On The Brighter Side...

I mentioned on my newsletter that I have been invited to speak at NYU! Yes, it is to freshmen but still. I can record it and add bits here. It will also help with the whole, your blog is boring issue. 

Then, once my new website is up, I am hoping to be showcased on Down & Dirty DV, Double 7 World, hey maybe NYWIFT? I am really starting to work on just getting people to know about my film.

So again,

SPREAD THE WORD!

A little story about that:

Once upon a time my sister was sitting on a bench in the campus of Universidad Francisco Marroquin when some girl she wen

t to high school with and never spoke to anymore comes up to her and asks her if she has a little sister in NYC because she had heard of a certain Christa Boarini who was making

 movies and doing great in the Big Apple. THAT is the kind of recognition I need. :)

My blog is Ugly and other reasons to cry...

I was Facebook chatting with one of my best friends, asking her if she got the notifiction of my latest Facebook blast about my blog.

 She asked me:

why did I want people to go to my blog?

Well, I want to get word out about my film of course. 

But why?

Well, so that when it is finished  I have a fanbase waiting for me.

Hmmm. But there is nothing appealing about your blog....

What? Nothing appealing about my blog!?

Nope, she says. It has a boring lay out. Nothing is eye catching. She gives me examples of cool sleek blogs with flash animations.  Why dont you make it more like that?

Well, I say, because because.. Because I cant with blogger and i have to work on my website and i am re designing my website all by myself because my brother was busy and i have to format emails every month and stay ontop of my facebook feed and advertise my doc and it is hard enough to keep posting new things on the blog and i am not a webdesigner.

Yes but, why dont you add backstage pictures and videos?

Because it is a doc: there are no continuous photos and there is no backstage. And I wish I had had the funds to have someone come to Guatemala with me to make a "Making Of" doc about my doc. 

Eventually I break down. She hit a nerve. She was pointing out the fact that I am not superman and couldnt be a director, producer, narrator, subject, publicist, accountant, writer, lawyer and web designer all at the same time without things slipping though my fingers. 

It is hard as hell. The upkeep of websites and fan bases and email newsletters and grant writing and appearances and networking and prospectus writing and and and and and the never ending list of things to do for a film is more than a full time job. And I am doing this while trying to maintain myself in New York City. So I cried, then tried to make my blog nicer. I made it have a black background and the same  header my website currently has. I hope it looks a little flashier... but  sigh. 

The Convo:

Christa

perdon, esq siento que me estas reganando y ya se que no es tu intencion pero estas diceindome cosas que ya se y tenes toda la razon pero me estresa pq no soy superman 

6:41pmAnaluisa

lo se

6:41pmChrista

:,(

6:41pmAnaluisa

solo te pido que antes que sigas con el blog analises la imagen que estas dando

te lo digo como amiga

y porque te quiero

6:42pmChrista

ya se analu... sigh

6:42pmAnaluisa

take a few steps back and analize what you want to say to ppl

vos sus una cineasta en new yourk

ahorita sos tu propia micro empresa

tenes que explotar las habilidades que si tenes que son muchas y yo lo se

subi fotos al blog sobre como estas haciendo la pelicula

your sets

diagramas, etc

ppl get interested when they see you work

get them inspired

6:45pmChrista

mano eso estoy tratando de hacer

6:45pmAnaluisa

i know you are good at that

6:45pmChrista

ok, youre right

6:46pmAnaluisa

vos las personas son como los tiburones... once you bleed you are dead

6:46pmChrista

i know you are, solo que le estas dando al clavo a una de las cosas que mas estres me causa que es mantenerme al tanto de mil cosas al mismo tiempo sin que ni una ni la otra se desmorone

6:46pmAnaluisa

entonces encargate de menos

talvez comunicate a las personas por medio de otro medio que no tengas que estar tan estresada y al tanto

6:47pmChrista

 no pueeeedo. Ya esoy ignorando un monton de cosas que deberia de tener hechas.

Es que no es tan faaacil

es un full time job

6:47pmAnaluisa

ok don´t cry

6:47pmChrista

y no tengo el tiempo si me quiero mantener viva

6:47pmAnaluisa

hug*

6:47pmChrista

:')

ok

6:47pmAnaluisa

entonces el blog en este momento no sea la mejor opción

que tla si pones un fan page en facebook?

subis tus peliculas

subis fotos de la documental

you update ppl on how you are going

explain ppl what you are up to

masto tiene un fan page y le va re bien ... y le iba bien mucho antes de sacar canciones

http://www.facebook.com/pages/DuoSway/111746164496?ref=ts

no es tan complicado de mantener

podes poner caciones, fotos, video, links

y escribir en el wall

http://catcm.blogspot.com/2010/02/el-enojo.html

mira este es otro blog de una cuata

que hace como poesia y reflexiones

6:51pmChrista

mano pero el blog se trata de el "making of" de mi doc

no de mis gustos

ok, anda a verlo ahora

que pensas

?

6:52pmAnaluisa

your blog en este momento no tiene nada que sea eye catcher

6:52pmChrista

ya lo viste ahorita?\

esta negro

hahaha

pues, al menos le puse un header

6:52pmAnaluisa

esta mejor de cuando lo vi hace dos días

6:53pmChrista

ademas es limitado lo que puedo hacer con Blogger

6:53pmAnaluisa

i know

chriss es diseñador

ahroita me recorde

i hate facebook chat

6:54pmChrista

ya se

es un popo

6:54pmAnaluisa

i have a love/ hate relationship with it

6:55pmAnaluisa

right know i will have to say instead a simpson pq no pones fotos como backstage of your film

6:55pmChrista

pq es una documental!

no hay un backstage

6:56pmAnaluisa

nombre pero fotos del lugar y cosas aasi

6:56pmChrista

si pero tiene que ir con un articulop\

para eso esta el webstie

6:58pmAnaluisa

ok

6:58pmChrista

pero gracias. I appreciate it

de veras

no quiero sonar enojada

6:59pmAnaluisa

i know you have lots of things on/in your mind

nunca he logrado master the in on

jajaja

6:59pmChrista

jeje

on your mind

in your head

7:00pmAnaluisa

thank you

7:00pmChrista

pues ya en un par de semanas saldra el nuevo look de mi website

slowly but surely

7:00pmAnaluisa

ok thats good

7:00pmChrista

y habra un link mas obvio desde mi blog a mi website

y vice versa

7:00pmAnaluisa

me parece

Down & Dirty DV

To those who read my blog (and I fancy there are thousands of you), I just wanted to let you all know that I also write for another blog, Down & Dirty DV. Down & Dirty DV is a small production company dedicated to helping up and coming indie filmmakers make their movies on any budget. So, since the readers of my Making Of blog might be interested in learning some tips and stuff about filmmaking at indie levels, check out www.DownandDirtyDV.blogspot.com or DownandDirtyDV.com

Email Opt Outs

A while ago I wrote an entry about how I screwed up my networking opportunity with someone by apparently asking about their personal life without intending to. Well, this person happened to work for P.O.V. documentaries, which is a network I really think is a good fit for my doc. She was one of the first to open the last email blast in January, probably because it had the name Sam Pollard in the title (a carefully calculated move on my part). However, in this last email blast she opted out of my newsletter and is now on my Do Not Mail list. Sadness. This was a bummer, and I am not sure how/if I can fix it. I know Sam knows her but I feel hesitant to ask him about it. We have to talk about my cut anyway, so maybe it will come up. I still plan on submitting my film to PBS's P.O.V, since they review films on an ongoing basis. However, there are a few more steps to take.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent my frustration to my anonymous collective mass of readers. Thanks for reading!

New Website Under Way

I downloaded trial versions of Dreamweaver and photoshop. While I have used them both before, lets say I feel like I did the first time I had to cook for myself. I was in Germany, it was a communal kitchen. I knew what all the tools were, I knew how to turn on a stove, but I was slow and a bit freaked out. I had eaten good food, I knew what the final product was supposed to be and yet I managed to somehow burn raviolli. Hurray.

In a similar way I am now doing my own website. Thank goodness Joey knows photoshop and could give me some pointers, and I am getting a hang of Dreamweaver. Especially since I have DreamTemplates which I bought for Artistic Tributes.

So the promise that went out with yesterday's Newsletter that by the March newsletter I would have a new website now has to come true because both trials are only for 30 days.

Here is what I have so far:
The website Header




And a button, which i have to re-make to say "Contact Us" And not "Contacts"

Another Typo to squirm about

The February newsletter just went out. I was quite happy with it. Aaand then, since my own personal email address is in the list of contacts, I received the email and realized that the subject line has a typo: "A New Blog, public appearaces and more! "

Hurray. The "n" on my keyboard gets stuck sometimes but this time it screwed me over. So now what do I do? Send it again with that correction and annoy people because they got two emails? Get filed a Spam?



Sigh. I guess I am going to just have to grin and bear it. Unless anyone suggests any different?

There was also the time that I sent out a bunch of resumes that said that I had plenty of experience in "pubic relations" instead of "public relations"...

Fresh off the Press

Just a quick post to show the new logo for Adventurous Stranger, LLC. Finally created the proper way in photoshop:

Ok, let us dream a little. You know how Tristar/Columbia have a black and white logo and then a kickass full-colored one?
I case you didn't, there they are:











So what I am going to do is coerse my mother the artist (see her work here) to paint the logo for me. I think Owen, my little cousin, pose for me.
I should get a better shot of him though...

Spread the Word!

I just added a Twitter and Facebook gadget. So share my blog on your social networking page!

Websites and Exposure

Ok... so last blog entry was a little depressing. Here are a few better news


I have been asked to speak at an NYU Colloquium. While it is a conversation with the Freshmen for a class I used to fall asleep in, it is still my first public appearance and I plan to film it and put snippets of it on my website, which by then will hopefully be new and improved.

To help me with my website, I have taken on Nitzan Rotschild. He needed to know in advance that I would need his help in the future so I could be included in his schedule of projects to hand to his immigration lawyer. Happy to help, now I have an extra hand. He is going to edit together a trailer (much needed) and my reel (also much needed) so they can be posted on my new personal site.

I now own www.TheViewFromBellasLuces.com, www.ChristaBoarini.com and soon will own www.AdventurousStranger.com

I am slowly working on uploading content to ChristaBoarini.com so that it can be included in my new profile page in www.TheViewFromBellasLuces.com and both need to be featured on AdventurousStrager.com which I have not even started. Jonathan is too busy to finish my website these days and so that is one more thing i have to figure out. Fun times.

The Status of Things...

I was recently in Florida, which is why I have not been updating this blog as often as I should. Shame on me, I know. But it I wanted to be with family. New York was cold and I had no job and I was getting lonely.

Going to see my mom, my dad and my sister really reminded me of just how we are all in the same position we were a year ago. Of how our lives changed and have not quite settled.

My dad just got back from a trip to St. Lucia. He went there for a potential project he could start and be employed at. Meanwhile, since he is jobless, he is probably going to work for the US 2010 Census. Nothing to be ashamed of, it puts food on the table and pays rent.

My mom is painting. That is all she is doing. Which is great. It really really is because, as I said in an interview, when mom is happy she paints and when she paints she is happy.

And Jessica. Jessica's whole life and career got hit with a gigantic monkey wrench. Will she go to Guate to study? Will she study here? If she goes to Guate where will she live? Alone? With Luis Pedro? With a bodyguard? With a maid? Can she even go back to where she left off in her rotations? Does she even want to stay in Medicine? Did her grades drop too low after mom was kidnapped to ever repair her academic record to the point that she could get accepted in the US? Will she be safe in Guate? What if something happens? What if what if what if. I sometimes think I should have made a documentary just about my sister's Med-School issues after the kidnapping.

Anyway, just some thoughts...

Logo

Yay, Adventurous Stranger has the beginning of a logo. My brother, who has been working on this, finally sent me the first draft of the logo:I must say, a very good start. I said I wanted something that was mysterious but somewhat magical and had a boy and a bell. As you can see, the bell is missing. So i sent him a very very rough version of an alternative:

Ok, the bell corners are not supposed to be blotchy, but since I do not have photoshop or paint on my computer, I had to use an online verison of paint called Sumo.

That is as far as the logo has come so far. Jonathan, my brother, is currently getting his Masters in Graphic Design from Miami Art Institute, and also working full time at Carnival Cruises. He is busy and has not gotten back to me on the change.

It is a really minor thing, this logo. My company isn't even published in the journal publication or whatever that the New York State Office of Something requires because, up until recently, I could not afford the $1500 cost of this little technicality. But it is a small step, this logo, that makes the company more real to me, and a small step that I can take while other things have slowed down.