New York Technical Writer Talks Video Storytelling

I recently took a course on video storytelling at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Bob Sacha was an awesome teacher—smart, interesting, and instructive.

Sacha showed entertaining and inspiring examples of videos that have been shot on smartphones, including Hollywood blockbuster films such as Steven Soderbergh’s “High Flying Bird” and “Unsane.” Soderbergh used innovative techniques such as being pushed in a wheelchair instead of using a dolly.

6 Key Principles of Effective Video Storytelling

  • Choose an opening shot that is going to hook your viewer
  • Use a lot of close-ups and extreme close-ups to capture detail and evoke interest
  • Switch camera angles frequently to keep it interesting
  • Bring it on home with the closing shot—a reward for the viewer, with an image to remember that finishes the story
  • Use sound to help establish the mood
  • Evoke emotions in the viewer—we remember how we feel more than what we see or hear

Here’s an example of what I learned. Technical writing “how to” made into art! IMHO! 😉

Going to California” is a reference to a Led Zeppelin song lyric: “Took my chances on a big jet plane, never let ’em tell you that they’re all the same.” Each pair of students in the class made unique airplanes and unique videos!

Variations on a Theme – Adapting to Your Target Platform

Next I took the principles of great video storytelling and created 3 versions of a video:

Square for Instagram

This one is under 1 minute (timed for an Instagram feed), and square to display well in Instagram.

Short YouTube Version Captures Highlights

This is the length for my Another New York Love Affair art project, where each video is usually under two minutes. It captures the feel of the event, with behind-the-scenes warm-up and a flash on the audience at the beginning.

Full Length

This is the full length of the song. It’s my singing debut, and my Mom might want to see the whole thing!

Operating Procedures Helped New Bank to Open in NYC

CIO Linda Orlando, me, and CEO Judith Erwin on Orange Day at Grasshopper Bank
Former CIO Linda Orlando, technical writing consultant Karen Rempel, and CEO Judith Erwin celebrating Orange Day at Grasshopper Bank, May 2018 (working towards getting the bank ready for the official opening, which occurred in May 2019)

It was a day of celebration yesterday, as Grasshopper Bank completed its journey from conception to implementation. Grasshopper Bank is the first new bank to open in New York City since the housing crisis of 2008. The “C-Suite” team is led by CEO Judith Erwin, and some of the top women in the banking industry are the lights guiding this financial institution. The dynamic team, composed of industry heavyweights who have over 200 years of combined experience in commercial banking and financial services, raised close to $100 million in order to obtain OCC* approval. The bank will focus on New York’s “innovation economy,” with corporate, venture capital, and start-up clients.

I played a crucial role in helping the new bank obtain approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and make it to the starting line. I developed over 50 required standard operating procedures, working with various roles across the bank to determine procedures that would guide staff to perform all daily operations tasks in compliance with federal banking regulations. I brought my expertise in T24 to the task, and helped develop and document software requirements as well as procedures. My role included business analysis and training as well as technical writing, and I helped the team learn end-to-end processes for all daily and monthly procedures, from taking a deposit and boarding a loan to generating a financial statement.

I worked closely with the Chief Risk Officer, Sally Myers, to develop the required procedures to provide oversight from a risk mitigation and compliance perspective. I worked with CFO Sangeeta Kishore to ensure that the Operations team provided all required data and reports to her desk in a timely manner.

It was an exhilarating challenge and a great deal of fun, working with a fantastic team of people in an extremely dynamic, fast-paced environment. My daily compadres were the Operations team, under COO Gary Blumenthal,  and it was a real pleasure to work with this group to ensure they would be able to perform all required tasks on day one.

We focused on the user experience (UX) to ensure that staff and customers will love using the bank’s internal and external banking tools, developed for mobile and the web. The team of T24 consultants under Nikki Nelson were amazing to work with, and they were instrumental in bringing the bank to the point of opening the doors yesterday.

I wish the wonderful folks at Grasshopper Bank every success as they open their doors for business. Mazel tov!

*The OCC is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and thrift institutions and the federally licensed branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States.

New York, NY Technical Writer Looks at High Rises in the West Village

Karen Rempel New York NYC Technical Writer article for WestView NewsI recently toured one of the newest high rises that’s taking shape along the Hudson River in the West Village of New York City. 160 Leroy Street has a unique curvy design by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, making this star the most glamorous on the block. I wrote an article about the West Village’s new neighbor for the WestView News.

As neighbors go, 160 Leroy is more like Sophia Loren than Ralph Kramden, with the two private-elevatored penthouses selling this year for $51 million (7,750 square feet, with a rooftop pool) and $31.5 million (4,849 square feet, with a rooftop oasis), and a modest 9th floor one-bedroom (1,096 square feet, with double exposures) listed at $3.2 million. I concluded that this neighbor is going to be viewed 100 years from now as one of the most exciting architectural examples of our era.

New York, NY Technical Writer Publishes Tribute to Thomas Meehan in WestView News

Tom and his wife, Carolyn, having fun at a party in Fairfield, Connecticut during rehearsals for Ain’t Broadway Grand, which opened on Broadway in 1993. Photo by Merwin Goldsmith.

I was honored to write a tribute  to Thomas Meehan for the WestView News. He is the only librettist who had three Tony Award-winning musicals run for over 2,000 performances each on Broadway: Annie, The Producers, and Hairspray. He was so highly regarded that the marquees of Broadway theaters were dimmed for one minute in Tom’s memory on August 30th at 7:45 p.m.

The WestView News is published by and for the residents of the West Village of Manhattan; it is a monthly paper with a circulation of 20,000. This is my first piece in a New York publication, and I am thrilled to add this to my list of publication credits, and to be able to celebrate Tom’s life with his family, friends, and neighbors. He will be missed and remembered with love and admiration.

New York, NY Technical Writer and Web Content Developer designs Etsy store

Krystyna's Place Etsy StoreI worked a part-time job at Krystyna’s Place on Cornelia St. in New York this summer. I wanted to connect with people on the streets of New York, as a way of solidifying my transition from Vancouver to New York. I opened and closed the store, served customers, dressed the windows, and created an online store for Krystyna’s Place on Etsy. This web content development project entailed creating all the visual and design elements for the store, including a logo and header. I photographed 30 pieces that Krystyna had selected, measured them, wrote descriptions, and fell in love with the clothes!

This was the ideal summer job, allowing me to bring together my technical writing, photography, and design skills into a practical, hands-on situation with New York people and fashion. Now I can add fashion to the list of industries I’ve written for. For a fuller account, see my Wild Visions site.

New York, NY Technical Writer of Extraordinary Ability

Visa 2I fell in love with New York City (NYC) on my first visit in October, 2014, and moved here from Vancouver in 2017. I petitioned for immigration to the US on my own behalf (without a sponsor or employer), on the basis of being an Alien of Extraordinary Ability (I love that title!) in my field of work, technical writing. The photo above shows my initial application, which was 450 pages long and weighed 8 pounds. Note the patriotic red-white-and-blue color scheme.

I made the decision to immigrate in March 2016, and submitted my application on July 4 of 2016. My application was approved in late December. Super fast! Being accepted for immigration to the United States is a wonderful privilege, and many people helped me by writing letters on my behalf for the application. Thank you all!

Visa 3From the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website, this is the requirement for the EB-1 employment-based immigration category:

“You must be able to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim. Your achievements must be recognized in your field through extensive documentation. No offer of employment is required.

“You must meet 3 of 10 criteria, or provide evidence of a one-time achievement (i.e., Pulitzer, Oscar, Olympic Medal).”

I was able to provide documentation that showed I met not 3 but 8 of the 10 criteria, both in the first submission and in this second submission that provided additional evidence (350 pages, 5 pounds):

RFEThis was a rare opportunity to turn my technical writing skills to the task of preparing an immigration petition on my own behalf, and I was accepted as a permanent US resident on this basis. This means the US government considers my technical writing accomplishments to be equivalent to winning an Oscar or an Olympic medal. If you need a rock star technical writer to perform extraordinary technical writing and editing for you, you know who to call!

And if you need assistance preparing your own Alien of Extraordinary Ability application, I can certainly help you with that.

New York, NY Technical Writer Running for Team for Kids

New York NY Technical Writer After the Marathon!I had a blast last November running in the New York marathon. I exceeded my fund-raising goal for Harlem United, with the help of many generous friends, clients, family members, and colleagues. Together we raised over $3,000! And I ran in memory of David Bowie, which added another special element to the day and made the crowd interaction along the race course even more fun.

Bowie in blue suitI had such a great time that I am running in New York Road Runners’ 9 + 1. That’s 9 races and one volunteer shift in 2017 to qualify for the New York Marathon 2018. I’ll be running a crazy 5 races in June! This will include one in a mini-skirt, a retro run in old-school track clothes, a pride run, a dash through the Bronx, and a special race in Queens where I’ll be raising funds for Team for Kids.

I am thrilled for this chance to support kids to learn the love of running. Something that will last their whole lives and lead to life-long health and fitness. If you’d like to make a donation of $5 or more to Team for Kids, please visit my fund-raising page.

BTW, I just ran in the Central Park Classic 10K last weekend, and the oldest runner, an 82-year old New Yorker named George Hirsch, ran faster than me! So you see, it really is possible to run for a lifetime, for those of us who are lucky.

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