I have written and published a story in the summer issue of Island Times Magazine.  Click on the image below to read the whole story.

Message from the Editor of Island Times Magazine:

Welcome to the summer edition of Island Times Magazine! We have been looking forward to this season all year long. It is our absolute favourite time of year because there is just so much to do on the Island when the weather is this nice. The staff here at Island TImes hope that all of you get out to experience the many things to do and see here on the Island and surrounding areas. We’ve highlighted just a few of them here in one of the biggest issues of the magazines to date. We’ve included features on Quadra Island and Oceanside, and covered such activities as mountain biking, horseback riding, and whale watching.  (Read more…)

I work with a very talented camera operator and video producer named James Cadden.  The videos embedded below were product demonstrations for K & J Custom Granite.

Are you interested in creating a business profile, corporate, event, or product demo video?

Here’s the process:

1. You’ll have a pre-production meeting with myself to discuss what you’re looking for.  That’s when we throw around ideas, brainstorm the visuals, and go over the key points you would like to include in the copy.  We decide what kind of elements we’ll need for filming day like specific locations and the people who will be involved on and off camera on filming day.
2. Then I write a script for your video.  The script will include the visual elements of your video.  Based on our previous meetings I will write down all of the shots we’ll need to take on filming day.  This section of the script will also include any still photos, text descriptions or titles, and any other visuals you’d like to see in your video.  I will also write the audio elements of your video.  This will include all of the copy that will be read and voiced by an announcer, any lines an actor or talent in the video will have to say, background music, and sound effects within the video.  View script samples.
3. When the script is complete I will send it to you for your approval.  This may take some going back and forth, but once we have a script you are completely satisfied with I will send it off to get voiced (if we are not voicing it on the set) and we will schedule a time for filming.
4. On filming day James and I will arrive with all of the required equipment to take the shots written in the script.  This will include the camera and it’s many tripods, special lighting, and microphones if necessary.  We will go through the script, and will start capturing your ideas on digital film!
5. When we’ve completed filming and have lots of shots to work with, James will use the script to edit the video into the final production.
6. Once the video production is complete James will upload the first revision of your video on a YouTube Channel for your review.  When you view the video you’ll be able to request revisions and submit them to James and I.  We will complete your revisions and upload the final video for your approval.
7. Once the video is approved we will upload it on your own YouTube Channel and give you log ins to a Dropbox account where you can upload the videos as a file on your computer.  From there you can create your own DVDs and CDs and start marketing your business, organization, or event!

If you are interested in creating a video for your business or organization please contact me at 780-289-6145.

View more samples of videos written and produced by James and I.

Product Demonstrations for K & J Custom Granite

This week I was given the opportunity to give a presentation on Social Media Marketing and Online Communications at a TAG (Trusted Advisors Group) seminar here in Edmonton.  See below for the seminar description and participant reviews on the presentation.  Thanks again to the Trusted Advisors Group for this opportunity!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

TRUSTED  ADVISORS  GROUP

Expertise with Integrity

Our series of free seminars and workshops continues on June 27^th, 2012 with a one hour session on:

Social Media Marketing

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linked In, and Blog sites have billions of users, are home to hundreds of thousands of forums, organizations, and business groups.  Consumers look to social media to interact with organizations they “Like”, will they find you?

Join us for this FREE session – We will go over:

• How to use Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube to market your business including best practices, the how-to, how often, and how come!
• Integrating social media with your other communications
• Tips & insights on blogging for business, email marketing & Linked In.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Reviews:

“Amy is very knowledgeable and is able to communicate a great deal of information clearly & concisely”

“Very Informative & Worthwhile”

“It would be nice if this could be a one day or weekend session so people could get some hands on training”

“I will now make my business a Twitter page as you have showed me how to make it useful”

“Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with my coworkers and I.  You have given us plenty of ideas & Inspiration”

“Very informative Session, I came away with a lot more knowledge on this subject”

“Excellent Session with practical information”

 Last week I wrote a blog for Black Rock Oceanfront Resort about a Zipline Eco Adventure Tour I took with my sister outside of Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island.  Here is the post:

The water in the Kennedy River was high and raging as I soared above it, like a bird flying over waterfalls and between the high stone walls that make up the Kennedy River Canyon. All I could hear was the sound of moving water and my zipline trolley whizzing along the cable that brought me from one cliff edge of the canyon, over the river and onto another.

I was on the Zipline Eco Tour with WestCoast Wild Adventures, just east of Ucluelet in the Ha’uukmin Tribal Park. We arrived at their base camp and were transported up Highway 4 in to start the tour. The tour consists of 6 ziplines. Our guides walked us through the old-growth forests of the park between each line, explaining the natural history and the First Nations history and culture in the area.

The zip-lines go through the canyon that has been carved deep by the Kennedy River which runs into Kennedy Lake and eventually into the Pacific Ocean. At each zip our guides hooked us up to the line at a metal platform; most of them peer over the steep edge of a cliff overlooking the wild river below it.

“It’s the most fun if you run to the very edge of the platform and leap off!” said our guide after double checking my 5-point harness and securing my trolley to the line…and that’s what I did.

It was exhilarating and maybe the closest feeling I’ve had to actually flying. The mountain air was cool on my face and carried my laughter through the canyon as I approached the landing point. When I made it to the landing platform I was all smiles.

“Wait until you go on zipline number 4,” said our guide, “that one is my favourite.”

Eventually we zipped our way back to the base camp. The last zipline runs along a widening and calmer section of the river. I spun backwards in my harness and flipped myself upside down. The river and forest sped passed me as I looked up at the clearing sky.

This last zipline dips below and under a bridge that was once used for logging those parts of the forest many years ago. There were spectators on the bridge, already geared up and wearing helmets ready to go on their tour.

“How was it?” one of them yelled down at me from their viewpoint after I had landed.

With a massive grin on my face I shouted back, “It was AWESOME!”

Business Profile videos that were written and directed by myself on behalf of Remodel It! Productions.

K&J’s Custom Granite

 Scandia Furniture

Commercials written and directed by myself on behalf of Remodel It! Productions.

Shore 2 Shore Automation

K&J’s Custom Granite

Action Furnace

I publish a blog for the Alberta Camping Association twice a week.  Blog posts can be found at www.albertacamping.com/blog.

Camp Staff Grow

We’ve always known that summer camp is a positive experience for children. Now, thanks to the Summer Camp Research Project from the Canadian Camping Association’s National Research Committee we have documented proof that camp has a positive effect on the development of young people.

Consider the staff working at summer camp. Your teen and young adult staff will experience positive change and development. Working at summer camp not only is fun and memorable, it is challenging and for some, life changing.

“I attended camp as a child and when I was 16 someone asked me if I would like to volunteer at camp for one week. That week turned into the rest of the summer, which turned into 6 years of on-and-off employment. I am forever changed by my experiences working at camp. I met my spouse there, many of my closest friends, and found a community I am still a part of today. Although I no longer work there, my experience working at camp continues to affect my life in a positive way on a daily basis.”

This story is like so many others and those of us who have worked at camp can relate to that testimony. Summer camps provide a nurturing environment where people are constantly challenged, encouraged, and taught new skills. Sometimes it can be very practical like learning how to canoe, and other times it is life skills like learning how to resolve conflict in a maturely and responsibly.

“You get to be outside all day, work with fun people, and help kids. You feel a real sense of belonging knowing you’re part of this big team that all have the same vision – to create an awesome experience for the kids at camp.”

Our camp staff can really build invaluable leadership skills. When given responsibility and trust they mature leaps and bounds in one summer. They build stronger social and communication skills, learning how to multi-task, coordinate, plan, program, and delegate – all of these skills will help them in future employment (if they don’t become a lifer and work at camp forever…which happens to a lot of us!) They learn how to further develop natural gifts and this practise is not only useful in the work world, but in everyday life.

“I always think about that summer I was the program director at camp. I use the same skills for putting together marketing strategies for my clients. It might not be as fun as planning crafts, wide games, and off the wall skits; but the skills I obtained at camp organizing people and executing creative ideas to achieve a goal are skills I still use every day.”

Life, play, and work in the great outdoors while helping children grow and learn. Develop a lifetime network of friends gaining practical experience for life and future employment. Become a leader who can think critically, manage others, solve problems, develop creative ideas, and who knows how to have fun! Summer camps are changing lives in the children who attend them and the people who work at them.

More at www.albertacamping.com.

Kayaking in the Broken Group Islands, Ucluelet BC

I wrote an article last month that ran in the Victoria Times Colonist.  It was a reflection of my experience kayaking and whale watching in the Broken Group Islands off the shores of Ucluelet, British Columbia on the west coast of Vancouver Island.  I took the tour with Majestic Ocean Kayaking.

Since the article was written on behalf of the destinations tourism organization, I included a short editorial on the different options for kayaking adventures out of Ucluelet.  The article was meant to show readers and potential visitors what their options are…and there are many!

Click on the image to pull up the full PDF file of the story.

For full PDF Click: KayakingBrokenGroup_TimesColumnist

Spark! The Branding Shop ask me to write about their clients perspective of the Spark Brand.  After a meeting with Spark, researching project and design examples, and digging deeper into the experience of a Spark client – I came up with this:

Clients perception of the Spark Brand

Companies who use Spark for the design and production of their promotional products know what it’s like to work with a team of imaginations.  Spark’s customers have met these visual artists who are passionate about crafting creative designs that can take something as simple as your logo, and transform it into a promotional product that gives your company an edge.  A very creatively designed, personalized to your brand, something you’ll love, kind of edge!

Imagine having corporate wear the people actually want to wear outside of work!  Spark takes your brand and personality and marries it with noticeable creativity to make products your employees and customers will want to hang onto.  Stuff that will make their friends and family will say “Hey, cool.  Where’d you get that?”  Your promotional products can achieve the ‘corporate cool’, the designed likability that will keep them out of the to-give-away pile (or worse, the turn-to-rags pile) and live on to display your brand for years to come.

What do customers get when choosing Spark?  Graphic design: if you want to create a new logo, a promotional design, unique corporate wear, or a piece of artwork.   Maybe you don’t know where to start?  Great!  The team at Spark are anxious to take your blank canvas and start sketching out ideas to create something you might not have thought of.  Once possibilities are realized, you’re thoroughly impressed, and designs are completed and you’ve got your hands on effective, promotional products you’ll love.

They also care about the quality of the products they’re giving you.  So they have their own print shop, honed in on quality control, using Canadian made products, and providing high quality screen printing for clothing.  Plus they have other corporate cool promotional products (with your specially crafted design) like buttons, mugs, banners, signs, or other wacky products you might need in the name of marketing and promotion.  Even if you don’t know what kind of products would market you the best, Spark can help with that too.

It helps that Spark is a unionized production and print shop, making their products more accessible to unions.  Their union wear goes beyond slapping logos on extra large T-shirts.  They will create artwork specific to your union and give your union members a product that will make them feel proud to be in your union and that strengthens spirit.  Most importantly, your promotional products will be worn well and worn often and will get noticed.

That’s why you bother to have promotional products and corporate wear produced.  They won’t do that if they don’t like what you’ve given them.  When Spark sees your brand out in the world, on something they have created for you, it makes them very happy.  Your success is their success and they want to tell everyone the story.  They tell their friends, they hold it up for their families to see…hey, they couldn’t wait to tell me, and now I’m telling you.