Red Abbott's "The Spare Room"

Every Idea Starts With the Imagination

In 1987 I purchased our first family computer, which was a Macintosh. My six and three year old sons we’re stuck to it like glue far more than they were to any television. This was mainly due to the influence of their older cousin sharing his games they could play. In addition to the computer, I also purchased a video camera not too far there after.

As the years passed, I found my sons were starting to become extremely computer literate. I also started buying more advanced Apple Computers. In addition, they both started learning to play musical instruments. The oldest was focused on the guitar, while the younger one gave the piano I go, but later found the drums far more enjoyable. I was extremely pleased they were willing to explore their possible interests.

The video camera became a form of entertainment for them as they created their own adventures that included some quite hilarious acting scenes. What always amazed me was the creativity and pure imagination. What I discovered is they were able to compose some pretty amazing productions long before there were many advances in digital technology.

When my older son was in high school he ended up playing in a rock band where he and the band played for school dances. They all went their separate ways to college and developed their skills as individuals. Even though they were all at different colleges, they stayed connected. All three of them had Macintosh computers. They decided to create a band, but to compose the music electronically and share it over the internet. It took quite a while to develop a process that worked.

In August of 2007, they had composed enough songs to publish their very first album. Having Fun Without You. The CD was sent to CDBaby, where it could be purchased and also distributed to iTunes. Now it did not stop there. The above video clip, includes their big hit “The Spare Room”. They knew at the time MTV was taking the world by storm, so my son decided to really put his creativity and imagination to work. The animated graphics in the video he also created on his Macintosh computer.

This story became contagious as the magazine Popular Mechanics did a feature article on the band back in the January issue in 2008. The core message of the story was how they “closed the gap between hobbyist and professional” using off the shelf equipment. It was clear how technology leveled the playing field.

Technology continues to make serious advances, but you still need to have a very creative mindset and imagination to not just create something good, but exceptional. It is now 16 years later and my two sons and I continue to push ourselves to find ways to bring fresh engaging content to our clients. Our experiences and knowledge did not happen overnight, but has taken us decades to develop.

Our services include photography, videography, animation, and aerial footage. Whatever message you might be trying to get across to your target audience, I’m sure we can come up with a marketing publication that tells your story.