SMAPP has been out for less than a month and we already have a big update out! we’re committed to continually improving SMAPP so we’ve taken all the feedback from SMAPP users and made it even better and more accessible for filmmakers everywhere. if you haven’t downloaded SMAPP yet, then head straight over to the app store and download it.

to those who have supported us by purchasing SMAPP during its launch, we have made a few changes that will affect you directly so please read through this blog post thoroughly.

it’s official! the KNOW tour has begun!

Vegas was a great crowd to kick off the tour with. what was really interesting was the amount of thought everyone was putting into the way they go about their projects. you see, we challenged them to think of a shoot, either past or future, and to reference it in their minds every time we covered a new topic. it was great to hear about some things that would stay the same but also how some approaches would change for certain situations…

we can’t believe that we’re so close to the start of the KNOW tour! we’re just two days away and it feels like just yesterday it was September of last year when we started putting puzzle pieces together for this journey.

today i flew into Las Vegas, our first city on the tour. this Saturday we’ll be joined by supporters and attendees for the first of 37 intensive workshops. but in the meantime, the rest of the team is making their way in from San Francisco and we’re tying up some loose ends before our marathon begins!

one thing we’re giddy over is the fact that we got to see the KNOW books in person for the first time today! actually, i have yet to see them and i’m DYING over here… but the team sent me pictures and holy yowzamoles do they ever look sweet! but more than that, we’re really excited to share them with attendees of the tour. we talked about the book in a previous post and how it bloomed into a 380-page field guide (it was originally going to be a 70-page workbook). what’s great about it now is that while it certainly ties into the content of the workshop, and the two are meant to go together, the book itself is packed with practical information that will be valuable for a ton of people, even those who can’t make it to the tour.

once the rest of the team arrives in Vegas, we’re going to start unboxing all kinds of goodies that will be shared with everyone. our supporters have sent us mountains of gear, from lighting and audio equipment to camera support tools and accessories that make filmmaking more creative and fun. we’ll be talking about all of this gear, doing live demos, and best of all, if you’re coming to the tour you will have the opportunity to play with, test out, and evaluate everything that’s there. you’ll also be able to ask us questions about it all, and talk directly with the manufacturers too – they’ll be at every stop with us…

those who have been to Whistler in Vancouver, Canada know just how stunning of a backdrop it is. for Cath and Kevin, it was also a place with great significance. Vancouver, nature, and hiking all mean a ton to both of them. Kevin, as you’ll learn in the film, proposed to Cath while on a hike with the family. proposing with family around isn’t the most conventional way to do it, but it certainly is their way to do it. on the wedding day, Kevin’s sister officiated the wedding and it provided such an interesting twist for us to have the officiant getting ready with the family, helping with the vows, and discussing what she wanted to say at the ceremony.

Cath and Kevin had just flown in from Hong Kong and we gathered in the living room of their rental cottage a couple days before the wedding. Cath mentioned how you rarely look up in Hong Kong and that the Whistler was so inspiring that you were always looking up. she wanted to take her friends and family on a hike the day before the wedding so they could really experience Whistler and take it all in. we knew that hiking played a large role in their relationship so of course we would need to join in on the hiking adventure.

over the last week, we’ve been working away diligently on creating feedback for the films that were submitted for the Big Shorts challenge. our hope is that this feedback will help filmmakers see their pieces from a new perspective and give them inspiration to find new ways to improve their storytelling.

but we also hope that even those who may not have participated in the challenge can take something away with them too. so head on over to the Big Shorts Feedback page, click on any film, and open up its corresponding PDF feedback form to read our take on the piece. try watching the film first and write your own feedback too and see what you’re able to pick out, and then compare it to ours. do you agree? disagree? got additional thoughts you think will help?

we really want this to be an all-round educational experience for everyone who visits…