sucking vitality out of me. In this fast paced, competitive world, we are so harshly judged by our success and accomplishments or rather by the lack there of.

How do we find happiness and peace if we don’t take a moment to recognize the good things that are right in front of our faces? It’s the little things in life that make it beautiful. Too often they go unnoticed when we are too busy. Many of us are too focused on the tasks of life, to live life to its fullest. Every once in a while it’s therapeutic to take the time to stop and step outside. Seeing the beauty outside our windows may require stepping outside our boxes we have built, whether literal or metaphorically speaking the challenge is the same.

Photo by: Josh Stephens - Fall Leaves at Snow Basin.