It is no secret. Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am a big fan of Tolkien and his tales of Middle Earth. I have good reason too. Once you get past the Orc's, and Uruk Hai's, understand that Gandalf and Mithrandir are the same person and the Eagles couldn't just drop the ring into Mordor themselves, there are some valuable lessons to be drawn from this great work. Here are just a few gems that appear in Peter Jackson's big screen adaptation.

The first film I ever shot was a 60 second, one take story, on an Arriflex 16mm camera. Using black and white film, you have yo be very careful. You need a light meter and colour charts to make sure the exposure and colour tones are correct, and gaffer tape for the sides of the camera to make sure no light leaks in. I was 17 years old and I was just getting started.

It was Richard, Candle & Bell's geek in residence, that handed me a book that finally spoke to me. This is the entrepreneur I want to be. It was called 'Soul Trader' by Rasheed Ogunlaru. If, like me, you've tried (and failed) to be inspired by all the 'how to build a successful business' books out there then I suggest you give this one a whirl. If you resent the 'cold-calling', quantity over quality attitude to doing business and don't want to go down that road yourself then 'Soul Trader' will have some useful insights into how to sell your services or products.

Why working with small creative firms could be the best thing that ever happened to your business.

Welcome to the last in our series of How to make a Web Video. We previously covered the various stages of making a web video, how to plan and film it, and the various stages of Post Production. So now you have a web video what do you do with it?

We decided to write these series of blog posts as a means of informing clients future and existing about the steps involved in making their video. So far we've covered the planning and pre-production phase and the production process. Once all the footage is captured then post-production begins.

You've thought long and hard about what you want to achieve with your video and who the target audience is. Working closely with a production company you've created the best script possible and decided on all the other particulars including cast, location and schedule. Now you're ready to move into production.

A lot of people are daunted by the idea of making a video so we created the following series of blog posts to give an overview of the process and key points to consider before, during, and after making your web video. We hope you find the blog helpful and that it offers you a clear idea of the intricacies involved in video and animation production.