Doug is one cool cat.

He’s also a very lucky cat.

When Doug was hired on with the Lennon Bus a couple years ago we picked him up at the very end of our tour season. This is typically in the late fall and it’s also the time period the crew spends training on all of the latest and greatest hardware and software from our many sponsors. At this point in time the Lennon Bus and Digital Media Academy had a fairly new relationship and one of our first experiences together was to train on Final Cut Pro, Motion, Logic Pro, and After Effects and become certified in these programs in just under 20 days while we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in San Francisco.

It seems like an insane task and it was, but we all made it through. Not only did we survive but we came out with endless knowledge of the programs and freshly printed certificates to go with it.

Doug learned a lot in those 20 days. We all did.

Since then Doug has entered in two contest for Smule. He was a finalist for the “I Am T-Pain App” contest and he is currently a contender for Smule’s latest contest.

I love these videos. Not only because they are hilarious, creative, and well crafted, but they also come from a friend of mine whom I was able to watch go through the process of learning how to utilize digital media to fully express his ideas. Doug is a great songwriter, but he is also a great music video director and he may of never had explored that avenue had it not been for the DMA training we went through to polish our chops.

Help Doug by watching this video and voting for him!

Friday Night Grind: SMULE ReMix – Legendary Johnson

And be sure to check out this video that Doug did for the “I Am T-Pain App” contest. It’s a great video and it gives some insight to living on the Lennon Bus. Enjoy!
I\'m On A Bus

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I would eventually come to realize that I didn’t hate school; I hated what I was learning. I had no interest whatsoever in Construction Management, my father had a small family construction business and picking that “Major” just seemed like the logical thing to do.

One day I had the radical thought of pursuing a career I loved. I had to think… I didn’t care for much of the classes I had enrolled for, so now what? Oh wait!

“There is that guitar that I run home to everyday after class, I mean, I could become a Rockstar” thought 2005 Seamus. “No, that’ll never work, people will be too distracted by your good looks and not love you for your music” said Seamus’ voice inside his head. “True” sighed 2005 Seamus. “So then what do I do?”

I realized that I loved songwriter, and more so just a writing, but those are rarely sole breadwinner. So I did what any modern young man does when he’s lost in the maze of adulthood.

I Googled.

I Googled “Music Production and California” and found a college that provided for me a degree and an education in what goes on behind the scenes of media. I knew all this “tech” stuff was the furthest thing from what I was comfortable with, but I also had a feeling it was the closest thing to what I wanted to accomplish – giving birth to my ideas in this big, big world.

What I have become aware of in the past 5 years has left me dumbfounded. Since graduating from Ex’pression College, working on board the Lennon Bus, and working with Digital Media Academy, I have found more avenues of work in digital media than I could have ever imagined. What’s even better for me is that whether I am working on music or video my love for writing always finds a home.

Most parents look at the Music and Film industry and don’t see many career options. They look and they see movie stars and they see rock stars. And let’s be honest, that’s what most of the kids see too. But once you take a look closer you’ll find there is a lot going on behind those Hollywood curtains.

Here are some of the many high-end creative jobs that are involved with the music and film industry (this does not include the 100’s of other jobs done by other skilled crew and staff):

Executive Producer
Producer
Director
Assistant Director
Director of Photography
Editor
Assistant Editor
Sound Editor
Sound Mixer
Sound Designer
Visual Effects
Art Design
Makeup
Audio Engineer
Audio Producer
Songwriter

I have had the pleasure of learning many of these positions over the past 5 years and I’m going to spend the next few blog entries to go into some of these in depth and share with you the many creative outlets and career openings there are in such positions. And if you have any questions about something I didn’t add, just shoot and I’d be glad to go over it.

When I was at Michigan State I was unhappy. But I was unhappy because I was oblivious. I was oblivious to all the opportunities available in the world that could truly benefit from my talents. Once I opened up my eyes just a peep a whole flood of insight came pouring in and I realized I could find a career in what I loved to do. Sometimes it takes one opportunity, one moment, one summer camp to realize your dreams don’t have to be something that happen with your eyes closed.

These are not just positions available in the film and music industry but also experiences you’re introduced to as a participant in one of the DMA Summer Courses or even the Pro Courses. Who knows you could be an aspiring Director that falls in love with editing, or you could be a young student that learns their eye is behind the lens.

Stay tuned to learn more about the positions and be sure to enroll for you’re class before March 31st to save on DMA’s Spring Special!

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