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
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
Jon discusses the shortcut to toggle waveforms off and on and make your editing workflow faster when working with sound in your videos.
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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
Just another vlog update in San Leandro as we prepare for a few new awesome productions, meet our creepishly awesome neighbor, and try to figure out who the hell I look like…
i was approached by a client in NYC over a month ago that specializes in a VERY niche market… First Communion Dresses for 8 year olds.
The company is called A Little Induglence, and Tracy, the owner, was a blast to work with.
After a month of working in Maya with an animator and detailing a few frames in After Effects and Final Cut Pro, Here’s the final product!
The virtual tour of our new home in San Leandro, CA, posted on my youtube vlog channel:
After a week of searching and house viewing, we finally found a place to call home in the quaint and awesome town of San Leandro, just 20 minutes across the bay from San Francisco.
We’re excited to call this place home and begin transforming our unusually massive garage into the new Downstairs Studios “Cloud Room 2.0” & Acosta Productions “SL Editing Lab”.
As myself and my co-pilot, Drew Gibadlo, crossed through the northern sector of Arizona to get to San Francisco and start our company expansions last week, we decided to check into a hotel for the evening to catch some rest. However, once settled in our temporary room with the heater on full blast and untouched snow sitting outside of our window, we were somehow inspired to bring in 1/3rd of our studio equipment from the car and begin tracking a song that I wrote for our band, Livid Ends, a few weeks ago entitled “Method Actor”.
I did all of the midi creation, guitaring, and scratch vocals in Apple’s GarageBand using a midi keyboard/ drum pad and the ZOOM H4N just a few weeks prior to our trip. Once we established all of our setup in the hotel room, Drew began tracking our new vocals in the previous GarageBand session using a MacBook Pro and a makeshift sound booth made of pillows, curtain backings, and a “proliferation diffuser”… aka- a long sofa mattress.
The next morning, as we drove onward towards San Francisco, Drew spent the majority of the afternoon mixing “Method Actor” in Apple Logic, using his laptop and my car’s AUX speaker system.
The outcome was definitely great! This is a song that will absolutely catch on with our fans as it’s more of an evolved version of our past musical styles.
We’re one song closer to completing the Livid Ends album, LeCartney! As we finalize our new studio setup in San Francisco, we’ll be knocking out the rest of our jams in the next month, as well as shooting our music video.
Can’t wait for you guys to hear and see the new stuff!
Photo Series of the Day: Mommy photographer Rachel Hulin made her baby boy Henry the subject of a chest-clutching series of photos entitled, simply, The Flying Series.
“I wanted the flights to feel genuine,” Hulin told Time’s LightBox. “These are places we are really in everyday, it’s not a cut-and-paste job on random interiors and landscapes.”
Though she won’t say how she made little Henry fly, Hulin insists she never throws him. PetaPixel suggests that she may be employing a technique similar to the one used by Pat David in his bouncing baby photo.
Flying babies. Awesome photo series.
(via soulpancake)
I’ve been slacking a bit in regards to my social media presence. I apologize. This move has got me going out of my mind.
Just to backtrack for two seconds… last weekend, myself and my production team (Drew Gibadlo, Barry Gary, & Kamran Habashi) shot a series of interviews for former “Miss America” and “The Apprentice” contestant, Marshawn Evans, at the super swank hotel in Downtown Atlanta, The Renaissance. Much more production will be coming from this new business relationship, as Marshawn has a lot of great things planned in the near future. We’re all very excited about what’s to come!
The last 4 days have been an absolute madhouse as I’ve finished gathering all of my valuables into a small, condensed pile of things worth traveling across the country with me and selling, donating, burning, or throwing away the rest. Tomorrow, myself, Drew, and two gorgeous pups begin our journey to a new life on the golden coast.
Finally. Time to go…
And so, as the week begins to unravel its way back into itself, hinting closer at our moving date with every passing hour, myself and my co-pilot, Drew Gibadlo (of Downstairs Studios), have been on a manic dash to tie all loose ends here in Atlanta, Georgia before our big move to San Francisco, California next Monday!
After about 4 hours of extensive research through every viable option possible (including shipping my car to our new location and just grabbing a flight with our dogs), i do believe i’ve found the most economical and substantial way to move across the country with two people, my car, and our beautiful K9 companions, all for under $1000!
What have I learned? Well…
Hitches from UHAUL can be attached to most midsized cars… that would include my 2008 Nissan Sentra (note: if you own a 2006 or prior, your car is considered “compact” and you might need to consider other options)
um… TravelMath.com is flippin’ awesome.
esurance is now owned by ALLSTATE?!
Penske Truck Rentals hooks you up with a 20% discount if you’re a AAA member. Likewise, if you’re a student with an ID, they give you an additional 10% off….Round up a college kid and a friend with a AAA card if you need a truck!
And finally… Flo (from Progressive) isn’t the biggest fan of Erin (from esurance).
but i digress… 5 days!!!
I think i’m going to create a micro-series for the move as we roll along to the best coast next week… be on the lookout for that! And also, if you missed the launch of “Tutorial Tuesday” yesterday… check it out below!
In the past few months, I’ve had a ton of people asking me questions in regards to my productions and how I go about certain aspects of my editing such as workflow, shortcut keys, and project media management…
So, today I’m launching the first of a weekly youtube series called “Tutorial Tuesday”, where I go in depth with a tip or trick inside of prosumer video production apps like Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere, etc.
In this first episode, I go in depth with the amazing audio/video synchronizing application called PluralEyes. I explain how to use it with Final Cut Pro 7 and show you how much time it saves by piecing together a multidevice shoot right on the fly!
Last October, Drew Gibadlo (of Downstairs Studios) and myself (Jon Acosta) spent an afternoon at the Young Audiences offices at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, GA, shooting a green screen induced TV commercial for their foundation. Since they were looking to rebrand at the top of 2012, they consulted with me in regards to their new brand identity and how we could get the word out about their purpose in a visual aspect for this and other future TV spots.
After a HUGE delay in post-production due to some events that were entirely out of anyone’s control, we were finally able to pick the project back up last week to finalize all of the motion tracking and compositing in After Effects. The final product can be seen below:
This TV commercial is launching today on PBS in the southeastern region and will run until the event on the 25th. If you’re in town and you’ve got kids, don’t miss the event! My 8 year old self will absolutely be there… in spirit.
… that Cut Copy does something to me. and i mean that in the most sincere and real way possible…. fucking whoa.
As this month dwindles down, so do my creative projects. I seem to have taken on somewhere around 5 project at once with no room for breathing.
Why would I do such a thing? Well, as stated before, the move across the country is happening in Febraury… and with less than 2 weeks left here in “hotlanta”, cramming all of my client’s needs before we leave is the only option.
I’ve been on a mad dash to the finish with my latest motion graphics commercial which opens in a “typography style” manner, and then follows a website fly-thru to explain exactly how the service works. Very intricate stuff.
The last creation of the month is the development of “Tutorial Tuesdays”, where every week I’ll post a new youtube video dedicated to video tutorials from questions I’ve gathered throughout the past few months from people who have seen my work and wondered how I attack certain aspects of my productions.
the series begins tomorrow. stay tuned.
