Up, up, up, and away!

 I was really excited to have the opportunity to work on this explanatory video with Wienot Films as it included some awesome jets and even the cool animation to build a model plane. Each project has its unique set of challenges and complications just like the projects being spoken of in the doodle video. It can be a lot like trying to put together a model with a million little pieces at the beginning but with a solid plan to follow the animated video will come together and become a professional hand drawn animated whiteboard video that will work amazing as a landing page video or for a startup to include in a sales presentation. This video has a lot of color that isn't always included in all our videos but the tree tops wouldn't look the same in just black whiteboard marker. We always try to include the color in a way that helps push the story along and doesn't distract from what the message in an explainer video is trying to tell. 

All Aboard!

 

The Prime One sketch video here was one of my favorite explainer videos to work on with a new design for characters based on a really simple stick figure. The task of drawing the trains was a lot of fun also to include in an explanatory video. I am always giddy like a school girl to see the images I have drawn come together in an animated video and see the company include on a landing page. Sometimes these sort of videos can be used as a startup video by startups trying to explain how they have a different position in the market. I love seeing the hand drawn elements come together in a professional way to create a unique doodle video that helps tell a story and share a message! 

Never too early to make solid plans!

 This was a really fun sketch video to work on in conjunction with RetireMax. I had the pleasure of creating some hand drawn elements of a home being build. Each explainer video has its own theme and requires its own needs to make it a professional landing page video or a startup video. 

This whiteboard animation might have been the first one when I had the opportunity to draw some of the clients into the video. There were lots of fun elements to draw and when I got to see the drawings all animated together into a doodle video it was exciting, it is every time!

How to rethink the norm!

 

In this doodle video the industry of law, in particular the idea of lawyers is reimagined by Tandem. I really like the old school film filter that Wienot Films put on at the beginning when referencing the board game 'Life', and pointing out some really interesting facts about the current thinking about and by lawyers. 

All sketch videos need to have a professional level of finish but also need a hand drawn feel to them which helps the likability of the subject matter. What makes explainer videos different then other product videos is we try to use the medium of animated whiteboard video and a bit of cartoon to help anyone feel comfortable and want to say, "Oh, I get it now!" 

We work hard to make the best startup video and landing page videos with whiteboard animation. We would love to make an amazing explanatory video for you!

Who doesn't like a racing excitment!

In this sketch video Wienot Films has taken the exciting world of stock car racing and shown that some of the little things that make a team can make a huge difference in winning or losing. Any explanatory video we can have a great story and in this story a guy named Jake is trying to get his business equipped with the right tools to be more productive. I am not sure if Pioneer Transfer used it as a landing page video or if was a product video used in sales conferences. These type of videos are great startup videos if you are planning for a big announcement as we strive to open up the world of business and have the hard working members of society take back control of our lives from those that are trying to control what good people want to do! All our videos have a very professional feel while being hand drawn by me after the story and script have had lots of development and effort to make it look like the most amazing doodle video anyone has ever seen!

Suicide Awareness month...

I just found out that a cousin of a really good friend of the family committed suicide, I send my condolences to the family and I think about the loss that has been felt by too many friends and family that have lost love ones in a similar way. 

Was 'suicide awareness month' was last month or this month? 

What in the world are we doing? Why do we think that screaming and yelling to the universe through campaigns and videos and causes can make any real difference to the individuals that are struggling at a world that would rather focus all attention on a global pandemic that has had fewer casualties than the flu?Why are so many people trying to gain fame and attention forcing people to 'quarantine' when they are not sick and forcing individuals to suffer more with stay-at-home orders? We have the main stream media incessantly talking about the dire news of innocent business owners losing everything they have to the social inequality experts rioting and looting in the name of justice for criminals. Where is the justice for the innocent victims of crime.  Where is the hope that any person with any ambition can feel like they can go to any type of employment and not have a politician either on a local, state, or federal level tell them that for the sake of others you must suffer. 

We want to mandate everyone to wear a mask to show we support one another while the levels of suicide skyrocket! We hear professional actors from their million dollar estates tell us that we must not work to put food on the table, cool our homes in 110 degree Arizona wether because we might catch a virus that has caused fewer deaths than any estimate ever indicated by those trying to now 'help us' with stimulus bills or not help us enough with politics and pandering. 

This moment is full of uncertainty and fear and the inability for individuals to take control of their own lives with everyone pandering, fear mongering, or virtue signaling as people are so sick and tired of the lies and confusion and officials trying to take control and power that they are killing themselves. 

I wonder how many of us find ourselves in life feeling like this? I know that I find myself feeling overwhelmed quite often with even the most simplest of tasks or situations. I know that everyone can feel depressed from time to time and that this is supposed to be a normal part of everyone's life but I look around and talk to others and even my own family and the emotions of hopelessness and despair don't seem to have the same effect on them as they do on me. 

I don't know why I can't seem to shake the feelings of despair as they take hold and never seem to go away, even the usual pleasures in life and hobbies don't have the appeal nor are able to drive out the sadness. It's like the normal sadness that happens as a result to life's struggles and setbacks are a constant companion and I struggle to see even the possibilities of hope to overcome the struggles and the setbacks are a constant part of any attempt to move forward. The depression doesn't change the way I think, feel or function but feels like a weight that I carry throughout my daily activities. Just getting started with any task is a struggle and almost more overwhelming than the doing the task may be after getting going regardless of the difficulty of the work or ease of the task. Getting through the day is a maze of awful feelings of hopelessness and self depreciation. 

There are times that I feel I am living in a black hole or it's like I am trying to tread water and them more I try to keep my head above water the more my own actions just pull me deeper down. I feel a restlessness to work harder and try harder but the motion results in feelings of desperation as the action is met with no improvement. I get angry with myself when I do not prove profitable in my actions and my attempts to be a productive member of my family or at work let alone the community at large. I try not to compare myself to others but can't shake the feeling of not wanting to be a drain on society and want to be a positive force for good. 

Everything in the media tells me that I am failing and I should be more angry, I'm told I should hate either myself or others for perceived injustices and wrongs either from hundreds of years ago or theories perpetuated still today. Most of this I have no control over nor will my tiny almost imperceptible sphere of influence have any affect on the world at large but my own ability to help myself appears to be in opposition to the well being of others or at least that is what so much of the media is trying to tell me. 

Social media tells me I am not happy enough, I am not wealthy enough, I am either overly privileged or I am doing everything wrong. I don't see any way to win the game of life, every piece of curated, overly photoshopped image and well thought out comment on the images are targeted to get my attention and tell me that if I only have something else, buy something more, or live another life that then I will be happier, I will appreciate better the greater lifestyle, or that I won't be tearing down other people. There are so many messages today screaming at me that my silence is more damaging that if I were to be actively, physically hurting another person. 

I am surrounded by people, my family; and yet I feel alone. I know that there are people that love me and are supportive of me but all I feel is that I am letting them down, I am not doing those things that would show them the appreciation for the love and support let alone am I doing my part to be a positive part of their life. I can't come to terms with the thought that I need to not repeat the past or mistakes I've made but I also shouldn't spend too much time dwelling on the past and brood over the failures of yesterday.

It is a fight every day to not take the easy out and simply continue to put one foot in front of the other thinking that maybe, just maybe those that profess positive success that the formula just might work for me. That maybe if I work hard that I too can feel the feelings of having done a good job, but the world tells me that the more you are a victim you can speak, the more you are oppressed the more rights you could have had and succeeded, and that because I don't fit those categories of minority or oppression that they have set up I really am the loser I feel I am. 

Managing a video about managing projects!

At the beginning of the characters adventure in this Vista One hand drawn doodle video has an individual that is trying to navigate a sea and finds that what he thought would be a simple row turns into a sea with many obstacles, a storm rolls in and a his boat springs a couple leaks. 

The individual gets some help from a sleek helicopter but the important part is that the help doesn't lift him out of the situation but gives him the tools to better navigate the journey ahead. There are a lot of challenges that any business can encounter and it can be tricky to find the right people with whom to partner and in this video Wienot Films does a great job at explaining how Vista One Solutions is working hard to give a secure and confident partner to help with your ability to manage more and bigger projects.

One Awesome Demo!

We here at Wienot films have a wide variety of styles that clients can choose from, although I might have a personal bias toward the professional whiteboard video but all of these styles are really amazing and will do really well in your individual explainer videos. 

As a company that is ready to help you make your dream come true we work really hard to not push any personal agenda but assist you in making a video that will best tell your story and we will use any style that you feel will best compliment the message you are trying to share!

The hand drawn doodle videos that I have worked on have been a great example to me of how a group of people working together from all walks of life and all different professions can bring an idea to light that will help and influence others in positive ways. Not every one of our videos have had a corporate motive as we have taken time to help share heart warming and share support for positive issues we feel strongly about. Each animated whiteboard video gets its own time dedicated and effort to make it a work of art that you will be proud of and want to share with everyone!
 

Let's get on the Road!

 

I am so grateful for the past 8 years of working at Wienot Films! I have been able to work remotely the entire time as the home base for the company is Austin, TX. During my tenure with Wienot, I have lived in Texas, Arizona, and Utah. It has been an amazing company to work for throughout the years. I have been both a contractor and I have been an employee. 

We have been able to make a lot of different type of videos and try a few different genres of videos, all on a traditional whiteboard with me drawing with a camera mounted above the whiteboard. We have worked hard to really carve out a niche with a style that is an actual whiteboard and the artist live drawing here and there with a high end animation feel. 

This adventure has been amazing!

Mountain Climbing!

I think this video has a nice aesthetic and is worth a watch. After some work we were able to smooth off all the little errors in production and make an amazing piece of art at Wienot Films. 

It happened to be my very first video to illustrate and although I have progressed a little on my drawing ability working with the whiteboard. It presents some unique challenges and quite an adventure with which to illustrate.

The story is about a gal that is trying to climb a mountain but at the beginning doesn't have the climbing buddies or the equipment to do the job. She is able to find the help just like the potential customer could find the help and community if he or she were a trucker! 

Great little video and I can't wait to do some more!

Use the force!

 

I have seen a few movie shorts in my day and by far this has been one of my favorite shorts with the simplicity of the toys, the kids voices and the fun impersonations of the movie characters we know and love. I thought it was a fun adaptation to a well known story and the addition of some new characters was an entertaining laugh. 

At Wienot films we strive to bring this level of creativity and excitement to every project regardless of the style with which we use to create each video. Some videos require a more serious tone or look to them and we strive to give the exact same high level of polish and finish each time. 

The beginning of a journey!

 I took a short drive from Killeen, TX where I was serving in the Army at Fort Hood and arrived in Austin, TX to visit a friend of a friend to see if I might have the talent to help Wienot Films make the whiteboard explanatory videos that tell wonderful stories. 

The task was to have a few characters and some vehicles to draw and make a little demo video to have Wienot Films be able to show to potential clients. As time passed the style that I offered was picked up by different clients and since then I have been an active part of the company since then.

In this video we included some big trucks and I had the pleasure of working on several videos for clients that were truck companies in one way or another. It has been an amazing adventure to work at Wienot Films and being able to use my artistic skills to help others bring their dreams to life. I have been really grateful for all the opportunities that have received as being a part of the Wienot team!

Exercising the editing muscles!

Wienot Films is capable of lots of different styles, and these few videos are great examples of the range of styles in live action that we are capable of. I really loved the fun 'Napolean Dynamite'-ish motions that this runner has and how excited he is to get moving and get active. 

The different filters and effects that can be digitally applied to the video can really make the experience feel like you are in a spy thriller. We can create a video that will help tell your story in a way that relays your uniqueness to the potential client and better explains how you will be able to help them. We believe that the most important part of the video is the story that will be portrayed but right behind that are the visuals and their look and feel. We can tailor that to fit just was will best tell your story! 

Sometimes we take a well known idea like the excitement and secrecy of Las Vegas and put a unique spin on it that will help your business be able to grab the attention of your potential audience. This can enable you to take a strong position in gaining new clients and making potential sales. 

Holiday video fun!

At Wienot Films, we have had a great time making various holiday videos, maybe we can make one for you? Here are a few examples of what we've done in the past.

Each holiday provides some fun ideas and opportunities for some cool visuals. During the production of this video I took on the initial editing responsibilities and worked on extending my tool box. It was a real challenge to have the characters move in a way that would resemble the unique attributes of each character's personality. There was a steep learning curve but it was an exciting adventure to see each individual come to life and see them move! 

This one had a little extra as we were trying out the skills of another animator and we got a fantastic video to share with you! The unique style of animation is one that we do not often use as it quickly raises the price of the video but when the budget is adequate for this sort of movement the results are stunning. 

This was an early attempt of mine at the holiday fun and trying to get lots of characters on a single sheet! I have not presented these videos in an order that represents the date they were published to the world and this video was early in my learning curve of the whiteboard medium. On top of that fun I think this had the additional challenge for the first time of trying to invert the colors/light. It was quite the equation to not get confused with the all too simple compliment of colors. 

This video was both a great success of mine to create a cool illustration but it also contains a small but glaring goof of mine. I had a character style that I was enjoying using and the turkey was a creation based on reference from real turkeys and some other cartoon images to see how other artists solved the challenge of turning a turkey into a cartoon. I wanted to have a pilgrim sitting on a turkey going on a hunt. I thought the basic idea was fun enough but my biggest challenge, the one that got me in the most trouble was that I couldn't lose the concept that he needed to be sitting in a saddle. There wasn't much to be able to see the saddle except for the saddle horn. That's where I got in trouble! We were well into production and at the time I was not doing the editing and there were lots of reasons I could give for needing the saddle horn but when my boss showed it to a few people they loved the video except for the 'thing' coming out of the pilgrims crotch. I guess it does look too much like something that would be horribly inappropriate if it really were something anatomical coming from his crotch but the concept of riding a saddle won out and now I would love to go back and fix this if I could!

Addictive Pain!

 

What an exciting video full of high speed, extreme effort and exhilarating triumph. I think my favorite part was the little kids at the end estimating the speed of the cyclists. 

Wienot films is capable of all sorts of videos and is exciting to work with you on making your dream come true!

Version 1 and Version 2

 

There's a lot that goes into making a video and then there's a huge mystery to me around what will make a good video, an interesting video, and the illusive viral video. Too often the search for a viral video gets in the way of creating a good video while the interesting part seems to be very subjective.

I have seen too much of the artist ventures or avenues artist take that appear to be nothing more than shock and awe. The art world and the world's perspective of it has had a decline in talent, and skill, and the idea of objective good. 

I'm not expert and there are lots of more popular opinions that seem to be the common idea but I wonder if we are selling our culture short when we celebrate paint splatter and a huge rock as the peak of art and what showcases talent. I hope we can witness a resurgence of art in lots of different areas that requires effort to gain the skills and time to perfect the craftsmanship and art that communicates what is the best in our society. 

That being said the above video was the 'redo' from the below video and for some reason the first version has the fraction the attention the above video has. It makes me wonder...

It's gonna be different after the first kid!

 

Before I started working at Wienot Films and during the time I was investigating the explanatory world of videos on Youtube I watched this cute video. I already had a handful of children at that point and I don't know if even then I remembered that brief moment when it was just my wife and I living the wonderful married life!

Since that time we have added a couple more children to our happy family and now we are even having the opportunity to seeing them leave on adult adventures like church missions and college. We have enjoyed our journey as a family from the early times with just my wife and I and then the addition of our first children. Each child has brought new challenges and a wonderful joy into our lives that has given additional meaning and depth to all the other things I do. 

There are changes and difficulties that come with having children but they are outweighed by far with the happiness and advantages that children naturally bring. 

A touching cancer patient story...

There are some stories that really pull at the heart strings and have a powerful call to action that isn't always overtly expressed. We all have challenges in life and when we hear of the poverty stricken plight of our fellow man in other parts of the world we feel that desire to do a little more. 

Roche Latin America wanted an explanatory video that would help show the unique challenge too many of our brother and sisters face in the poor, rural parts of Latin America during moments of extreme fear when they get diagnosed with cancer. I can only imagine the scary feeling that would be to receive that diagnosis and know that there is little assistance available. It definitely makes me have more gratitude for the blessings I currently have and makes me more open to finding a cause or project to which I can offer some support.

This video was produced by us here at Wienot films with the awesome cooperation with Edelman. They did an incredible job with the animation and I particularly love the characters. There's a wonderful warms to the color palette that helps pull in the viewer to feel for the woman who receives the diagnosis. 

It is an honor to be working with such talent and in a great work environment, I am truly blessed!

 

Who doesn't like fútbol?

 

Not every video I get to work on ends up being a Whiteboard style but I feel amazing when I get to contribute to a video that has this sort of action and activity in the characters as the traditional whiteboard style doesn't usually have this sort of animation! 

Wienot Films is capable of a wide variety of styles with a host of options that can help make any client excited to see their dream come to life in an explanatory video.

This video was the brain child of BlackRock to help inform about the Clara index that is offered. It was fun to see an older couple and their predicament of trying to make a positive financial future for themselves. The video also uses the analogy of the various players on a soccer team and each one has their own strengths and weaknesses. We can see that each player on a team will be used at different times to help the team win just like the couple can use the advertised services to better improve their position and in the end their desired 'goals' will help determine the better questions to ask to their financial advisor to come up with just the right plan!

You'll have to give this video a watch and let me know what you think of the players running and kicking the ball, I was really impressed with what the animator did!

Formula One on a dirt track!

The evolution of an idea and the progress a video goes through from its initial inception through to completion is like an adventure. The initial idea of the video most often includes a story but also a metaphor. We have found that if we can build a story around a known symbol we can tell the story of the new product or difficult to understand idea feel easier for the viewer to say, "Oh, I get it now!"

One of the first concepts that we need to develop is a mental hook that grabs the viewer at the beginning and helps the individual watching the video feel some sympathy for the main character. We all have problems and challenges in life and if the viewer can feel somehow connected to the main character then we are more likely to share the cool solution we are trying to share.

This video we made at Wienot Films includes the an homage to the awesome world of Formula One racing. Each video story has its own set of challenges to overcome and one that is almost universal is maintaining all the required bits of information in the story to appropriately describe the product. There are times when these extra bits of information can easily fit within the story and times when the extra bits don't naturally fit and make what could have been a smooth quick story into more of a longer instructional video. We always try to keep videos short and a story that is as fun to watch as it is educational, inspirational and achieves the goal of the client.

This exciting video was for SimCorp had a really cool formula one race car and a few other cars that were really fun to design and draw. We are looking forward to some more really cool videos in the future!

My spirit animal, the American Buffalo.

I have to admit that I am more of a fan of the term Buffalo but it is because of the symbol of the creature and not so much the actual factual about the creature. I love that historically they had their own territory as they roamed the vast North American continent. These amazing creatures roamed from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico. Although these most powerful creatures once numbered in the excess of 10’s of millions they were once hunted to near extinction and only with massive intervention have they recovered to roughly 31,000, even if these numbers are restricted to only a select number of national parks and a few reserves. 

The sacred white buffalo “Big Medicine” represented all the sacred power of the mystic and real world around us. The buffalo symbol represents the sacredness of live and the abundance of resources around us. The buffalo is a symbol of self sacrifice and it will continue to give until nothing is left to offer. 

I love the idea of living up to the symbol of this great creature and one small way for me was to create this fun little drawing. 

Drawing a doodle from a word!

This most epic creature has been talked about and written legends since antiquity as a strange and unusual beast with a singular, magical, spiraling horn that protrudes from the exact middle of the head. The Indus Valley Civilization has described in the ancient seals white even the ancient Greeks included the unicorn in various texts. 

The more modern folklore has the unicorn described as a white horse or large goat sorta animal with the aforementioned long spiraling horn. During the Middle Ages and the renaissance the wild animal that lived in the woods, it was seen as a symbol of the grace and purity. This strange creature could only be captured by a virgin. There are some that believe the legend is based on the Narwal and its tusk has been sold as an actual unicorn horn.

Today, the unicorn has an important place in pop culture. We see it as a special symbol of the magical and fantastical world in which we want to believe.

I can’t say all that was the inspiration for this Unicorn but I hope you can have as much fun drawing along with me as I had sketching it out!

Who doesn’t love a cat… drawing?

I really like my cartoon cat, I can’t say that I like cats but the cartoon is cool. I know that the Felis Catus is one of the less cool carnivorous mammals although it is quite the domesticated specimen of the Felidae family. I don’t know that this small animal that has cousin are all wild I don’t know if I agree that just calling this sort ‘domestic’ makes it any better or more distinguishable from the relatives out in nature and not in your home. I don’t believe it for a minute that this house pet is any much different from the ‘feral’ variety free ranging and fooling the rest of us that it’s not coming into contact with me or bothering my daughters who are currently scared to death of cats. 

I recently of the term “catio”? What an interesting idea to provide for your cat an outdoor recreation area that will be enjoyed without the risk of harm coming to the cat or worrying your own pet is going to getting into trouble roaming the neighborhood. There a many ways that we can take the temperature on any given society and wonder if Mahatma Gandhi had some insight into one possibility with his quote, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” I am a huge fan of being a good steward over the things we have in hour care, and yes this does include the animals with whom we adopt into our lives. I can’t say I agree with the humanization of pets or the idea that they are our “children”. I think we need to think responsibly on all commitments we take and all living things needs our full attention and the way we treat all living things is a very accurate estimate of a moral barometer. Now that I’ve been way to philosophical I would like to remind that I am encouraging you enjoy a fun little cartoon drawing of a cat and I encourage you to draw along!

BlackRock Model Portfolios Investment Philosophy Explained

This animated video that Wienot Films produced for BlackRock started its visual conception on my desk as I had the honor of working through the storyboard and how we might visually see the narration come to life. It is always exciting for me to work work on an explainer video like this, in which I will not follow it all the way to a whiteboard video but will see another artist, illustrator or animator take my storyboard and create an awesome product video or explanatory video like this one. I really enjoy seeing the visual seeds I get to plant and watching them bloom into an incredible garden of activity in animation.
This was particularly fun for me as at first I wasn't clear on it not being a sketch or hand drawn video in the whiteboard style. I only have myself to blame for the unclarity but I believe this one was part of a few others that were in production at the same time and I do tend to get confused on which is which when there are multiples in the pipeline at the same time.
When the realization finally occurred to me that I would not be drawing on the whiteboard for this video I was almost a little sad as I had imagined a lot of the fun drawings to try and portray the difficulty the climbers were going to have reaching the summit.
I think the animator did an amazing job in their style to create a really cool video and you too can now watch our guest couple reaching their financial goals as they metaphorically reach the top of the mountain!

Chinese New Year

Why would I want to talk about Chinese new Year in May? First of all I just recently had the pleasure of accompanying a friend to the Maker Faire in the Bay Area. 14 years ago I had the opportunity to learn Mandarin Chinese over in Monterey, CA and on a few occasions I ran over to the Bay Area to visit China Town San Francisco. It was quite fun for me as at that time in my life I had not been outside the country and this was the highlight of seeing other cultures for me. I had so much fun attempting to speak Chinese with all the good folks in China Town and enjoy the fun food offered in the Chinese Food restaurants in the area. I was not in the area for China Town New Year now was my visit to the Bay Area in May over Chinese New Year but the trip this time was filled with lots of hearing, listening to, and speaking just a enough of Chinese to again get me excited to try and better my proficiency in the intricate and amazing language. 

As I looked back on the fun videos I have worked on at Wienot Films and this one was a favorite. I got to do a large portion of the actual directing and worked directly with the illustrator and animator to get to the final product. I believe it is a great example of the sort of animated video that would work well on someones landing page or the style that could be a amazing explanatory video. It was a fun change from the normal whiteboard animations we produce and one that we look forward to making more of in the future. 

No matter what time of year it is, I wish you a happy time to celebrate, what ever time it is!