Oklahoma City Documentary: "City Rising OKC" (http://www.thecoolist.com/city-rising-okc/)

Found this post on the Oklahoma reddit: I traveled to Oklahoma City to produce this 36 minute documentary about the city's rise, and I was completely blown away. Oklahoma, you've got a great thing going. I'd love your thoughts on my work! : oklahoma (http://www.reddit.com/r/oklahoma/comments/2clw8u/i_traveled_to_oklahoma_city_to_produce_this_36/)

Haven't watched it quite yet, but I'm about to - looks exciting! The documentary maker (Seamus Payne) seems like he was seriously impressed with OKC and thinks it is just waiting to "be discovered". :) Dunno how many here have reddit accounts but I'm sure they'd like any and all feedback on it. I don't know much about this guy, but this looks pretty cool and I'd love to know more about his story. From what I can tell, it is videos like this that will do more for the city than the (IMO) excessively promotional tourism videos that are out there (don't get me wrong -- they're great! I just think hearing it from an individual like this means a lot more to people). If only it weren't so cloudy! :P

(Wasn't sure if this deserved its own thread or if it should go in the In The Press thread... though this isn't really the press? Feel free to move).

It was a good video. Somewhat youth orientated but it's the future you want to draw, not us old folks. Plus the guy must have his own drone.

It was a good video. Somewhat youth orientated but it's the future you want to draw, not us old folks. Plus the guy must have his own drone.

Ha, yeah. I'd wondered about that myself. It is definitely youth and very recreation oriented, but I don't think that's a bad thing.

No, it's not a bad thing. Better the influx be folks with their future ahead of them instead of behind them. Although I am not quite ready to be soylent green yet.

Great piece; captures the optimism and progress in OKC nicely. Plus, I got to see a few friends in there to boot!

I really like what Kristen Vails said about how young people have the opportunity -- and have already played a major role -- in shaping the changes in OKC.

That is my elevator speech when I talk about OKC... That if you want to make a difference and leave a mark, it's possible for just about anyone to do so as long as they have commitment and passion.

Of course, it's not at all just young people but stature and net worth are definitely not prerequisites for making a meaningful impact.

Good stuff. The Journal Record mentioned it today. Their editorials are always free and not paywalled. Editorial: Oklahoma's time to shine | The Journal Record (http://journalrecord.com/2014/08/04/editorial-oklahomas-time-to-shine-opinion/)

"Of course, it's not at all just young people but stature and net worth are definitely not prerequisites for making a meaningful impact." You will always need us old guys yelling get off my lawn.

I really like what Kristen Vails said about how young people have the opportunity -- and have already played a major role -- in shaping the changes in OKC.

That is my elevator speech when I talk about OKC... That if you want to make a difference and leave a mark, it's possible for just about anyone to do so as long as they have commitment and passion.

Of course, it's not at all just young people but stature and net worth are definitely not prerequisites for making a meaningful impact.

That's become my stump speech as well. I don't even think many people in the city understand this, yet. It's easy to point to the high profile, large scale projects from MAPS, but the younger generation who has decided to stay in the city has made real changes to it on their own. I really think the biggest impact MAPS may ultimate have is the intangible effect its had on the psyche of visionaries who live here. There is no longer the common refrain from twenty somethings that I used to hear a lot of "that'll never happen here". Now they just seem to take what they want OKC to be and to have, and make it happen themselves. Getting the NBA here shattered the idea that it is inherently impossible to do or have things in OKC that are commonly found in larger markets. That has had a huge impact on the decision making process of the 25-35 year old demographic that generally is very sensitive to limited possibilities.

I'd be interested to know when the last time it was that we had a net increase in migration from the youngest educated demographic entering the work force? This easily could just be the beginning. I know some will think I'm crazy, but I kind of hope we stay off the national retail and entertainment radar a bit longer so that this age group can firmly establish their businesses here without competing with the deep pockets of outside corporate development. These people are making OKC unique and interesting. Wall Street has no interest in that.

Saving the link to watch after work.

Saving the link to watch after work.

Me too. Just read TLO's post on it, though, and found out it's sponsored by SmartWater as a pilot for a new ad campaign, so it's not just someone deciding to make a cool documentary on a city they just discovered... Still be interesting to watch, though, I'm guessing.

According to this weird documentary, Oklahoma City is pretty damn cool? :: The Lost Ogle (http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/08/05/according-to-this-weird-documentary-oklahoma-city-is-pretty-damn-cool/#more-47252)

Of course it's sponsored, and great example of native advertising. Smart Water got over 5,000 social media shares in three days. There isn't a better way to target a market than by sucking up to it with a 30 minute documentary telling everyone living there how amazing they are.

Interesting reply in the comments section by Seamus himself in the TLO link.

Me too. Just read TLO's post on it, though, and found out it's sponsored by SmartWater as a pilot for a new ad campaign, so it's not just someone deciding to make a cool documentary on a city they just discovered... Still be interesting to watch, though, I'm guessing.

According to this weird documentary, Oklahoma City is pretty damn cool? :: The Lost Ogle (http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/08/05/according-to-this-weird-documentary-oklahoma-city-is-pretty-damn-cool/#more-47252)

You take TLO serious ?

You been hangin' out with Bchris ?

The author stated he came here because of all of the positive press from BusinessWeek, WSJ, Forbes, etc.

having just watched this a couple days before I check to see if anyone local was paying for this


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_F5GxCwizc

At least the sponsor glaceau smart water is a Coke brand, which after our local bottler was sold a while back, they are not going to have any vested interest in promoting us verses any other city in the country

A new job opportunity for us old curmudgeons. Post one around any statue or any display, including flora, that no one is suppose to climb on or crumple down. I would love to shout out "get off my statue" in my ramp voice.

You take TLO serious ?

You been hangin' out with Bchris ?

The author stated he came here because of all of the positive press from BusinessWeek, WSJ, Forbes, etc.

Ha, I was here long before bchris was, surprised I haven't been banned like him, actually, and yeah, I take them seriously - they're serious about f-ing around and being satirical and calling out idiocy and such.

I haven't watched the video yet, can't read reddit at work and haven't read it yet now that I'm home because RL keeps intruding, and I believe the comments at TLO are blocked at work (proxy blocks a bunch of stuff), so I had no idea how he decided to come here. Being the cynic/realist that I am, I suspected they found some guy in their marketing dept., said "Here's a video camera, go to OKC, film all this stuff we've heard is cool." I plan on watching it, though, and will read his comment on TLO.

You haven't even watched it and your already making judgement calls about who/what it is?

Cynical indeed.

Ha, I was here long before bchris was, surprised I haven't been banned like him, actually, and yeah, I take them seriously - they're serious about f-ing around and being satirical and calling out idiocy and such.

I haven't watched the video yet, can't read reddit at work and haven't read it yet now that I'm home because RL keeps intruding, and I believe the comments at TLO are blocked at work (proxy blocks a bunch of stuff), so I had no idea how he decided to come here. Being the cynic/realist that I am, I suspected they found some guy in their marketing dept., said "Here's a video camera, go to OKC, film all this stuff we've heard is cool." I plan on watching it, though, and will read his comment on TLO.

Let us know what you think after you've watched the video, I do want to know.

Here is the guy's response to the TLO article. Seems like a good guy. Someone should get his contact info and invite him here.


Thanks for sharing the video! I’ll have you know that Fogzie is actually my biological father. We’re not sure who the mother is.

I figured I’d share a few details so the weirdness you saw makes a little more sense, hopefully. The video, and the series if it goes that way, isn’t the property of smartwater or any brand that sponsors it or subsequent videos. This was a concept I had been working on for some time, and had an opportunity to pitch this video to smartwater and they loved it. They, like me, had read all of the glowing news reports in Forbes, Entrepreneur, etc, and agreed that it was worth exploring.

You’ll note that there isn’t a single product placement in the entire video. I had zero oversight into the subjects I picked for the film. I chose who I spoke to, I chose the subjects and I hired the crew to produce it to my spec. I’m sure I could have hired a better host for this, too, but fortunately, I was free of charge

As for awkward interviews, man– fully agreed. It was my first time on camera in this kind of capacity, and I really struggled. I’m used to being on the other side of the camera or behind-the-scenes. We left a lot on the cutting room floor because, frankly, I’m far from being good at this kind of thing yet. Hopefully that will change. For what it’s worth, The Ogle is only the second person that has made this observation that I’m aware of, second to yours truly. I’ve got some growing to do.

Last, being entirely positive was an editorial decision on my part. That’s how I will frame every one of these films, provided I can find sponsorship partners for more of them. Yes, I could have covered the politics, the gangs, the disasters, but that wasn’t the point. I wanted to cover the good, and the good only.

For example– I’m hoping to shoot the next episode in Detroit. I was born and raised there. There is a lot of amazing stuff happening there that isn’t covered in the press. All you hear about is decay, crime, corruption and ruin porn. I want to travel there and cover the good. I want to tell the side of the story that never gets told there.

That’s why I chose to come to OKC, and did so by choice. I’m completely and entirely lucky to have had a sponsorship partner in smartwater in the process, because they helped me with the costs and left me alone to create, produce and edit the content 100% independently.

So, weird? Awkward? Douchey? Yep, guilty. Hopefully I can do a little better the next time around. I have to say though, despite not being able to watch myself on camera without wincing a little bit, I think the content is pretty great. And people in OKC have been pretty excited about it. It was my goal to tell the good story that usually isn’t told without some sort of caveat or qualifier, or just isn’t told at all.

[url=http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/08/05/according-to-this-weird-documentary-oklahoma-city-is-pretty-damn-cool/#more-47252]According to this weird documentary, Oklahoma City is pretty damn cool? :: The Lost Ogle

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PhiAlpha: He definitely is a good guy. I'm not sure what you meant by "someone should get his contact info and invite him here." He was here. Seamus is the guy who did the documentary! Did you maybe mean invite him to participate here at OKCTalk?

Watched the video - Very cool and some really good PR. The weird thing to me was the contrast in post production between the intro and the main video. The first two minutes seemed either rushed or edited by someone else. Anyone else notice at 0:16 the waterfalls at the Myriad Garden are flowing in the wrong direction? And pick a look already.... Do you want a rock solid tripod look, handheld or obvious post production 'shake' added from a special effect filter? Because the first two minutes contained all three. Looks like production mistakes I'd make and I wouldn't stand a snowball's chance of working in final production for a real media company.

Redo or skip the first 2 minutes and I really liked it for what it is. But, I'm probably being too picky.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azDMOFPry6Q#t=2010

I thought it was a cool touch to flow the falls backwards.

He stated in his reddit response that was done on purpose....I found it quite cool.

He stated in his reddit response that was done on purpose....I found it quite cool.

Not a Reddit reader, and apparently I'm not 'cool' either - why would reversing the video to make the water flow backwards be considered 'cool'? I guess the obvious filter shake was way too hipster for me too....

Not a Reddit reader, and apparently I'm not 'cool' either - why would reversing the video to make the water flow backwards be considered 'cool'? I guess the obvious filter shake was way too hipster for me too....

I thought the water flowing backwards was different myself, I thought it was a flub, but I guess he did it on purpose. My biggest problem was with the audio. It wasn't mixed properly or something - half the time I was straining to hear him over the background music. Overall, he did a good job, but the audio thing was very distracting for me.

TLO's schtick of being negative, whiny, and sarcastic is growing old. Very old. Particularly at a time in OKC where the mindset has changed too, "See this why we CAN have nice things." God forbid someone come here to explore and says nothing but positive things. Yeah lets take shots at him for that because it's not cool to say, "Wow that was fun to watch."

TLO's schtick of being negative, whiny, and sarcastic is growing old. Very old. Particularly at a time in OKC where the mindset has changed too, "See this why we CAN have nice things." God forbid someone come here to explore and says nothing but positive things. Yeah lets take shots at him for that because it's not cool to say, "Wow that was fun to watch."

Still haven't watched it yet (have read his comment on TLO, though), but hope to soon, and I personally hope to say "Wow, that was fun to watch.", but knowing it was sponsored (which I now know might not be such a bad thing in this specific case). I believe TLO did say it was fun (or awesome) to watch, but yeah, they did take shots at it, which he didn't really take offense to and kinda answered and splained, so all's probably good between them. TLO must be taken with a shaker full of salt, at least they're somewhat entertaining even when they're bashing. And yeah, OKC's come pretty far in the past couple of decades, but not all is roses and unicorns yet...

I'm taken aback that someone took the time to "b!tch" about the video production quality. (We get it, you film stuff too and that some how makes you an expert) As a former video/live action editor, these shots were taken with 3 different styles of camera and it was all done in artistic styling. There is no "standard" of design when it comes to video or any other artistic piece of media. (I call it art, yes art, it was created by someone from nothing and just because the medium is digital doesn't make it any less "art" than a tangible piece.) I believe it was a well done documentary highlighting our 'gems' and gave a peek at the soul of our community.

This is my last comment on the subject.

TLO's schtick of being negative, whiny, and sarcastic is growing old. Very old. Particularly at a time in OKC where the mindset has changed too, "See this why we CAN have nice things." God forbid someone come here to explore and says nothing but positive things. Yeah lets take shots at him for that because it's not cool to say, "Wow that was fun to watch."

I've thought TLO is nothing more than arrogant idiots myself. Thought that for a long time now. They try too hard to be cute.

Still haven't watched it yet (have read his comment on TLO, though), but hope to soon, and I personally hope to say "Wow, that was fun to watch.", but knowing it was sponsored (which I now know might not be such a bad thing in this specific case). I believe TLO did say it was fun (or awesome) to watch, but yeah, they did take shots at it, which he didn't really take offense to and kinda answered and splained, so all's probably good between them. TLO must be taken with a shaker full of salt, at least they're somewhat entertaining even when they're bashing. And yeah, OKC's come pretty far in the past couple of decades, but not all is roses and unicorns yet...

TLO was cute for a while but their brand of comedy is starting to become irrelevant and stale. I understand it's not all roses and unicorns. The problem with TLO is that even when something is presented as roses, unicorns, and rainbows they still to try to bring it down. Which is funny for a while but eventually I get tired of the constant negativity surrounding everything.

I'm taken aback that someone took the time to "b!tch" about the video production quality. (We get it, you film stuff too and that some how makes you an expert) As a former video/live action editor, these shots were taken with 3 different styles of camera and it was all done in artistic styling. There is no "standard" of design when it comes to video or any other artistic piece of media. (I call it art, yes art, it was created by someone from nothing and just because the medium is digital doesn't make it any less "art" than a tangible piece.) I believe it was a well done documentary highlighting our 'gems' and gave a peek at the soul of our community.

This is my last comment on the subject.

Chill out already. I tried to fluff my comment as much as possible for those of you who think any comment that contradicts your own opinion is 'bitching.' This is a discussion forum after all isn't it? I took the time to open with "Very cool and some really good PR." I never said I was an expert - AS A MATTER OF FACT I made certain to poke fun at myself in my own comments so as to not come off as thinking I'm an expert (but I guess that was too over your head or you're just too biased on any response I would have given).

If you can't handle a differing opinion, why bother to join in at all?

PhiAlpha: He definitely is a good guy. I'm not sure what you meant by "someone should get his contact info and invite him here." He was here. Seamus is the guy who did the documentary! Did you maybe mean invite him to participate here at OKCTalk?

Sorry, I should've clarified... I meant invite him to OKCtalk


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That could be interesting and sort of like when Russian Sam used to participate here.

Russian Sam is Coming to Oklahoma City! (http://okctalk.com/current-events-open-topic/23527-russian-sam-coming-oklahoma-city.html)

I never gave an opinion before my comment nor did I contradict yours. I merely pointed out that instead of continuing our advancement into the "positive views of others", you decided to low play the video and nit pick it. Thats what my comment was directed at and that is still were I stand.

Let us know what you think after you've watched the video, I do want to know.

Watched the video, pretty decent, both me and my wife thought it was a little bit cheesy in some spots, and focused too much on the river. We're not the target audience they're aiming at (I'm guessing they're shooting for the Millennials and we're a few gens past that), so it didn't resonate with us as much as it might've others. As far as content goes, it was OK, but nothing earth-shattering, or the "coolist" video about OKC, could've done less in-depth with more subjects in 35 minutes. Audio was definitely a problem, but overall, fairly decent...

Personally, I think they could've done a bit better editing, but when you think about it, they highlighted the tallest indoor climbing facility in the country, the propulsion rowing center for USA Olympic training inside the Devon boathouse, then interviewed some young professionals. They could have gone on about the big ropes course and zip line, but they didn't. The man stated this was one of his first endeavors, so I'll give him some props for a pretty good effort. Yep, I'd say kind of cool.

Of course it's sponsored, and great example of native advertising. Smart Water got over 5,000 social media shares in three days. There isn't a better way to target a market than by sucking up to it with a 30 minute documentary telling everyone living there how amazing they are.

It's kind of ironic too, don't you think, that at our current rate, we as a city can't be supported by the amount of water we are provided with? LOL, those poor Cantonese up northwest of here--their lives will forever more be shattered with more Wraths of Grapes that move here.

It was an AWESOME video though. I wanted to friend request the dude on Facebook for such an awesome job but I didn't.

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