Introducing: The DFO

First things first... visit www.disfanfilm.com! Now.. back to the blog..

Ok... this blog entry will be a little different. Think about Reeses Peanut Butter Cups... Two totally different things, chocolate and peanut butter. Before the cup was invented, people would say these are two things that just don't belong together. But in fact they are.. and a wonderful thing they are too. So tonight's blog will be about two different subjects that may not seem to go together, but stick with it.. they will.

Point 1: I love using film (video) as a way to tell stories.

Anyone who has read my blog over the past two years has probably picked up on a common theme: I seem to be happiest when running around working my butt off on some kind of film project. And as such, I am constantly trying to find new stories that I can commit to film.

In my opinion, a documentary filmmaker of today is much like a novelist of yesterday. We both are keeping a constant lookout for stories to tell, stories that intrigue us, that we find interesting. A novelist then does research to discover his characters and story before putting pencil to paper and taking what he sees in his mind and telling the rest of the world the story, on paper. The documentary filmmaker does it much the same way, finding interesting stories, but uses a video camera to tell his story in an interesting visual way.

Luckily, the tools for telling stories through film have worked their way down the technology chain to give more and more people access to them. Some critics may say that this will dilute the field of films coming out... that with so many having the tools, the quality will go down and the quantity will go up. In some cases this may be true. But in my opinion, a good story is a good story, regardless of whether a studio with millions of dollars hears it, or someone with a prosumer camera and a laptop hears it. Besides, critics may have said the same things when pencils began to be available to the world.. or computers began to spread. "But if everyone has a pencil.. now everyone will be writing, and it will no longer be a tool for the elite!!!" But only when everyone has access to the tools do the real talents emerge.

Film is also an interesting beast in that there is a misconception in the past that it is a hard thing to do. You see the behind the scenes photos of films being produced and what do you see? Lots of people. It looks really difficult to produce a film! And when we hear about Hollywood's ballooning budgets for films.. it sounds expensive too! This makes the average person think "It is way to expensive and complicated for me to make a film" when in fact, this is not the case. A person with a basic camera, an ability to look through the lens and tell a compelling story can make just as much impact on society as a large film studio with millions of dollars to burn. We are seeing this more and more thanks to the YouTube site. Now granted, a large majority of what you find on that site is pure crap. Made by teenagers who love filming their exploits and putting them up for the world to see. But there are good videos to be found on YouTube.. videos that show a lot of talent, creativity and ingenuity. It's changing what we know about film and what society considers to be the norms of the medium.

Take, for example a film called "Bloody Omaha" that can be seen on YouTube... (click here). Steven Speilberg took a thousand extras, millions of dollars and a month of shooting to recreate the storming of the beaches in Normandy for his film Saving Private Ryan. In "Bloody Omaha" 3 filmmakers with almost no budget set out to recreate this same opening scene, in the course of 4 days. And their results are mind blowing. This, to me, is the antithesis of where this is all going. It's not just Hollywood anymore... Anyone can do it, if they really want to.

So that brings me to.. me, realizing that I have the power to tell stories just as well as the big boys of Hollywood. I have the tools.. I have the cameras, I have the software, but what can I do with it all? In the past, this question has been easily answered thanks to my finding how many inspirational stories can be found on a high school girl's volleyball team. I have loved the time I have spent over the last... 6 years documenting those stories.. putting them on film. But the question that has always stayed in the back of my mind, much like the novelist.. is when it's not volleyball season, what kind of stories do I want to tell? Sure, I am making money by telling the volleyball stories.. hard to turn that down. But even if no one was paying me.. what kinds of stories would I want to tell? Everyone who sees my volleyball films talk about "my shooting style" and how much they connect with it... but I have to try to do something with it besides volleyball, but what?

Now.. Hold that thought... Put it one side of your brain. Then steer the other side towards this:

Point 2: I have become a Disney Podcast addict.
A little over a year ago.. I was reading one of my favorite websites at www.jimhillmedia.com. Jim Hill is a writer that focuses on the Walt Disney Company, telling visitors all about the goings on in the company as well as providing all sorts of background information about the Disney theme parks.. how certain attractions came to be.. how some were conceived, but never made.. just my kind of thing as a Disney fan. In one column, Jim mentioned his participation in a Podcast about the Disney parks and, as I enjoyed the site, I followed along. From that day on.. I was hooked. Suddenly my iPod began filling up with WDW Radio, The Magical Definition Podcast, MouseGuest Weekly, All About the Mouse, NETcot, and others.

And while I loved listening to these podcasts on my iPod during my commute to and from work, part of me was really annoyed at them. The people hosting these podcasts actually were able to make a living.. by being a Disney fan. Yup.. they have figured out a way to get paid.. to go to Disneyworld. Take, for example, a guy named Jeff Lange. He started shooting video of theme park attractions back in the late 80's. He'd go to a park, and film the whole thing, start to finish. I don't think he thought about the potential of this down the road.. maybe he did, but what he has now done is take all the footage and release it on DVD. Want to ride EPCOT Center's old Horizon's ride, a fan favorite that no longer exists? You can.. you can buy Jeff's Horizon's DVD featuring every version of it! I'd pay money for that!!! And lots do. I hear about that kind of thing.. and just kick myself. Why did I not think of that?! It's brilliant!

Some podcasters are writing books, creating audio CD's, holding fan events all over the place... It's nuts. I feel like I have stumbled across this subculture of people all with the same crazy interests that I do. And that is very cool to me.. I'm not the only Disneyworld freak!!! Woo Hoo! But at the same time... I want in on this.. I want to become a player in this Disney Online Community. But how do I do that?! Do I have the resources to make my own podcast? Nope. Plus there are too many others that already exist. Could I create a Disney website? Well, I could, but again.. there are probably too many out there to compete with. Could I write a book? Theoretically, I guess. But what's my angle? Why would anyone care? So I do I contribute to this group that I am so intrigued with? Many ideas floated through my head for several months.. until one day.. when a lightbulb went off.

Ok... now.. join the two sides of your brain back together. And... mix. Where does that put us?

I like to tell stories with film... I am fascinated by the Disney Online Community and all that it does for people... when my brain put the two together.. suddenly I had something potentially interesting to me. I could make a film.. not about Disney, the company, but about this emerging online community and what drives it. What causes these people to spend their hard earned money to travel to the parks year after year? What makes them so passionate? How did these people find these online resources and what are they going to do with them now that they have them. This is a new subject in today's world that is interesting: How do businesses, with communities of passionate fans, use that? How does this change business and their decision making?

Last year, Disney announced that its Marketing focus had moved away from "Park Birthday Celebrations".. you know.. "Come Celebrate Disneyland's 40th Anniversary!!" that it had always done. It just so happened that one of Disney's most fan liked parks, Florida's EPCOT Center was turning 25. So when Disney announced there were no plans for a formal celebration, fans were extremely disappointed. But thanks to this online community, they all bonded together saying "If Disney wont do it.. then we'll do it ourselves". Using the internet and podcasts, fans made their own plans for October 1st. They organized large groups.. of thousands of people all flying in to be there for the special day, each planning their own festivities. Disney did take notice and soon reversed their decision. Suddenly Disney had their "own" celebration planned.. a celebration that received rave reviews from the faithful that attended.

But what does this mean? Does this mean that fans, using the internet to organize themselves can actually persuade a large corporation to change its ways? What kind of power do these groups have in today's society and how do businesses cope with this kind of phenomenon? To me.. that is intriguing.

One final lightbulb to kick me in the rear... About a month ago, one of my employees sent me a link to an interesting website. It was for a fan film created by Star Wars fans to express their displeasure with the new 3 Star Wars films. Their idea was to use this new YouTube mindset to have fans record interviews of themselves and submit them to be part of this documentary film. While I disagreed with the concept, the whole idea seemed brilliant. By giving people the opportunity to be in a documentary film, it allows a filmmaker to collect stories and tell an interesting tale.. straight from the fans mouths.

And thus.. "The DFO" (Disney Fans Online) was born: a documentary film about the Disney online community, as told by the fans themselves. It's an exploration of these die hard fans.. what drives them.. and how much power they have.

So make sure to visit the all new site: www.disfanfilm.com. There you can learn all about this crazy new project of mine. And if you know any Disney nut-cases out there.. send them the link to help the word spread. Then check back here.. oh.. in mid-July.. when I am pulling my hair out attempting to watch and edit fan submitted videos. But... at least my life isn't boring..

I'll conclude this record setting long blog with two quotes from Walt Disney himself, that I use for ongoing inspiration:

"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them"

"The best way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing."

It's time for me to spread my wings a bit.. It's time to tell a bigger story than just volleyball. It's time to begin... The DFO.