no
little
things
PRODUCTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED
JACK HAMANN and LESLIE HAMANN
are award-winning journalists, writers, photographers and producers.
no little things Productions is renowned for COMPELLING STORYTELLING, offering professional video, podcasts, digital and print.
> WHAT DO YOU DO?
We tell stories.
Not the make-believe kind. Real stories about real people leading real lives.
We write books (On American Soil), produce video profiles and documentaries (more than a dozen so far), create podcasts, and write for magazines (The Writer, Volleyball Magazine, Art Business News, et. al.), newspapers and websites.
> WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
JUDICIAL PORTRAITS: An ongoing series of video documentary profiles of federal District Court judges--utterly fascinating folks, refreshingly opinionated and surprisingly down-to-earth. Four episodes now complete.
BROKEN COLUMN: A podcast about the true, often-tumultuous backstory behind two journalists (us) discovering that World War II's largest Army court-martial was fatally flawed. In production.
CROSS-COUNTRY: A multi-media dream roadtrip retracing a groundbreaking 1940s journey from Los Angeles to Washington, DC. In pre-production.
LEGACY PROFILES: The ultimate gift to or from the person who has everything. Contact us about producing a professional video interview with a loved one as a one-of-a-king legacy for future generations. Now taking appointments.
> HOW CAN I DO WHAT YOU DO?
Read. A lot.
Write. Photograph. Record. Every day. Simple is better than complex.
Seek entry-level employment in the industry. Then wow everyone with your willingness to learn.
Expect frequent failure. Learn from it. Decide whether inevitable cycles of feast and famine are an acceptable price to pay for pursuing your passion.
Expect occasional success. The spark for your best work is likely to come from an unexpected epiphany.
> NO LITTLE THINGS?
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“Sometimes when I consider
what tremendous consequences come from little things,
I am tempted to think there are no little things.”—BRUCE BARTON (1886-1967)
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“There are no little things.”
It's an expression well-known in certain athletic circles, particularly those who appreciate the teachings of legendary volleyball coach Dr. Carl McGown.
Dr. McGown puts it plainly: If you want to succeed, you have to learn, practice and master basics, even the smallest details. At the highest levels of competition, those seemingly little things become the difference between winning and losing.
Bruce Barton was one of those colorful, larger-than-life figures who seemed to flourish in the early part of the twentieth century. He was Madison Avenue’s original Don Draper, the first “B” in the giant advertising firm B. B. D. O. He had a gift for creating glib, memorable taglines and was a prolific author and magazine writer. One of his most famous books described Jesus as a consummate ad man and persuasive sloganeer.
The son of a Chicago-area preacher, Barton was the eldest of five siblings, plus an African-American orphan raised by his parents at a time when such inter-racial households were rare. Long before Bill & Melinda Gates vowed to contribute most of their wealth to health and education, Barton made a similar pledge. “I think it’s almost a disgrace for a man to die rich,” he said.
© 2016 Jack & Leslie Hamann | no little things Productions
