Mixed race update 7-29

I apologize for my absence from this blog; things got a little crazy in the last couple months.

However, I can tell you that my follow-up to my mixed race documentary, tentatively titled "What Are You? The Dialogue Continues," will be a collaboration. The logistics are still being worked out, but a partnership should help me find sources that I had a hard time reaching.

My co-worker for this project is Brandon Jones. Jones produced a documentary similar to my own called In the Mix. You can watch the first part of that program by clicking here. I've got a feeling I'll show him a few of my tricks and not even notice.

I have three interviews completed and have a few more that haven't been scheduled yet. I'll also be visiting KMOJ to get some b-roll of one of my subjects who interns there and, depending on how things work out, I should be making a visit to a student group at the U of M focused on the multicultural and multiracial experience. And that's just on my own. There's no telling what Brandon will have scooped up, and that makes producing part 2 a little more exciting.

Award miss, business cards on the way

I won't be taking any hardware home this year. I submitted part three of my autism documentary series (I considered part two to be too similar to part one and didn't want to compete with myself for the same category) for the ACM Hometown Video Awards in the Documentary Public Awareness category and it lost to a group in Washington. $40 went down the drain either way; that's the fee I have to pay to ACM in order for my program to get accepted for consideration. I find it somewhat strange since the production quality for later episodes outdid the first program. I doubt I'll get judging forms back; I didn't last year even though I won, so I'll likely be left to wonder what was missing that catapulted my first program to an award win. However, I've entered a new realm as I pursue other subjects outside of autism. Perhaps a fresh topic will help in 2010, but I've got nine months to worry about that and seven more months to submit programming.

My co-worker asked how awards would change my life. I don't think it does in a drastic measure, but an award from an organization people don't laugh at does help get your name out there as a qualified producer, reporter, or whatever you end up doing. Unfortunately, the process is subjective. That's the downside with art. In the end, people do it because they love it, but there is a thirst for recognition beyond the pat on the back from mom and dad, theoretically speaking.

For the organization I work for part-time, it was a down year for SPNN. They only took home one win in the Empowerment category, youth division for the Youth Internship Program TV special. The Youth program consistently performs well at the Hometown Awards, which remains a bright spot.

On the bright side, my multiracial documentary will be screened on June 12th. I can't be there because I'll be working on another shoot that weekend, plus the Mixed Roots festival came up pretty quickly and I couldn't afford travel costs. I hope to attend next year. Not quite an award win, but if my show gets business and/or attention up here in flyover country, I'll consider it a win.

I went online to Vistaprint and ordered my first set of business cards. It will take about three weeks to process them and ship them here, which works out well since I don't anticipate any situations in the next three weeks where I'll need them. It also gives me something to look forward to when I get back from Milwaukee. They're basic for now. I want to keep them simple as I look for the best deal.

Documentary updates to come soon.

New mixed race documentary...I need people!

A week ago, I got my first interview for a new installment in my documentaries reporting on mixed race. People I've hooked up with through my exploration about mixed race have sent me some scholarly articles on the subject to help bring a more academic look into the construct. I'm also looking to expand the demographic from the first show to include more than just female college students. I succeeded so far by interviewing a friend who graduated from college a few years ago and had a lot of stories to tell about her identity.

Normally, I wouldn't recommend interviewing friends or acquaintances because you run the risk of getting into "friend mode" versus "reporter mode" and can unknowingly miss out on that great line or story that sells the program. However, that was not afforded to me a lot in high school, so I adapted by telling people I knew that I would have to talk to them as a reporter and not as a friend as I worked on the story. There are some lines I won't cross for ethical reasons, but I'm comfortable in situations where my friends may have a role in the story I'm telling.

However, I am looking for males or females in the Twin Cities area of any age who identify with two or more races. If you happen to be a college student, that's perfectly fine. Send an e-mail to bustermediagroup@yahoo.com and have your story told.

My first job

I was hired to produce a short documentary for Minnesota's Private Colleges, specifically for the 15th anniversary of the Phillips Scholarship Program run by the Phillips Foundation. The scholarships are offered to students who submit a community service project proposal and plan to attend a participating private college in Minnesota. You can see the program below.



If you liked what you saw, just imagine what I can do for you! E-mail me with your project ideas!

Film Festival details

If any of you are interested in heading to Los Angeles, my documentary "What Are You? A Dialogue on Mixed Race," will be shown at the Japanese American National Museum on Friday, June 12th sometime between 2:00-3:30 p.m. PDT. You can learn more about the festival at http://www.mxroots.org and also make a tax-deductible donation there.

If you go, you'll watch a condensed version. The organizers asked that I cut my film to 30 minutes to ensure that they can get as many films in as possible within the allotted time. As a result, I cut out several chapters and shortened a few.

Of course, if you can't make it to the festival, you can always go online and/or purchase your own DVD copy anytime.

Film Festival

I found out today that my documentary, "What Are You? A Dialogue on Mixed Race," was accepted for the 2nd annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival in Los Angeles on June 12th and 13th. I'll post additional details as they come in, but you can find out more about the fesitval by clicking here.

A new era begins

As of today, Buster Media Group officially joins the online world in the form of its own website to complement the productions that can be seen online. This site is the place to go for purchasing information and updates on programs currently in the works, including part five of Autism: The Wall That Knows No Limits.

Of course, this would not be possible without the help of viewers and visitors like yourself, so if you have an idea for a program or sources to follow up on existing shows, e-mail me your suggestions at bustermediagroup@yahoo.com. Production cannot happen without collaboration.

On that note, let's begin the journey.