Martin Johnson Communications

Nostalgic for the analogue age

2011-08-10T13:37:00.003+10:00

Like almost everyone working in the field of sound recording, video production and graphic design I use a computer. I often marvel that what once took a room full of one inch video tape machines, a rack filled with character generators and then another room with a 24-track audio recorder, can now all be done on a 13 inch laptop. And all in high definition with surround sound.
But visiting Old Parliament House this week I walked through the former press office and became somewhat nostalgic for the analogue days of audio recording.
The Cuemaster cart machine (pictured) was the only way of playing multiple audio tracks one after the other in radio. The Nagra reel-to-reel tape recorder was used to record sync audio for interviews, documentaries - even feature films.
Whilst the digital world provides wonderful versatility, nothing like using a blade and splicing tape to edit radio interviews to help you get a reel feel for the medium.
Ahh - memories ....

At the end of my street ...

2011-07-03T13:09:00.010+10:00

This is not an image you'd ever see on a travel brochure or in the window of a travel agent, but its the view at the end of my street looking out over Gray's Point. Whilst it's probably not significant to anyone else, it marks the turning point of my daily walk before I start my day.
Life is made up of such routines and whilst some may think daily or weekly routines are boring, they do help set the rhythm and pattern of life. So much so that when they're disrupted by travel, work or maybe sickness, getting back to them brings the world back to balance, even normal. Apparently its good to have regular routines - walking has an impact on both physical and mental well being.
Looking over the above view each day, or as many times a week as I am able, provides a sense of peace. In a world of sometimes crazy activity, that can't be all bad.

The disconnected 'connected' generation

2011-06-21T18:24:00.006+10:00

We are the parents of one Gen X'er and with wives and partners, four Gen Y'ers. And although we're Baby Boomers, we as connected as our children - with one exception. Being brought up on the principle that it's always polite to return phone calls and answer letters, we're pretty good at answering e-mails, texts, facebook posts and even voice mail - their modern day equivalent.
Gen X and Y are supposed to be the 'connected generation'. You know, with an iPod in one ear, left hand sending texts and the right hand answering e-mail on the laptop or iPad.
Trouble is, despite all this connectedness, trying to get them to answer simple questions like, "are you home for dinner?" or, "can you both come to dinner in a week?" are met with nothing. Silence.
I reckon the connected generation is not as connected as everyone says or is that they're just not focused on planning ahead. Rather than commit to a dinner date with parents or parents-in-law (what could be better) they wait until the last minute - in case they get a better offer. (Maybe I could do better)
As frustrating as this is sometimes, we have just learnt to live with our disconnected ' connected' generation.

PS. We love them just the same. Hope they don't read this.
Comments?

Oranges and Sunshine ... a reflection

2011-06-12T19:33:00.011+10:00

Just after Christmas, 1960, our family of four - Mum, Dad and my younger brother and I boarded the Fairsky for a five week voyage to the UK. I was eleven and my brother 14 months younger. Spending five weeks on a boat that was making the return trip to the UK to bring more '10 pound poms' to Australia was great for two young boys. Dad was an opera singer and was off to the UK to further his career.
We made the return journey 18 months later - this time the Fairsky was also carrying English families looking for a new life in the 'lucky country'. What I didn't know at the time was that that ship (and others sailing the same route) were bringing some of the 130,000 orphans to a land of 'oranges and sunshine' in a 'scheme of forcibly relocating poor children from the UK to Australia.'
I am the same age as many of these children whose story is now told in the just released feature film starring Emily Watson, David Wenham and Hugo Weaving.
Oranges and Sunshine is a simply told story with much of the detail of the abuse suffered by the children told in flashbacks to interviews carried out by Margaret Humphreys, on whose life the story is based. That both the UK and the Australian governments were party to such an arrangement is appalling. Worse is the treatment and abuse the children received at the hands of charitable and church organisations once they got here.
At last the story has been told in this moving film. See it ... you won't be the same afterwards.

Looking at the world digitally ...

2011-06-04T09:57:00.004+10:00

I've been wearing reading glasses for 15 years or so and despite the annoyance of occasionally misplacing them, they're a part of life. On my most recent visit to my friendly optometrist I decided to try a pair of multi-focus lenses. Whilst I knew that would mean wearing them all the time, at least I would have progressive correction as things got closer-which sounded perfect.
The lenses are called digital lenses because of the way they're made. The top of the lense is for distance viewing with the bottom set for close-up work and reading.
The one problem is that the manufacturing process used means that the bottom left and right corners of the lense is blurry - which means a quite narrow 'field of focus' in the bottom of the lense.
So instead of seeing the whole page of a book or my computer screen in focus from left to right, there is a 'hot spot' in the middle which at times only covers a few words. This means I either have to track the book left to right as I read, or move my whole head.
Both options are a bit of a nuisance - so there is one alternative left to try which will give me a slightly wider reading angle at the bottom.
I hope it works ...

Imitation - the greatest form of flattery ....

2011-05-29T12:40:00.012+10:00

Newspapers in Sydney this weekend ran a story about a new ad campaign being planned by an Islamic group called 'My Peace'. Their ads (see billboard left) will carry slogans such as ''Jesus: a prophet of Islam''.
The article claimed that: "CHRISTIANS in Sydney will have their core beliefs challenged by provocative advertisements due to appear on billboards and buses in the next month."
The Islamic campaign follows a series of campaigns run throughout Australia from 2005 - 2010 in Adelaide, Tasmania, Canberra/ACT, NSW/Sydney and WA/Perth by Christian churches and facilitated by Bible Society. The 'Jesus. All about life' (JAAL) campaigns used billboards (pictured), television commercials and encouraged local churches in each city or area to support the campaign by reaching out to their local community.
I was actively involved in developing the first three campaigns and laying the ground work for the fourth one. (For media reports, etc - click here)

The news that 'My Peace' are copying the JAAL model (but not the message of course) is not surprising, given the amount of coverage our campaign received by the secular press.
'Jesus. All about life' was favourably commented on by the Gruen Transfer and is also studied in marketing and theological courses. However JAAL varied in one key area compared to this most recent use of modern marketing techniques to promote religion. Our campaign was strongly linked to the 'brand', ie - Jesus. We chose not to denigrate or comment on other religions. We simply stated our position and then encouraged people to find out more by way of a web site or phone call.
My Peace have taken a different approach, claiming that Jesus is a prophet of Islam. Whilst I don't think this will 'challenge the core beliefs of Sydney Christians' it does 'position' Jesus as something other than who he is, in the hope maybe that those who aren't Christian, might want to find out more.
It's a bold move and one that takes the 'battle' if you like, right up to the Christian frontline.
As Bishop Rob Forsyth said, 'it was ''complete nonsense'' to say Jesus was a prophet of Islam. ''Jesus was not the prophet of a religion that came into being 600 years later.'' But the billboard was not offensive, he said. ''They've got a perfect right to say it, and I would defend their right to say it [but] … you couldn't run a Christian billboard in Saudi Arabia".'
I agree with Rob - imagine a 'Jesus. All about life' banner in the middle-east!
That My Peace have imitated our campaign is in one sense flattering, but all we did was use modern marketing techniques, backed by research to encourage people to find out what Jesus said about life. 'I have come to give life and life to the full", he said.
What do you think?

talhotblond ...

2011-05-27T11:02:00.007+10:00

No, I haven't started producing inappropriate videos - talhotblond is the name of an award winning documentary about an on-line love triangle which ends in murder. It's a superb piece of film making and the producer/director, Barbara Schroeder, has won a number of awards.
It's the true story of a 47 year-old man who pretends to be an 18 year-old marine in an on-line chat room with an 18 year-old girl. However, all is not what it seems and there are devastating consequences for all involved.
The documentary uses a narrative structure that includes interviews and the actual chat text over muted images. Having one of the main characters narrating his own story is used to chilling effect.
It raises all sorts of issues to do with on-line chats and the inability of the law to deal with what can happen when it all goes wrong.
It's on ABC iView for the next week or so and is well worth a look.

Finding those great locations

2011-05-24T15:13:00.003+10:00

Today I enlisted the services of a former employee (when we were both a lot younger). Brett worked for me when I ran Wesley Mission Sydney's Communications department.
Brett Odgers Photography is now one of Sydney's leading wedding photographers who also does PR for showbiz personalities and pop stars. Not sure how I fit into that portfolio, but getting somewhat frustrated with my web site and how it looks, figured it was time for an update - starting with some proper PR pics of me, the owner.
We shot in Sydney's Prymont area, just west of Star City Casino overlooking the revamped wharfs in Jones Street. Great spot.
Interesting that its now about the personality behind the organisation or company that becomes the spearhead of modern marketing.
Results on-line soon - see what you think.

The Apocalypse that didn't happen

2011-05-22T16:39:00.004+10:00

As someone actively involved in PR and with a work background in (and personal commitment to) the Christian faith, I was amazed at the response by Australian Media to the pronouncements of a US religious TV show host.
Harold Camping, 89, head of Family Radio, a Christian radio network in the US and with some international stations, spread his message of an approaching doomsday on his stations and by spending a reported $100 million (US) on PR.
Camping spent the money, financed by the sale and swap of TV and radio stations, on a campaign of caravans and billboards touting the end of the world.
Sadly - some people believed Camping and resigned their jobs and waited for the Lord to come and take them home.
In discussing Camping's predictions late last night as the 21st rolled around in the US, I was asked why would anyone believe such a prediction?
Whilst not a Christian, Seth Godin writes a very insightful daily marketing blog and today he captured some of the key reasons why people believe such things:

"If you're reading this blog, then the world didn't end, at least in my time zone. How does one market the end of the world? After all, you don't have a big ad budget. Your 'product' is something that has been marketed again and again through the ages and it has never worked. There's significant peer pressure not to buy it...

And yet, every time, people succumb. They sell their belongings, stop paying into their kid's college fund and create tension and despair. Here's the simple lesson:

Sell a story that some people want to believe. In fact, sell a story they already believe.

The story has to be integrated into your product. The iPad, for example, wasn't something that people were clamoring for... but the story of it, the magic tablet, the universal book, the ticket to the fashion-geek tribe--there was a line out the door for that. The same way that every year, we see a new music sensation, a new fashion superstar. That's not an accident. That story is just waiting for someone to wear it.

And the some part is vital. Not everyone wants to believe in the end of the world, but some people (fortunately, just a few) really do. To reach them, you don't need much of a hard sell at all.

Too often marketers take a product and try to invent a campaign. Much more effective is to find a tribe, find a story and make a product that resonates, one that makes the story work. That's the whole thing. A story that resonates and a tribe that's tight and small and eager. I hope you can dream up something more productive than the end of the world, though." (From Seth Godin - click here)

Good stuff eh?

The Maine Coast - new video site

2011-05-22T13:57:00.005+10:00

If you've never been to Maine, in the top right hand corner of the US, you can now through a new web site started by a buddy of mine.
Rob Draper of VisionMill has developed the Maine Video Magazine web site, with some great videos of the Maine lifestyle.
From beautiful images of Maine Lighthouses - shot at 'magic hour', through to Bagels, Coffee and Pasta, there's something for everyone.
Check out the tobogganing videos from the Camden area - love the dismounting style as they finish their run onto Hosmer Pond.
Once you've checked out the site, make sure you visit this beautiful part of the US.

iMovie for Final Cut Pro editors

2011-05-20T16:23:00.006+10:00

I've been editing for over 30 years. I started on a Steinbeck, editing 16mm mag stripe positive film for a local news service. I graduated to the Editec system on an Ampex Quad videotape machine, onto CMX in a one inch suite and finally onto Final Cut Pro.
It's great to now be able to do High Definition editing on my laptop - compared to the room full of tape gear that was needed in the old days.
This week I have taken the plunge and delved into iMovie. I had to buy the book to help - but I think I have a handle on it. I've written a Word document that compares FCP to iMovie to help fellow editors get to grips with a program that obviously wasn't written by an editor.
If it helps - let me know. Plus feel free to add to it. It's here. (Click to download)

Video 101 Podcast One

2011-05-20T11:24:00.003+10:00

This is the first in a series of Podcasts from my Video 101 Seminar presented at the CMA in May, 2011.

Working under the Rain Cloud

2011-01-31T12:22:00.006+11:00

A new web based application that's pretty cool

I've been using a new web based application called Rain Cloud for the past few days and its solved a whole stack of problems in how I manage my e-mail, calendar and contacts.

Here's how I used to work.
I have had a POP3 e-mail account with Bigpond for ages and its the account I've mainly used for my business. I use a Mac laptop and an iPhone 3.0.
On the Mac I used Entourage for e-mail, with a whole stack of rules to sort incoming e-mails. I also have another six or so POP3 e-mail accounts for various links I have with other businesses. I set each of these up in Entourage as separate accounts. When I did a Send/Receive, Entourage collected the e-mails from the various accounts and sorted them into the folders. On my iPhone I set up the Bigpond account as a POP3.
In order to sync my calendar and contacts between my Mac and iPhone, I signed up for a Mobile Me account.

Problems:
1. POP3 on an iPhone is awful. Takes forever to send and of course no synching between my Mac and iPhone mail folders. Mobile Me could have solved that, but you need to use an @me.com e-mail address, which is not that cool for business.
2. I also own a number of domains which relate to my business name but as their e-mail services are just POP3 accounts, I had never really used them for my e-mail.

The Rain Cloud solution
The Rain Cloud, developed by Digerati Solutions, leverages Apple's Microsoft Exchange functionality and provides a better and more flexible service than even Apple's own Mobile Me.
Rain Cloud run a Microsoft Exchange server in their data centre and each user has their own account and secure mail folders. For a small business owner like me, this is ideal as there is no way I would ever install or run my own Exchange server. This way I can take advantage of the Exchange technology without the cost.

How does it work?
Firstly, I delegated the MX mail record for one of my business domains to the Rain Cloud server. I used the DNS functionality attached to my web content management system - dead easy to do. Once that was done the Rain Cloud guys built my profile, creating my username and password.
Then, using Apple's Microsoft Exchange integration, built into the Mac OSX operating system, I created an Exchange account on Apple Mail, iCal, Address Book and Entourage. (We had to download the latest update for Entourage and install their web server version - but very simple)
On my iPhone, I added a Microsoft Exchange account, turned off my POP3 and MobileMe accounts and away I went. The beauty of the Rain Cloud is that all my mail folders, calendars and address books are synchronised across all programs and devices. If I add an iPad one day, I'll just add the Exchange server to its configuration.

I did have to make a decision to set-up a new business e-mail address, but owning the relevant domains made that an obvious thing to do. (Bigpond POP3 accounts don't have this option)
I have gone into the Webmail function of each of my POP3 addresses and forwarded them to the new business e-mail address. Using Exchange rules I then sort these into the appropriate Exchange folders which appear on all my devices and programs.

I can also access all the above via Outlook Web Access from any web connected computer from anywhere in the world.

Pluses

All my e-mail folders, contacts and calendar items appear in sync on all my devices and programs and updating the data in one spot replicates instantly across all the others.
I can now send e-mails from my iPhone and have them sent instantly, plus have these sent items appear on my laptop.
I can use Exchange's out-of-office and other functions across my devices
All my e-mails from all my various accounts appear in the one place, without multiple log-ons to each site.
The RainCloud guys back-up their server every day, so if I do lose everything, they can rescue me.

Negatives

I miss the coloured calendar items from iCal. They still work, but not in the Rain Cloud calendar. Limitation of Exchange Calendar.
Notes doesn't seem to work across Exchange in Entourage

Cost
This is quite reasonable - talk to the team at Digerati Solutions.

Mary McKillop and all that press ...

2010-10-17T16:07:00.003+11:00

If you live in Australia and especially Sydney, you will have noticed a huge amount of press interest in the Canonisation of Sister Mary McKillop. Australian TV newsreaders and current affairs reporters are all over the story with live crosses to the Vatican and Rome to report on the event.
Never has such coverage been given to what is essentially a religious event.
Got me thinking as to why … and here are a few thoughts.

The life of Mary McKillop (read about it here) was truly remarkable. She endured rejection and excommunication from her church and then founded her own religious order.
There are 5,126,884 Catholics in Australia (2006 Census), who all watch television and read newspapers, so it makes economic sense to cover a story that is of interest to over 5 million people.
The Catholic Church do spectacle and ceremony really well so the event works for television networks and it will play here on a Sunday evening, just right for prime-time viewing, AND
Media outlets are keen to promote Christian faith as they understand its importance to life and eternity …

STOP PRESS. Sorry, that last one slipped in .. wishful thinking on my part!

It's safe. None of this Jesus stuff and asking Him into your life that evangelical protestant Christians are always on about. This is history and pageantry which doesn't ask us to consider where we stand on the subject.

Some secular columnists have raised questions like, "what about all those other people who prayed to Mark McKillop and who weren't healed? How is that Mary is supposed to have healed the two women whose cures led to her being Canonised but no one else?"

Ever since Christ walked the earth, people have asked him for healing. Asking 'via' someone who has lived a life of commitment to the poor and marginalised, as Mary McKillop did, is a particularly Catholic tradition. Why or how that makes the request more (or less) likely to be heard is something that I don't understand and neither it seems, does the Bible.

But, raising these sorts of issues in the public space means that all Christians can get involved in the debate about faith, healing and what good does the Church do anyway.

Bible vs Mobile phone

2010-09-24T13:20:00.003+10:00

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobile phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to our kids as a gift?
What if we used it when we travelled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go ... hmm ... where is my Bible?
Oh, and one more thing;
Unlike our mobile, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus has already paid the account.

Toy Television - Why can't newspapers do better with their on line videos?

2010-08-04T13:48:00.008+10:00

Everyone knows that the line between newspapers and television is blurring - especially when it comes to the delivery of news.
The Sydney Morning Herald web site has a video segment on most of their stories. Sometimes its a lift from a TV station's news service, sometimes it's something they've shot themselves. Invariably the stuff they shoot themselves is pretty poorly done. Take this example. In the first still frame, three of their IT guys discuss the pluses and minuses of the iPhone 4.0. Good idea and what they say makes sense. (Click here)
Sadly the way it was shot does not. Intercut with this clean, three shot (which is obviously chroma keyed) are cutaways (singles and two shots) without the chroma key - just the green cyc. You can see this in the second still frame. What were they thinking?
This is amateur television at its worst. Any experienced TV director or producer would have fixed this or not let it out on the 'Net. The problem is of course, they're print journalists and sadly the medium of television is still a mystery to them.

Gloria Jeans Coffees - another bouquet

2010-07-02T10:04:00.005+10:00

In a follow up to my story of a few days ago, I went into my local Gloria Jeans Coffees store yesterday to be presented with one of their coffee grounds storage jars by John, the owner. It has a vacuum pump on top to help keep the coffee fresh and as you can see, its a handy size and compliments my expresso machine.
Thanks John - I can see why your store won the best new franchise last year. Great customer service.

Atheist billboard on Billy Graham Parkway ...

2010-06-28T11:48:00.006+10:00

This morning I saw a news item in the religious news service I subscribe to, with the headline 'Atheists erect billboard on Billy Graham Parkway'. Billy Graham Parkway is in Charlotte, North Carolina and leads from the airport into town. It's named after US evangelist Billy Graham. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) has its headquarters on the Parkway - in fact it was the association between the BGEA and the city of Charlotte that led to the naming. I've driven along the Parkway and spent some time at the BGEA offices and associated memorial library shooting footage for 'Remembering '59'.
You can see why the news item caught my attention. It took a while to actually find a picture of the offending billboard and when I did see it, I wondered as an Aussie what all the fuss was about (see pic). Apparently the problem with the statement on the billboard is not what it says, but what it doesn't say. The organisation responsible has left off the words 'under God'. The phrase is a paraphrase of the US pledge of allegiance which reads: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Leaving 'under God' off is what has caused the billboard to become a news story. From: http://is.gd/d6ZUP
"The billboard features an American flag background and quotes the original phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance, before “under God” was inserted after “one nation,” in 1954. That was at the height of the Cold War and the addition was meant to distinguish the United States from the Soviet Union, which officially embraced atheism.
Set to be up for four weeks, the billboards – costing a total of $15,000 – are a July 4 project of the N.C. Secular Association, a coalition of groups such as Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics, the Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle and Western North Carolina Atheists.
Their message: non-religious North Carolinians are patriots, too."

As an Australian, I wonder what all the fuss is about - especially given what we've gone through this past week with change of Prime Minister. Certainly I can see why the Billy Graham organisation decided not to comment. Storm in a teacup I reckon.

How one phone call changed a country wide packaging contract …

2010-06-26T11:18:00.006+10:00

I'm a fan of Gloria Jeans Coffees. Partly because I got to know the two founders way back in the 90s when they brought the franchise to Australia (and then bought the whole company) but also because their stores give me a great customer experience. Last year the family gave me a home expresso machine and I now fill it with ground beans bought from my local GJC outlet. The coffee is always good and the service likewise. Over the past few months I noticed that as the bag of coffee got towards the end - coffee grounds started to leak out of the bottom of the packet.
This wasn't a major drama - but after the 5th bag did this I figured that GJC head office might like to know and check for a faulty batch.
After dropping an e-mail to my founding friend, GJC responded with a phone call to me that same day and then three follow-up e-mails. In the e-mails I gave some more information (although pretty hard to write in-depth about a bag that holds coffee grounds) and three days after my initial e-mail I received a note saying that GJC had spoken to their supplier and they had agreed to dump the previous style of packaging they supplied and move to a brand new style, Australia wide. Wow - how's that for influence? Not sure if my knowing one of the founders made the difference - but I am seriously impressed with such a quick response on behalf of GJC and their supplier.
Just goes to show the power of the consumer?
Gloria Jeans Coffees have also started sponsoring The Jesus Racing team and Andrew Fisher in the Jesus Ute in the V8 Ute series. Another reason to drink their coffee.
Thanks Peter.
PS. Be nice if GJC marketed a 200gm container with a resealable lid with a GJC logo, into which coffee lovers could decant their ground coffee? I'd buy one.

The circles of new business ...

2010-06-23T15:56:00.004+10:00

I'm becoming a fan of Seth Godin. Seth is a blogger, an author and a speaker. Here's what he says about himself on his web site.
'Seth Godin is the author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work.'
A few weeks ago Seth wrote a blog called 'The circles (no more strangers)'
In it he spoke about how businesses go about getting new business. As someone just 16 months into running my own business I read it with interest. You can read it for yourself, but his core message was that in business, its a lot cheaper and easier to reach your existing customers and sell them another one of your products than it is to reach new customers. People who have already commissioned work from you are more likely to come back for more - especially if you delight them the first time around.
As I read that, something intriguing happened. I got three calls from previous clients asking me to do something new for them. In one case a client referred me on to one of her clients because she knew I could do the job.
The coincidence of Seth's blog and then seeing it work out in practice was exciting and now, some months after I read Seth's original piece, its still happening. Can't complain about that.

Reality - 50 years on

2010-05-28T13:37:00.006+10:00

For the past few days I have been in the state's New England area shooting a documentary and promotional DVD for the Will Graham Reality event. Will is the grandson of famous US evangelist Billy Graham and the son of Franklin Graham, CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the US Billy Graham organisation. (Pic: Will with his Colin Buchanan 'graffited' dressing room sign)
Like his grandfather, Will is a preacher and his message is pure Gospel. Local churches in the New England area have spent more than a year preparing for Reality and the numbers attending the events are certainly evidence of the work the churches have done.
Some observations. There continues to be strong memories of the 1959, 1968 and 1974 Australian Crusades by Will's grandfather, Billy. Most of the organisers that I met were either converted at one of the three Crusades or worked on local committees. This blogger is in the former category (1959).
The audiences (is that what they're called) so far have been a mixture of the over 60's - who remember the 1959 Crusade and Gen X and Gen Y who enjoy the contemporary music that Reality has organised. From country and western/children's entertainer Colin Buchanan through to 'Compliments of Gus' there's something for everyone. Tomorrow night's meeting in Tamworth is featuring the Tamworth Choral Society, so that will be harking back to Billy's day.
I've been surprised by the people I've met from my past. A young guy who used to be in the Baptist church in Griffith is now an accountant in Tamworth. He was kind enough to say I hadn't changed - must be 35 years since we last saw each other.
Another attender is Gary, whose father Ron was dramatically converted at the 1959 Crusade and was featured in the Remembering '59 documentary. He is here to see if Will's style will work in Bathurst where is a Baptist minister.
The legacy of the initial 1959 Billy Graham Crusade continues to impact Australia. It's not Billy, but churches are excited to have his grandson come and continue the ministry. Praise to God.

So, this is what getting an award feels like ...

2010-05-16T11:25:00.004+10:00

Just back from the Christian Media Australia conference (CMA) on the Gold Coast and still getting over the shock (a nice shock) of being the recipient of the attached award.
CMA is the peak body of Christian media professionals in Australia and represents Christian radio, television and film. Phil Cooke was this year's guest speaker.
On the Thursday night they have an awards night and as I sat there and turned to the screen, I saw that the first image was that of this blogger. As the next images rolled across the screen with a suitably serious voice over and music I realised that the winner of the award for 'Outstanding Service to Christian Broadcasting in Australia' was me.
Wow!
As I watched the video some to an end I realised that I'd better think of something sensible to say when I got up to the stage to receive the award. I am told by my wife that I did make sense, so that was good.
It's a strange feeling to watch your life 'unfold' on the screen and to realise that you have spent thirty years in Christian broadcasting. It's gone so fast ....
Thank you to those who nominated me and those who have enabled me to continue to work in this industry. It was a great honour and I was truly humbled. To God be the Glory.

Has the E-Magazine finally come of age?

2010-05-11T19:40:00.005+10:00

I've always shied away from publishing content on-line in the same way I'd publish the same content in print. Too often web sites just upload the pdf they send to their printer to their web site and think that web users will be happy to view this on their screen.
This is plain laziness as it fails to understand that an electronic version of their print piece is just not web friendly. You need to take the time to create a web friendly version using html.
However with the advent of the Kindle reader from Amazon and now the iPad, more and more publishers are revisiting this discussion.
fear.less magazine has just launched its first edition (http//fearlessstories.com) on line and on first viewing, its pretty good. First of all they've optimised the page size so it fits 'above the fold' on my browser and while it loads, you get some text to accompany the load icon which says "Saving Trees". Very cute. You 'turn the page' by clicking at the top right (or left) of each page.
The copy and layout looks like a magazine, but it works well on the browser screen and is easily readable. So - maybe I'll have to revise my thinking. Well done and thanks for being fear.less.

BTW, Jakob Nielsen's (the web's usability guru) weekly e-mail alert reported on a survey they undertook on the iPad. It didn't score very well - lots of usability problems.
Worth a read. iPad Usability.
"iPad apps are inconsistent and have low feature discoverability, with frequent user errors due to accidental gestures. An overly strong print metaphor and weird interaction styles cause further usability problems."

Noah's Ark discovered? Again?

2010-05-01T10:54:00.002+10:00

Quoted from http://is.gd/bPde2

"Excitement has been in the air this week over recently released news that the Biblical ark built by Noah was actually discovered high up (about 4,000 meters) on Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey.

The evangelical Chinese and Turkish exploration team brought back wood specimens taken from their find, originally excavated and documented on film in 2008 and 2009. The samples from the structure are said to be dated at 4,800 years old. (Photo: NoahsArkSearch.net/So. China Morning Post)

While the explorers warn they are not 100 percent certain that what they found is the true Noah's Ark as described in the Bible, they say they are "99 percent" sure. Scientists and archaeologists remain skeptical, however, due in part to the nature in which the news was released.

According to Dr. Aren M. Maeir, a professor at Israel's Bar Ilan University and director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, this is similar to previous claims which have been proved to be unfounded. "Periodically, there are announcements, almost always by enthusiasts without real background in archaeology, about the discovery of Noah's ark somewhere in Turkey," Dr. Maeir told the Christian Post."

The Jesus Boat, Fundraising Seminar and more ...

2010-04-29T11:35:00.004+10:00

Today I announced some advance information about a fundraising seminar I'm running with the guys from Masterworks in Seattle, US in Sydney and Melbourne. More details on my web site - click here. If you're a fundraiser in the non-profit sector, check it out.

Earlier in the year I spent two weeks in Cambodia on a church Mission trip. As well as being part of the team, I also shot a number of stories that came out of the trip. The last one is my favourite and its on my home page. Click here.
It's the story of how we delivered a special baby bottle for a cleft palate baby in the slums of Phnom Penh. Pictured is Linda, one of our team, who helped source the bottle in Sydney before we left.

When I was in Israel in the mid-80's filming a documentary series, I heard about the discovery of what is now known as the Jesus Boat. A first century timber fishing boat lost in the mud at the bottom of Lake Galilee. Here's the story on the Christianity Today web site. http://is.gd/bMjuR

Social Media - Twitter and Facebook the new favs at NRB

2010-03-09T07:56:00.003+11:00

After a week in the US attending the National Religious Broadcasters Conference in Nashville, TN and 14 days in Cambodia prior to that, its good to be home. Nothing like getting on that Qantas aircraft at LA and being greeted in an Aussie accent by the crew. (The pic has nothing to do with the NRB, but it was in the mall next door.)

Social Media was king at the NRB. Everyone was Facebooking, tweeting and blogging. Over the four main days of the NRB, there were educational sessions that covered radio, television, some print and then internet and social media.

What is Social Media?
A group of internet based applications that build on the ideological foundations of Web 2.0 that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content. Over 70% of US adults now participate in social media. One out of four US churches have a social media presence. (like this blog)

Here's some stats from one of the sessions led by Nathan Tabor, CEO, TCVMedia.com.

Social media is how people discover, read and share news and information in the 21st Century.
It's not the next BIG thing - it is THE THING.
Social media is redefining how people interact. 1 in 8 in 2008 decided to marry after meeting on line.
There are 45 million updates a day on Facebook
Twitter grew by 1328% in the last year

On Facebook, you can find your perfect audience. During the seminar, Nathan demonstrated how easy it was to target an ad to a particular demographic. This meant that Christian ministries who wanted to reach say, single, Christian college educated women aged between 21 and 39 who lived within 20 miles of Nashville could easily do so. (BTW, there are 330 people on Facebook who fit this demographic).

Social media gives you the chance to witness because its easy and free. However your social media strategy should complement your overall plan.

Lee Raney, President, Christian Web Network led another session called 'Prepare to Get Connected'. He commented that its not Facebook people are addicted to, its their friends.
He quoted Mark McCormack, founder of the IMG Management group who said; 'All things being equal, people will do business with their friends; all things being unequal, people will still do business with their friends.'

One session was a practical demonstration on how to get a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a YouTube page up and running inside an hour - all branded and looking the same for your ministry. This session was led by Ian Utile, of Take No Glory Ministries.

The other thing that impressed me was the quality of the music at the evening sessions. It ranged from the traditional Gospel sounds of the Gaither Vocal Band through to contemporary bands like Austin's Bridge and 1000 Generations. (Check out their web sites).

The integration of Social Media into any communication plan was key to continuing to connect with your audience, was my take home message. But a warning from many of the presenters was that you needed to make sure you updated and read your Facebook and Twitter postings every day. Your audience expects almost instant response.

Back to the den of vipers ....

2010-03-03T09:25:00.005+11:00

I last attended the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention in 1988 - so a lot has changed since then. Many of the high-profile ministries of the 80's have long gone, some remain and probably should have gone and there's a whole heap of new ones. The NRB runs in three main streams.

The exhibition hall downstairs, called by some the 'den of vipers';
The educational and information sessions run throughout each day where you can focus on three main streams, television, radio and the internet, and;
The NRB committee and official sessions of the organisation

Like most people, I went mainly for (1) and (2). The exhibition hall has stands promoting the whole range of Christian organisations from the far right to the right. Whilst some are known in Australia such as the Billy Graham organisation and Samaritan's Purse - the majority are not. The remarkable thing is that most of the ministries in the hall are over 30 and 40 years old - with the images of the founders and hosts needing to undergo more and more photoshopping as the years have gone by. There are younger Christian broadcasters around - but not many, it seems, make it to the NRB.
The educational sessions are well run. The stream I focused on was how best to use the internet and social media in Christian outreach. These guys are well ahead of what I have seen in Australia - and that's to be expected.
The quality of the music at the various events was outstanding. Given the profile of the conference, I can imagine only the best of the best are chosen. Great to see some younger bands also on stage, together with the Gospel quartets. (Yes, they still exist here).
Tonight Chuck Colson from Prison Fellowship is the keynote speaker at the closing banquet.
Great to see a heap of Australians here also - next year we reckon we should have an Australia stand. Wonder if we can get export funds to help put it together?

A cheating song, ten wives left home and 8 dogs died …

2010-02-27T15:58:00.004+11:00

This is probably an exaggeration, but when you attend the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Tennessee - the home of country music - you do go expecting to hear songs about at least two of the above.
The Grand Old Opry is really a radio show with a live audience - around 2,000 of them. The show is complete with live radio commercials and breaks every 30 mins while the station shifts into a new round of sponsors.
The performers are mainly unknown to Australian audiences, but there was some good talent among them tonight, names like Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill and Blake Shelton in particular.
Some of the performers seem to have been doing the Grand Old Opry for most of its nearly 90 year history. That's probably a bit unfair, but many of them are over seventy and are still welcomed and cheered as they sing a song from their latest album - released in 1963! The voice may not be what it was, but they're still welcomed to the stage.
The audience sits in pew like seats. They're all numbered as individual seats, which can make it difficult to know if you're in the right spot. There are families with children, young couples and the older fans. Between (or sometimes during) songs the men duck out for a beer or a hot dog and bring it back to their seat.
The show itself is pretty slow and plodding between performances. The live announcer is in the style sent up by the Laugh In TV show in the 70's. His reading of the 'live copy' seems to be locked into the format used when the show first started.
But it was a great night - family friendly, no loud rock-n-roll decibels and lots of respect for those who had gone before to build the American County Music genre.
Highly recommended as a 'must' if you're ever in Nashville.

Communications strategy for Church Mission trips

2010-02-24T11:55:00.003+11:00

Just back from two weeks in Cambodia with our Church Mission team and seems that the communications strategy we put together delivered on maintaining connection between the team and family and supporters back home. Click to read the story.
Pictured are the team gathered around my laptop as the made a Skype call back to church.
A post trip survey showed that 90% of those who received the daily e-mails, with links to photos and videos, said they felt strongly connected to the team. For more, check out the reports on the trip web site: http://www.cambodia2010.com

Why it pays to invest in Social Media

2009-09-08T15:22:00.004+10:00

(This is from www.philcooke.com. He said it all so well, so here's a reprint.)
There's a great deal of skepticism out there about social media from both businesses and non-profits. Does it really add to the bottom line? Does it generate more customers or donors? Does it have an ROI? Admittedly, it's hard to define, but some new research by social media platform Wetpaint and digital media consultant Altimeter Group shows that companies with the most involvement in social media increased revenues by 18% in the last 12 months, while those with the least involvement decreased 6% during that same time. Here's a few interesting things to note from the study:

1. Social media tends to build on itself. Conversations started on Twitter move to Facebook or Myspace. Email discussions are generated. The brand is extended into more and more channels.

2. Companies that scored well had small but dedicated teams working on social media initiatives. It's not enough to have one employee working on social media in his or her spare time. Your webmaster starting a Facebook page isn't the model. It takes a small, but dedicated group to keep the conversations moving forward.

3. Some of the companies reviewed, started their social media initiatives in response to bad PR. Perhaps a computer company was criticized for bad customer service and used social media to address the issue. This is a really strong point because social media is an excellent way to respond to complaints and criticism.

In light of more and more information like this study, it's good to remember that before you can win a gold medal, you have to at least jump into the pool.

Church marketing taken to extremes?

2009-09-05T09:02:00.004+10:00

RENTON, Mich. USA - A Michigan church is enlisting Satan in a bid to drum up attendance at services. Metro South Church in the Detroit suburb of Trenton is posting signs saying the non-denominational Christian congregation "sucks" and "makes me sick." (see http://is.gd/2TtLd)
The ads are signed by Satan.
The campaign even has a Web site explaining why Satan hates the church.
Youth Pastor Adam Dorband told WJBK-TV the church is trying to reach out to people and cut through the "noise." Dorband said Jesus "wants us to be creative and he wants us to ... use whatever it takes to reach people."
Pastor Jeremy Schossau said the campaign is meant to be whimsical and isn't intended to upset anyone.
Compare this with the interdenominational campaign, 'Jesus. All about life' about to kick off in NSW and WA in Australia - at least the name of Jesus is prominent.

Jesus. All about life - coming to a church near you

2009-09-04T07:51:00.004+10:00

After nearly seven years of planning, the 'Jesus. All about life' (JAAL) campaign is coming to NSW and Western Australia. Developed is response to the question, "what would the church do to promote Christian faith in the media if money was no object," JAAL has already run in Adelaide, Canberra/ACT and Tasmania.
There are over 1,500 supporting churches in NSW and over 250 in WA - the most number of churches who have supported any cross-denominational outreach ever. I was privileged to be involved in the development of the campaign and its great to see it finally coming to 'the big smoke'. You can check it out here: www.jesusallaboutlife.com.au.
There's also a number of promotional videos that take you through the creative changes that will be seen in the NSW and WA campaign. http://www.vimeo.com/5616352; http://www.vimeo.com/5992575; http://www.vimeo.com/6296429
Check them out.

Is Social Networking a passing fad?

2009-09-03T20:59:00.002+10:00

Every morning I scan a whole stack of RSS feeds about what is happening in the world of Social Networking and Web 2.0. This morning, Phil Cooke (www.philcooke.com) who lives in LA and is a Christian media producer, linked to a new YouTube video that puts the impact of these sites into some perspective.

By 2010, Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers
96% of them have joined a social network
It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users
It took TV, 13 years to reach 50 million users
It took the internet 4 years to reach 50 million users
Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months
If Facebook were a country it would the world's 4th largest after China, India and the US

Fascinating statistics - the challenge is how to use them in your business or organisation. if you need a quote or just want to understand where the Digital World is headed.

What do you think?

Facebook, Twitter and the new media space

2009-06-28T12:25:00.003+10:00

If you're like me, you've probably watched the growth of the new Social Networks and seen them as just another fad - no more. They are here to stay and are fast becoming how more and more people communicate with each other, forming their own movements in the process. The use of Twitter in Iran following the elections is the most recent example. I was reminded by viewing a presentation by Clay Shirky, professor, speaker and author of the new book 'Here Comes Everybody', as he gave a TED Talk last month entitled “How Twitter can make history, that the earthquake that hit the Sichuan province in China on May 12th, 2008 was first communicated to the outside world on Twitter.
The US research group Nielsen has also just released a report into 'How Teens Use Media' It's free and well worth reading.
Link this to a presentation I published a few weeks back on 'Gen Y, WMDs and learning from Obama' and you can see a real trend.
What does it mean? Time will ultimately tell, but Clay Shirky makes the comment that for the first time in history, everyone can be both a consumer and a publisher of information. What we do with this will be the real test.
Comments?

Korean technology - check out this lecturn

2009-06-07T15:26:00.004+10:00

Check out this 'all purpose lecturn' in the lecture room we're using as a seminar room in a Theological College in Seoul. The base of the lecturn contains a computer (mouse on the right), a monitor and then remote controls for the projector, screen up and down, lighting and level controls for mic, DVD and PC audio.
Amazing piece of technology and the room is only a normal sized classroom. Means the teacher can do it all himself.
Quite remarkable.

Heading for Korea and Hong Kong

2009-06-06T13:10:00.005+10:00

When you land in Seoul, Korea you need to take the train from the terminal where you land to the main terminal for customs, baggage collection, etc.
In true Asia style, you're given guidelines on where to stand as you wait for the train ... Seoul is a series of high-rise buildings, one after the other all the way from the airport into town. The Han River divides the city into two which is spanned by myriad bridges - all with arched spans. We're staying up on Walkershill - named I am sure because of the number of walkers (dressed in suitable Korean walking gear) who parade up and down the hill. Enjoying the food and the mild summer weather.

A day at Berrima and the Southern Highlands

2009-05-17T19:41:00.007+10:00

We spent today at Berrima - a beautiful Australian colonial village in the Southern Highlands - about two hours south of Sydney.
Home to the Berrima Correctional Centre, great food, jams, pickles and spices and all things antique. (These jars of Apricot Mustard caught my eye - haven't yet tasted it, but sounds fascinating). Lunched at Josh's Restaurant, fabulous food and the coffee in the Southern Highlands. The quality of the woollen goods and the handcrafts here continue to be a delight.

IPhone Update

2009-05-06T08:29:00.002+10:00

For three years I used a Blackberry, linked to my exchange server account where I worked. In practice all I did was set up a rule in exchange to forward all my e-mails to the e-mail address associated with my Blackberry. Simple.
At the beginning of this year I started my own business - hence this web site - and had to decide what phone to buy. All my sons had an iPhone as did a few of my friends. I had also made the jump from a PC to a Mac. The dual processor Macbook meant I could boot in Windows of OSX and have the best of both worlds.
This made me lean towards an iPhone, given that I assumed it would work better with my Mac.
There were a few things I needed the iPhone to do:
1. Access my Bigpond e-mail
2. Sync my Entourage diary, notes and To Do list with the same functions on the phone.
3. I didn't think I needed web access or Google maps of a lot of the other things that come standard on the iPhone.

I researched the e-mail synching, using MobileMe, where all your data is stored in a 'cloud' and syncs to your Mac or iPhone or any web based machine. It looked pretty good.

Theory intro practice
I moved my number from my previous provider over to Telstra and decided on a suitable plan. (Since upgraded when I realised how much mobile plans costs - the joys of a company phone were no longer ..)

Calls and texting were as I expected, they worked OK and whilst it took a while to get used to the way the iPhone worked, this was no real problem.

Setting up my e-mail so I could receive it and reply from my phone took a bit longer. I discovered that MobileMe only works with a @me.com e-mail address so I had to set one of these up. Plus there is an annual fee - which I didn't really mind.

In order to then get my Bigpond mail 'pushed' to my phone, I had to forward all the mail using Bigpond's on-line e-mail manager, to my MobileMe account. I suppose this is no different to how I set-up my Blackberry, but it took a while to work out.
So I set up both MobileMe and my Bigpond POP account in the e-mail section of the iPhone.
Whilst the MobileMe mail is pushed to my account, I have to 'pull' the Bigpond mail down my opening up Mail and then the Bigpond account.

After all this, I have decided to de-active the forwarding of my Bigpond mail to my MobileMe account and now just 'pull' down my Bigpond mail when I am out of the office. Being forced to have a MobileMe account was not really how I wanted to work, given that I have had my Bigpond account for 10 years or so.

Calendar/To Do/Notes
Synching my calendar etc between my phone and laptop was another key part of how I wanted to work and for the Calendar part, I use MobileMe's Calendar function. In order for this to work I did need to start using ICalendar on the Mac, but because this can sync internally with Entourage, I discovered this is actually OK. I have also discovered iCalendar's multiple calendar function, which is great.

To Do
This was a real pain as there is no native sync of a To Do list on the iPhone. Seems strange I know, but it wasn't built into the software - at least not yet.
So, the work around is almost as good - I use Appigo's To Do product. It is an App you can download and install on your phone, plus these is a companion program that runs on the Mac and syncs with ICalendar's To Do function.
Synching the two is done via a wireless connection. I have a home wireless network which both my Mac and my IPhone connect to. Once this is done and working, the synching of my To Do list works fine. It would be nice if this was part of the MobileMe service - but at least it works.

Notes
I have a stack of notes in Entourage. All imported from my exchange account. Unfortunately there seems to be no product that syncs Notes in the 'ics' format with the iPhone, so at the moment I have to live with this problem. I do tend to carry my laptop with me everywhere , so that's not too much of a problem.

Other Apps
Air Sharing is a great App that uses the same wireless connection to enable you to put any files on your Mac onto your iPhone. Its easy to do, just as you would with shifting any file from one device to another. It does need a program on your Mac as well as the iPhone

Evernote
Not yet sure of this app and I am currently using it to get around the lack of Notes sync. Its designed to enable you to 'clip' something from a web page, image, text or the whole page and then sync that with the Evernote server somewhere in the sky which then syncs with the Evernote app on your iPhone. It seems to work OK and I use it for copying images, addresses, articles etc from the web to my iPhone.
I'm sitting in the Q Club at the moment and before I left home I browsed to the hotel I am staying at and clipped the address, etc to Evernote using the Safari Evernote plug in. A few seconds later it was on my iPhone.

Overall
My iPhone and I are slowly becoming friends. Can't wait for the promised software update which will hopefully allow cut and paste, To Do sync and a whole lot more.
The keyboard is a pain though - blowed if I can get anywhere near the accuracy I got on the Blackberry. Not sure what it needs ... bigger keys or smaller fingers?

Time till tell.

So - who can't read?

2009-05-04T09:27:00.004+10:00

This is my local high school, where all three of our sons went. As I drove past this morning, something about the sign caught my attention. It wasn't the spelling, because that's correct. Ah yes - when did you last see a book with 3,400 pages?
I tried to imagine it - with some airport novels around the 900 page mark, a book with 3,400 pages would surely be too big to carry?
My NIV compact print Bible is 1,000 pages - so such a book would be over three times the size of a Bible! Wow ....
I think either the school has very high expectations of their student's reading ability - or someone has made a mistake? I wonder if the person who put up the sign went to the school? I hope not.
Wonder how many days it will take for them to fix it? I'll let you know. See this story in Column 8 in today's (May 5th) Sydney Morning Herald. Click here >

The Shack - my thoughts

2009-04-13T09:02:00.004+10:00

Took the time to read The Shack over the weekend. This is a novel that seems to have taken parts of the Christian world by storm, with over three million copies in print. Its a story about a guy (Mack) who's daughter is abducted during a vacation and how he deals with her brutal murder. Most of the words written about the book are to do with how it portrays Mack's meeting with the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit back at The Shack where his daughter was most likely murdered. Author Paul Young (He calls himself WM. Paul Young - which is a pretentious way of saying William, I assume) portrays God as a black woman, Jesus as a not too attractive looking guy and the Holy Spirit as some form of free spirit with no real bodily form. The relationships between the three of them and how they then relate to Mack is the basis of most of the book. The key thing of course is that this is a novel - a work of fiction. Some of the stuff that has been written about the book would make you think it was a new version of the Bible. Its a novel.
Is it helpful in understanding the Trinity? In part I think it is - it would be worth hearing a theologian discuss the way this is portrayed in relation to what the Bible says.
Must go looking on the web.

Orange at Easter

2009-04-12T12:15:00.004+10:00

We're spending the Easter holidays at Orange, a city in the central west area of NSW, about four hours drive west of Sydney. Orange's altitude means its climate is ideal for cool climate wines and great food. The nearby village of Millthorpe continues to develop as a boutique and antiques centre - this is one of the laneways in the village.
Its a great place to get away from city life for four days - raining now, but very peaceful. Visiting the rural areas of NSW makes you realise how city life forces its hectic pace on you, so its good to get away.
The autumn leaves are just starting to show and the chill in the evening air is quite exhilarating.
Back to the grind this week - but its been a good break.

Remembering 59 DVD

2009-04-05T11:35:00.006+10:00

After over two months of not blogging, figured it was time to catch up with what's been happening. Last week the documentary I produced and directed on the 1959 visit to Australia of US evangelist Billy Graham was released. Remembering '59 looks at Australia in the 50's, the person of Billy Graham and then the impact of the four month visit by Billy and his team.
We interview people like Archbishop Peter Jensen and others whose lives were impacted by the Crusade meetings.
We launched the DVD at two public meetings last week, in Scots Church Melbourne and Wesley Mission's Lyceum Theatre in Sydney. Over 400 people saw the DVD and from all accounts, they loved it. Check it out on the web site: www.remembering59.com.au
Also this week on Good Friday, watch Seven at 12.30pm for a half hour program called Beyond Winning. Four Christian sportsmen and women tell their story in a program I produced for Bible Society.

Slum Dog Millionaire - lock it in for an Oscar, Eddie

2009-02-01T13:44:00.006+11:00

What a brilliant film. This is what Baz Luhrman's 'Australia' should have been like. Slum Dog celebrates the power of a dream as Jamal discovers his destiny on the Indian version of 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'. (Interestingly the actor playing the 'Eddie' role must have learnt how to pronounce 'millionaire' from Eddie - he does it without the 'll's' also)
Slum Dog tells the Indian story in a way that Australia should have told our story. The whole movie is a vibrant, joyous, sad and triumphal celebration of the Indian culture. The sequences in the slums are breathtaking and the wide angle and dutch tilt shots, moving all the time are a delight. The whole film is structured around Jamal being savagely interviewed by the police because they think he is cheating - so good is he on the show. But as he explains how he knows each of the answers by recounting the story of his life, we see his journey unfolding brilliantly.
Superbly done - bring on the Oscar Eddie

A shiny night in the world's most beautiful city

2009-01-26T10:15:00.007+11:00

With apologies to my shivering north American friends, the attached pictures were taken last Thursday night as we sat waiting for the outdoor cinema on Sydney's Mrs Macquarie's Chair to begin. With a view to the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and a reasonably priced take-away restaurant and bar nearby, we waiting with 1,800 other people to experience one of Sydney's great treats.

The movie was 'The Visitor' - the story of how a widower deals with finding two illegals living in his seldom visited New York apartment. It was a fabulous warm summers night and the combination of a great location, good movie and very edible food was a winner. J gave me the tickets for Christmas, so I had to take her of course - but it was a real treat. There's something about sitting outside with a great view of a great city while watching a movie at the same time that's compelling and relaxing at the same time - if that's possible.

The $100 Laptop

2009-01-25T18:11:00.004+11:00

The One Laptop per Child organisation is doing an amazing job around the world. I heard Professor Nicholas Negroponte from MIT on ABC National Radio's Science Show yesterday talking about the concept of giving every child in every village in Cambodia a laptop. An amazing project and as someone who has filmed various aid projects in that country, I was well impressed.
Their web site: http://www.laptop.org/en/ is a good place to start. I love this use of technology and the way these guys worked with the laptop manufacturers around the world to get screens that would work in direct sun, for example, is inspiring. (I'd love one of those)
You can donate to this project on www.amazon.com/xo

An athiest confronted with practical Christianity

2009-01-25T18:04:00.004+11:00

Matthew Parris is a London Times journalist, born in what is now Malawi. He recently went back and his piece about his observation about the practical impact of Christianity is well worth the read: Here's a bit to whet your appetite, then click on the link to read it all.

"Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good."

Read the rest by clicking here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece

Slowly, slowly - my iPhone and I are becoming friends ..

2009-01-25T17:58:00.003+11:00

After 5 days or so now with my iPhone, its only fair to report that I am finally getting used to it and have found some nifty apps to help me. I am closer to solving the To Do list problem with the ToDo app and its associated appigo.com desktop software. You need to plug the phone in, but it does work and pulled all my Tasks from Entourage and all of my iCal calendar tasks.
Looks very neat with lots of options.
Downloaded EmailContact app which enables you to e-mail contact info to anyone from your own contact lists. Works a treat.
Also I have now forwarded my Bigpond mail account to my MobileMe account, set up folders in MobileMe to sort it all out and the whole thing is replicated on the iPhone. Pretty neat.
So ... its getting easier to use and its finally allowing me to work the way I want to.

iPhones - nice, but the basics are missing ...

2009-01-21T09:33:00.005+11:00

With my new business venture comes a new mobile and I punted on an iPhone. Not sure if I made the right decision. A few niggles ... Notes. The notes option on iPhone is not syncable with anything. How dumb is that? Tasks. There is no native tasks function and even the task apps are not syncable with Entourage or Outlook. Very dumb.
I'm sure I'll get used to the keyboard - but coming from a Blackberry 8700 - this is also annoying.
If anyone has a solution to the Notes and Tasks problems ... let me know.

January 20th - Obama and MJC are both in business

2009-01-20T20:50:00.003+11:00

Today will be an historic day in the US as President Obama is inaugurated. Certainly there will be significant change for the whole world - let's pray that it will be positive. On the home front, our youngest son married the lovely Madeline and they're happily holidaying in Fiji.
January 20th also marks the first day of Martin Johnson Communications - my first step into running my own business. After day one I can say that I survived - plus tonight my marketing e-mail goes out to 250 or so contacts from my address book. Let's hope they don't think its spam.
So - check out my web site and see if you'd give me work. www.martinjohnson.com.au

The curious case of ... a lack of character

2008-12-31T12:12:00.004+11:00

When I studied film writing under Professor Ken Jones at San Diego State University in the 80's, he always told us that 'your main character needed to be a different person at the end of your story than when he started out.' Jones also said that 'your main character needed to discover something about himself that gives him a direction and purpose for his life'.
Seems that the writer of 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' hasn't heard Professor Jones' points, although this may the fault of F Scott Fitzgerald's original short story on which the film is based.
In any event - whilst the premise of the film is intriguing, a man is born old and gets younger as he 'gets older' - Benjamin Button seemingly has no moral base in his life, no direction and simply reacts to the situations and opportunities presented to him. He falls in love with the Tilda Swinton character, then moves on to Daisy, played by Kate Blanchett then leaves her.
Certainly he changes - and what a masterpiece of make-up and special effects as he gets younger and younger, but these is nothing redeeming about his character at all. In fact he seems entirely amoral, which gives the film a very bleak outlook.
Sad - because the potential for the Benjamin Buttons character to reveal something positive about the human condition was certainly there in the premise.
Maybe next time?
Happy New Year.

Outsourcing web design off shore ....

2008-12-29T17:06:00.004+11:00

Because I am starting a new business, I decided to revamp my web site. Son Nathan from Blacklist Studios did the design for me, and provided me with a psd file in layers with all the elements of the new design.
I have a number of local mates who do web site coding from psd files, doing all the cut-ups and integrating with the content management system I use.
However this is never cheap and as I was chatting to a mate he said why not use the web to 'hire a coder', someone usually resident in India or South East Asia at a much lower hourly rate. I had heard that this was a growing web business and so I went to www.elance.com, created a profile for myself, authorised my creditcard and pitched the job I had to their pool of web coders.
I had four quick responses from IT guys in India and one in Indonesia, to whom I 'gave' the job.
I have had to put the agreed charge ($120) into an Escrow account which I will release once the job has been completed. I am able to view the developing site and work back and forth with BV as he works on the design.
All started well, but he took much longer than agreed to do what I asked and then it was the wrong size. I almost cancelled on him, but today he e-mailed me and said he had been in hospital and very ill. I have told him that I am happy to continue - given his illness, but he needs to commit to some timelines.
Been an interesting process, managing someone you don't know over the web via the ELance interface. I was in 2 minds about continuing with him, given that I hadn't heard from him for a week - but I thought he deserved another chance ...
I'll let you know how it goes and hopefully you'll be able to see the results very soon.

So, that was Christmas

2008-12-26T13:57:00.003+11:00

December 26th and Christmas has come and gone for another year. After a day of church services and then lunch with the family (ever growing) and friends, I can look back and say it was a good day.
Christmas seems to mark the end of one year and New Years Day the beginning of the next with the week in between like something you 'sneak' from your life to do stuff that you'd never have time to do at any other time. Things like rent a DVD or go to the movies of just a lazy afternoon walking the esplanade at Cronulla.
For me its the calm before I launch into a new year of business - which although is looking OK for the first 6 months, will need some marketing and some 'selling' to make sure that next Christmas I can continue to enjoy time with the family and friends.

Australia. Just go and see it

2008-12-20T13:34:00.004+11:00

Last night, after a great meal at a local Thai restaurant, we went to see 'Australia' - Baz Luhrman's much hyped and much discussed film epic. Its been called a cross between 'Out of Africa' and 'Gone with the Wind' and having now seen it, I can see why some people might have categorised it this way. The verdict? We liked it. We didn't 'love' it - but we did enjoy it and would recommend it.
Here's what we liked ...
It told the story of life on a cattle station in the Northern Territory during WWII. The setting was magnificent, the landscape inspiring and the sheer difficulty of making a living in the harshness of such a remote part of our country was well depicted. Learning about this part of our history was a plus. The underlying issue of half-caste aboriginal children and the whole stolen generation story was a key part of the story. In 'Australia', 'Nulla' - the half caste aboriginal boy played brilliantly by Brandon Walters, has a happy ending, but many thousands did not. To see the sadness of this policy depicted as a key part of the story was also a plus - we learnt something.
The everpresent 'King George', an aboriginal witch doctor and Nulla's grandfather was a brilliant piece of writing. His presence at key parts of the story gave a whole other dimension to what we 'white fellas' would see as just life. Another plus.
The raid on Darwin by the Japanese and the aftermath was another plus - here was another part of our history that whilst I was aware of, had never experienced. Another plus.
The cinematography was stunning - lots of beautiful magic-hour shots and aerials swooping over the landscape. Mandy (DoP) has a great eye.
Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman? Certainly Hugh is great eye candy for the ladies and whilst I would call myself a Nicole fan, I just couldn't warm to her character, and she was certainly playing a character. I think the problem was the writing, rather than her acting, although as the film moved into the attack on Darwin, her characted certainly became more 'real'.
Its a pity that so many have been so critical - but given the hype, you were expecting to see something magnificent. It wasn't magnificent, but it was another step in Australians telling their own story and that of their land.
Its worth seeing for that reason alone.

Getting that Motorcycle Karma ...

2008-12-18T11:32:00.006+11:00

Last night, family, friends and colleagues of the four guys in the pic gathered at the Chauvel Cinema in Sydney for a preview of a one-hour documentary called 'Motorcycle Karma'. The guys, who all work in the television industry had headed off to India just before Christmas, 2004 to ride motorbikes across the southern part of the sub-continent. One of them (AJ, 2nd from left) is our son and the doco's cinematographer. The verdict? Brilliant. Entertaining, funny, poignant and sad as the guys 'ran into' the 2004 Tsunami that devastated South East Asia. The doco, which has been sold to the National Geographic Channel, follows the boys as they firstly look for 4 Royal Enfield motorbikes to hire, learn to ride them (2 of the guys had done little riding before) and then headed off for a 'boys own adventure'. As parents of AJ, we loved it - but the whole audience cheered and laughed and cried (I'm sure there were a few tears) as they allowed us to share in their journey.
The doco has its own web page - www.themotorcyclelesson.com (one of the project's working titles) with a whole stack of information and some stills from the trip.
The guys are hopeful for more sales - but I can thoroughly recommend it as a great piece of television .... but then I am biased and very proud of my son's work behind the camera.

A personal note ...

2008-12-15T18:50:00.004+11:00

Having three sons with my wife J continues to be a delightful experience. As they're all now in their 20s - its great to see them finding their own place in the world. This weekend I was privileged to be invited by my youngest (23) to join him and his mates for his bucks weekend.
Although he doesn't get married til the middle of January, the guys decided to hold the traditional 'guys weekend' before Christmas.
In my day - 35 years ago - a guy would never have invited his Dad to join him and his mates for the bucks weekend, but things have changed and as a Dad, that's great. This is the second one I've been to - but I have been careful to only hang out for a few hours.
We went bowling - yep, lawn bowls the game of old blokes. First time for me although some of the other guys had bowled before and they're all younger than me! Made me feel heaps better.
My son's mates did the traditional thing - putting my son through a series of 'dress' changes with the word 'dress' taken literally.
I left them on Saturday night and drove home - feeling that life couldn't get any better.

Christian Television in Australia ... starting the conversation

2008-12-09T14:49:00.008+11:00

One of my passions is Christian television - I've made a far amount of it in my life, some of it I'm quite proud of although budget was always an issue (not enough). (I worked on Turn 'Round Australia for 20 years for the Nine Network for Wesley Mission; the 'Discovering' series with Gordon Moyes [That's me on the left with DoP Rob Draper in the Judean Hills]; 'Face to Face for TEN and now the Australian Christian Channel)
Last month we saw the last commercial TV network drop their weekly half-hour Christian television spot provided to churches through the various Christian agencies. This was announced as they shared their plans for 2009. I asked the programmer if she realised she was announcing the end of what had been a forty year tradition? She didn't.
As I sat there with a colleague, I thought there should have been more I could have done to 'save the timeslot', but when there is no longer an obligation by the networks to air Christian programs and when some Christian agencies have not kept up the relationship between themselves and the network, the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
All Australian commercial networks say they'll 'consider' Christian programming at the appropriate time of the year, Easter and Christmas mainly - but weekly programs seem to have gone all together.
What do you think? Should commercial television networks in Australia provide this time at no cost or should they treat Christian programs on merit?
Be keen to have your comments ...

The first signed consultancy contracts are in ...

2008-12-06T18:49:00.002+11:00

I said this blog would be an account of my setting up my own business, so key to a new business of course is just that - 'business'. My current employer has offered me two days a week starting from mid-January, so we're underway.
Key to attracting more business will be my web site, which, come January, will be up and running and which will set out the 'offer' very clearly. The site will have some videos of me, doing a pitch plus some other videos of previous projects - plus a list of current clients and projects.
Also set up the bank accounts on Friday.

My business cards have arrived ...

2008-12-01T16:33:00.000+11:00

Much excitement (well, almost). My new business cards arrived today from son Nathan's creative talents at Blacklist Studio (see his blog link on the right). Here are some pics of me holding two, so you can see each side of them. Cool eh? Even wearing my orange shirt to match the card colour. Nate selected the quote marks .. pretty cool for a Communications consultant's logo, don't you think?
Hey - be the first to have one, e-mail me and I'll send you one - free of charge. martin.johnson@bigpond.com
See ya ...

Business processes

2008-11-29T08:09:00.000+11:00

They say that getting your business processes in place and working is half the battle when you start to run your own business ... that and managing cash flow. Moving out of a PAYE situation into doing my own 'thing' is going to force me to do the paperwork on a regular (ie - daily) basis.
This doesn't come naturally as 'my people' have always done this sort of stuff before, but now I am 'my people'.
So, finally got the ABN and the ACN and the tax file number all in place so once the bank says OK and sets up my bank account - should be OK.
Almost finalised my first three agreements with my (still) current employer - so at least there is the promise of some funds coming in from the start.
Then I'll need to start the marketing phase.
Anyone recommend a book on consulting?
Off to a wedding today - every blessing to Tim and Sarah.

So, what am I worth ...

2008-11-26T20:31:00.001+11:00

Had one of these conversations tonight. It was a very pleasant setting, looking over Sydney's Rushcutters Bay with something nice to drink and something good to snack on, but working out your worth is never easy. Especially when its with someone you have worked for for the past six years and they're being quite generous in what their offering you.
So - I've postponed my answer - only by a day or two, but maybe some brilliant phrase or strategy will come to mind by then ... or maybe not.
I'll let you know ...

Back to work and back to business ... mine

2008-11-25T19:27:00.000+11:00

The tag line under the title of this blog promised that it would be a regular account of my moving from being a staffer with a non-profit organisation to a consultant in the same sector. So, here's my first posting on this topic - a very personal one for me.
I started working for an employer in 1966. Now, 42 years later and seven different employers I am about to start a new career, that of working for myself.
Why now? Its hard to pin-point a single reason, but it's a combination of, "if I don't do it now, I never will," through being fed up with battling Sydney's traffic every day (up to 3 hours a day commuting) to wanting to simply be more in charge of my own future.
When I spoke to my accountant, who set up my Pty Ltd company structure, he said he was always surprised at how may people had 'sat in that chair' and said they were 'scared at taking this step' and then 12 months later said it was the best thing they ever did. I'm hoping that that will be me.
I've also heard the joke, "how do you start a small business?" "Just start a medium sized business ... and wait."
Each of my three sons now run their own business - you can see their web sites listed on the right, so that's also an incentive. Great thing is that they work in similar areas to me, film making, graphic design and photography. The image above (reverse of my business card) was designed by Nathan from Blacklist Studios. Check out his blog also - some nice stuff there.
In the next month I'll be setting up my home office (with help from J) and putting my marketing campaign together, which will be mainly web and e-mail based.
More tomorrow ...
Martin

Travelling in style ...

2008-11-22T10:17:00.000+11:00

Never thought I'd experience this, but with no public transport between Seattle airport and the ferry terminal to Bainbridge Island, where the Lausanne meeting was held, the system is to use a local limousine company. Last time I did this the guy picked me up in a Lincoln Town Car - very nice, but this time he turned up in a stretch limo for both trips.
So last Sunday I travelled from the airport in one of these and today, Grace and I travelled back to the airport in one. It looks dark outside, but that's because the windows are shaded and of course the flash stops the camera down.
You can see some more pics on my web site. Click here
Lots of fun ...

So, what are the key global issues?

2008-11-21T05:47:00.000+11:00

This is the happy snap of the group meeting in Seattle. It's always great to meet with Christian communicators from around the world. We're grappling with how we involve Christians world-wide in creating the global agenda for the October 2010 meeting. There is a very strong feeling that we need to move away from the tradition of leaders (usually American) determining what they think needs to be discussed at such gatherings. The team wants a global discussion for at least 12 months prior to the conference from which the key issues that Christians worldwide are concerned about, then influence the conference agenda.
What are the issues? Is this a conference that will finally kill off the 'Prosperity Gospel' teaching?
Let me have your comments .....
For more on plans for the Capetown Conference ... click here

The perfect Christmas gift?

2008-11-20T07:14:00.000+11:00

Saw this together with other similar ones outside a local store in Poulsbo, Seattle. Its a plastic dome about six feet high, inflated by an air blower. The air also inflates the Santa image inside and sucks up polystyrene beads that then float down like snow.
There were some other ones featuring 'The Grinch' coming out of a chimney, plus one of the stable with Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. Probably all made in China, but as you can see ... just $99.95 US.

Sunny in Seattle

2008-11-19T11:54:00.000+11:00

I'm back in Seattle at a conference at Masterworks looking at the Communications issues around Lausanne's Capetown 2010 Conference. Arrived Sunday night but on Monday I played tourist on a beautiful late Autumn day. This is the Seattle needle - like our Centrepoint with a ferris wheel in the foreground.
I also visited Pike's Place market - some great produce on display.

2008-11-06T20:45:00.001+11:00

This is my blog - stay tuned for more stuff