Welcome to 2019

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What is it that makes the prospect of a new year exciting? Maybe it’s the fact that each new calendar serves as a reminder that we’re all writing this story together. Like any good story there are challenges, disappointments and hardships, but every day is another chance to contribute: to rise to the occasion, to exceed expectations, to create the kind of twist that will become legendary…

Snippies is honored to be a part of that magical process, and we’re looking forward to a year full of stories!

Incidentally, according to the Chinese zodiac 2019 is the year of the pig, but chickens are nice, too. Don’t you think?

Best wishes for 2019!

2018 Holiday Greetings

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Snippies is wishing everyone happy holidays! Have you thought about your video production needs for the new year? Give us a call so we can get planning.

Snippies Sunglasses in Capri

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Snippies Sunglasses sure do get around! Here is Oliver, ready to shoot on-street interviews in Capri.
Oliver’s future’s so bright, he’s gotta wear #Snippies shades.

Snippies’ traveling sunglasses continues! Send us some photos of your photos with your exotic locations and tag #Snippies.

So Long, Setbacks

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Setbacks are inevitable. Whether in your professional life or personal, there will be times where something stops you right in your tracks. Everything can seem perfect and you feel on top of the world one minute, then, suddenly the rug is swept right out from under your feet. You don’t get the promotion you thought you had in the bag, the huge meeting with a client was a flop, or you deal with a personal issue that can bring major hurt. No one is immune to setbacks, so we might as well figure out how to deal with and tackle them before they hinder your motivation to get yourself up and try again.

Let your setback be the platform for your comeback.

Here are four tips that I think are the most useful and helpful to get you get past the negativity that comes with obstacles and get you focused on making a comeback.

  1. Take time to acknowledge: Recognize the problem. So often we try to avoid the issue instead of facing it head on. Once you come to terms with the situation take time to process. Emotions and feelings are natural in these situations and it’s OKAY to take time to deal with them. Processing your emotions is very important so you can accept the situation and get control over your feelings before you do or say something you might regret. Taking the time to gather your feelings and identify the situation will successfully set you up for approaching the next step.
  2. Don’t panic: Jumping to conclusions will only lead to more setbacks. Panicking will hinder, not help the situation. Instead sit down and figure out the source of the problem. Write down the pros and cons, what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved without being biased or pointing fingers. Writing down the facts and walking through the circumstances will help you assess the situation, learn from it, and help you figure out what the proper next moves are.
  3. BE POSITIVE: I get it. Being positive is sometimes nearly impossible to do when you feel discouraged and down in the dumps. Instead of focusing on the things that went wrong in situations try to look at the opportunities that might come out of it. Obviously we can’t live in lala land, but focusing on chances you still have will psychologically keep you on track. So put on your positive pants, people!
  4. Take control and move on: Once you take the time to collect your thoughts and evaluate the situation – it’s time to take action. Think positive and focus on the things that are within your control. There are going to be independent factors that are out of your hands that you cannot spend your time and energy focusing on. Take your leanings from the last setback and move forward with those tips and tricks, so the next time you have a setback (yes, let’s be honest with ourselves it’ll happen) you know how to effectively overcome it and move on!

These 4 steps are definitely not the end all be all for every setback that will come your way, but they will come as a guide to ensure your obstacles are merely a little bump in the road that you dust off your shoulders and never look back at. Just remember: If you get knocked down, get back up!  When you get knocked down again, get back up AGAIN!

Check out the video below we produced for Mondelez on how they overcame a setback in the workplace and came out on top!

Written by: Grace Jenkins, Snippies Intern

Online Dating: Uncut

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As a video producer and interviewee in the Snippies Online Dating Horror Stories, I can tell you that there was much more to my story than what made final cut. So, here are the full gory details of one of my more noteworthy New York City dating escapades.

At the peak of my online dating career I would try almost any app or service that existed, from the traditional Match.com to the questionable algorithms of Coffee Meets Bagel. Like many New Yorkers, Tinder was one of the apps that (shamefully) worked its way into regular use on my phone. While I was willing to believe that it would be possible for me to find someone, I never wasted a single second considering Tinder would present me with the potential next rung on the ladder of career advancement.

What started as a seemingly innocent night of swiping while dog sitting took an interesting turn when I matched up with “Jane.”  She was short with an affinity for avocados and incisive wit. We met up at a bar in Brooklyn known for its extensive craft beer list and a propensity for dim lighting. Throughout the course of the date, conversation settled on our current employment situations where we subsequently found out that our occupations and skill sets were very similar.

Upon saying our goodbyes, after we had hounded the nearby closing McDonalds into giving us their leftovers, the usual parting message of “I had fun”/”I’d like to see you again”/”Thanks, but no thanks” was replaced instead with a comment I didn’t expect.

“Want to come back to my place?” Nope, wasn’t that.

It was, “If you want, I could probably get you an interview at my company.” I guess sometimes it is okay to mix business and pleasure? Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I passed along my resume to her the next day, which she passed to her supervisor, who subsequently emailed me to say he had heard good things and was inviting me for an interview.

I showed up to the interview prepared mentally and wardrobedly to impress. What I wasn’t entirely prepared for, was the imminent question of what led me here:

“So, how did you meet Jane?”

Having decided that “On Tinder” would convey neither the most professional nor eloquent first impression, my mind raced to come up with the perfect nebulous story until I eventually settled on the diplomatic, “eh, just through life.” I elaborated, claiming that we were both at the same bar on the same night and just started talking.

Shortly after, I reached out to Jane asking to see her again. “You’d have to be crazy if you want to see me again,” she said.
“Then sign me up for the electroshock therapy,” I responded, thinking she was being playful.

She was not.

I never heard from her or her company again.

Written By: Jim Rohner, Snippies Producer

No Signal. No Service. No Problem.

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Nomophobia: fear of being phoneless. Anyone come to mind? I’m guilty as charged, working for a busy global video production company with clients in cities from Seattle to Shanghai and everywhere in between. We understand the need to be connected but it doesn’t mean you can’t take a quick time out. Technology tends to be the controller of our lives. From the moment I wake up (from an app that sets off my alarm), till the minute I go to bed (app that plays wind-down tunes) my life is consumed by technology.

There is life between Wifi signals. I promise.

I’ve searched the internet and put endless tips to the test. Here are the 5 best that I’ve found to help you disconnect for the world and reconnect with yourself + others.

5 tips for unplugging:

1. Airplane Mode: No service? No problem. You can’t waste endless time on social platforms when you can’t connect to them. Airplane mode is a way to create your own dead-zone, anytime any place. This is a great habit to incorporate in your daily lives, socializing with friends, dinners with family, etc. Check out this video to see the benefits to dead zones 🙂
2. Phone-free morning: You need to take time off the grid. Why not start your day with this? Get a jumpstart on having a productive day. Get in a good sweat session, nice cup of coffee, house chores, etc. This can be a great way to start with a fresh mind and not waste moments in the morning scrolling through social media. Spend your mornings screen-free and feel more accomplished even before the start of the workday.
3. Delete the Distractions: Outta sight, outta mind. You can’t subconsciously click on your apps when they aren’t there. It’s a good thing to do from time to time if you really need to buckle down and avoid distractions. Whether you are studying for a final or trying to hit a deadline at work you can get that urge to take a ‘5 minute break’ that can turn into 45 before you know it (thx snapchat stories). So don’t even risk it- I swear you won’t miss much.
4. No phone zone: boundaries need to be a thing. Place the phone away from the bed. Extra plus: you have to get out of bed to turn off your alarm (snooze button no longer an option)! Screen time emits light to keep you up (que the late night, early morning, 3 cups of coffee before 9:00 a.m. routine that I may have fallen accustom too). Leave your phone on a dresser or outside the room so you resist the urge to reach for it, and get some Zzz’s.
5. No to Notifications: Shut off not only the phone but the mind too. Do you really need to be the first to like the newest Instagram post? I don’t think so. It disrupts your concentration from what’s important to what’s irrelevant. You may not even be hooked on social media, but how can you not look down at your phone when it’s buzzing 24/7? Say bye-bye to the notifications and hello to the concentration.

Trust me I get it, your cellphone feels like the glue that holds your life together but if you take a break once in a while you may be surprised at how much more connected to everything else you feel.

Written By: Grace Jenkins, Snippies Intern

Bring Your Work to Kids Day

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If you’re like myself, a mid-twenties office manager/executive assistant/go-to gal for literally whatever anyone needs, there’s not much than can throw me for a loop. For instance, I was once asked on the fly to play chess with a client that was waiting to meet with my boss. I’ve also managed to pull together a surprise birthday party, streamers and all, within an hour. I’m a renaissance woman. That is until the “K” word is mentioned from my boss and my throat starts to close up within seconds. Kids. Oh god, where’s my inhaler? Bring Your Kids to Work Day is a confetti-covered circus and it will be hilariously fun if you have the game plan I’m about to drop on you.

Step 1: Go Buy Stuff
I’m not sure if you’ve ever found yourself on the basement level of the Kmart under Madison Square Garden, but it’s an aggressively packed maze of kid’s toys and garden supplies. So, what do kids like most? They’ll treasure anything that has the potential to ruin furniture or can get stuck in an 8-year old’s hair. I bought every sticker in the office supplies section that didn’t say “sign here”. (They really like stickers.) I one-upped this by also grabbing some temporary tattoos. Aside from the immediate gag of watching a tiny girl slap some Sons of Anarchy-level skulls on her wrists, it’s also funny knowing that my boss is taking home some tatted-up children who now understand what permanent body art is. So, before you leave the store, round up an overwhelming arts and crafts pile in your cart and call it a day.

Step 2: Food
What do small people eat? Turns out it’s literally the same things that struggling millennial office managers eat. I grabbed some instant mac and cheese cups, gold fish, juice boxes, and planned a pizza party for lunch. Keep it simple, however. Kids really like the simplicity of bread, sauce, and cheese- so don’t go all Anthony Bourdain on them trying to sneak in adventurous elements like mushrooms or olives. To complete the grocery list, I bought supplies for an ice cream bar. This is a doubly good idea because it also constitutes as an activity- which ultimately gets you through the day.

Step 3: Activities
Ok, so this is the most important part of the day. There’s a lot of time in a work day and, as it turns out, kids need to be entertained. Let’s start with the aforementioned “overwhelming arts and crafts pile”. With the random loot I rounded up, we were able to: draw on the office windows, make mosaics, paint some fake stained glass things, and cut out fuzzy stickers. And, as if we didn’t have enough to do, I raised the bar even higher. We played with bubbles, went on a scavenger hunt, and had a hair-raising quick game of tag on stools with wheels throughout the office.

Well, that’s it, my steps to surviving Bring Your Kids to Work Day. Literally as easy as 1,2,3. The main thing to remember here is that it’s going to be a team effort. Everyone in the office is going to have to answer their phone nine times once the little ones realize the magic of extension numbers. Everyone is going to help clear the floors when the kids find the extra roll-y chairs and start drag racing down the hallway. And, a lucky few of us will get to eat an ice cream surprise that they make super special directly in the palm of your hand. But! It’s truly an extreme delight. I can honestly say that it’s enjoyable for all when a stampede of little feet come running into your office checking out the work you’re doing. Here’s to next year’s Bring Your Kid to Work Day! I won’t even need my inhaler this time. (Maybe.)

Snippies Bring Your Kids to Work Day from Snippies on Vimeo.

Written By: Courtney McCotter, Snippies Office Manager