Corriganville and Rock House

Scouted the old Corriganville movie ranch, and the nearby rock house.

Corriganville panorama (click to enlarge)

rock and tree used as the entrance to a valley in many films (click to enlarge)

path in the forest (click to enlarge)

path in the forest near Robin Hood lake (click to enlarge)

camera building used for underwater shots (click to enlarge)

the camera building and bridge (click to enlarge)

back of the camera building in canal (click to enlarge)

tree roots (click to enlarge)

camera building from lakebed (click to enlarge)

view of the mountains (click to enlarge)

path into the mountains (click to enlarge)

rock house entrance (click to enlarge)

me in the rock house with the "window" behind me (click to enlarge)

panorama from the rock house balcony (click to enlarge)

sunny path (click to enlarge)

Genie's Lamp

Just saw this lamp, tucked away on the bottom shelf of a store...

Happy Holidays

My Happy Holidays video, have a great holiday season and a wonderful new year!

Christmas Skyline

(click to enlarge) Los Angeles Skyline.

Oregon Trail: Zombie Edition - reloaded

An educational game about resources, travel and the undead. Trailer for "Oregon Trail: Zombie Edition" which I'd recorded ADR earlier (and shared a screenshot).

World of Color

At California Adventure, Disneyland.

Hero Shot

(click to expand). Picture of the screen during ADR for "Oregon Trail: Zombie Edition"

Cogito Ergo Napkin

Black Eye, Fat Lip

(click to expand)

Beverly Hills Vlog

I vlog from Rodeo Drive; welcome to the 90210.

Beautiful Reds in the Sunset

(click to expand)

Fire Engine Red

(click to enlarge)

Average Video Ad Revenue

The average cost per 1,000 views (called average CPM) for an advertiser running ads with online videos is below. Remember these average video CPMs are what the advertiser pays, the publisher may make far less.

Average CPM for Premium content, broadcast content online: $21-$30
Average CPM for Mid-Tier, professionally produced content: $11-$20
Average CPM for User Generated Content: $0 - $5

(from Online Video Ad Budgets Expected To Rise Sharply In 2012). The video owner definitely makes less if there is an ad broker making the deal happen, like Google AdSense on YouTube.

Mr. Bear Boogie

Mr. Bear dances on a laptop-keyboard stage, featuring All the Stars (DJs from Mars club mix) by Bobby Blue. The most recent of Mr. Bear's videos. Buy the track from iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Vlog at Desert

Sand desert loation scout for possibly one of the settings of "The Temptress' Chest: Pharaoh's Treasure." Could be the Gobi, Sahara, Arabian, Simpson or many other deserts.

Pale Pink Flower

(click to enlarge)

Desert Location Scout

(click to enlarge). Scouted a great sand desert location today. Could be the Gobi (China/Mongolia), Sahara (Africa), Arabian (Asia/Africa), Simpson (Australia) or many other deserts. Very cool.

The Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study

Vlog Naked

I vlog naked. Sort of. Not really. Sort of really.

Red Orange Yellow Flower and Green Leaves

(click to enlarge)

Vlog at Tidal Pool

Vlog in the littoral zone watching a snail, sea anemone and crab.

First Folio

A first edition of "Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies" also known as the First Folio. This one is known as the Bridgewater copy, is at the Huntington Library in Southern California and is the first I've ever seen in person with my own eyes. There is an affordable facsimile version of the first folio available in soft cover.

Horror Movie Hotel

Creepy looking hotel that was one of the inspirations of the short horror/thriller I wrote "Color TV" that happily is about to be optioned. Update: I'm thrilled to say, it has been optioned!

David August as NYPD Cop

In costume as a NYPD officer:

(click to see it bigger)

Driving a Desk

(click to enlarge). This is a desk a man is driving down the street in downtown LA, one of two that are probably being used for a film, tv show or commercial.

DIY Greenscreen

Using these $3.50 blankets, some lights that cost about $5 each and about $7 worth of diffusion paper, I have a green-screen in my house.

Red and White Splattered Rose

(click to enlarge)

Recording ADR

Powering up the mixer to record some automatic-dialog-replacement for "Oregon Trail: Zombie Edition" (though in truth it's a little more manual than automatic). Here is a taste of the voice-over:

Oregon Trail Zombie Edition - Voice Over Preview by David August

Pumpkin Says Hi

My jackolantern says hello, and wishes you a happy halloween!

Photo Bomb

This plane is photo bombing me (click to enlarge).

Yellow Flower with Red Center

(click to enlarge)

Get Found: Lecture at USC Business School

I'm guest lecturing at USC's business school tomorrow. Here's a sneak peak at 2 slides from my lecture "Improve the World → Make Things Findable" (they make more sense in the context of my whole presentation).

Sites I Cite:
http://davaug.com/befast
http://davaug.com/uptimematters
http://davaug.com/deadpagerank
http://davaug.com/write4search
http://davaug.com/filterbub

Some Thoughts on Focusing on the Positive

When big blue, the chess playing computer, plays chess, it does not try to win. It tries to not lose. It makes the least negative move. This tracks closely what some primate tendencies are: through evolution we, like many living things, withdraw from negative, and notice danger, risk, or the unknown so much because billions of humans over millions of years have managed to survive by doing such threat assessment. This is much as a chess playing computer can out survive by focusing on the disadvantageous; it can out survive its opponent in the game. However, while this may very well serve the need to survive if a rook is bearing down on your king, a saber-toothed tiger is bearing down on your family or a truck runs a red light and is bearing down on you since you were about to step into the crosswalk, it is not the most vital, nor most human.

One of the things I'd like to think separates us from animals and machines is our ability to do more than merely survive, more than simply last a little longer. While I'm all for living a good long time, I also think joy, love, beauty, connection, affection, dreams and sometimes self-sacrifice for others' sake (ex: soldiers) are among the reasons survival has value beyond simply indulging a base instinct to do so. Our ability to focus on the good, the positive, is a big part of why stepping back away from the truck running the red light is worthwhile. Also, focusing on the positive is a lot more fun. As I tweeted last night: you can see your life as nothing but opportunities, or as nothing but obstacles, and whichever you choose, you'll be right.

It Arrived

And now I can shoot from my eye level :-) looking forward to unboxing my new tripod later.

I was a Boy Scout (and Cub Scout)

(click to enlarge). Perhaps I will go camping again at some point.

Vlog Day for Night Test

My 4th vlog testing how to shoot day for night; shooting during the day, but making it look like night. Not yet sure I have the perfect mix of filters, but there's real potential.

Vlog at Nightmare on Elm Street House

My 3rd vlog shot at the house used in the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie. Short vlog because it's someone's home now.

Vlog at Lone Ranger Rock

My second vlog shot at Lone Ranger Rock, where the intro of the Lone Ranger TV show was shot.

Movie Ranch Area Panorama

I took this 360 degree picture in the midst of where thousands of western movies and tv shows shot (click to expand). It is still beautiful and still makes for a great setting.

Owl Rock

Rock, fence and sky in Los Angeles, CA.

Vlog at Ruins in the Mountains

My first vlog shot at some ruins in the mountains that may be a location for The Temptress' Chest: Isle of the Amazons. I've blogged stills of this location before and today blogged another picture.

Ruins 2 (location scout)

Another picture with dramatic clouds of these ruins in the mountains (click to expand). I shot a vlog there today, and I've blogged more pictures at these ruins earlier.

Half Moon Over Street

Half moon is center, with the street light fighting for brightness (click to expand).

The Walking Dead Q&A

The cast of 'The Walking Dead' in a question and answer panel after the screening of the first episode of the second season (click to expand). It's a really good episode.

Orange Flower and Green Leaves

(click to enlarge)

Sound Design Plot

Equipment plot for a show I sound designed a while ago.

Prop Flintlock

Possible prop gun for "The Temptress' Chest: Isle of the Amazons" (click it to enlarge). It is in my house encouraging me to do rewrites on the script.

Parking Structure (location scout)

Often empty, always expansive and cavernous (click images to expand them).