Doug Daulton

Storyteller (Words & Images)

Off to the Pixel Corps

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I remember the first time I became aware of Alex Lindsay. It was somewhere between 2000-2001 when TechTV was still going strong. Alex was a frequent guest on The Screen Savers (TSS) with Leo LaPorte and Patrick Norton. I found Alex’s segments intriguing because they usually touched on the tech of film-making. Having worked at ILM, he spoke with great authority on the subject.

Back then, I had just returned to the world of technical writing and web design & development after taking time off to write and direct a short documentary. Making that documentary was the single most fun and engaging professional experience I’d ever had and I wanted more. TSS was just the right mix of technical and creative content to scratch that itch. The show was the first thing I recorded on my first TIVO.

A lot can change in 10 years.

For starters, TSS and TechTV are both gone. Kevin Rose, once a regular contributor on TSS, is now the Founder and CEO of DIGG. Leo LaPorte launched TWiT.tv and forged a new path away from broadcast/cable television and onto the interwebs. And, starting yesterday, I began working as an intern for Alex Lindsay and the Pixel Corps (PXC).

The story of how that happened is a fun and interesting one, at least for me. At some point, I’ll share it here. But, first call is 9AM tomorrow, so I need to keep this short.

This week, we are covering NAB for Pixel Corps and TWiT.tv. I am excited about the plan for the week and the new tech we’ll be bending to our will. ;^D After wrapping NAB on Thursday, I’ll take a few days with my family before I move to San Francisco for two months to complete the rest of my internship, the first 10 days of which will be on the set of a feature film.

Yep. I am pretty darn excited.

Over the next 10-12 weeks, I’ll be blogging and, eventually video blogging, about my experiences at PXC. By documenting this experience, I hope to be of help to both PXC and future interns who are considering taking the leap. So, stay tuned.

In closing, I’d like to offer a few words of thanks.

First and foremost, thanks to my wife Kelly, my son Finn and his little brother who is on the way. While the timing of this opportunity could be better for our family, it would only be harder to do down the road. So, thanks for letting me go on this adventure and supporting me along the way. I’ll miss you when I am gone and look forward to our daily Skype sessions. I love you!

Next, thanks to all of my family and friends in Vegas … Dad, Mom, Vince, Olivia, Consuelo, Byron, Bennie & Rose … who will be helping Kelly and Finn in my absence. Thanks also to Team Neoncon (Steve, the Mikes & Will), who will keep the ship moving forward until I return.

Last, but certainly not least, thanks to Alex Lindsay for giving me this opportunity. Its unique value is not lost on me. And, to my current and future colleagues and mentors at the Pixel Corps, thanks in advance for the lessons I am sure to learn from each of you. I’ll do my best to learn quickly and not slow you down.

Peace,

Doug

PS: Thanks to Gary Gannon. Were it not for you, I may not have rediscovered Alex by way of the Pixel Corps in the first place.

WordPress Shortcode for File Inclusion

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I have a project that requires a lot of complex, yet static Pages in WordPress … think lots of tabular data with heavy CSS styling. This sort of content is best written in an external editor like Zend IDE or Dreamweaver and then dropped into WordPress.

However, if you’ve ever done this, testing the page as you develop it is a huge pain in the backside. It involves cutting and pasting from the editor to WP … saving and refreshing … make changes in the external editor … rinse and repeat.

Not fun. Not efficient.

The solution is fairly straightforward — keep these files static HTML and simply include them somehow in the page. I researched the available plugins and they all seemed like overkill which added overhead. Then, in WP IRC, Fris suggested writing a custom shortcode to do the heavy lifting. 90 minutes later, I have precisely what I need and a renewed respect for WordPress and the community supporting it.

For those interested, here is the code:

 NULL,
    'file' => NULL
    ), $atts ) );

    // Set file path
    $path_base = ABSPATH."wp-content/inc_static/";
    $path_file = ($subdir == NULL) ? $path_base.$file : $path_base.$subdir."/".$file;

    // Load file or, if absent. throw error
    if (file_exists($path_file)) {
        $file_content = file_get_contents($path_file);
        return $file_content;
    }
    else {
        trigger_error("'$path_file' file not found", E_USER_WARNING);
        return "FILE NOT FOUND: ".$path_file."
SUBDIR = ".$subdir."
FILE = ".$file."

";
    }
}

add_shortcode('static_html', 'sc_static_html');

?>

USE CASE

[static_html subdir="testdir" file="dirtest.html"]

Mike Rowe on The Real Value of Work

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If you have not seen Dirty Jobs, then you may not know of Mike Rowe. I’ve always enjoyed the show and thought that Rowe was the perfect host of the show. Smart, clever, and most importantly genuinely interested, Rowe brings respect and honor to jobs that many, if not most, of the people you know think are beneath them.

In this speech to FORA, Rowe begins with a funny tale of learning to castrate lambs. I am sure you are wondering how “funny” and “castration” fit together in a sentence, but trust me it does. In telling the tale of castration, Rowe adroitly spins a tale of the lost value of work and calls for us all to reconsider what it means to us as individuals and as a nation.

Be sure to watch the entire 20 minutes. It is perhaps the best 20 minutes you’ll spend in your career.

Mostly Lisa Gets Her Pilot’s License

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To close the New Media Expo, I had the opportunity to run Flip for Lisa Bettany. We had a lot of fun shooting this segment. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Farewell Tim Russert

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Tim RussertIn journalistic world dominated by sound bytes and bombastic blowhards, Tim Russert stood out and stood above the rest of the pack. To my mind, he was the Walter Cronkite of our generation. Smart, honest and direct; Russert was always on point and respectful no matter who was across the table in his interviews.

But for all of his journalistic accomplishments, perhaps Russert’s greatest contributions were his books on fatherhood. Heartfelt and unflinching, Russert gave us a great example of how to be both tough and tender as a father. New fathers, young and old, without a Big Russ of their own, would do well to pick up Big Russ & Me and Wisdom of our Fathers. I am fortunate to have my own “Big Russ” in my father Richard, so much of Russert’s words echo with my own experience.

So on this Father’s Day Weekend, hug your fathers and sons. Then, as this election year unfolds, make it a point to be an informed, active citizen and vote. These actions would seem a most fitting tribute to Tim Russert; a national treasure taken from us far too soon.

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