The Secret Lives of Ken Evoy
A Birthday Video Tribute

Who is Ken Evoy? "VJX" stands for "Video Jester eXposé", a mockumentary that investigates some burning issue of the day, such as, "Who is this Ken Evoy, really?" This was put together as a fun birthday tribute for the head of SBI (Site Build It), the place for small businesses to succeed on the Internet. (See my other SBI videos: "I Love My SBI" and Shelly, the SBI Tortoise.)

Wendy, a fellow SBI customer and fan, and webmaster of diva-girls-parties-and-stuff.com, came up with the idea of a birthday tribute page, and she asked me to contribute by making a birthday video.

I've never met him, but I've been very impressed with his hands-on interaction with the company and its customers, so I was happy to do it. She gave me freedom to come up with whatever I wanted, and this "secret lives" birthday video tribute was the result.

As with some of my other video projects, I went a little crazy with original music, manipulated photos, and all the rest — and it was a blast to make. The birthday video was recorded with a basic Panasonic camcorder and an external Sony microphone. The external music editing was done with Audacity, and the original music at the beginning was created with Sony Acid. The photo composites were done with Paint Shop Pro, and the video was produced with Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

Make Your Own Birthday Video Tribute

To make your own birthday video tribute (or a video tribute for any special occasion), you'll want to start with some photos and/or videos of the victim — er, I mean, honoree. (Tributee?) And, of course, a good story to tie them all together.

Many times, the best story is just their life story. It's also often the simplest to put together, especially if you have a good collection of photos from their life.

However, it can also be fun to come up with your own story, especially something completely wacky like I did for the Ken Evoy video tribute.

This was to be a surprise, and I didn't have access to his life's photo scrapbook — and I didn't even really know much about his private life — so, of course, I just made stuff up. I think it worked well, and he really enjoyed it.

Video Tribute Story Ideas

For your video tribute, you could:

• Make your person the hero of a common story or fairy tale
• Do a parody of some popular show or movie
• Put him or her in the center of a current news event or scandal (if you dare)

You could do a "Day in the Life," going through the typical events of a typical day, which may or may not have any relation to what their real life is actually like. (Maybe the more fantastical, the better — especially if they have a good sense of humor.)

Basically, funny and weird is almost always good, as long as you do it in a way that honors the person and doesn't insult anyone. However, mushy and sentimental might be just what you need.

Just know your audience, and be sensitive — remember that "tribute" is the goal.

The Ken Evoy Birthday Video Tribute

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The Birthday Video Tribute Transcript

Who is Ken Evoy?...

In this special edition of VJX (video jester exposé)

The secret lives of...

Who really is Ken Evoy?

How did he achieve such phenomenal success where others have failed?

We’ve beaten every bush,
And left no stone unturned,
To help find the answers to these important questions.

Who is Ken Evoy?

It would seem that this man is on a quest--an almost mythical quest — to help the little people succeed on the Internet.

We’ve uncovered some evidence to suggest that indeed this is the case. He is on a mythical quest, and in fact maybe his name shouldn’t be Ken Evoy at all. But rather, Ken Baggins.

Some of them like to say that Ken Evoy is not of this world, but he seems to come from a land far, far away. Well you may not have noticed, but Ken spelled backwards is Nek, which sounds a lot like — Shrek. So maybe his real name should be Shrek Evoy.

There’s his ability to just have that magic touch. He comes up with these tools that are like nothing else out there on the internet. How does he do it? Some people think he was perhaps born with this magician's touch. Maybe he’s not a normal person at all like you or me. In fact, this photographic evidence would suggest that...perhaps he is the long lost and in fact heretofore unknown second son of James and Lily potter. Is this Ken Potter?

Then there’s his ability to absorb new information like a sponge. Where he gets the time to soak in this new information is...just incredible. It seems like, well, like he’s made out of different stuff than the rest of us...because he’s just so good at soaking in that new knowledge. Our crack undercover team has come up with a possible explanation for this. Ken Evoy? Hmm. Maybe it’s really- Sponge Ken Square Pants?

And then there’s his fascination with the Caribbean. Particularly the island of Anguilla, but also this tortoise thing. Now, you and I know that there’s an island in the Caribbean that’s much closer to tortoises than Anguilla. That would be...Tortuga. Who else do we know that spends a lot of time in Tortuga? That would be none other than...Captain Jack, or should I say Captain Ken Sparrow.

Well, whether his identity should really be Sponge Ken Square Pants or Captain Ken, one thing is clear to all who know him: He’s amazing. Ken, on this your 54th birthday, the video jester is here to wish you the best. And I hope you have another bunch of birthdays that continue to bring you success, and continue to help you bring success to lots of other people.

Now, Ken, whatever your real identity is, one thing’s for certain: This is one Rolling Stone that’s not gathering any moss, any time soon.

Happy birthday, Ken!