Do What You LOVE February (PROMO)

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Are you or someone you know looking to start a small business? Well, look no further! OOPS is here to help you do what you love. OR, we'll help you support someone else in your life that you love enough to give them that extra push. For the entire month of February, all logos are 50% off. Just email me, Miss Cox, personally at misscox@1bigoops.com and mention the promo code (OOPSfeblove2013) to get started.

Naturally Speaking Photo

Liz Haughton of Naturally Speaking, LLC was much like many first time entreprenuers when she first came to us; hesitant and unsure of what lay ahead. It took some convincing to help her see the possibilities of her talent at first but, since then, she’s become unstopable. Not only is she literally taking things into her own hands, but she’s having so much fun with the world at her fingertips.

In an instant, the click of her camera could lead her to a mountain top, or down to the base of a waterfall. Where ever she goes, she leaves with a new perspective and some of the best proof of the adventures she had. I was able to share in a bit of the excitement in order to film the above video and, one of the absolute coolest was our trip to the Lakota Wolf Reserve.

One of my favorite images actually made it into Liz's newest adventure, the 2013 Naturally Speaking Photo Calendar. It's for the month of November (the best time for family feuds and food fights), and utilizes a quote from Jane Howard, "Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." Fitting, don't you think? You can check it out and find the link to the Naturally Speaking website below.


NaturallySpeakingPhoto.com

We've Been Busy ...

... and by "we" I mean me, plus the voices in my head. We may argue a lot, but we still get plenty done. Check out what ... we've been up to in videoland via this quick reel.  :)

Paying It Forward - Naturally Speaking

Have you ever had a promising hobby or talent that developed into a passion? Were you ever so lucky to have that passion manifest into a money making situation/a business/a career? Well, that's how OOPS came into fruition (give or take a few details). So when I see the same thing happening for someone else, I can't help but get excited.

Especially if that someone is my mommy [aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwww]. 

Yup, she's developed a thing for photography and since she was right there with an oil painting kit when I showed an interest in Bob Ross at the age of 7, it's only right that I support her in the same way now. 

We often toss ideas back and forth about the creative things going on in our lives. One of our talks revealed her thoughts on starting a greeting card line using her photography. She even came up with a name. 

She came up with a name, I came up with a logo.

When she decided to create a blog, I figured she needed a customized background for it. When she kept up with that blog, I decided to do this ...

Business cards using some of her favorite images.

and this ...

A hand crafted book of some of her most successful photoshoots.

Please note that the logo on the front of this book cover doesn't match anything else (it's missing the little humming bird at the end) because I started working on/printing it before mom dukes showed me the picture that changed everything ...

The hummingbird shot. This angle doesn't do it justice though.

This angle doesn't do it justice either. You should probably just buy a print or the book when it's available  ;)

Please note the fact that this is a hard cover book that I wrapped, stitched and bound by hand. I then printed a nice glossy matching jacket with her bio and everything. Yes, I had to make it extra official looking to help inspire her to keep going with it. 

To help inspire her even MORE, I told her that she was going to have to work with me to create her website (coming soon to a browser near you at www.naturallyspeakingphoto.com) in order to eventually promote/sell cards, books, calendars, screensavers, wallpapers, gifts, trinkets and things of that nature. I'm only going to take 75% of each sale until all the work I put in is paid off!!! Nice, right? I knooooow. What can I say, she deserves it. 

Love you mommy! Pay It Forward, ok babe?!?!?! Muah!! 

Hmmm, guess I'll post a blog now. I think I'll call it ... "Paying It Forward"

Okay so I'm back. Again. Didn't get the grand prize but still very, Very, VERY happy to be a lot better off than I was before the fine folks at Intuit came my way. They actually have a lot of goodies over there for people like me to help run a business. If you're a business owner that tends to do a lot of business on the go, be sure to check out their GoPayment Credit Card Scanner for your phone. I have one myself and love the reaction I get when someone says "Can I write you a check, I don't have any cash on me." Vuala, problem solved, instantly and easily lol. 

So what's next, you may ask? I've been finding myself in a "Pay It Forward" kind of mood lately. I will continue to work as usual but I want to find a way to sprinkle in some extra goodness by helping out 25 people in need of my services for free oooooooooor a really discounted rate. LoL, I've still got to eat! This all was inspired by Intuit (of course) and two very special projects I had been working on for a few months now (their stories to come in the next 2 blogs). My challenges now are to (1) find 23 more worthy projects to do pro bono and (2) figure out how to explain to those who find out and inquire about said work but don't quite fit the profile I'm looking for. That could be the tricky part. Wish me luck! 

Don't just Like it, LOVE IT!

Ok so, guess what! Aw, you'll never guess because I never saw it coming myself.

My small business, Out Of Proportion Studios, just won the Intuit "Love A Local Business" grant for the month of January! Look, they blogged about me and everything! I received word of the news last night and still can't fully believe it now, nearly 18 hours later. Currently, I am running on 2 hours of sleep and my efforts to express my feelings are falling victim to that fact.

So! I will keep it short and sweet. There will be more to come about all of this in the very near future. Why? Because I still have a chance to win even MORE! So please, if there's anyone out there reading this and I've done some really great work for you or someone you know, please click on the badge or image below to vote for me. Hey, even if we only went to school together or hung out through a mutual friend, CLICK BELOW! Thanks in advance, see you all soon!

Roseanne Barr vs. Betty White

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

Ok, yeah, I know but I'm here now. Why? The Super Bowl, of course. We're just weeks away and I'm counting down to all the touch downs, beers, food, good company and commercials!

At the top of my list of brands to watch for is Snickers. You may remember their spot from last years big game with the classic Betty White starring in their "You're Not You" commercial. What you may not have known is that the spot was created by ad agency, BBDO, New York and, they're returning this year with a similar game plan but a different star. The one and only Roseanne Barr.

Now, as long as they don't have her spoofing the national anthem again, it should be entertaining --- but as funny as America's Golden Girl? I'm not so sure. I mean how do you compete with her muffin tasting, head banging, rock star power? Roseanne's got quite the task in front of her. Either way, I look forward to seeing how it all works out. You can check out the full story as reported by AdAge or check out "Rose" gettin' down and dirty (and what Roseanne needs to beat) below. 

Ciroc Smooth

This has got to be some of the finest acting I've ever seen from Diddy. Co-starring funny guy, Aziz Ansari and produced by THE BLUE FLAME AGENCY (that Sean Combs himself co-founded), this is just one of several videos that add up to a very "smooth" campaign. It is special, however, in the way that it is what BLUE FLAME considers a "3 minute-long short film" and it can only be seen online. You can catch the other commercials (33 seconds or less) during Top Chef on Bravo or here. I'm particularly fond of the smooth shoe game advice given in "Smile/Toes" but it still doesn't get the laughs like this one!

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Commercial

Now, you may have played the game but have you seen the commercial??? For someone like me (not so much of a gamer unless you're talking about Just Dance for the Wii ...), its hard to tell which one's cooler. Ok, not really because leading advertising agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day nailed yet another campaign. You may recall some of their work from the original brightly colored, industry changing series of iPod commercials, or their work for the Grammy's. 

This time, they've taken on the task of delivery a commercial worthy of the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops. They delivered with the tag line "There's a soldier in all of us," and by humorously depicting sensible looking women, doctors, a basketball player (Kobe Bryant), a late night talk show host (Jimmy Kimmel) and one bad @$$ line cook letting off rounds at each other. For 60 seconds, these people are descending from roof tops, pitching grenades and taking out helicopters. Even better, they walk away in slow motion while things blow up behind them ... without turning around. Again, I repeat, bad @$$. 

Now, some would say that with its cult-like following already buzzing, advertising was unnecessary. I'm glad no one listened to them because I would have missed out on a seriously good laugh. Although, not everyone is taking it as lightheartedly as I am. Some (including gamers) say that the spot glorifies war and further proves the point of video games being too violent. I personally found the commercial to be successful in winning over people outside the game's primary target audience.  It's use of humor, celebrity and cinematography all help make Call of Duty appear more relatable to someone like me. Now, it's not quite good enough to make me want to buy a copy for myself BUT it is good enough to make me snoop around to see if a certain someone might need a copy for Christmas. Can you start to see how Call of Duty's already incredible numbers with "sales over 9 million across all platforms" (vgchartz.com), will continue to surge through the holiday season? So, for that reason, I say job well done but, to each his own. What do you say?      

OOPS on GMA!

Hey, I know it happened a while ago but did I ever mention that I was on tv representing team OOPS? No? Ok, I won't mention it then ...



OOPS.

Favorite Distractions - Installment #2: Foamy the Squirrel

I first found Jonathan Ian Mathers' "Foamy" and all his squirrelly wrath back in 2004 while I was attending the Art Institute of New York. I was a college student so it didn't take me long to see that Foamy was truly wise beyond his years and his species. So, when my English professor thought it would be a good idea to have the entire class stand up and creatively present the essays they wrote about procrastination, I decided that the very first Foamy cartoon that I had ever seen would make a nice prelude. That cartoon was ... "5 More Minutes." It was pure GENIUS! The video got everyone engaged, laughing and in turn, helped me to relax. I could have said practically anything at that point because I was obviously cool and funny if I was watching these kinds of videos. Needless to say, I killed it.

Now, quite some time has passed since that class and where I am today. Granted, I would check in on Foamy and his human, Germaine from time to time but eventually, fell off until more recently. Things have indeed changed. Still, I kept in touch just enough to see the transitions happening and was all too delighted to find a summary of all I had seen (and missed) over the years. For those of you into dark, cynical, yet funny animations, please proceed to illwillpress.com to check out Jonathan Ian Mathers' creations. Please be warned ... it is not for children. Actually, if you don't know what Foamy's all about, first have a look at what you're in store for:

[chuckle] ... oooh Foamy, love that voice, it's one of my favorite distractions!

Favorite Distractions - Installment #1: Simon's Cat

These days, I find it very hard to get any work done because I do practically all of my work on the computer and I'm always online. So as I "work" I know that hiding behind my photoshop window is my browser set up with at least 5 tabs for gmail, OOPSmail, facebook (of course), youtube and 1bigoops.com (I leave it open and refresh it every so often just to make sure it's still there).

Recently, I was forwarded a link to a fantastic animated series called, "Simon's Cat." Can I tell you that after the first video, I was sucked in for a good 20 minutes just watching this animated feline discovering the world as only a cat can. Everything it does is steeped in reality, highlighting the smallest, silliest moments that truly do happen (to cats and their humans) in a no frills kind of way.

I guess it should come as no surprise seeing how the creator, Simon Tofield, has 4 cats. If that doesn't say cat lover, get this; the animations are all hand drawn from frame to frame. In keeping with standard fps (frames per second) settings, that can land Tofield with anywhere from 12 to 25 drawings for a single second of video. Now that's love and dedication right there. Relatable, cute and clever, "Simon's Cat" is one of my favorite distractions.

This was the first video I ever saw from the series. Check out the "Simon's Cat" YouTube channel here.

Toyota's Swagger Wagon

Three things that most people just don't consider "cool" - (1) minivans, (2) still using the word "swagger" and, (3) gumby fades. Leave it to the people at Saatchi & Saatchi LA to revitalize 2 out of the 3 (those of you still rockin' the gumby fade ... STOP it) long enough to give us all a good laugh and the new 2011 Toyota Sienna a sensational internet marketing campaign. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you (better late than never), the phenomena that is the "Swagger Wagon."



Yes, yes, I know. You're welcome.

You have to admit that beat was pretty official. The lyrics and visuals are too funny and "Pops" is the truth! Catch more of their videos, including "Daddy Like: Swagger Wagon Supreme" on YouTube.

P.S. Double check the floor mats just to be safe. What?

I'm baaaaaaaaack

Let's see how long it lasts this time ...

Usher's Lil Freak [snippet]

It's that new Urrrrrsher! I'll be the first to admit that I didn't think he'd be making a chart topping come back but, so far his music has been up to par. I'd say that is the case with this newest single, "Lil Freak." Even more surprisingly ... Nicki Minaj came with a lil' somethin' too! I'm guessing with a name like that, a song like this just helped a sister do what comes naturally [chuckle]. Check out the video sneak peak.