i get too surrounded by what i know
by what i have to offer everyone else
by what i do to keep my life afloat…
when all i really want to do is fucking write.
fuck. (!)
I’m such a dog lover these days…
Just got back from my production trip in Atlanta and needed to check up on a few emails I missed on the flight.
Apparently, my Shepsky puppy, Alana, missed me too much to allow such a radical action…
Twitter: @thejonacosta
Follow my Blog: http://www.jonacosta.com
See my Band: http://youtube.com/lividends
See my Work: http://www.acostaproductions.com
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http://www.facebook.com/acostaproductions
Although I started my production company venture a solid 5 years ago, I still remember how scary it was to even consider quitting my full-time job at Apple.
In fact, looking back, it was probably the worst time for me to pull such a crazy stunt since I had just purchased my first home; an overpriced condo in Atlanta at the tender age of 21!
Flash-forward to five years later, where I’m constantly flying across the country to shoot in random cities for clients that love working with me and my team because of:
- Production Quality.
- Production Consistency.
- Production Personality.
It’s true… at the end of the day, anyone can do what we do given the proper training or “how to” videos on youtube (I know, because I’ve done it myself), but the quirky blue creature named “Squee” that is Acosta Productions represents more than just a creative logo. It represents how I treat my clients, how I treat my projects, and the vision behind everyone of our creations.
To get to my main point, I’ve been reading this e-book called “Life After the Cubicle” by Justin Wright, a guy who explains his venture in leaving his full-time job and now gets paid as a blogging consultant and makes money blogging about his life all across the country.
I wanted to share this with anyone who’s interested in quitting their worn out 9-5 day job and actually challenging themselves to achieve their dreams.
Click below to get a copy of the book. You can thank me later. ;)
Click here to visit Justin Wright.
And just to be honest, yes, this is an affiliation link, so if you do happen to purchase the book, I’ll make some pocket change as well (probably enough to buy 2 for 1 tacos at jack in the box).
But I only advertise things that I truly believe in. Being a self made individual that has lived the things that Justin talks about in his e-book, I have to say that this may be one of the best sources to start finding clientele for what you love before you actually quit your job.
Whatever it is that you decide to do, I wish you the best in the venture! The “getting there” or “making it” is definitely half the fun, mostly because it’s such an adrenaline rush… kind of like riding your favorite roller-coaster… x12. enjoy it.
And as always, I’m here if you ever have any questions, doubts, or moments of potential regret for attempting to be awesome. If you’ve read this far, you’re already ahead of the game.
just remember… baby steps!
@thejonacosta
The latest from my Youtube Channel “Tutorial Tuesday (yeah!)”, where we go over tips and tricks in Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Premiere to speed up your workflow and make you more money.
In this episode, we explore the best way to work with and key out green screen footage without losing quality.
Last saturday was spent on Half Moon Bay, a beautiful beach just south of the Bay Area in Northern California and only 30 minutes from our place.
Typing about this day wouldn’t do justice to how legendary it actually was, so I vlogged about it instead:
Things learned on this epic beach day:
- Super dog friendly beach! Bring Alana and Mandy next time.
- Bring firewood
- Bring lighter fluid
- Suntan lotion is still important… even if the wind is blowing and it’s a bit chilly. Just ask Drew
- Horses DO randomly just show up and let you ride them in California. This may be the closest thing to a unicorn… hence, the reason why Cali is so magical.
- Always bring your friend, Stephen, or the friend equivalent that’s the handyman of the group. Also, a pyromaniac will do.
@thejonacosta
If you get pleasure out of helping others, isn’t that technically considered a “selfish” act?
I don’t consider myself a selfish person, but before I started my production company, I used to do this every single day at Apple, as I trained my customers how to do use their Macs in ways that simplified their lives and blew their minds all at once!
There’s just something absolutely gratifying about seeing the lightbulb go off in people’s heads when you teach them a vital piece of knowledge that they’ve been trying to sort out themselves.
As such, I’ve been in development for the last 3 months on a video training series that I’ll be offering very soon for the world to learn how to do what I thought was once only a dream. The difference in this training content is that I reinforce the mistakes made every single day by most of the amateurs that I’ve run into and witnessed along this path to storytelling awesomeness-icity.
screenshot from my upcoming training series I’m doing entitled “The Storyteller’s Guide to Video Production”.
In the meantime, I started “Tutorial Tuesday (yeah!)” on Youtube a couple of months ago to entertain those questions that I get asked on a weekly basis via video editing in After Effects, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe Premiere.
If you’ve got a question, please feel free to ask me through Tumblr, email me, or even publicly question me on Twitter!
Stay tuned as “The Storyteller’s Guide…” launches later this month!
-@thejonacosta
As my band gets closer to finalizing the new album, LeCartney, we thought we’d give you guys one more preview of the tracks before we release the LP later this month.
This one’s called “Hold Up”. If you like it, please make sure to reblog!
Check it ouuuttttt…
Lyrics:
Setting sail to the sun by the pier
Tanning oil and a cooler of beer…
So, as I’m building my company’s new site in wordpress and wondering how to mirror my Tumblr updates, I discovered this amazing little plug-in that will easily import any updates I create on this blog into my Wordpress feed:
Tumblr to Wordpress Plug-in <- link to download.
If you’re trying to do the same thing to your Wordpress site, you can download the plugin here!!!
You’re welcome, guys. :)
- @thejonacosta
PS - Help our fellow Tumblr’s and make sure to reblog this if you found it useful!
It’s another marvelous day in our city by the bay.
Life definitely has been different since moving out to California.
Gas is a bit more expensive… but the air is much more breathable, produce is cheaper than water, I walk around my town more than I ever did in Atlanta, and every step I make outside is a photogenic moment.
Also, we live in bicycle distance of Washington Manor Park, a little public park that lies directly on the bay. I’ve been doing my morning runs around the track there lately.
Not a bad shift in lifestyle if you ask me.
As for my production company’s current affairs? Glad you asked…
New website for Acosta Productions (finally!), 2011 promo reel, me and Drew’s new Livid Ends album, a music video, and 3 new upcoming web-series are all on their way in April as we hash out all the casting /coding /editing / and creation details.
Man, I love my job. :)
CASE IN POINT:
As stated before, never bring yourself down with a place you hate or a situation that has you suffocated at the throat.
I’m living proof of what you can accomplish by getting your mind together, never giving up, and just doing something you’ve always wanted to accomplish.
for me, it was always moving to California. Why it took so long is beyond me… but I’m a better man for doing it later and learning what I DIDN’T want in my life anymore.
love and stuff,
@thejonacosta
P.S. Follow me right here on Tumblr or Twitter (@thejonacosta) to keep up with all the production goodness! There’s a LOT of good stuff coming soon…
One thing that just absolutely clicked in my head around this time last year was that no matter how hard the struggle, no matter what kind of bullshit you’re currently in, no matter how much someone thinks they own you… physically, emotionally, or financially… there is always a reset button.
there is ALWAYS an exit.
because this is your life.
not theirs.
don’t be their bitch. don’t be their slave.
own your shit.
and don’t ever let anyone else tell you otherwise.
The video above is a teaser for an upcoming drunkumentary we’ll be releasing in May of this year. Footage was shot all throughout 2011 as a tribute to the people and the good times that were left behind.
make sure to subscribe here on youtube to get the latest updates on the full documentary release.
- @thejonacosta
Jon discusses the shortcut to toggle waveforms off and on and make your editing workflow faster when working with sound in your videos.
Like Acosta Productions on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Acosta-Productions-Inc/173810216015088
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http://twitter.com/#!/thejonacosta
If you enjoyed this tutorial, subscribe to my Tumblr!
Over the course of the last two months, I’ve been reading and researching the endless vacuum of tools available to all of us through the internets… and I’ve got to say that my mind is rather blown.
From reading “Digital Leaders” by Erik Qualman (@Equalman), to Brian Clark (@CopyBlogger’s) wonderful blog on how copywriting is different, yet still as crucial as content writing… I’d say I’ve got my head spinning as it attempts to wrap around all of the possibilities that we have (literally) at our fingertips.
It actually gives me a bit of anxiety to sit and just ponder the amount of awesome that I want to create, but feel overwhelmed by all of the thoughts. I guess that’s the most important thing I’ve learned in all of this research lately; you have to tackle one thing at a time. Always. You can’t multitask a bunch of brilliant ideas or nothing will EVER get done. I feel like I’ve been the king of that for some time now.
The most crucial items that I now have under my belt are the following:
1) give digital love where it is needed. and deserved.
2) empower other people. especially with knowledge. knowledge is power.
3) consistant content creation is key. no matter what form the content is in (video / blogging / podcast)
4) give users the ability to interact. everyone loves to be, or at least “feel” involved in some way.
As such, I have many plans in place for the next month that will be launching slowly in different forms:
- My band, Livid Ends, will be launching an “album screening” preview for those who would like to opt in and get the chance to critique our ENTIRE ALBUM before we even release it publicly! opting in will give listeners the chance to state something about each song and in return, will receive a free copy of our Single… and maybe a bonus track. (more on this TBA)
- After launching our “Drama Kings & Vomit Queens” video, Livid Ends will also be doing a “cover contest” of one of our songs. The winner will get a free roundtrip ticket to come out and star in our next music video.
- Acosta Productions is developing a web series that puts the user in control of the story!!! There… i said it. Nothing more though. Nope. Not til it’s launched…
- Tutorial Tuesday, a web series I launched a few weeks ago, is empowering viewers with knowledge based off of user generated questions that i get every week in Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Premiere.
-Since video production can be an absolutely daunting task, especially for beginners that are trying to tell a story, I’ve taken it upon myself to create an informational based tutorial package that will be released in the coming weeks. This video based series will be a priced informational product with over 2 hours of training in the basics of an entire production (from start to finish), as well as minor editing techniques in a wide range of different interfaces.
I love giving. Always have. And now more than ever have I learned that this entire thing that we call life isn’t about ME, it’s about the majority. It’s about all of us coming together and collaborating in a sufficient and beautiful manner. I have a skillset that people only dreamed that they knew how to tackle… and I’m now teaching it, living it pleasurably (instead of being jaded), creating with it, and entertaining others with the content that i create.
Empower others. That’s the ticket.
-Jon Acosta
@thejonacosta
P.S.
If you enjoyed this article, make sure to subscribe to my Tumblr!!!
First of all, if you’re a freelancer in any regard; a photographer, makeup artist, consultant, videographer, web designer, anything… you NEED to give your clients an option for credit card payment. In this economy, it makes life a bit easier for both client and freelancer to make and collect payment on the fly without having to worry about traditional bank processing. Plus, your clients will feel a bit more at ease to pay for your services using credit rather than raping their wallets.
What that being said…
Last week, Paypal introduced its newly developed credit card reader called, Paypal Here, which attaches itself to your iPhone, just like the card swiper from Square.
My company, Acosta Productions, has been using Square for the last 9 months, and I have to say that it’s a rather genius invention… we can literally get to our set, meet with our client, and take a 50% deposit via credit card right from our iPhones! Absolutely nuts. I keep forgetting that we live in the future, but I digress…
The only catch is that (like paypal and other transactional services) Square does take a percentage of your payment every time a card is swiped. Not a huge deal, as we usually tack on that percent of charge to all credit card transactions by default. (And yes, my clients are well aware of this!) So what’s the charge of this transaction, you ask? Well, it’s only a meager 2.75% per major credit card transaction.
NOW, WHY PAYPAL HERE IS THAT MUCH BETTER:
In an attempt to be the Square killer, Paypal is only charging 2.70% per transaction and GET THIS…. if you have a Paypal debit card setup with your account, they’re deducting this rate down to 1.70% instead…
SO! Let’s do the ever-so-simple math here:
SQUARE CHARGE PER TRANSACTION:
Client Credit Card Payment * 2.75% (square’s cut) = :/
PAYPAL CHARGE PER TRANSACTION:
Client Credit Card Payment * (2.70% - 1.0% <-(being loyal paypal debit card user) = :]
BOTTOM LINE:
Although I’ve been a loyal user of Square for almost a year, it’s important to do what’s best for my clients. Charging them 1.70% per credit card transaction works in favor of everyone involved. Client saves money, payment is easy, and everyone is happy.
Paypal has not announced a release date for their Paypal Here, but you can be the first to know when it’s available and get it for FREE by signing up at their launch page:
-Jon Acosta
Owner, Acosta Productions
Life out here in San Leandro, CA has been rather awesome…
VIDEO UPDATE RUNDOWN:
- Ronnie, the neighbor across the street is still looking out for our hood, #LIKEABOSS
- Drew and myself started pre-production on our upcoming micro-series, Band Practice, which will showcase the stigmas, cliche’s and hilarity that a band endures while trying to make music together
- WHAT THE FUCK IS “BROOMING”? Or rather, this “BROOM PHENOMENON”…. someone please tell me
- MyNights is still in post-production as our director, Barry Gray, finishes the editing aspects, which at this point, will be sent over to our base in San Leandro, where I’ll be taking care of shot tightening and Color Grading.
- My latest tutorial web series, entitled, “Tutorial Tuesdays”, launched last week and will have a new episode every week
Drew and I will be making a trip out to Atlanta this week to take care of a few productions on the East Coast. If you’re around, make sure to give us a shout out and maybe grab a beer while we’re in town!
