ChappyShowcase Blogspot

Welcome Home Ricki!

2011-09-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

We filmed the process of raising our guide dog puppy Ricki. After 16 months of making our series Growing Up Guide Pup, Ricki decided she wanted to be with us and was not guide dog material. Well the Nylabone company generously sent Ricki a "welcome home" package of dog toys. Our dogs have always loved Nylabones and they are our dog toy of choice. Thanks Nylabone!

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 64 - Finale

2011-06-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

The long journey came to a conclusion this week. Ricki was our 10th dog we have raised for Guide Dogs. Although we have become conditioned for the process of raising pups for working careers, it never gets any easier. I know that the last episode of the season was dramatic, but I felt it was important to let the audience experience exactly what we experience every time we go through the process. I think the series should be liberating for puppy raisers, and used to help raise awareness across all working dog fields. I hope it helps open some eyes to those people out there who are not aware of the emotional ending. This episode is truly the only episode that has a beginning, middle, and end. Hence why I think it is probably the best one for someone to watch. We are so thankful and proud to have been the raisers of Ricki and wish her the best of luck in the future. Hopefully Guide Dogs will find a great alternative career for her in community placement.

Thanks to all for watching and your continual support. Be sure to check out our new website

http://www.growingupguidepup.com for the latest news on Ricki and our next pup coming in the future.

Matt

69 Charger Burnout

2011-05-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

So I tested my GoProHD Hero again this week. This time i performed a burnout. Dirt, rubber, and dust was kicked all over the camera, but it performed great.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 63 - Final Decision

2011-05-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

You know when we first started this web series we had no expectations. Sure, I hoped Ricki would go on to become a guide dog. Not only would it be cool to raise awareness of the process, but damn; talk about a cool Hollywood ending. This episode really sums up the reality of the guide dog raising world however. Unpredictable twists and turns in the story always result. We wanted Ricki to graduate as a guide dog, but at the same time we wouldn't mind her becoming "career changed" so we might be able to keep her. There is always a lot of ups and downs and it can be crazy.

Now we are faced with a whole new challenge. Ricki has made it clear she wants to keep working. She paces up and down the living room as soon as a day or two go by without her working, or training. If she didn't show this tendency perhaps we would think about keeping her. But we want to give Ricki every chance at doing a job because we feel this will give her a much more fulfilling life based on her personality. She is prepped for something other than guide dog work so lets see what happens.

The future is uncertain as I write this blog. The one thing we hope people have learned from the series is that becoming a guide dog is hard. We strived to raise awareness about this, and hope people have a larger appreciation for the "puppy raisers" involvement in the process too. At the end of the day, if we met these goals, then Ricki has done her job as far as this guy is concerned.

69 Dodge Charger Meets GoProHD

2011-05-21T01:17:00.000-07:00

My two favorite things are filmmaking and muscle cars. This video is the first time I have ever made a piece showing the appreciation I have for my 69 Dodge Charger. I mounted my GoPro to 10 different locations all over the car a few days ago. When I went out to shoot it began to rain, but because I was using the GoPro, it didn't hold things up at all. I just shot in the rain. Why the hell not?

Specs:
Shot 1280x720P @ 60 Frames per second
Mpeg4 files converted to quicktime pro res 422 Using Mpeg Streamclip
Conformed frame rate for slow motion with Cinema Tools
Used the H.264 codec for compression for the web using Compressor
Edited the video with Final Cut Pro 4

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 62 - Ricki Point of View

2011-05-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Ricki continues to make baby steps in the right direction. I'm very proud of Ricki and Amie. The progress they have made is very significant. However, it might prove to fall short of what Guide Dogs requires. Ricki has a strong instinctive reaction to squirrels. Who can blame her? She is doing what most dogs would probably do in the same situation. We don't want to force the issue forever. It is up to Ricki to decide her fate. if she ultimately decides she doesn't want to do what it takes to be a guide dog, then that is what fate has decided. We hope that our fans will understand that either way Ricki has done a great job, and should be celebrated for her fantastic contributions to the guide dog community. She has helped bring all of us together, and for that we will always be forever grateful.

Stay tuned to see what happens!

GoProHD Durability Test

2011-05-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

I have played with dozens of cameras over the years. I have worked with the Red camera and Varicam which costs thousands of dollars and are great professional cameras. I have also shot with consumer cameras like the Flipcam and various prosumer cameras over the years. But I have never worked with a camera that has more versatility than the GoProHD Hero.

The TV commercials and hype about this cameras are true. It is incredibly versatile, and can handle all kinds of weather conditions, humidity, and temperatures. I'm still experimenting with it because it is just sooooo much fun. What is most important to recognize about this camera is the quality. It shoots a compressed mp4 file, but once you uncompress the image to quicktime, it is absolutely fantastic for the price. I would gladly pay two or three times as much money for this camera.

So this week I wanted to test the durability of the GoProHD. This video was totally spontaneous, and I don't recommend people trying doing the same thing. This video is for demonstration purposes only; so please don't try this yourself.

GoProHD Slow Motion Test

2011-05-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

I have been seeing GoPro commercials on television. I have also seen some of their cool viral videos on youtube. I just couldn't wait any longer and went out and got one for myself. My web series Growing Up Guide Pup requires that I put out a new episode every week, and I am always looking for new tools for my filmmaking bag of tricks. I'm always striving to make the show better and it's visual style is very important to me. The GoProHD Hero shoots 60 fps at 1280x720p. It also is designed for hardcore shooting, including underwater. Since we were planning on shooting our dogs in the pool, it seemed a perfect opportunity to put this thing to work. The workflow required a learning curve as well as the camera itself. It kinda reminded me of learning how to program my watch for the first time. Only two buttons on the body of the camera, and yet their is a ton of programmable functions on the camera.

I put the workflow specs below and the first video I did shooting slow motion.

Specs:
Shot 1280x720P @ 60 Frames per second
Mpeg4 files converted to quicktime pro res 422 Using Mpeg Streamclip
Conformed frame rate for slow motion with Cinema Tools
Used the H.264 codec for compression for the web using Compressor
Edited the video with Final Cut Pro 4

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 61 - Aqua Dogs

2011-05-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

This week Ricki has made huge progress. She is able to walk alongside a group of pigeons without going crazy. She can handle looking at one or two at the same time with no problem especially. This is a dramatic change from how she reacted when she saw pigeons for the first time in Week 29. Seth and Bamboo demonstrated how it's done, while Ricki was totally crazy.

Ricki has also made big improvements with her squirrel distractions as well. She is able to walk by the toy squirrel without pulling on the leash and trying to chase it. However, if you squeek the toy or throw it in front of her, this is a different story. This is an area we are going to continue to work on by not jumping ahead of ourselves. We probably went a little too aggressive this week.

The last thing we wanted to show is that a working dog needs to have fun too. We took Ricki swimming with her mom Tulin again. I had fun playing with my new GOProHD Hero camera that can shoot underwater. The footage is totally cool. Check it out!

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 60 - Toy Squirrel

2011-04-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

This squirrel distraction thing is so much work. We have been training Ricki everyday with it. She has made huge progress in the past week, and we hope it makes a difference. We will be getting another evaluation from our community field representative soon. We don't know if Ricki will have made enough progress, but we won't have her fail for lack of trying. It's frustrating because Ricki has so many other things going good for her, and yet her distraction issues could end it all. She has had the best relieving habits of any dog we have ever had. She is incredibly patient and rarely gets uneasy or bored. She strives to please and really enjoys working. These things mentioned are equally hard to get a dog to perform well at. Eli could care less about the birds and squirrels when he was training. He ignored them like a champ, and yet he couldn't handle the simple things like actually doing what he was told. Anyways, I'm just venting off the top of my head. Stay tuned and we will see where this adventure takes us next.

Mckenna Faith - Lost

2011-04-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

This video marks the third of a series of videos that I shot with Mckenna Faith. She is a up and coming country artist, and really talented. I'm happy that our families have become friends, and working together was awesome. This particular song is one of my favorites, and I'm really excited to have it in the line up "guerilla unplugged" style of videos I did with Mckenna. Two other Mckenna videos are already done called "He Doesn't Even Know it Yet", and "Sugar and Spice".

If i told people that I pushed aside my regular gear and opted for low budget alternatives, they may say "you are crazy". But that is exactly what i did. Mckenna and her mom were very gracious with my experiments and they ended up working really good. A majority of this video was shot on the Flip Cam Ultra HD which only costs a few hundred dollars. Of course I used many of them, and also had a myriad of other equipment as well as some other professional cameras in the final cut, but never-the-less, the flip cam image is dominant. I also left my professional lighting equipment in their bags, and performed all the lighting for this video using work lights I got at Home Depot for $60. Last, this particular video has audio only from an iphone. I used an app called Recorder Pro as an experiment. See the results for yourself.

Recorder Pro iphone App

2011-04-23T11:25:00.001-07:00

As most people know, I'm constantly looking for ways to save money as a filmmaker. Guerilla filmmaking is a evolving trend I like to explore, and the iphone just so happens to provide cheap solutions for the everyday video creator. Now I am not going to pledge the undoing of conventional audio acquisition by any means. But I am going to add this iphone app to my filmmaking bag of tricks.

It's called Recorder Pro, and it only cost .99 cents. The audio quality that i recorded was 44.1 kilohertz and 16 bit. It can acquire the audio in the .wav or .aiff file format too. The sound quality is fair when working with an iphone. I can't say that I have had the same results using a audio app for my wife's Samsung Moment. The audio recording tests revealed a big difference and i think this says something more about the phone than the app, but I can't be certain without more tests which I could come back to someday.

Next week I'm going to post another Mckenna Faith music video where all the audio was acquired with a iphone and the Recorder Pro app. Stay tuned.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 59 - Pigeon Progress

2011-04-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Amie and Ricki have been working everyday on her bird distraction issues. Pigeons are the worse of Ricki's bird distractions so this is where most of the focus has been lately. Ricki has been making big improvements because we have taken a few steps back and started rewarding her for the small things. One of the most effective training tips we got is requiring Ricki to Watch Amie, and ignore the pigeons by constantly redirecting Ricki's focus. Amie walks Ricki away from the distraction and rewards her with a treat. It seems to be making a difference, and I look forward to seeing how our community field rep judges Ricki's progress in a few weeks.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 58 - Ricki Evaluation

2011-04-18T18:41:00.002-07:00

We have reached a crucial point in Ricki's training. Her future as a guide dog is in question. Amie met with our community field representative where a myriad of issues were discussed. I wanted to film the meeting, but they decided it would be best if we didn't. We were told we have a few more weeks to get Ricki past her distraction issues. Amie has a few new techniques to incorporate with her food reward protocal, and we are rewarding for smaller things now. We are also taking Ricki out for training everyday at this crucial point in her development. Stay tuned!

EZ Mount Monfrotto Mod

2011-04-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

I don't use my EZ mount without this setup. People have been asking how it is made so I made this video. Monfrotto ball heads are awesome and there are a ton of different options out there. If you like this video. Check out all my reviews, builds, tips, and tricks.

Chappy

Flip Cam Giveaway Winner

2011-04-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

My Flip Cam Giveaway contest had ended. There were 450 suggestions sent to me, and it was not easy picking one as the winner. This contest was subjective, and there were other things equally creative and unique. So to all those haters and trolls out there who are mad about my decision, I'm sorry but it's my contest. The winner is a college student from Texas who said. "I'm going to attach it to a helium-filled object and sent it above the Earth's atmosphere, and get a shot of the planet's horizon." I picked this idea because this is still a relatively new concept, and it's really cool. It's possible to get footage in outer space now, and more and more people are doing it everyday using a weather balloon. Two students from MIT were the first to do this, and they started a website describing what they did. Since then, several have replicated and surpassed the original video in quality. But proper respect should be given to the MIT students for being the originators of this idea. I am thinking about doing this idea someday so I can teach people step by step on how it's done.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 57 - Dog Distractions

2011-04-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Amie said a great thing to Seth and I months back that I really love. She said that guide dogs are the "navy seals" of the working dog industry. The more we shoot the show, the more it makes sense to me. I mean everywhere you take these dogs poses a myriad of distractions. Whether it be other dogs, food, cats, small animals, birds, kids, balls, sounds, water, etc. It is amazing that any of them graduate. To turn off a dogs natural instinct which is to be curious about things around him/her is a huge challenge. We strive to do this with Ricki constantly, and it is amazing how the same training can be utilized in so many different locations. Ricki continues to make baby steps as we crawl closer to her recall date. We have high hopes that she will do well, but ultimately this will be up to her. We know she has the work drive as well as the drive to please. Only time will tell if that will be enough.

Dog Playing Piano

2011-04-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

My dog just started playing Canon in D Major out of the blue. I captured it on video because it's so awesome.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 56 - Off Duty Ricki

2011-04-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

This week we won Outstanding Reality Series at LAWEBFEST. It felt really good to get recognition from the filmmaking community for our endeavors . It was also nice to see that our uninspiring viewership doesn't reflect it's content. LAWEBFEST is the only film festival in the world for web shows currently so we feel like mavericks exploring a new world. Our format is one of a kind, and I'm so proud that we make the show format easy to follow for the visually impaired. It's very descriptive and we don't take for granted anything that is going on. We describe everything. Big thanks to everyone for supporting our series and keep watching because it could get interesting from here.

Mckenna Faith - Sugar and Spice

2011-03-23T14:14:00.001-07:00

This video marks the second of a series of videos that I shot with Mckenna Faith. She is a up and coming artist, and really talented. I'm happy that our families have become friends, and working together was awesome. This particular song is my favorite, and I'm really excited to have it in the line up "guerilla unplugged" style of videos I did with Mckenna. If you like this, there are two more coming. One other already done called "He Doesn't Even Know it Yet".

If i told people that I pushed aside my regular gear and opted for low budget alternatives, they may say "you are crazy". But that is exactly what i did. Mckenna and her mom were very gracious with my experiments and they ended up working really good. A majority of this video was shot on the Flip Cam Ultra HD which only costs a few hundred dollars. Of course I used many of them, and also had a myriad of other equipment as well as some other professional cameras in the final cut, but never-the-less, the flip cam image is dominant. I also left my professional lighting equipment in their bags, and performed all the lighting for this video using work lights I got at Home Depot for $60. See the results for yourself.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 55 - Farm Animals

2011-03-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

This week was cool because we were able to review all of Ricki's main issues. Her small animal distractions, bird distractions, ball distractions, and dog distractions. We are constantly exposing Ricki to the things that could cause her to fail puppy college. It is the only thing we can do before her formal training. Will it be enough for her to graduate? Only time will tell and everyone will have to continue to tune it and find out.

Low Budget Film Lighting

2011-03-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

I few of my producer friends over the last six months have been asking me if I could come up with a way to do lighting on a low budget. My answer was to go to home depot and buy some work lights. This was a test and I didn't know what the results were going to be until after the edit. Well after it is all said and done my thoughts are i'm going to keep them in my filmmaking bag of tricks. They really do work. All one has to do is get a little more creative in figuring out a way to mount them. Also keep in mind that the 500 watt lights get pretty hot. One of my fans sent me a message that the 1,000 watt lights even have a fire warning on them with most manufactures. So I would really be careful with all of these lights. Keep a fire extinguisher close by and treat this process with respect. So anyway, have fun and here is my latest episode.

Here is my guerilla unplugged video showing the lights in action.
The artist is Mckenna Faith
Song is "He Doesn't Even Know It Yet"

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 54 - Nylabone

2011-03-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

This week marks an important step for us. It's the first time a company has worked with us in any form. Nylabone donated toys for our puppy raising group, as well as donated a bunch of items for a youtube contest. This might not seem like that big of a deal, but for us it is. We feel like the only way we will be able to sustain what we are doing in a long term vision, is to find a way to help make a living with the series. Making a living might mean picking up a sponsor who can burden the bills of creation. We have taken on the burden so far on our own, and will continue as long as possible. But this was a really cool step in the right direction for us.

Nylabone will always rock in our book, and we have nothing but great things to say about them.

If you are interested in winning our giveaway package. Thumb up, comment, and favorite this episode on youtube. Make sure you subscribe if you have not already.

Chappy

Flip Cam Ultra HD Test Bench

2011-03-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this is the first time I have talked about a camera. As I explore low budget filmmaking ideas I find myself going beyond just building things. There is so much out there to explore. The reason I chose this camera is because I acquired seven of them from a tv pilot shoot. It also is the camera that I am giving away in my contest, so it really only makes sense.

I wanted to do a review in a interesting way. Not just simply shoot some lame random footage and talk about it. This is what other people do. No, i shot a series of music videos giving valuable video real estate to the Flip Cam. This was a real project with real people. This provides a real world example without hypotheticals. I mean what is the point, unless the camera is really used to see results? C'mon people:D

So all in all this camera is pretty good if you know the rules and stay within them. Some of the rules that I have found to keep in mind.

1) Don't shoot handheld
This camera sucks when shooting handheld. It is very sensitive to movement and can look very shaky.

2) Keep it locked down and the results will be much better.
This camera has a camera mount thread on the bottom. The universal 1/4" 20 pitch that is found on most tripods, and various mounting adaptations. Utilize this fact and this camera gives amazing options because of it's size.

3) Surround the Fiip Cam with good lighting or suffer the consequences.
The exposure is all automatic so you will find yourself at the mercy of the Flip gods. It will expose itself very well most of the time if the lighting is consistent and bright. This will make the HD resolution shine.

So hope these tips help. Check out my video below to get more information. If you like my videos, do me a favor and subscribe on youtube. Thanks

Mckenna Faith - He Doesn't Even Know it Yet

2011-03-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

This video marks the first of a series of videos that I shot with Mckenna Faith. She is a up and coming artist, and really talented. I'm happy that our families have become friends, and working together was awesome. This particular song is one of my favorites, and I'm really excited to have it kick off the premiere of my "guerilla unplugged" style of videos I did with Mckenna. If you like this, there are three more coming.

If i told people that I pushed aside my regular gear and opted for low budget alternatives, they may say "you are crazy". But that is exactly what i did. Mckenna and her mom were very gracious with my experiments and they ended up working really good. A majority of this video was shot on the Flip Cam Ultra HD which only costs a few hundred dollars. Of course I used many of them, and also had a myriad of other equipment as well as some other professional cameras in the final cut, but never-the-less, the flip cam image is dominant.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 53 - Vet Conference

2011-03-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

Well here i am talking about our second video we shot while in Vegas. The whole reason for our being in Vegas in the first place was so Amie could attend the WVC conference. We just have learned to adapt our lives to making a series and taking opportunities to train Ricki when then pop up. This episode was probably one of my least favorites that I have made in awhile. 100 percent of the footage was shot with a flip cam, and most of the footage was indoors providing a pretty unprofessional result. The camera does everything automatically including exposure control and it's low light capabilities are ok at best.

Despite my own reservations this episode seems to be received well. It just goes to show that story takes precedence over everything else. Amie and I have learned a lot about our audience from this episode, and the value of showing other working teams holds high. Marlis and Gable were a pleasure to have breakfast with, and provided some great insight to their world. A big thanks to them, and to all our fans for your continual support.

Flip Cam Contest

2011-03-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

I acquired a ton of equipment on a recent project. I don't need all of this stuff and thought why not give some of it away to my viewers. I like helping aspiring video creators, and low budget filmmakers. This has kinds become my new angle with my videos that come out every week.

If you interested in this contest. Hit me up on youtube with a comment on the video below and don't forget to subscribe.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 52 - Las Vegas

2011-02-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

So we just got back from Las Vegas, and had a great time. We acquired so much material that we decided to break it down into two weeks and two episodes. This is the second time we have done this. We also did this last year when we took Ricki to Los Angeles. I know that it makes our weekly progress a little jaded, but we think it's a good sacrifice when there is a lot to show. Las Vegas was probably Ricki's best trip to date. She did really, really awesome. In fact, since we have gotten back she has been pacing around the couch as if to say "hey, why can't we be busy doing all kinds of stuff like when we were in Vegas?". She seems to have that work drive that working dogs have. So here is to another great trip for Ricki, and Amie and I really like using our series as a great excuse for traveling all over the place. We could get used to this.

Thanks for everyones support. We think it will only get better from here. There is a lot of exciting stuff coming in the near future.

EZ Mount Test Bench

2011-02-26T18:20:00.001-08:00

This episode is all about testing the EZ mount. I really like this thing, and it is really effective. It could cost anywhere from like $20 to $200 to buy a special cardellini clamp, or mafer clamp to do the same job. Seriously, check it out yourself. Everything I show in this episode is real footage shot with a flip cam mounted on the EZ mount in different situations. I think this is a great tool for a any filmmakers bag of tricks.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 51 - Rain

2011-02-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

It rained a lot when we filmed this episode. If we can't beat em, join em was our motto. Plus, we thought it would be cool to focus on an episode where the weather was a big factor, and we could give our audience some things we have to think about during a storm. Ricki handled it all so well. She was soaking wet when we got back to the car, but looked like she could have filmed in the rain for another hour. She is really impressing me lately. Nothing seems to phase her, and she handles new things very well. Keep it up Ricki, we are rooting for ya!

Make a Cam EZ Mount

2011-02-17T19:29:00.001-08:00

After the launch of this video I feel like I am officially back. I have been so busy with Growing Up Guide Pup and other projects. But that is a good thing I suppose. This mount really does work and I am excited to put it out there to help other video creators. Next week I'm going to show how I have used it myself.... so be sure to check in on wednesday.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 50 - One Year Anniversary

2011-02-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Well it's official. Our first year of the series has been completed. We did it. It's been a big challenge banging out a episode every week, but very fun. Although there are 52 weeks in a year, we have 50 episodes. But I guess if you count the two birthday special episodes we are right on track.

Our series has premiered at the New Media Festival, and was recently accepted into the LAWEBFEST. We did our first radio interview for Working Like Dogs on Petliferadio, and recently were told Nylabone is going to sponsor us, and give us a bunch of products for free. We are going to do a Youtube contest with some of the products, and also give a bunch of toys to our fellow puppy raisers in our group. So it seems we are doing pretty good, and the future looks good.

Ricki is well on her way to becoming a guide dog. She is our tenth dog, and one of the best prospects we have had so far. We think she has a really good chance of making it so stay tuned to see how it all goes.

Thanks for watching, subscribing on youtube, becoming a fan on facebook, telling your friends and family about our series, and your continual support.

Matt

Fire by my house

2011-02-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

There was a fire by my house yesterday. The first thing I did was call 911. Then I grabbed the garden hose and tried to put out the fire with no luck. So i decided to grab the flip cam and document what happened. Everything was spontaneous and real. I experimented with the Les Stroud approach of creating video because i thought it was the most appropriate way of making the video.

Filmmaking builds, tips, and tricks.

2011-02-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

I'm sure many of you know I make videos showing low cost alternative filmmaking solutions. Well, I decided to take it to the next level and start putting out a new video once a week. I enjoy helping people save money and empowering the average video creator. Some of the ideas I show are things I have used myself in video production, while others are completely fresh, and never tested other than for making the videos.

If you like these type of videos, I am asking for your support. Watch my videos, rate and comment them on youtube. It helps me stay motivated to continue, and puts a few pennies in my pocket at the same time.

Cheers,
Chappy

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 49 - Giants Fan Fest

2011-02-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Amie and I are big Giants fans. Since they won the world series, it only made sense to attend fan fest for this weeks episode. We decided to take the train to the park so we could add some training for Ricki into the mix. She has been on the train a few times, but never with this many people. The ride there was really packed, and almost completely full with fellow Giants fans. Ricki did a great job this week on the train, and she did an even better job at the ball park. We were very impressed with her ability to stay calm despite her being surrounded by wall to wall people. The attendance was crazy. The doors for general admission opened at 11:00am, and by 11:10am they were already telling people on KNBR to stay home because it filled up so quickly. I heard that more than 50,000 people attended which is funny because the park doesn't even sit that many people. Another job well done by Ricki and I can't wait to see where are adventures take us next.

Growing Up guide Pup - Week 48 - Seth and Bamboo

2011-02-05T23:06:00.000-08:00

This week was very difficult for us. We battled back and forth on what we should do. Would talking about this publicly be a good idea? We contacted Seth's parents as well as got advice from my family about if doing a video tribute for Seth would be a tasteful thing to do. We got overwhelming support that we should move forward with the idea. We thought it would be appropriate to do a hike at Mt Tam. Seth had expressed on a few occasions, and even left a comment on our youtube page about how awesome it would be. We really enjoyed celebrating his life in our own special way and it really helped us feel better doing the walk.

We were shocked when we found out Seth had passed away last week. Seth was so supportive of what we were doing and really helped validate our series. His opinion meant a lot to us, and he always chimed in. He participated on all of our videos on youtube leaving funny, and quirky comments. He also was a regular participant on our facebook fan page. He was known to help with great info, and even answered questions from time to time. We had big plans for the future, and his continual involvement in the show was something we had discussed a lot. We were deeply affected by his untimely passing, and will forever be inspired to continue raising awareness about guide dogs in his honor.

Seth was a super star in our guide dog world. It will be difficult without him, but we must push on. We know this is what he would have wanted for us.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 47 - Puppy Handling

2011-01-27T12:45:00.000-08:00

Amie and I enjoy the challenge of making new episodes with content that is refreshing and new. Although this week lacked the sizzle of a spectacular outing, it has performed good compared to most of our first week numbers. We will certainly keep this lesson in mind for the future. There is plenty of stuff we can do in the house that focuses on our training with Ricki at home.

I am also excited that we were able to unveil a little clue of the entire other world Amie is involved with as a vet tech. That's right, not only is she a puppy raiser, she is also a licensed vet technician at a ER for pets south of San Francisco.

Thanks to everyone for their support.
Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 46 - Museum

2011-01-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

Amie and I have really gotten into a groove with the series. It has become second nature to bang out a episode every week. I don't worry about pulling it off anymore. When we first started I used to wonder if we really would be able to do this for a year and a half. That is no longer a concern. Now it is more of a question of what are we not going to be able to get around to showing before Ricki goes back? What should we save for a second season? Haha

Ricki is showing constant improvements every week. However, she constantly needs to be reminded of the rules in place and is not the fastest learner. We think that it will all sink in with time. She has the most important personality trait. She wants to please us and that is awesome.

We are only a few dozen subscribers away from 1,000 on youtube. Please show your support by subscribing if you like what we are doing.

Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=guidedogmaniac

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 45 - Fundraiser

2011-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

We own a ton of thanks to Guide Dogs For the Blind this week. They generously sponsored us to attend the fundraiser so we could make this episode. This really means a lot to us and we consider it a sort of right of passage for our series. Otherwise we could not afford to attend. We really enjoy raising awareness about this organization and hope to expand our series continually beyond the scope of puppy raising. After all, what we do is only part of the equation. I think this episode brings us all closer together and executes continual awesomeness for the future.

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Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 44 - Airplane

2010-12-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

It took us a long time to get Ricki ready for travel. Amie felt Ricki was not ready when we traveled back in May of this year, but now she seemed ready. All sorts of things have to be in order before we consider flying with a pup. Our dog has to have awesome relieving habits, our dog has to be calm, our dog has to be able to handle curve balls that we can't anticipate, and our dog has to reach a level of maturity that gives us confidence that the adventure will work out. Ricki performed beyond our expectations. Even though the weather was bad both days we flew , Ricki handled it great. In the video we mention the delay on the air flight home. Well we also had a delay in the terminal leaving to Santa Ana. So between both flights, Ricki had an additional 3 hours to deal with on top of the the normal routine traveling stuff. Great job Ricki and here is our latest.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 43 - Xmas Tree Farm

2010-12-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

Ricki and Eli rarely get to go out and do something fun together. Dogs are not allowed at most places we take Ricki for our outings, but a tree farm was a great exception. We had a lot of fun. Amie and I really experimented with our training of the dogs, as well as the approach to how we shoot the show. I loved putting a camera on the tree and watching it timber. Growing Up Guide Pup is my petri dish of camera experimentation.

I'm in LA right now writing this blog. We just finished our big travel from SF to LA. Ricki is exhausted sleeping on the ground next to me. She really handled traveling well so stay tuned for the next episode. It is going to be really great. Airport traveling awesomeness.

So Ricki turns 1 years old tomorrow. I can't believe it. Our little pup is growing so fast. Pretty soon she will be going back to school for her formal training. Won't that be exciting. The next several weeks should be a lot of fun, and packed with more content than normal to celebrate her first birthday. We are going to release a birthday special episode, and perhaps an additional behind the scenes video for the first time.

Thanks for your support.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 42- Puppy Swap

2010-12-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

This week was a little crazy. Ricki was requested by Guide Dogs to join Lester on a trip to the campus the day we went to the parade. We had plans on taking Ricki and had to come up a solution quickly. Big thanks to our puppy leader Robin for getting us Cash for the day. Also a big thanks to Cash's family for lending us the goofy guy.

In hindsight it was really good. Ricki got to be around another handler, and we got to raise awareness about puppy swapping. We have been talking about doing it for awhile, so in the end it all worked out.

Here is our latest:

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 41 - Ricki Chat

2010-11-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

We are always getting great questions from our fans on youtube. Although we answer many of the questions on there, we have always wanted to provide more for our audience. This has been a big struggle for us in the past. We have squeezed a question in every few episodes, but it has never really been enough in our opinion.

This week we thought we would experiment and dedicate a whole episode to just answering questions. The idea I had was to just show Amie, Ricki, and Eli as themselves. Keep the production and editing to a minimum and give a sneek peek into our lives that feels different that the other videos. Hence the birth of "Ricki Chat". It is a ever evolving thing, and more work needs to be done with it, but our first attempt is below.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 40 - Squirrel Distractions

2010-11-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

Amie nailed it on the head when we shot the main this week. We have 4-6 more months before Ricki will either go back to school for formal training or not. We are doing what we can to prepare her, but right now it's a guess with whether or not she will be ready. Guide Dogs For the Blind will ultimately make that determination, and also decide whether she will go back for training at all. We think she has a good chance because she has that quality inside of her that aims to please. That is something you cannot teach a dog. They either have a personality like that, or they don't. Eli doesn't have that quality. He wants to do what he wants when he wants and he doesn't care if he is pleasing us. In fact, he enjoys doing just the opposite so he can get a rise out of us.

Our new episode was shot at central park in San Mateo. It is a great place for training. We wanted to take Ricki to the Japanese
Garden over there, but they were closing the doors right when we arrived. Maybe we will show it in a future episode. Thanks to everyone for your continual support.

Growing up Guide Pup - Week 39 - Film Festival

2010-11-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

This week was really cool. We were able to go to a film festival, and represent what we do as puppy raisers. Everyone wanted to know about Ricki, and had lots of questions. The most common question I got was "How do you give them up?". Ricki is our 10th dog now, and I really feel like you need to raise several before things can be put into perspective. Answering such a question is really easy for me now. When you see how much guide dogs can change the lives of their visually impaired partners, it really is not even a question how do you give them up, but how can you not give them up. It is very rewarding to do something nice for humanity, and I really like that our series also can demonstrate that giving back is cool. I personally feel that we should see more of this sort of thing in our county because it would make it a better place to live. We can all be so wrapped up in our own lives sometimes.

Our series was in the web series category at the festival. We didn't win first prize, but it really doesn't matter. I feel like we were winners getting to spread the message and meet some great people from the entertainment industry. Thanks for showing your support.

Growing up Guide Pup - Week 38 - Dog Park

2010-11-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

We love thinking of creative ways to help train Ricki. This episode is a perfect example of that. We have not found a better way to expose our dogs to lots of dogs in a controlled environment. Luckily we have lots of dog parks in the Bay Area. I don't know if it is like this everywhere, but it should be. We went to Seal Point Park in San Mateo. They did a great job of converting what was once a landfill to something great for the community. The views are amongst the best in the Bay Area too.

Please continue showing us your support by subscribing on youtube, becoming a fan on face book, and telling everyone about what we are doing.
Thanks

Growing up Guide Pup - Week 37 - Halloween Party

2010-10-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

It seems like such a long time ago since we started this series. I was confident that we would be able to pull this off, but never could be sure. When we first started, I told Amie to be prepared to go the long haul on this project. We have been raising dogs for over eight years now, and we were not nervous about our knowledge of the subject and how it would reflect. However, we were nervous about creating a format that could keep the subject interesting and have longevity. I feel pretty strong that our episodic approach on the internet was the perfect medium for such a idea. Short form content with a weekly release seemed smart. Well I can happily report that we are now on the radar of the entertainment industry. Our world premiere is on November 6th, and the festival director chose Week 29 as the episode to screen. This is the episode where we went to Pier 39 and introduced Seth and Bamboo. It is one of my personal favorites and a great episode because it has it all. Information, training, Bay Area personality, and amazing partnership between guide and partner. Fingers crossed for good things to come. Below our latest week is a encore of week 29.

Week 37:

Week 29:

Growing up Guide Pup - Week 36 - Pumpkin Festival

2010-10-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

This week turned into a dog distraction episode. It was weird. Even though there were posters that said "No Dogs Allowed" everywhere, no one was listening. People had dogs everywhere. The police were all around and they were not doing anything about it? Go figure? It certainly made for a good training session for Ricki.

This episode is shorter than normal because we didn't do very much filming. Ricki just had surgery the other day and we have been letting her rest. Enjoy our latest.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 35 - Paramount Great America

2010-10-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

This week was a lot of fun. How many people get to bring their dog to an amusement park? It was hearing about outings like this one which we found so appealing when we first starting raising dogs. All the cool places you get to take these dogs can't be beat. We pretty much take Ricki everywhere we can and jumped at the opportunity to take her to Great America.

Our audience is growing at a snail pace, people keep asking us if we are going to take on another dog after Ricki for a Season 2. My heart says yes, but my mind says no. We have been trying really hard to build an audience so that we can get the show to sustain itself with sponsors some day. Our viewership and subscribers have a lot to be desired and are not nearly enough. We have to put three days a week into each episode. From planning, to filming, to editing, to distribution...it is a lot of work. We are not looking to break the bank, but we are going to need to figure out a way to make some money to pay for all the work eventually. So please encourage people to watch, and subscribe to our youtube channel as well as become a fan on facebook. Hopefully this will get much better in the future, as it is crucial for us to be able to continue.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 34 - Guide Dog Reunion

2010-10-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

This week we actually shot a episode without Ricki. I feel kinda bad because we forgot to mention what happened to her while we were in Canada. She stayed with our co-raiser Elizabeth for the weekend which was great for her. Mixing up her schedule will only help her be better prepared for the day when she will go back to Guide Dogs for her formal training.

This episode was all about Prudy. Prudy was our eighth dog and one of my favorites. She is gentle but confident. On a typical day at our house she could hold her own with Eli while playing tug a war, and then turn around and cuddle with Amie. Prudy holds the trophy for most cuddly guide dog. She is such a sweet dog and we are really happy she is with such a great family. Our North American brethren were well represented by Donna and the rest of the Hudon family. They showed us great hospitality, and I'm sure we will be more than just facebook buddies from now on.

Enjoy our latest episode and I promise Ricki will be back in our next episode.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 33 - Puppy Pool Party

2010-09-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

This week I really don't have a topic or theme. So I thought I would just write. Ricki is chewing on a nylabone as usual as i ping away here. She seems to absolutely love those things. She also loves her ice cubes with dog treats frozen inside of them. We made a whole bunch of the them for the pool party and i totally didn't film any of it. Next time i guess.

Amie just smelled a dog fart. She just preached it out in disgust; as she always does while she surfs the web beside me. It never becomes ok with her even though it is as normal as a furball from one of our cats. Now she is embarrassed and mad that i am writing this. haha!

Big thanks to everyone out there for supporting our series. Until next week, I bid farewell.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 32 - Duck Pond

2010-09-22T03:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we need to pinch ourselves. Ricki is such a great dog. She is chilling between Amie and I right now sleeping on the floor after a long day away from home. I am still in awe of how quickly Ricki is adjusting to everything we throw at her. After her reaction to the pigeons in week 29, I was sure she was going to be losing focus and making for another entertaining episode of mistakes. She sure showed me wrong. She didn't lunge on the leash, and miraculously turned into a bird distraction pro. it was as if she had been to the Palo Alto Baylands a million times. What in the heck brought on the dramatic improvement? It really is beyond me actually. We threw the kitchen sink at her with this episode. There must of been a thousand birds around the pond. The aviary mosh pit we exposed her to was nothing more than a yawn for her. I guess we can move on cautiously and focus on other issues now? What?

Enjoy our latest episode!

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 31 - Teeth Brushing

2010-09-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

As we continue with the show, the constant challenge is figuring out what to talk about each week. We ask ourselves all kinds of questions. Should we cover training, or an outing? Should we try to cover a outing that incorporates training at the same time? Should we answer some questions from our fans? Should we go back and review progress Ricki has made on certain aspects of her life? Should we talk about the things Ricki is not doing so well with? And of course, should we simply update everyone on what we feel was the most important event of the week. These questions are always in consideration.

I enjoy the challenge of making this series, and also the freedom I have as the sole producer, and intellectual property rights owner. It is very liberating for our creative control, and I think will be a important factor in the long term for growing our series. Amie and I now are facing the challenge of where do we take this series next. It is growing on a slow, but steady pace. We think it has something to offer not only to people who raise service dogs, but also anyone who likes watching content about dogs.

So enough already with my ranting. This week was a review of progress, and we addressed a question about teeth brushing. Enjoy!

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 30 - Ball Distractions

2010-09-06T20:51:00.001-07:00

This episode was completely spontaneous. We went in with no plan. It was a fun challenge to figure out creative ways to distract Ricki and work her through her ball issues. At times, she was a star and did great. Other times, she just couldn't help herself and went after the golf ball. I think we will give her every opportunity to work past this issue. That is if she want's to please us. Her personality seems to be of that nature, so I have my hopes up. We have seen the difference between dogs who strive to learn and please, and dogs who do not. Aaa..humm..cough, cough.... Eli.

Here is our latest episode. Week 30.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 29 - Pier 39

2010-08-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

This week was awesome. We met up with working team Seth, and Bamboo. We met them at fun day this year when we were shooting week 25. Bamboo is a four year old black lab female, and has been teamed up with Seth for a couple of years. The first thing I noticed when we first met is she is a little dog, but has big time working ability. I filmed them working the crowd at Pier 39 this week, and couldn't believe how fast, and efficient they were. In fact, they walked so fast that I couldn't even keep up. I swear a jog was the only way I could keep pace. They both have a very, very fast gate which blows me away when you see how little Bamboo is. She was not much bigger than Ricki who is still growing and will probably be bigger.

Ricki continues to have bird distractions, and we showed how much it is affecting her. It will be really interesting to see if we can work her through these issues as they will most certainly be a deal breaker if she can't adjust. Please enjoy our latest episode, and feel free to follow us on Facebook. Our fan page is Growing Up Guide Pup.

Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 28 - Fire Station

2010-08-25T01:55:00.000-07:00

This week is my favorite episode thus far. We combined two important elements this week at the Mountain View Fire Station. We made available some training for Ricki, and the exposure of a cool location. Whenever a day can hit two birds with one stone, it is cause for celebration because they always make for an interesting watch. The results of this weeks shoot seemed to work better than I thought possible.

We got to show a cast of different dogs all amongst a setting of different distractions. My favorite had to be guide pup Cash and his hilarious reaction to the fireman when it tried to get close to him. Check out our web series if you are a fan of service dogs or dogs in general.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 27 - Rickey's Restaurant

2010-08-17T02:26:00.000-07:00

This week has to be one of my favorites. I feel like it has everything. It covers an outing, some training, and even has a taste of humor with me dropping a piece of steak by Ricki's nose at the restaurant. As the show continues to evolve, we continue to improve our approach of video blogging with a twist.

I think it's funny how the episodes continue to get longer, and longer each month. The first couple months we had videos under 3 minutes. Then I felt lucky to get them under five minutes. This episode almost cracks the six minute mark. Ok, ok....enough is enough, they won't be any longer than that. Uhhh, actually I have no idea where things will go. I just keep going with my gut. As long as the video constantly moves forward I am happy. It seems we have more information every week resulting in longer episodes just by natural progression.

Anyways, here is our latest episode shot at Rickey's restaurant.

Make a $30 PVC Steadicam

2010-08-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

Over the last year I have received numerous requests to make my $30 steadicam out of pvc rather than cast iron. So this video was my answer to those requests. I must say the the pvc version is a few pounds lighter, and it performed pretty well. I think the cast iron version is perhaps a little more stable, but considering the weight savings, it might be worth it.

This video pits plastic vs metal. Judge for yourself which version is better. To learn how to make your own version, click on the annotation i provide towards the beginning of the video.

Chappy

The Chap is Back With Lucious on Tap

2010-08-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

My brother and I made this video to challenge my audience. This video is retro, and we performed to the song "Mame" from the late Bobby Darin. I used the "gurilla spot light" from a previous ChappyShowcase video to illuminate the set. Also, a fog machine doubled as hookah smoke coming from yours truly. "I like making videos that challenge my fans to unsubscribe" as my buddy Hester McLester once said.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 26 - Obedience Course

2010-08-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

The 20 year anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act was a few weeks ago. We managed to film it, but had not managed to squeeze it into an episode until today. Redwood City put on the event, and we went representing Guide Dogs For the Blind to help raise awareness.

Amie is doing a great job speaking as an ambassador for the guide dog puppy raiser, and I'm really proud of her. Not only is she doing what she has always done, but now she has the duty of hosting the web series and helping me come up with content each week. It was only a few years back when she would refuse to even let me film her in our home movies, but over time she has let her guard down and slowly come around to a point i didn't even see coming. I guess that is pretty much a given, if you are in my life, there is a chance you will end up in front of the camera in some way or another. Week 26 and our second episode with the new format below.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 25 - Guide Dog Fun Day

2010-08-03T02:48:00.000-07:00

This week represents the premiere of several important steps in the evolution of our series. Number 1, it is the first time we filmed at the campus for Guide Dogs for the Blind. And two, we revealed the upgraded format of our show. I am really excited to see where this Ricki journey will take us, and don't see us slowing down.

When we first started this series, we were not sure if anyone would even be interested in watching. It was our way of keeping a video diary of the weeks events more than anything. I can't believe we now are into our sixth month with this thing and it is only getting better.

Special thanks to Guide Dogs for the Blind, Rendezvous, and Template Digital with their generous collaboration in helping make the series the best it can be.

Our latest episode is below.
Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 24 - Jelly Belly

2010-07-25T14:28:00.001-07:00

This week I had the opportunity to take Ricki and Amie to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, Ca. We have always known about the Jelly Belly Factory, but have never had the chance to visit. It is a really cool place. They were totally guide dog friendly, and even had a designated area for the dogs to go to the bathroom. How many places have a designated fire hydrant for the dogs? Special thanks to Jelly Belly and the Solano County Puppy Raising Group for setting up a great event. if you enjoy our webisodes, please don't forget to help support us by subscribing on youtube and telling your friends and family about us.

Cheers,
Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 23 - SF Giants

2010-07-18T01:02:00.000-07:00

We went to a Giants game this week and I filmed the entire episode with our phone. I would prefer to shoot with something better, but push come to shove I love the fact that i never run into any red tape. It's pretty cool. If I had brought my DVX to the game, they would have never let me through without a press pass.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 22 - Camping

2010-07-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

This week we went camping. It was a lot of fun to shoot. I kept filming with the hope some crazy critter would show up in front of the lens. A few hours after we arrived was all it took. I shot a centipede for the first time which was pretty cool, but kinda a stretch for putting into the episode. But we put it in there anyway. LOL

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 21 - Guide Dog Joanie

2010-07-03T03:25:00.000-07:00

This week was really fun cause i tried something different. I interviewed George while i was filming. This was different cause Amie is usually the only voice of the show, but we are talking about adding this twist to the format. I do the interviews if and when needed and she does the vlog hosting motif as always.

Please participate on our show by subscribing on youtube. Also try commenting under the video each week and leave us questions if you want to know anything. Amie does a good job of responding to most peoples comments and questions if needed.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 20 - 'Hide' N Seek

2010-06-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

This week we played with Ricki and turned it into an episode. Hide and go seek is one of the best ways to bond with a dog, and we do it with all the pups we raise. Ricki picked up on how to play very quickly. It took her about 5 minutes to understand that she needed to wait in a down position until Amie released her with the "Ricki come" command. Good times as usual.

Feline Feeding Frenzy

2010-06-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

My wife Amie works at an ER Clinic for animals. They are heroes on a regular basis and the other day was no exception. Someone found these kittens abandoned in front of their house in a cardboard box. They brought the kittens to Amie's work. The video below is them eating for the first time in who knows how long. I had some fun by adding the sound of feasting lions.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 19 - County Fair

2010-06-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

Amie and I have been taking the dogs to the county fair ever since we first started raising guide dogs. It is a great place to get out and take the animals. Their are a million different things for a dog to experience, and we never see the same thing twice. This year was no exception and Ricki performed like a champ. She has still yet to have an accident on a outing. Fingers crossed on that one. Hit that subscribe button on youtube and participate in our comments section. Here is our latest installment.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 18 - Ricki's Mom

2010-06-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

We have been raising guide dogs for the blind for a long time. In fact, we will be hitting 10 years in not too long. In all that time, we have never had the privilege of reuniting our pups with their mothers. This week was our first. The popularity of our web show is starting to grow and Ricki's owners heard about what we were doing through word of mouth. They contacted us and wanted to know if we would like to meet. Well of course we said yes!

Check out our new episode. Please subscribe to guidedogmaniac on youtube. Leave comments on the videos and get involved with our online discussions.

Matt (Chappy)

Mustang Shivers starring Uncle Ronski

2010-06-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

I was originally inspired to make videos from watching my uncle when I was a kid. Back in the 80's he would make videos with the family. Everyone would get involved as he recorded on his old vhs camera. Those early memories have never gone far away from my memory and I have always wanted to shoot something with him since i became a filmmaker. This video marks the first project we have done together since i was a teenager. I basically make him the star of his own video. Good times and this one is for Uncle Ronski!

"Mustang Shivers"
Created by Chappy
Performed by Uncle Ronski
Audio Recording and Mix by Matthew Lee Massie
Story by Chappy
Lyrics by Uncle Ronski and Matthew Lee Massie
Guest appearance: Amie and Ricki from Growing Up Guide Pup.

Connect on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/ChappyShowcase

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Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 17 - Swimming Pool

2010-06-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

This week was bittersweet. My parents are selling their house in Foster City. The harsh economy and overwhelming bills have become too much for my parents and they had to make this unfortunate move. It's the house i spent most of my childhood in. We bought the house when i was nine years old and I am 34 years old now. Needless to say, this has been the rooted homestead of my family for most of my life. They got an offer a week ago and decided to accept it.

So Amie and I decided what better way to say goodbye to the house than to give Ricki her first swimming experience there. She continues to amaze with her ability to adapt to new situations and excel. She fell in the pool three times on accident and didn't let that get in her way. She possesses a steadfast determination to learn to swim this week and it shows in the video.

Goodbye to my childhood home and hello to a new world of water for Ricki.

Giant Spider Attack

2010-05-31T13:30:00.001-07:00

I discovered this big spider in the front yard and decided to film it. After doing some research, I believe it is in the orb weaver family. I guess it is a type of garden spider that sets up a new web every night and waits for it's victims. They are not poisonous, but they can pack a mean bite that would not be pleasant.

Are you scared of spiders? This video is a little scary. I approached it with a quarter on a metal rod. The thing attacked and then curled into a little ball.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 16 - Mass Transit

2010-05-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

This week was really fun for me. In fact the most fun i have had filming the show in a long time. It is because we got to film with our puppy raising group for the first time. It is so much cooler having 12 dogs to film as opposed to one. So many more shots and things to show always occur. Ricki did really good this week. i can't believe how lucky we are to have her for this show. This whole thing could of just as well been a big disaster. So many dogs just don't have what it takes to be a guide, but it seems like she is destined for greatness. She just continues to kick ass.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 15 - Downtown Disney

2010-05-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

This episode is a continuation of last week. We had so much to share while we were in LA that we didn't want to cut things short. Especially cause of the events that occurred while at Downtown Disney in Anaheim. It seemed almost like fate that we ran into a family with a blind child. She was the cutest little girl, and she had so much interest in Ricki. It was at that moment that I was reminded why we make such large sacrifices with giving back our pups.

Please enjoy our latest installment and please subscribe on youtube, rate, favorite, and comment on the videos. It really helps us get more hits.

Matt

George Bush vs Locomotive

2010-05-22T21:27:00.001-07:00

This is my first attempt at creating a walking, talking jibjab style character. I chose to do something with a train cause there are railroad tracks behind my house.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 14 - Hollywood Trip

2010-05-17T22:34:00.001-07:00

This week was a trip down to LA for business and pleasure. We shot our life with Ricki for everyone to see as always. Amie and I had a lot of fun. We acquired a lot of footage and decided to make our trip a two part series for the show. Watch as Ricki continues to amaze and perform better than any dog we have had to date.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 13 - Bad Dog Eli

2010-05-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

Eli got into trouble once again. We filmed at in the in-laws house which included letting the dogs roam around in the garden. We actually caught him wanting to eat cilantro on camera. He also ate all the ripe strawberries, and ate something that made him ill this week. Amie thinks that it was fertilizer.

Be sure to tune in next week cause we are in LA right now. Our next episode should be fun.

Perspective and scale video: Pontiac GTO test

2010-05-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to play with scale and see if I could actually put myself next to some of my Danbury Mint muscle cars. The only part that made it hard was focal issues. There was no way to get everything in focus and pull the video off. I guess i could of found a infinite focus balance between everything, but then everything would of been soft which would of sucked. So instead I just did a little more editing to make it work.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 12 - Nylabones

2010-05-02T20:35:00.001-07:00

This episode snuck up on us. We had no time to shoot and prep. Luckily we were able to address some questions from last week which gave us something to work with. We really appreciate questions and urge everyone to keep them coming on youtube.

Our channel on youtube: GuideDogManiac
Subscribe to us, comment on the vids.

Matt

Video Lighting Trick Exposed

2010-04-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

I really like teaching people how to do amazing things with no money. I really feel like this video is another one.

It all started from the need to create a lighting effect that payed homage to one of the shots in the Rick Astley video "Never Gonna Give You Up". The shot where Rick Astley is in the trench coat and the wall is water lit behind him is the one I am referring to. They looked like they shot a HMI into a pool and bounced the light to create the background effect.

So this video tutorial was my answer to that shot. If you like this video, please subscribe on youtube and let me know you would like to see more. This really helps motivate me.

This trick cost me about $10 bucks. $3 for the cups, $7 for the metal rod, and everything else i already had.

Check it out:

Here is the RickRoll Reloaded Vid:

Hot Water Bottle Car Prank Demo

2010-04-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

I have been picking my brain for awhile on how to perform a really cool car prank. I came up with this idea.

Items needed:
1) Hot Water Bottle - $6
2) 2" to 3" hose clamp - $1
3) Some gaff tape - $10

All you have to do is secure the hot water bottle to the tail pipe of a car for this prank. It is important that the car is single exhaust (unless you want to double the cost and do it to both pipes) and the tail pipe has a diameter of approx. 2 to 3 inches. This is because all hot water bottles seem to have a 2 to 3 inch flap on the end. Once you get the clamp secured, fold the hot water bottle under and tape it to the exhaust. Make sure and only put a little tape as you want the bottle to come undone and pop up when it is pressurized.

Once the car is started, the victim should notice a lack of power immediately. Then when things look like they can't get any worse, a large explosion occurs.

The more gas that is given, the quicker the bottle will fill up and explode. At a idle, this video shows the bottle explode in about 30 seconds.

WARNING:
This video is for demonstration purposes only. Bodily harm might occur if this prank is performed wrong. Mechanical problems could occur if this prank is performed wrong.

Here is the video demonstration:

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 11 - Snow

2010-04-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

Ricki is growing like a weed. I think I can officially say that she is just as much a big dog now as she is a cute little puppy. It happens so fast! This week we took the dogs to Lake Tahoe for a trip to the snow. Spring is quickly approaching and we just decided it would be a great idea. We live in the San Francisco Bay area, so it took us about 3 1/2 hours to get to Tahoe. Not bad, considering the week before we were shooting footage on the sunny beaches of Moss Landing. Only in California!

This video blog is so cool because now we have so much of her locked into video immortality. This show is just as much a video diary for ourselves as it is a show to entertain and educate others out there. I look forward to seeing what adventures Ricki and the show take us on next.

Thanks for watching.
Matt

Are there security risks with using social network sites?

2010-04-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

Although it is a new trend to communicate "what you are doing" on twitter, or updating your status on facebook, I have a message of caution for everyone who enjoys using social networking sites.

Have people ever considered the consequences of announcing their activities over the internet? I didn't until last July. Why? Well, because my house was burglarized when my wife and I were out of town camping with freinds and family. Is it a coincidence that the first time we left the house over night in nearly a year that it was robbed? Moreoever, is this a direct result of my posting our activities all over the net?

I use a myriad of sites to stay connected with my family, freinds, fans, and followers. Sites like Twitter, Blogger, YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook are part of my daily routine as a online video creator. In an effort to stay connected, I have been participating in this digital cultural phenomenon with full dedication. In hindsight, I feel like I dropped my guard and never considered the consequences of announcing to the world that I was going to be out of town.

Everything a bad guy needs to case out possible victims is now on the internet; especially when you start factoring in the role of social networking sites and what they communicate. What you are doing and where you live can certainly be researched by a individual. Especially if one has a home business that is advertised online on top of social network sites. This sort of information is voluntarily put up by many people including myself. After all, I need to to make money, and the search for more clients never ends. It's not intentional, and many times it's information that I only intend for those I trust, but this mix and mesh of business and pleasure seems to have developed a gray area I never considered.

Ok, so by now you are probably wondering what happened exactly. The robber broke into our house through a side window away from our street. Once inside, this jerk stole our Playstation 2 stuff, Game Cube stuff, Amies jewelry, some of my editing software, and worse of all...my Macbook Pro. My Macbook was loaded with several video projects including everything pertinent to my new business that is still in development called GurillaTV. Luckily I was able to recover everything missing, but it was a real setback. Not to mention the $8,000 of things taken away from us.

I don't know, and probably will never find out how this scumbag knew we were going to be gone. But I can assure everyone out there that I am NOT going to announce personal information over the internet that could aid in our harm ever again. For the average person the internet is their freind, but information in the wrong hands can also make the internet their enemy.

This posting was originally put up back in July of 2009 on my chappyshowcase blog. Now i am reposting it on this site. Since then, a site called http://pleaserobme.com/ has gone up. It is a great site that really spreads awareness about the dangers of saying too much online. Essentially this site spreads the message of individuals who are saying "please rob me now"; based on their online activities. ABC news recently interviewed me because they read this blog. I never would of thought I would be speaking about such a subject. Who would of thought?

I've made my peace and I hope this blog has given a new perspective to everyone and how they incorporate social networking sites into their lives.

Chappy

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 10 - Beach

2010-04-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

For those who are unaware, or have not tuned into our weekly video diary, my wife and I raise guide dogs for the blind. We have been doing it for a long time now. As I bang away on my mac pro laptop (love this thing), our current dog in training is nuzzled up against my feet. Her name is Ricki and she is now 18 weeks old. Last time we weighed her, she was 28 pounds. But I can bet she passed the 30 pound barrier this week like a sprinter.

This week was my favorite video to produce so far. For many reasons this is my feeling, but mostly because Ricki is now fully vaccinated, and ready to discover the world. Our once quarantined life style, or at least very cautious for Ricki's safety, has been hit with a sledge hammer. Now we can have fun. The opportunities to what we can create with the show our endless, and a lot is to come.

Please check out our show. If you like it, subscribe on youtube, become our friend, leave comments in the video forum below the videos, favorite the videos you like, even send them to your friends.

Thanks,
Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup- Week 9 - Puppy Vaccines

2010-04-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

This week shot back to normal after we returned our first guide dog puppy Macklin to his partner. Jeannie was really happy to see Macklin and vice versa. If you like the show, I encourage you to please get involved on youtube. Although we appreciate people watching anywhere they can, we really like to interact with our audience and appreciate comments and questions in the section below our videos. The best place for that interaction is on youtube itself.

If you have any questions or would like to message me directly. Here is my email: moparlee2002@yahoo.com

The General Lee vs. Leeroy

2010-04-10T19:09:00.001-07:00

I have been a proud owner of a 69 Dodge Charger since 1997. I thought it would be fun to play with visual effects and make this video with the General Lee at the same time. My apologies to any General Lee fans out there. I was just messing around. The General Lee is still #1 in my book.

Chappy

Rickroll 2.0 Lyrics

2010-04-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have been asking about the lyrics of the "Never Gonna Give You Up" parody (rickroll reloaded). Find them below.

"Rickroll Reloaded" Lyrics
Song written by The Chappy Brothers
Matt and Luke Chapman (Chappy and Lucious)

Two thousand eight april one
That’s when our journey first begun
Click any thumbnail and you’d realize
You couldn’t youtube any other guy

I just wanna tell you what your seeing
Gotta make you understand 

Never gonna give this up
Never gonna live this down
Never gonna browse around cause your rickrolled
Never gonna be the same
Never gonna say I’m lame
Everybody knows my name on youtube

I’m so much bigger then I was
Your heart’s been taking
But you’re too shy to say it
Inside yer home page when you first log on
Type Ricky A and you’ve gotta play it

I am not just a one hit phenom
Don't tell me you don't pirate me

Never gonna give this up
Never gonna live this down
Never gonna browse around cause your rickrolled
Never gonna be the same
Never gonna say I’m lame
Everybody knows my name on youtube

 Never gonna give this up
Never gonna live this down
Never gonna browse around cause your rickrolled
Never gonna be the same
Never gonna say I’m lame
Everybody knows my name on youtube

  Ooo.... Live this down
 Ooo.... Live this down 

Never gonna live, never gonna live
live this down

Never gonna live, never gonna live
live this down

Rickroll Reloaded from Matt Chapman on Vimeo.

Growing Up Guide Pup- Week 8 - Macklin Reunion

2010-04-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

This week we had a very special guest; our first puppy Macklin. Macklin has been a guide for almost six years now living with his partner Jeannie. We are very fortunate in that we have stayed in contact with Jeannie, and jumped at the opportunity to babysit Macklin for two weeks while she is in Europe.

Raising guide dogs can be very straining emotionally, and having Macklin back stirred up feelings that have been hibernating for a long time. Please forgive us for breaking our regular show format. It was very had for us to film this week, but i am very happy with our candid motif that resulted.

Matt

Rickroll Parody for April Fools

2010-04-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

April Fools!

I just finished this parody on "Never Gonna Give You Up". It is a rickroll parody. My brother plays the part of Rick Astely. Vocals by my brother. Music recorded and mixed by my pal Pete Stringfellow. Darren Schmidt did the steadicam. I produced, directed, and cut the video.

Growing Up Guide Pup- Week 7 - Basic Commands

2010-03-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post this week. I have been really buys preparing to release a video on April fools. This has nothing to do with the guide pup show, but everything I do affects everything else. Anyways, this week was a really busy one. I was able to go out with Amie and get a lot of footage. I'm sure a lot of you have noticed that most of the footage we shoot outside of the house is from our cell phone. This has been a pretty interesting experiment for me. Balancing our high quality footage with low quality footage. This is the best way for me to show as much as possible for the vlog without dealing with all the red tape i would get if I brought my professional gear around.

Enjoy week 7,
Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup- Week 6 - Head Collar

2010-03-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

Ricki didn't put on any weight this week. However, it looks like someone put her in a vice and stretched her legs a few inches. It is pretty weird how this happens. Ricki is already growing up so fast. I can't believe the difference in six weeks.

So this week was a challenging one for Ricki. She and Amie have been training with a head collar. Amie really tries to give all the dogs a chance to work without it, but if the head collar is necessary, she won't hesitate to use it for the dogs benefit. Ricki has shown that she needs it because she is trying to eat everything in sight right now. I know, typical retriever behavior.

Please enjoy our latest episode.

Matt

Cool Lighting Tip For Video Creators

2010-03-21T19:49:00.001-07:00

My brother and i were supposed to make a video. Problem was none of our ideas were any good. The challenge of turning out a solid video once a week can be pretty daunting, and I think this week really reflected that. As a last resort I started brainstorming an idea for a new gurilla video and came up with this lighting tip. The first video is the "behind the scenes" and the second video is the actual video. If you like these tips or subjects, please connect with me on youtube, facebook and twitter and let me know. Maybe there are some ideas I can explore that I have not thought of. Ratings, comments, following, or becoming my fan really helps me stay motivated to do more.

cheers,
Chappy

Lighting Idea Gurilla Pwned:

Make a Gurilla Spotlight:

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 5 - Leash Training

2010-03-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

We just got through our first month of raising Ricki. It is amazing how fast time flies by. I can't believe it.

Ricki is improving with leaps and bounds. She is growing like crazy too. You can see the size change by watching this episode. During our leash walking part of the video diary you can see the four pounds Ricki put on pretty clearly.
We really appreciate the people who rate, comment and subscribe on youtube. This is the best way for us to build an audience. See ya next week.

Chappy's Premiere Vlog

2010-03-11T00:17:00.000-08:00

This whole thing was spontaneous. I had a shoot with Pete Stringfellow a few days ago. We had the green screen set up for a client, aftewards Pete said "do you want to record anything?". I thought why the hell not. This is what came out.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 4 - Co-raiser Elizabeth

2010-03-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

So our adventures with little Ricki the guide dog in training continue. We are finishing up on our first month raising Ricki and making this series at the same time. It has been crazy.

This week was really hectic cause i also was finishing up on some other video projects. I had Ricki with me a lot of the time. Ricki has started to become my little buddy when i am banging away up in the studio which has been nice. She is getting much better about having accidents in the house which is a relief. Her personality continues to develop.

This week marked the beginning of Amie turning on the training. She has been working hard at getting Ricki to walk on a leash. Ricki is making good progress, but still has a long way to go.

Be sure to rate, and comment our video series on youtube. Leave us questions below the videos so we can answer them on the show. Also, please hit that subscribe button.

cheers,
Matt

"Man Sexy" meets UK House Music

2010-03-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

So i just completed a new music video. It was a collaboration with Win Marcinak who makes house music for clubs in the UK. We decided to think outside the box and do something totally different. The theme "Man Sexy" is something my brother Luke came up with which seemed interesting. I still feel traumatized when I see myself in the beginning acting like Barry White....but we were messing around. This video is a convergence of modern dance, ballet, and house music. All in the direction and style of a ChappyShowcase video.

The Crazy Bird

2010-03-08T20:01:00.001-08:00

So this video is a first for me. I filmed a wild bird who has been stalking my office window for the last several days. The bird lands outside my window and taps on the glass as if to say "hey, got any food". I liked making this video so much that I hope to do more. It is all up to the bird though. In an effort to make friends with the little guy, I have been putting bread crumbs out on my window sill with the hope he will keep returning so I can record more footage of him.

Gurilla camcorder holder

2010-02-28T04:48:00.000-08:00

This is a gurilla video I'm sharing from my producer pal Nextraker. Check it out!

As quoted from his youtube page.
"Convert a regular goose neck lamp into a Flexible Cam Holder... Its very simple to make one of these, just watch the video to get an idea of how it works. No more shaking cam, No more darkness... Try it!"

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 3 - Potty Training

2010-02-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

Our adventures with our new guide dog pup Ricki continue. After a couple of weeks of simple filming and working out the vlog format, we decided to start getting more serious. This week we talked about how to potty train a guide dog puppy, and how to train them to chew on approved toys. Filming was crazy as usual, and we got some candid moments in there. If you like the web show, please rate, favorite, and comment on youtube. Feel free to subscribe on there too. We plan on doing this vlog until Ricki either graduates as a guide dog, or she is career changed.

Tiagra- Viagra spoof with Tiger Woods

2010-02-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

I made a spoof on Viagra for fun. It was a cool challenge cause i recycled footage from a Snickers commercial contest. I have never done this before and learned that just because you don't win a contest doesn't mean that your footage is useless.

Check out TIAGRA!