Welcome to The New Square State Media

Welcome to Square State Media, an online gathering place for the Colorado community of creatives,  freelancers, students and artists looking for an outlet to broadcast themselves and gain exposure through social media.

The new site is based on the Tumblr platform in an effort to provide readers an easier way to post their own work. 

It’s simple. Send the work you would like promoted and from there it is posted on the blog, fed to Twitter and our Facebook Fan page.

For more information on how to show your work click here.

Thank you for your interest in joining the conversation and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Cheers,

Nathan W. Armes

Square State Media

James and Jessica Chance - Chance Multimedia

1: First, tell me a little about yourselves and your communications business? How and who first hatched the idea of Chance Multimedia?

James: I’m a British photographer. I moved to the US in 2003 to work on a Masters Degree at Ohio University, and have worked as a freelance photographer since graduating. While freelancing in Ohio I was brought in as creative consultant and producer for a project run by my wife, Jessica, who was then working as a communications specialist at the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. The project was part of a national campaign in partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts to lobby congress on necessary changes that were needed in the foster care system. Whilst working on the project we quickly realized the potential in our combined skill sets—essentially, her PR and communications knowledge, and my visual and journalism skills, in helping nonprofit organizations achieve both short term goals, and long term missions.

Soon after we decided to make a go of it and Jessica left her job so we could travel for a year to work on stories and develop our skills in multimedia production and digital storytelling. We produced several stories abroad, won an Every Human Has Rights Media Award in December 2008, and then resettled in Denver where we produce targeted photo and video content for local and international organizations. I continue to work as a freelance photographer as well. We truly enjoy our work, and we love living in Denver. Jessica: I earned a degree in magazine journalism in 2003, and then took a job in nonprofit communications.  I have always been fascinated, and driven by, stories and storytelling. When James and I worked on the My Story Project (with PCSAO), it occurred to me that this kind of storytelling was what I wanted to do. 

The Internet was exploding: Every organization could now utilize compelling photos and videos to connect their audience with the people they impact.  Chance Multimedia is a product of our combined skills and professional goals with a growing need for visual content in the digital age.

2: How has the partnership with Jessica helped your business grow? Meaning, do you guys break off chunks of the ‘to-do list’ and tackle individual tasks or do you both roll your shirtsleeves up and tackle all that goes into running a business? Are you two both head chefs, accountants and bottle washers?

James: Jessica understands PR and communications strategies. My skill set is very different. As mentioned previously it is the combination of our skills that make this work for our clients and us. We have modeled the business to provide content for nonprofits and foundations (although we do work with commercial clients). I couldn’t do this on my own. I can make something look visually compelling and string a good story together, but I don’t understand the all the needs and nuances of communications strategies in the nonprofit sector.

Yes, we break down the tasks. Jessica deals with the front end—planning the projects with clients and determining the strategy for what we are about to produce. Next, I take care of gathering all of the visual content, this includes shooting still images and video and often interviews (in which Jessica will be the interviewer). I will then select the best images and some video footage and Jessica will make a rough edit to follow the story or “ask” as determined by the client. We will then work together to clean the piece up for hand off. Jessica: I jokingly call James, the “talent,” in our partnership. 

My focus is always on the end purpose of the piece, how the visuals, narration, messaging, sequencing, etc. will work together to achieve our clients’ purpose.  James is a great photojournalist, so I always know that whatever we produce will look stunning.  It’s a lucky partnership.  When people ask us (often, with raised eyebrows) what it is like to be married and work together, I tell them that our values, skill sets, and professional goals complement each other’s so well, that we are compelled to do work together!

3: At times, do your ideas clash or is it a symbiotic relationship from start to finish during a production or shoot? Do you tend to bounce ideas off one another to find a greater common answer to the problem?

James: We form a basic battle plan for the project overall and have a shot list when we head out to shoot, but also working as a journalist I like to let events follow their own course, so things can change on location. But yes, we certainly communicate our own ideas, which can provide problems, but mostly solutions. We both respect each other’s experience in the areas that we specialize in. Jessica: We definitely bounce ideas off of each other regularly.  Our ideas clash sometimes, but that happens less and less as we have more experience working together.  As James said, we trust each others’ experience.  It’s a relief to be able to do that.

4: Has the chance to bounce ideas off one another, the most trusted of business partners, help you both sleep at night knowing that there is an open dialogue and sharing of ideas?

Absolutely.

5: I just finished watching ‘Living With The Dead’ and it was great. Can you fill me in on a little of the background – regarding the work that went into shooting in such a location?

James: We spent about five weeks in Manila. One week was spent petitioning for the necessary paperwork to enter and work in the cemetery and three weeks were spent shooting. The final week was spent tidying up the footage we had. I would go most days to photograph. Jessica would join me about every one to three days to build relationships with the people living there, assist with photography, film interviews, and capture audio. There is little in the way of video in the current piece, just the interviews. I plan to expand this when I go back.

How did you find such a story? Was it something you self-funded after research or did you stumble across while traveling – not that stumbling is a bad thing mind you.

James: I found a small article in a magazine; it only had a couple of images. A lot of my work focuses on people and their living environments—more recently and more specifically looking at the theme of “home.” Obviously the cemetery is pretty unique living environment so I was immediately interested. I did some research online and found very little in-depth reporting on the place, so started to plan a trip to the Philippines with Jessica to produce a story. The project was self-funded. We had some savings and I sold my car to get out there. A bit of a risk yes, but we believed in what we were doing. Thankfully, things are starting to pay off. Winning this award and having an opportunity to return to the cemetery feels very “full circle.”

6. ‘Living With The Dead’ has received a stack of awards and accolades, but did I read that you are heading back to Manila to continue work on the project after winning the POYi Emerging Vision Incentive?

James: Yes, the POYi Emerging Vision Incentive is a $10,000 award for a photographer to continue with a personal body of work over one year. I had entered the work I shot on the first trip (what we see now) in a number of awards and was very pleased to be recognized as a finalist or nominee, but this wasn’t enough to secure the funding I needed to continue with the work. I am very grateful to POYi and the Annenberg Foundation for giving me this opportunity. I hope to head back two-three times over the next year to expand the project. The award was for photography, but I also hope to expand the multimedia story by shooting more video.

Living with the Dead: Manila’s North Cemetery from Chance Multimedia on Vimeo. See more of James Chance’s work on his editorial website, here and his multimedia work at Chance Multimedia. The pair tweet from @ChanceMedia or follow all the Chance Multimedia’s news on Facebook.

Featuring Denver Photographer - Leah Millis

Sarilia Sally Francois, right, raises her arms in prayer during the morning service at First Haitian Baptist Church March 21 in Gretna, La.

Leah Millis is currently a photojournalism student at Metropolitan State College of Denver.  Born and raised in Colorado, Millis has been taking photographs with an SLR camera for 10 years this June. After traveling to Haiti in 2006 along with Cambodia, Thailand and Nepal, she decided to pursue photojournalism with an emphasis on social documentary. Millis first attended Knox College where she shot for The Knox Student for two years before transferring to Metro where she has been working at The Metropolitan for the last year.

Last summer Millis interned at the Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald and she is looking forward to an internship at The Denver Post this summer. In the fall, Millis plans to return to Haiti to work on a post-earthquake update.

Follow Leah on Twitter @LeahMillis

Fan Page: Leah K. Millis Photography

You can also checkout more of Millis’ work on her blog, ‘our histories, mysteries and slanted letters’

Claudia Mills’ Tween Novels: The Boys and Girls Next Door

By Alicia Rudnicki, Library Mix

Perhaps you know someone like Ethan, Julius, Jake, Lizzie, Hannah, Amanda or Maggie. Perhaps after you read about them in Claudia Mills’ insightful tween-to-teen novels, they will seem like some of the kids on your block or at school.

They are the boys and girls next door worrying about problems including absentee dads, bad grades, cruel classmates, first love and intolerance.

Kids caught in the middle

Mills specializes in telling stories about children in the middle—kids from third grade through middle school and kids caught in the middle of the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Although Ethan doesn’t like Lizzie writing lovesick poetry about him, he doesn’t know how to make her stop without hurting her feelings in the worst way.

Julius has decided to define himself as a slacker. He has given up trying to do well in school, thinking that nothing he does will gain his parents’ approval.

Hannah wants to make friends, yet she fears that by fitting in she will lose herself.

Amanda is caught between two parents she loves but whose bickering has created civil war at home.

And Maggie knows she shouldn’t be falling for bad boy Jake, but fall she must into life-changing trouble.

Creating likable characters

In addition to having published more than 40 books, ranging from picture books to novels for young teens, Mills is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Philosophers excel at pondering problems about making choices.

Mills’ characters are good thinkers who strive to do the right thing, especially after they do what is wrong.  The author succeeds not only at tuning in to the concerns of young teens but also at creating likable characters who seem real and really nice. That is why Mills has won many awards, including the 2008 Colorado Book Award for The Totally Made-Up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish. See Library Mix’s May 8, 2010 Mix & Shake Blog for more about this powerful book.

Here are five quick peeks into the lives of some of Mills’ characters beginning with Ethan, Julius and Lizzie, all of whom live in the same neighborhood and inhabit three of the author’s novels. Mills classifies these novels as being among her “oldies,” but they are certainly goodies.

Losers, Inc., 1997, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.

Ethan would like to be an academic and sports all-star similar to his older brother, but he never feels like he measures up in his accomplishments or his height. Peter always towers over him. So Ethan begins detailing his shortcomings in a book titled Life Isn’t Fair: A Proof. His best friend, Julius, suggests that they celebrate their mediocrity by forming a club called Losers, Inc. But Ethan disappoints Julius by deciding to become an excellent student when he develops a crush on his new student teacher. Then he dismays the ever-kind Julius by participating in a mean prank intended to get his lovesick classmate, Lizzie, to stop writing poems about him.

You’re A Brave Man, Julius Zimmerman, 1999, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.

There is no time for Julius to give in to the temptations of summer. His mother has developed an ambitious plan to improve him. It includes lots of reading, a summer job babysitting a difficult preschooler, and daily French lessons with the dreaded Madame Cowper who mortifies him by making everyone do “le Hokey Pokey.” Poor Julius can’t understand when to put his right foot in, take it out or shake it all about. It also really stinks that he has to potty train little Edison Blue or spend the summer changing diapers. Worse yet, he would like to appear manly to Edison’s beautiful and mysterious neighbor, Octavia, but she teases Julius for playing in the sandbox with Edison and his potty chair.

Lizzie at Last, 2000, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.

Lizzie loves school but dreads the beginning of seventh grade. She just doesn’t fit in. Classmates make fun of the romantic, old-fashioned dresses she loves and criticize her for being a brainiac in all her classes.  Lizzie’s Aunt Elspeth treats her to a shopping spree at The Gap to help Lizzie take the first step toward fitting in. Then Lizzie seeks advice from her nemesis, mean Marcia, about how to make Ethan like her. That’s when Lizzie learns how to giggle, flirt, and act like she doesn’t know all the answers in math. The only problem is that while Marcia’s boyfriend begins to like her, Ethan grows more distant.

Hannah On Her Way, 1991, MacMillan Publishing Company, New York.

At ten years old, Hannah still loves to play dolls and wear her long, blonde hair in a braid. She enjoys building ice sculptures with her parents and spending long, solitary hours sketching her cat. Unlike the popular girls, Hannah isn’t interested in make-up or talking about boys. But she has no friends. It bothers her when the noisy, new girl, Caitlin, must sit next to her. What bothers her more is the ease with which Caitlin befriends the popular girls. Then Caitlin surprises Hannah by trying to become her friend. Of course, the surprises don’t stop there, and some are uncomfortable for Hannah.

Standing Up to Mr. O, 1998, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.Paperback by Hyperion.

Similar to Lizzie and Hannah, Maggie is an excellent student. Her favorite teacher is Mr. O., the biology instructor who always cracks corny jokes at the beginning of class. Normally the best student in his class, Maggie gets in trouble with him when she expresses her moral aversion to cutting open a live worm. Instead of participating in the dissection, she chooses to earn an “F” on her lab assignment. When the class tough guy, Jake, joins in the protest, things start getting ugly yet romantic at the same time.

Contacting the author

Claudia Mills is becoming  increasingly popular, so chances are good that you will find her books at your local library. Although she enjoys all the awards that she has won, Mills says the greatest reward is hearing from students who have enjoyed her books. To send her a note or learn more about how she became a writer, visit Mills homepage.