I'm in Alabama right now. On Saturday night, I was at an event where we named the 2010 Young & Free Alabama Spokesperson. His name is Chris Anderson, he's 25 and he's really happy right about now.
We managed to plan a surprise in conjunction with Listerhill Credit Union's staff Christmas party. Check it out.
Having now done five of these surprise videos, I've noticed I get caught up in the moment and my steady hand goes out the window! Other than a few choice shots of the ceiling, I think it really came together nicely.
I spent Sunday with Chris going over his Spokester Manual and getting him up to speed on all things Young & Free. I am really impressed with Chris and I can't wait to see what he comes up with this year.
He told me something that blew me away. Chris decided to start putting his entry together 24 hours before the application deadline. After some encouragement from friends, he headed to the university campus and filmed his application video with his iPhone! Figuring that his potential employer might have an issue with his scruffy beard, he then headed to a hair salon. On his way, he stopped by a hardware store and picked up two suction-cup hooks and a zip tie to affix his iPhone to the mirror!
What really blew me away though, was Chris' challenge video. If you haven't seen it yet, please spend three minutes and do so. It ranks among the very best Young & Free videos ever created.
Again, not one to stick to convention, it was filmed with a friend's Canon 5D—a high-end still-picture camera with HD-video capability. The steady-cam effect is achieved with the new image stabilization function in iMovie '09 and it was lip synched to perfection in post production. This video gives me goose bumps.
Welcome aboard Chris! Now, I've got a plane to catch.
Tim