Lions and Zebras and Bears - Oh My!

Okay, no bears. But what else did Tracy and I see on our safari that is only one syllable long? Snakes, trees, birds? Yes, but bears seemed like the most exciting, if inaccurate choice.

I'm happy to report that I've divided the safari footage into Part I and Part II and posted them both on YouTube!  I'm also happy to report that what started as 3 hours and 15 minutes of raw footage turned into a 16 minute final version... you should be pretty happy about that too.

So that is the big thrill/accomplishment for the end of May.  The beginning of June should bring (keep your fingers crossed) the start of the tour guide job.  I'll keep you posted on that so - once I've got a few runs under my belt - you can book a tour for yourselves, your local friends or your out-of-town guests.

Now I must work on some footage from Zanzibar - (use your jazz hands, open your eyes as wide as you can and repeat after me) ZANZIBAR!!

Are You My Customer?

Hey All,

As you may have noticed when watching the movies I have posted on YouTube, I end them all with a copyright to Hey Miss K Productions.  But at this point, what is Hey Miss K Productions? Something I've printed on a business card.  Seems to me like it needs to be more.

So - I've been taking classes with the Small Business Administration.  I've been given an overview of the tax implications of incorporating as a sole proprietor vs. a c-corp or an s-corp (best if you don't ask me but take the class yourself) and I've learned of all the elements I need to consider to put together a business plan.

The first question is "who is your customer"?  When I think of who I want to see these movies, the answer is "everyone".  That seems a bit too broad.  Then there are the questions about what the unmet need is for this group and how your service will fill it.  If that's not enough, one must identify a market, scope out the competition and forecast sales.  Those things seem so much more straightforward if you're opening a restaurant or an eco-friendly dry cleaning business.

It's quite possibly time for me to go sit in a cabin in the woods to figure this all out or brainstorm with people or write down some options, put them in a hat, close my eyes and pick one.  

Instead of doing any of this, I've started editing safari footage!  3 hours and 15 minutes of footage has already been cut down to 35 minutes as I have realized you CAN have too many shots of elephants walking.  The best news is... there's still more cutting to be done.  You'll be thrilled to know there will undoubtedly be a 30 minute version for Tracy and I to relive the trip and a 10 (or so) minute version for everyone else who wants to see it, but only a little.

Why here's a little now!

Further Adventures in Filmmaking

Hey All,

What in the world has been going on with me lately, you ask?  Good question.

I've been sharing the story of the monkey man with as many people as I can.  I've entered the movie in a competition at an online site called Film Click.  Right now it is a featured film on the front page and I would encourage you to go there and click to watch it.  You don't have to watch it again if you've seen it, but click the link and go get a coffee - it will up the number of views and that can only be helpful.

I've also posted the movie on Current TV as well as nominate the Mazingira Monkey Project for World Challenge 08 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level.  There is potential for Juma to win a lot of money and expand his business.

Both the Film Click and World Challenge competitions I was invited to participate in by people who saw the movie at the Alice Film Festival.  So, getting myself out there has proven to be a good thing!

I remind myself of that as I'm forcing myself to go to a networking meeting/thingy at the Small Business Administration tonight.  While I'm working on getting a tv show - should I do something about Hey Miss K Productions?  I copyright my movies to this name, I put it on business cards I printed out but at this moment in time... it isn't technically a business.  Or is it?  Do you see what I'm dealing with?  But I try to make forward progress.

In other filmmaking adventures, my team from the Scary Cow group has finished filming our movie, Echo's Wonder.  I'm a bit sad the photo of me was shot in the bookstore shortly after 6:30 in the morning when I'm not at my peak, but you must admit, with the headphones and crazy microphone, I do look like quite the official location sound person.  The film screens June 1st at the Victoria Theater and I would encourage anyone who is around to come check it out. The sound is going to be fantastic.