Showing all posts tagged #blog:


Why postach.io is a great platform

Posted on October 17th, 2014

Genius simplicity to remove the "logistical middle-man" of copy/paste - publishing's only step is adding a tag! Take a post from concept to completion (even edit after the fact) in the place you do it anyway - Evernote!

Prepping for vacation

Posted on August 23rd, 2013

So today was scheduled to be my last day of work before leaving for a backpacking trip to Glacier National Park. If you've been following Jessica's blog (http://choosinglovenotfear.tumblr.com/) you know that I'm now going to be on a "staycation" with my family instead…

Regardless of staying home or being away, once I get these last diagrams* finished and posted, I'm turning my KCC email off.

*These are the diagrams left to finish. Mostly, I need to put in the turn notes so it shouldn't take me too long. I'll be striking them through as I finish them so if you're really bored, you can keep this post open in your browser and refresh every so often to track my progress. (Though, if you're that bored, let me know and I'll delegate some things to you.)
  • 130828 midweek stage *DONE
  • 130831&0901 weekend stage *DONE
  • 130904 midweek stage *DONE
  • 130907&08 weekend stage ("not a fan." wk1) *DONE
  • construction diagram for "not a fan." assembly *DONE
  • email to portable campus with my sketch suggesting how they might accomplish it *DONE
Update, you may have noticed that I haven't checked things off yet. I keep adding/doing other things (emails I should send and such) to my list instead of finishing these diagrams. Some odd version of writers block I guess. Soon enough, I'll check the above off. Jessica, in the meantime has opened her computer and turned on The West Wing. Nothing like some good inspiration for creatively getting things done.

Ok, apparently "strike-thru" longer works on my site. I suspect because I switched to using Markdown to allow me to imbed videos. Hmm. I guess I'm going to have to learn how to use Markdown…or I could just give the link to my YouTube page, I guess. Anyway, for now I'm going to keep checking things off. Let's try adding "*DONE" to the end of each line finished in addition to the strike thru I have here in Evernote.

My First Post With Postach.io

Posted on July 8th, 2013

This is a sentence to test how a line of text reads. I'll add this line to see how italics or bold turns out.

This is a photo I imported from my iPad:
Yes, that's me (atop a beautiful pass in the Sierras) in the photo that my friend took using my camera. All rights reserved.

What happens if I want to add a checkbox?
This one is unchecked
This one is
*Checkboxes apparently don't read as anything with Postach.io so I'm making the edit to the post with this sentence, a strike-through of the original text, and I've now checked both boxes for my Evernote workflow's sake.

Here is a bullet pointed list:
  • Point A
  • Point number 2
  • And finally, D
What if I typed #2 instead of "number 2" above there? Is that how tags happen or do tag them in Evernote tags? I'll test out tags by including "blog" and "photography" (each tags that I already use in Evernote) along with "published" on this note. *So, tags work as well as could be hoped for - whatever is tags (besides "published") I use in the Evernote note, become associated tags in the post searchable from my postach.io site. Brilliant! Only downside is that I will have to adjust my workflow a little. Currently I use the tag "blog" for potential blog posts. I've kept that tag on notes even after I've copy/pasted the post to my Tumblr blog. Therefore, I'll need to adjust how I use such tags in Evernote. Not necessarily hard. I'll probably just do something like have a tag "potential blog" and switch it to "published" when I take it live.

That's it for this test.

*Update: Everything seemed to work except for the checkboxes (see strike-through and inline edit in italics). Thus far, I'm liking the vision of how I might use this blogging platform. Here's to more posts as I test out how to incorporate it into a workflow...

Journey Home Experience

Posted on March 10th, 2013

My typical context for #productiondesign is a 50' wide stage. This post is a chance to share a little about what has become a very enjoyable way to apply my skills: Helping to create another environmental, walk-through experience.
This past week at Kensington (in conjunction with our 6 week weekend series and their small group curriculum) people have been going through the Journey Home Walk-thru Experience.
My friend Kristen produced the project, and I was privileged to partner with her in creating a story-telling experience for people in these 3rd floor classrooms. I love ideating with such minds as hers to come up with ways to maximize our minimal resources. How could we use what we had and harness amazing volunteers to pull off the magical in a very short timeline? Huge thanks to such new friends Ed (who pointed the construction) and his wife, Michele, who applied her artistry with staple-gun and brush. Thanks also to such friends as Kyle, Mark, Andrew, Collin, and the unnamed others who helped transform some stark rooms into something magical. Thanks again, Kristen!
Ingredients:
  • Lumber - some new (especially for the foundational construction) but lots harvested - old pallets and also some genuine barn wood (thanks to the beautiful openhandedness of my friend Josh)
  • Related to the lumber that we used for both construction and decor, Corrugated Metal.
  • Also related was a bunch of branches. Some turned into curtain rods; others bunched for decor in corners.
  • Fabrics - We placed an order from RoseBrand for Muslin (IFR) to make the Tepees and the window treatments. We also reused such fabrics as Black Tergalet, Burgundy Commando (both recycled from last year's Easter as well as the Story conference - http://egwolfe.tumblr.com/post/32260613465/story2012-productiondesign-our-goal-was-to) and as usual, some Duvetyn (I find endless uses for this amazing bang-for-the-buck product). Yes, I'm a fan of RoseBrand… Also some camouflage netting that we used for Easter '08.
  • Recycled Props like lamps from Christmas, fake stone pillar reflecting pools from a Midweek series ages back, several benches and chairs, etc.
  • Pillows, drapes, sand for a sandbox, and custom created signage.
  • In addition to lamp-posts, candles, suspended light bulbs, lamps, and chandeliers; I created a light-plot using a few theatrical instruments including pars & lekos with gels&gobos, RGB-LED fixtures, as well as some home-made track-lighting pin-spots that we recycled from a previous experiential walk-through on the 2nd floor. The benefit was that we eased guests into the experience and therefore could get away with things being pretty dim. For what we had available to use, I was very happy with how it turned out.

It was originally scheduled to run last week, but has been extended through at least tomorrow. If you have a chance, you should come experience it in person.














Production Design Software

Posted on March 10th, 2013

I'm often asked what software I use, and am probably long overdue at sharing this post. I'm answering this question from the perspective of my primary job - Production Designer at Kensington Church. *See below for more context if you're interested.

I'm a fan of OmniGraffle (Mac or Microsoft Visio if on PC) It's great as a basic 2D CAD with layers and everything; and its drag and drop simplicity of putting icons for people and set pieces into place is pretty fantastic.

The price point is also great, especially for multiple users.

Vectorworks is awesome, but is more (both in cost and complexity) than our workflow requires - especially with multiple users; most of whom are not "designing" but rather just laying out a plot.

There are many other programs I might consider writing about, but I'll leave this post with the above two mentions for now. Connect with me and I can share my workflow if you're interested…


*I design for our main broadcast location. We have 4 other campuses each with a TD who is responsible for figuring out how to take the central designed service and make it work on their stage, with their team and resources, and with whatever might uniquely happen at their campus that weekend. We move fast. At our location, we have at least 2 completely different stage designs every week…see: http://egwolfe.tumblr.com/post/6144545367/we-change-our-stage-with-a-completely-unique

There is only a voice to be heard if it speaks

Posted on October 15th, 2010

I realize that a key to having a blog is regular posts. I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly to post. In the absence of time to create articulated content, I’ve ended up posting nothing. It’s not that I haven’t created anything worth posting; it’s simply that I haven’t put the thoughts to text or uploaded the photos.

One of my reasons for switching to Tumblr as my blog hosting site was the ease of UI and the simplicity of the experience. The best way to cure writers block is to write - anything, something. So why haven’t I?

I desire to have a solid brand. The best way to build a brand at all is to have content. It would be nice if it was at least slightly refined and held at least some purpose. However, I suppose it’s better to start with something at all, otherwise there would be nothing to refine.

I quite often am told that topics I could speak on are interesting and that things I create are fascinating. I honestly remain skeptical that people just say these things to be polite. But that’s another essay altogether.

So, here’s my declaration. I resolve to publish frequently. Even if not fully put together, I will share.

Until determining a brand I will attempt to write posts about how I put together things I create.

Production Design is obvious. It’s what I do professionally. Not many people do it; and therefore it’s something that if people are interested in the subject, they’ll probably want to hear what I have to say.

I don’t want to simply be known by the Production hat I wear. I like a lot of things. Photography to philosophy; sports to cooking. I’ll probably find ways to weave them all in.

Cooking is a great example. I figure if I don’t have time to write and edit a proper blog post, at least I can take a photo of a yummy meal with my phone and perhaps tell what I did to make it…

If I can do that with food (like my post a couple days ago) I can do the same thing with a set design.

…and if I start to post regularly, perhaps it can become a habit.

So here’s to posting something. Please reply and let me know if what you find is interesting to you, and what you’d rather me write about.


Eric G Wolfe

Creative Director | Process Architect. Design Strategist. Leadership Coach.