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Posted 2 years ago

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Doug Smith

1.) What is your name and where in the WWW (Whole Wide World) do you live?

Doug: My name is Doug Smith and I am currently located in Santa Cruz, California USA.

2.) What do you do for a living, what pays the bills? And what is the thing you do when you are not doing the thing that pays the bills?

Doug: To pay the bills I work odd jobs along with some freelance video/photo work. I’m currently a full time film student at the University of California Santa Cruz, so I take on whatever jobs I can manage to fit into my hectic schedule. Recently I’ve been doing a lot of commercial contests for sites such as current.tv and poptent.net. Whether it be for pay or play, I’m always experimenting with cameras. My girlfriend and I have a large collection of analog and digital cameras that we love to shoot on around town, and in the woods by our house. When I’m not slaving away at the computer I’m usually out on adventures with my girlfriend and pug Coco.

3.) How much of what you do, personally or professionally, gets done at the work space featured?

Doug: I probably spend half of my day in front of a computer screen of some sort, whether it be reading emails on an iPhone, catching up on the latest news stories on my recently acquired iPad, or editing photos and videos on my MacBook Pro.

4.) Typically, what time of the day do you normally find yourself at this desk, and for how long? Night owl, early bird? 

Doug: I’m definitely a night owl. As a film student, it’s hard for me to sleep when I know there are some unedited pictures or some raw video clips waiting to be compiled sitting on my hard-drives. 

5.) How much of what gets done at your desk is for work, how much is it to scratch your own creative itch?

Doug: My work is my play for the most part. Video and photography are my passions. Although it’s sometimes nice, it doesn’t matter if I’m making money off a project I’ve worked on. Right now I’m just concerned about building up my portfolio with different creative works that span the mediums of both photography and filmmaking.

6.) What are the essentials that can be found on your desk more times than not? How about those items just out of reach or out of sight? If it’s not on top of your desk what are the things you most often grab out of a top draw or cabinet? 

Doug: Bills, knick-knacks, camera gear, and flash drives/hard-drives have all found a place on my desk. I dread paying bills so often that there are times when they will just sit on my desk until I cannot bear them any longer. I have a number of random and obscure knick knacks that I have collected over the years. From mini Lego figures, to a Hot Wheels rendition of my car, to magnets that reference YouTube videos…..nothing is too wacky for this desk.

Somehow my camera gear always ends up on my desk. I’ve recently been acquiring more lenses for my Canon 5D Mark II DSLR so my desk serves as a storage place for all the stuff that won’t fit into into my camera bag. With all the photos and videos that I have stored, I need tons of space to back up everything. Let’s just say if hard-drives were not a necessity, I’d be a lot richer right now.

7.) What beverage/food/snack can one usually find at your desk, and why?

Doug: I try not to eat food at my desk to avoid crumbs, but sometimes I can’t help it. I prefer to engage in caffeinated beverages such as soda or coffee in one of my many interesting mugs that my girlfriend and I have been collecting over the years.

8.) Do you have any reasoning or anecdotes that lend some insight into why your desk is setup the way it is, or the thinking behind certain item(s)?  How about the things around your desks? Decoration, wall art, figurines, statues, etc? Any particular reason behind those?

Doug: I can’t stand empty space. Blank walls are the biggest eyesore for me. This is probably why every corner of my office/bedroom is covered with a collection of wall art, skateboard decks, and photos I have taken. Above my desk I have three skateboards mounted on the wall. I used to skateboard a lot and I really love the graphics they put on the bottoms of many of these boards. One is a mock iChat buddy list, another is a vintage analog camera, and the last is a bottle of hot sauce.

To the left of my desk is a signed headshot of one of my biggest role models Jim Carrey. I actually sent him a letter in first grade telling how much I looked up to him, and sure enough two years later, I got a picture signed by him in the mail. Above that is a framed magazine cut-out of my father, who was a sound engineer. He recently passed away so having him to look at gives inspiration and reminds me of all the good times.

9.) How much of what you do, or aspire to do, influences your desk setup, tangibly and intangibly. 

Doug: If you haven’t already guessed, I’m a Mac freak. When it comes to editing videos on a professional level, Apple’s platform is the most cost-effective and accessible. Having all the extra gizmos and gadgets (i.e. iPhone, iPad, iPod) is just icing on the cake. I really love Apple’s collective cohesiveness and having things in sync. I try to follow the black/white/silver color scheme across my desk, so everything from my speakers, to my hard drives, to my computer, all have a similar look across the board. My desk in general is fairly plain and clean, which usually doesn’t last long. Not to mention, my desk collects dust and dog hair like no other, which is a big annoyance.

10.) Are you a Mac or are you a PC? What machine(s) are setup and used at your desk? If you are a little bit of both tell us why. How about any other tech gear that can be found at your desk or in your home?

Doug: Mac! I’m currently working on a MacBook Pro that I have tethered to a second monitor (24” Apple Cinema Display) for video editing. I have 3 LaCie 750GB HDs in LaCie’s custom rack as well as two 500GB Rugged HDs. Not to mention all the HDs I have collecting dust in my closet. At my desk, one can usually find both my iPhone and iPad within reach, whether syncing music and apps or browsing the net while I wait for something to render in Final Cut Pro. I’m a big tech buff. I love to have the latest and newest toys to play with in my spare time.

11.) What’s the one piece of gear you could not live without?

Doug: My iPhone and I are connected at the hip. From email, to SMS texts, to Pandora, to Facebook, to Twitter, it’s a one stop shop… and it fits in your pocket. These pocket sized gadgets are the future. The apps are a great way to kill some time both before class or during breaks. To think that we would have this type of technology five years ago would be absurd. I cannot wait to get my hands on the new iPhone.

12.) What piece of gear cannot be found on your desk, but you wish it could be?

Doug: I’d love an additional monitor in conjunction with my second monitor. With video editing, the more screen real estate available, the better. When working on a complex edit, I often times find myself jacked up on gallons of coffee squinting at the screen trying to find a particular video clip. Maybe I’ll try out that app that turns the iPad into an additional screen.

13.) Software; what do you use more often than not. What helps you get the job done? And what do you not use, but hope one day to incorporate in your workflow?

Doug: Safari, Mail, iChat, Final Cut Pro, Light Room, Photoshop, and After Effects. These programs are the life and blood for getting all my post work done, including all the photos and videos I’ve shot. Although I still have a lot to learn with these programs, they have most definitely been a valuable resource in expanding my creative horizons.

14.) If you could change one thing about your desk, or the room it is currently in, what would that be? 

Doug: I’d love it if my desk and work space weren’t in the same room as my bed. Sometimes after a long night of editing, it’s so easy to take a short break and relax on the bed. Before you know it, I’m sawing logs and wasting countless hours I could have been editing. Just part of the game I guess.

15.) Workspace Breakdown;

 Think of as many things as possible that comprise the setup of your office or workspace, anything from the paint color on the walls to the floor mat your chair rolls on, and list them out. Who makes your desk, how about the cabinet next to your desk, your lamp, the overhead light fixture? Anything and everything you can see in the pictures shown, give as much color and background on these items as time and memory permits. 

Doug:

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If you would like to learn more about Doug Smith, his workspace, or his work, you can find him at the sites listed below;

Flickr - “dvxfilmerdoug”

Twitter - kmper02

Doug Smith Media Blog

Facebook

Vimeo

If you have any questions or comments about this, or any other featured setup, or you would like to have your own setup featured here on SetupsandSpaces.com feel free to email me at FValletutti@me.com.

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