GFG Tips

I haven't written in a while because honestly, I was a little frustrated and depressed that I didn't know what I was doing. That's probably when I SHOULD be writing because you can't just remember the good times. I think it's important to tell the whole story. Otherwise there would be no conflict or action. I'm going to try to remember these words the next time that I'm too depressed to write.

I decided in addition to trying to get contacts for Travel Channel, GPB, Discovery and different production companies, I would start doing GFG Travel tips and begin building a "following". I'm thinking once I get comfortable with this, I can also try to get on a couple of radio stations with GFG tips. I need to keep going & creating because the more seeds that I plant, the better chance we'll have of one of them blooming into something wonderful.

So this week the plan is:

1.) Send a pitch packet or try to set up a pitch meeting with someone at GPB.

2.) Come up with material for GFG Tips.

3.) Shoot 1 or 2 episodes.

4.) Make contact with Suzan over at Salt Run Productions.

That should be a good. We'll see if anything else pops up after trying those avenues.

Are ya ready? Let's GOOOOOOOO!!!!

WEBSITE IS UP!!!

Yesterday, Jimmy worked all day long on the GFG website.  It looks Awesome!!  

THANK YOU JIMMY!!

Please go to our website and check it out.

www.guthriefamilygetaways.com

In addition to that... we mailed our sizzle reel to the people that I met out in LA at the NATPE conference.  They are a production company who works with a lot of networks.  

Today I'm going to try to find other people to send it too, also.  Maybe the Travel Channel and National Geographic Channel.

Hopefully we will be able to report that we have a "deal" with a company soon.  Let us know what you think of our website.  We want to hear from you!! Have a great Tuesday!

Cover letters, one pagers & DVD's..OH MY!

Jimmy finished up the DVD label yesterday and I have to say, "I'm pretty darn proud of him!" It's so artistic!  We showed the sizzle reel to his side of the family last night and everyone seemed to love it.  I can't wait for some non-family members to see it so that we get an unbiased opinion on it.  I hope they love it as much as we do.  I personally think it's as good or better than some of the shows that I've seen out there. 

This morning I finished the "one pager" or "leave behind".  We are finally mailing our DVD off to a couple of our contacts tomorrow.  Ohhh...wouldn't it be GRAND (who says that anymore?) if they gave the green light this week?!  I know that I'm a total optimist but I don't know another way to be.  This is who I am down to the core. 

After my blog, it's breakfast and the cover letters.  I'm SO excited!!! Are your fingers crossed? How bout those toes, arms & eyes?  We need all the luck we can get!!

Not enough hours in the day.

Yesterday was crazy busy, especially for Jimmy.  We had friends in from out of town and they went out to see some people play music.  Plus, he had lots of work (Turner) and our other little business, AllerGators.  There just wasn't enough time to fit GFG into the day.  

Well, it's friday so hopefully things will be a little lighter and we will be able to accomplish some more GFG.  All that we have to do is make the cover letter, the cover for the DVD and burn the DVD's.

On top of everything...we are trying to sell our house and we have 2 sets of people coming to view it this morning so....I gotta go clean the house!!  

Do something adventurous and make some wonderful memories this weekend!

Thrilling Thursday!

Well, I saw the final show yesterday and thought it was wonderful!  I hope the rest of the world thinks so too.  Hopefully, Jimmy will have it uploaded on here sometime this week so that everyone can see it.  He's going to work on the DVD's today i.e... making them & designing the cover.

It would be amazing if we could overnight a DVD to someone that I pitched it to when I was in Los Angeles for the LA TVFest.  They have been waiting for about 6 weeks. Yikes!

Not much more to report right now.  I will keep you posted on when we actually get the sizzle reel in the hands of someone who can help get it on the air. 

Exciting stuff!!

Chuga Chuga Choo Choo.....

Yesterday I reported that the animated open was finished. Today, I think I'm able to report that the whole sizzle reel is finished!! I say this with a little bit of trepidation because I haven't actually seen the final product.  Hopefully, we won't have any more tweaks to do. Keep those fingers crossed.

Today, I'm going to focus on cover letters and to whom I will be sending them to for viewing. (And hopefully airing)

A friend of mine just reported that her book was published (and the sequel) by Little Brown.  They are the same publishing company that published the Twilight series and The Lovely Bones, so they are pretty darn BIG!! Anyway.... she wrote on her blog, "Keep on pursuing your dreams - because they have a funny way of coming true."  I couldn't agree MORE!  I don't feel like I'm the pushiest person in the world. In fact, I would call me accommodating but for some reason, when it comes to my dreams I just keep chugging along.  I'm definitely the turtle and not the hare.  I'm 40 years old and have been at this whole entertainment business for over 20 years.  I don't have a huge desire to be rich and famous...I just love this business.  I love storytelling and making people happy.  I think that's the key to a good life. "Love what you do."  Whatever your dream is...keep moving towards it.  

Keep chugging away.......chuga chuga choo choo......

Let me hear you say "Yeah!"... say "Oh- Yeah"......

Yes, ladies and gentleman... We finally have our animated open FINISHED!!  Of course, Jimmy had to sit at work until 12:30 am to get it because he didn't want to leave without it.  We may never have seen our animator again.  A BIG thanks to Jimmy for all of his hard work and dedication to this project!!  I have to also thank our animator for doing this for us.  Even though it took a long time to get it to us, the fact remains that he did help us.

We can all take a deep breath and relax a bit now because we are almost there.  All we have to do is drop the open in with the rest of the reel and we are good to go.  I just hope our editor is available to finish the deed today.

We should be able to upload the whole sizzle reel to our blogspot for viewing this week.  Please let us know what you think!

Happy Tuesday!  Go out there and finish a project that you have been wanting to do.  

It feels good!

Finishing our sizzle reel...

Of course, everything takes longer than you would expect it to take.....

The GFG sizzle reel is totally finished except for the animation.  We asked one of the senior animators at Turner (whom will remain anonymous) to help us with our open.  He's very talented and very nice so we were excited when he agreed to help. However, he has not been reliable at all!! It has been a big source of frustration.  He won't communicate with us. He has not returned phone calls or e-mails.  Jimmy has swung by his desk and left notes on his desk to call but still nothing.  So as of today, we have decided to replace him if we don't hear from him. We don't want his unprofessionalism to reflect on us to the people that are waiting to see our sizzle reel. VERY FRUSTRATING!!

Jimmy, who is Senior Sound Designer at Turner Broadcasting, worked tirelessly on the sound for GFG.  He finally finished yesterday and it sounds fantastic!  I'm always so impressed with all of the little nuances that he adds to really make it sound fuller.  He's like a painter... you have to get the paint strokes just right and that's what he does with sound.  

I have to give kudos to our editor, Shawn who has always been able to follow through for us. Even if he couldn't always work on it within our timeframe he would let us know.  We SO appreciate it when people are upfront and honest about things.  At least we know what to expect.  He's been AWESOME!

I don't mean to leave a lesson every day but...the thought for the day is... be honest, straight forward and communicate with people.  It doesn't have to be just with business, you can use that in your everyday life, as well.  It works across the board and in the end...

Everyone will be happy! THANK YOU TO JIMMY & SHAWN!!

Ahhh...the day after the Paul McCartney concert.  I'm tired, happy & relaxed.  It was a great family bonding experience.  At first, we said that the tickets were out of our budget but then we decided that sometimes you just have to GO FOR IT! This was a once in a lifetime chance.  Paul is 65 years old.  What are the chances that we will be in the right place, at the right time and have a free weekend to see a LEGEND?

No, not everything was perfect. It poured down rain for 20 minutes but we all hovered underneath a blanket and even invited other nice folks that were nearby to join us.  It turned out to be another bonding experience.  We all laughed and danced while Sir Paul made sure that we were having fun despite a "little rain".

So what am I trying say here? Well, of course we all can't afford to do everything that we want but you have to pick and choose what could possibly be the best experience of your life?  And don't be so locked into what you "expect" the adventure to be, that you can't roll with a little adversity. So it rained on our parade...big deal!  We still had a blast and that will just be apart of the story that we will be telling our grandchildren hopefully some day.  We took our 10 year old & 8 year old to see Sir Paul McCartney and I don't think any of us will EVER forget what an amazing time we had together. 

  Good Morning, GFG Fans!

A couple of days ago I bought a little journal and decided to write in it everyday about Guthrie Family Getaways but then....I thought it would be good to share our experience with all of our friends because we are really doing this for you!  

We hope to give you new ideas on places to go with your family.  We want to find good deals for you plus, ENTERTAIN you. :) We want you to be able to sit on the couch with the whole family and watch, giggle & become inspired to get out there and see the world!!  When you travel together you truly bond and make memories that will last a lifetime.  We are setting out on an adventure here, too and we are all doing it together.  You are now part of "Guthrie Family Getaways".

We want to hear from you so that we can all bond & make memories of our own.  

Have you been on a really cool trip?  Tell us about it.  We love stories of adventure!

We are almost finished with our "sizzle reel" so that we can get the show up on the air.  Stay tuned.......