The Mind-Made Muse

One Week and a World Premiere

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:03:44 PDT

It's September and fast approaching my very favourite time of year - harvest season. I'm reminded once again of our connection to the earth as we receive our harvest bounty, reaping what we have sown. Fittingly, we have finished our documentary on the artisan cheese-makers of Pugs Leap Farm in northern California, which premieres next week at the 23rd Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival. Because we are completely independent filmmakers, it's been a long road and a lot of work, but we wouldn't change a thing. Mike and I look forward to celebrating the completion of this film with our friends, collaborators and wine country film-goers. With a special tasting reception prior to the film, we will kick back, sample some fabulous local cheese and drink a glass of lovely local wine before screening the fruits of our labour for the Festival audience. If you're in Kenwood, Sonoma on Saturday, September 19th, come and see us! Tickets are available now and are only $10.00 for the reception and screening. If that weren't enough, net proceeds from the event will benefit the local schools' Edible Gardens program. It promises to be a great night: We hope to see you there.

ReelChanges.Org Site Down

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:36:34 PDT

Unfortunately, ReelChanges.org, our fiscal sponsor's site, which hosts our documentary project profiles and can accept tax-deductible contributions for them, is down today. Anyone trying to view the "Leap of Faith: Fast Lane to Farmstead" project with an intention to donate won't be able to do so until this problem is fixed. There was a vicious DOS attack on ReelChanges.org this past December - on Christmas Eve of all days - which took the site down for several days, so I'm wondering if that has happened again. I sincerely hope not: I have no idea who would target a non-profit website or for what reason. The timing is not fantastic, as just last week, premier cheese magazine Culture announced our film to its Facebook subscribers for support.

While I wait for news on when the site will be back up, if any potential donors sent from Culture Magazine have tried to visit the ReelChanges site, please don't hesitate to contact me directly for more information on the project. Thank you!

Festival Fever

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:23:36 PDT

We will finally be taking our documentary "Leap of Faith: Fast Lane to Farmstead" to audiences very shortly! The film has so far been invited into two international film festivals and will officially premiere at the 23rd Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival in September. As "Leap of Faith" was filmed in Sonoma county, focusing on the Healdsburg-based cheese-makers of Pugs Leap Farm, this premiere will be a homecoming. The film was entered as a work-in-progress and we still have some work to do before final completion. Anyone who would like to support this film can donate any amount, tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law, though our fiscal sponsor ReelChanges.org, here. Our outreach plan includes using the film to raise awareness of several food safety bills such as HR2749 and HR1332 which threaten to put small-scale farmers out of business by making it extremely difficult if not impossible to sell their food direct from the farm. Thank you!

Here's to Reel Change!

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:14:26 PST

Good news! We were informed today that our documentary project on wine-maker Sean Thackrey has been accepted for fiscal sponsorship and officially posted for funding on the ReelChanges website. What's great about this is that any contributions made to the project are tax deductible for U.S.-based donors. ReelChanges.org is part of the non-profit Center for Media Change, established to "enrich our culture by facilitating the creation and distribution of more high-quality documentaries." A fantastic mission and one for which we are very grateful.

We feel privileged to have such an organization behind us as we work to complete our film. ReelChanges.org is, simply, a cutting-edge tool and a much-needed forum for independent documentary filmmakers to showcase the cinematic equivalent of the road less traveled. There are already dozens of interesting, intelligent and worthwhile projects available for support, and while I hope for such support for Pleasure Architect, I would also love to see money flowing into the general ReelChanges coffers to make them a huge success.

Mike and I got as far as we could with the film on our own, so now it's time to get funded! Apparently we can't finish it soon enough for some people; just last week I received an unexpected email from a Frenchman living in London, asking if he could buy the DVD and if not, when would it be available? We're working on it, we're working on it.

A Better World, One Book at a Time?

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:37:55 PST

My new favorite bookstore is online. They call it Better World Books.

Every time you buy a book, a percentage goes towards funding worldwide literacy. As a social profit enterprise, BWB is associated with several charities focused on literacy, and you will know exactly which one when you buy. And so far, they have raised over 5 billion dollars to that end. Isn't that brilliant?

But that's not the only reason to shop there, though it's a great one. They actually have a fantastic selection of both new and used books. Right now there's a bargain "5 for $15" sale. And if that weren't enough, shipping is free within the U.S. Woo hoo!

I just found a book at Better World that wasn't available at Amazon, which tells me that David could be gearing up to hit Goliath right between the eyes. If that means another 17 million books saved from landfills, I'll right there, cheering him on. Come and join the party!

Finding Your True Work

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:44:10 PST

Mike and I just visited with Justine and Michael Toms, founders of social profit broadcasting company New Dimensions up north in Ukiah. They are also co-authors of the book True Work, an inspiring and practical guide to finding and doing the work you love, and fulfilling your higher purpose. Two wise and wonderful people, who have been doing just that for the last 30 years. Mike and I had a northward trip planned to deliver some of his framed photography to our friend Doralice Handal's store in Healdsburg and I had come across Justine's most recent book Small Pleasures when I most needed it. As their studio was only 45 minutes away from Healdsburg I wrote to ask if we could drop by; Justine and Michael kindly gave us an hour of their time and a copy of True Work. Such an inspiration; Mike and I hope to work with them very soon. In the meantime, should you like to support the work of New Dimensions, which exists to "deliver life-affirming, socially and spiritually relevant information, practical knowledge and perennial wisdom through the voices and visions of those who are asking new questions and are looking at the world in positive and inspiring ways," they are always looking for new members. In my opinion, their work has never been more important than it is right now.

New Year, New Life

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:38:58 PST

Whew. Been a while since the last post, and now we're into a New Year. 2009 holds so much promise, but there's hard work to do. Obama is President and there's enormous pressure on him to "fix" America. That is, of course, something that we can't leave up to one person to get on with, as we're all responsible. So I hope people will be patient and support President Obama's efforts to turn things around by "being the change they wish to see" in their own lives. Anything really is possible if we do it together.

This year, Mind-Made Media will continue to create content spotlighting people who live with no-holds-barred passion, doing what they love. These individuals show us what is possible when a conscious effort is made to live fully, connecting into that which connects us all. No matter what your current life circumstance, access to that power is always available. No matter what.

For me, the global crisis of 2008 that has affected everyone on some level, seemed to hold a message: it's now or never. In other words, be present and pay attention. It's so easy to fall into the time trap and put off the things you really want to do because you feel you "should" be doing something else. 2008 was a tough teacher in that regard: change or change will be forced upon you. I do believe it has all been for the good, though, and that will become apparent at some point. In the meantime, stop waiting to live the life you want to lead. Go grab it!

Wine Country Wonders

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:15:28 PDT

Mike and I have been up in wine country this past week, taking a breather from the City of Angels and doing some additional B roll shooting for our documentary on iconic wine-maker Sean Thackrey. It's absolutely beautiful, as usual. Once again it's harvest time at Thackrey & Co. so Sean and assistant wine-makers Andreas and Brian are in the thick of it; we caught up with them for the crush. As always, Sean is hands-on through the entire wine-making cycle, putting every bunch of grapes through the crusher himself, usually after a long drive (he drives the harvest truck himself) from a remote vineyard to collect the dawn pick. This year's grape yield has been significantly smaller due to frost damage so Sean has been working on three new wines. He's philosophical about it, though, likening his situation to that of a chef with limited ingredients: "We simply have to work with the fruit that's available." No doubt the results will be spectacular.

Love the Audience You Have

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:17:35 PDT

Lydia Loizides' blog entry for MediaPost's TV Board today talks about the value of existing audiences and the insanity of re-programming for a "new" audience that may not even exist. I think she's spot on.

"Loving the one you're with", I like to call it. If you're a network, and the bulk of your viewers are older white females, for the love of God, make something for them! They'll reward you handsomely for it. Marketers seem always to be on the hunt for that elusive "young demographic", which has the attention span of a flea at best. As such, programming is getting less interesting, especially as budgets continue to shrink. This is because networks, brands and agencies are forced to spread what they do have over more and more content, as more and more eyeballs move online.

Everyone wants to make a hit TV show, but customizing content for an already loyal audience has to be the smart way of building one, surely? It's all about the niche you choose (hopefully about which you are passionate yourself) and there's evidence to support this with the sharp growth of niche channels like History International, Military Channel and Science Channel. Trying to hit the popular narrow target can be a fools' errand. The best thing we can do is make programs that we would want to watch, and believe that there are enough people who agree.

Selling this idea to the industry itself is something else entirely and can be very painful. But, give the people what they want, I say, not what you think they want. Onward and upward!

New Beginnings

mindmademuse@gmail.com (AlexA) — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:40:46 PDT

Spring - albeit late Spring - is always an excellent time to start something new. I'm excited to be writing the inaugural post for the Mind-Made Muse; it's also my first blogging experience. My partner, Mike, and I started our production house in early 2007 after freelancing for many years and we've already come a long way. 2008 is our year to really start rolling. This blog will be the first place you'll find our news, views and various muses, as well as insight into the stories we've chosen to share through film. I hope you'll be inspired.