Today is National Old Stuff Day! At this point you must be thinking what is it and why do Americans need a day for everything?

National Old Stuff Day has plenty of disagreement about what the day actually means, but here are the different meanings and you can choose for yourself:

National Old Stuff Day is…

- a day to stop doing the same old stuff and do something different in life.

- a day to clear out the clutter and make way for the new.

- a day to celebrate things that are old and dear to you.

To address the issue of Americans having days for everything I would like to think that it keeps ordinary lives interesting, teaches new things in extraordinary ways, brings awareness to the mundane and is just plain entertaining.

And on that note I’m going to celebrate National Old Day by doing a few things:

1. Do something new. See a new movie, cause after all I do work in the industry.

2. Value the old. (Hmm, this one is tricky, do I visit the experienced parents? Notice I didn’t say old, I said experienced, in case any family members are reading this. Or see an old movie like Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat, because today is also Dr Seuss day!

3. And clear clutter. I have tons of things I can donate and help give those items new homes.

Sounds like a win-win!

ACTION POINT: What are you going to do today?

SUGGESTIONS: If you work in TV, Video or Film, check out the newest issues happening and how they are changing your work. Or if you work in other creative areas see what new techniques or workshops are publicized and how it will benefit your business.

I’d love to hear about your efforts and share in the process. Tweet me @suzettemariel or leave a comment.

Image http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Television_Video_and_g178-Red_Retro_TV_p42960.html

Do you work in production or post production? And yes this includes you media stylists, hair designers, makeup artists and actors. This post is for you. This week I had the privilege to attend the Hollywood Post Alliance in Palm Springs, Ca.

If you work in TV, film or video you know how important it is to stay current on the latest information in the industry. HPA is the platform to stay current, be a part of making change, sharing knowledge with others and more. Massive amounts of tech information flowed from various stages and breakout sessions covering archiving data, working in RAW, managing workflow, IMF, audio, file based workflow, foreign language translation and the impact on TRT, higher frame and technical aspects, asset management in production, centralized broadcasting, workflow for mixing in Dolby, color correction LUTs and more.

As a freelancer, one of the great things about conferences is learning new techniques and tips for being more efficient in your workflow, managing systems, implementation of presented ideas, clarification of processes and introduction to new products and loads more. But what does this mean for the actor or the makeup artist or the sound guy who works at the local level and is a freelancer? Well, let me tell you, the higher ups who are making the policy decisions and updates will demand change on how you do your job. You must learn how new systems and cameras, such as the release of BlackMagic Design’s new Cinema Camera will or can input or output audio, how the BMDCC will change how you style hair, how technology can make acting in a dangerous scene safer through the use of CGI and other new industry developments that arise everyday.

Everything I’ve stated seems common knowledge, but believe me, many new people in the industry and a few veterans haven’t updated their toolkits and aren’t familiar with the changing landscape of the industry. Things are ever evolving and it’s our job to change and keep up as well.

Action Point:
Now is the time to dust of the old ways, build new skills or update the old ones. Check out what conferences are happening in your industry and attend them. Be a part of what’s happening, instead of letting life happen to you. Make it a goal to attend at least one conference a year.

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Las Vegas, Nevada is coming up next, will you be joining me there?

Connect with me on twitter @suzettemariel or Facebook and get the latest news on happenings in the TV, Film and Video Industry.

It’s Valentine’s Day and what better way to celebrate love than taking care of yourself? So often as freelancers and small business owners we work more hours than we do taking care of ourselves.

So today and at least once during each month take time for yourself and discover what you can do to honor yourself . Still not convinced? Check out this collaborative blog post that I participated in with 24 other business experts discussing extreme self care and why you deserve to help yourself first.

http://www.margodegange.com/2013/02/extreme-self-care/

Share with me what you do to take care of yourself first. I would love to be able to implement your ideas and learn some new techniques. After all isn’t that what  life should be about, sharing, learning and exploring?

Feel free to decide what social media site works best for you to connect with me on:

twitter @suzettemariel or Facebook www.facebook.com/Mariel.Suzette

It’s President Lincoln’s birthday here in the US of A and what better way to celebrate the man than to show some behind the scenes footage of  the movie “Lincoln”, and well if you are a shopper I guess there are sales you could go to and celebrate that way instead. But if you enjoy movies and reading, checkout these videos and articles.

If you aren’t up to speed on Lincoln the movie, here is the link to the official website: http://www.thelincolnmovie.com/ or you can view the trailer here for a quick overview http://www.youtube.com/lincolnmovie

Can’t get enough of behind the scenes action? Checkout this great interview and video spotlight with Daniel Day Lewis discussing how he interpreted the role.

http://entertainment.time.com/2012/10/26/steven-spielberg-daniel-day-lewis-and-tony-kushner-on-the-terrifying-process-of-making-lincoln/

And because I feel the crew never gets enough spotlight here are some of the great workers behind the making of Lincoln

Composer– John Williams

Producer- Kathleen Kennedy

Visual Effects Supervisor- Ben Morris

Costume Designer- Joanna Johnston

Production Designer- Rick Carter

Editor- Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

Director of Photography- Janusz Kaminski –

Executive Producer- Jonathan King

Executive Producer– Jeff Skoll

Executive Producer- Daniel Lupi

Screenplay- Tony Kusner

For full cast and crew credits here is the link to IMDB.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast And if you aren’t familiar with this url it is Internet Movie Database, the leading authority on all things movie, TV and celebrity information.

And for more interesting info just to stir things up a bit, checkout this article that gives you the scoop on what Hollywood got wrong about the Lincoln era.

http://www.lamag.com/citythink/askchris/2013/02/12/abraham-lincoln-birthday-rant-what-spielbergs-movie-got-wrong

Further more updated information there is an open letter sent about criticism of the errors. And you can read that here as well.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lincoln-criticism-tony-kushner-sends-419604

Happy Lincoln’s day! Hope you enjoyed the trip down Hollywood’s version of history and learned some behind the scenes info on how we get things done in the entertainment world.

Related articles

• An Anniversary Celebration: Lincoln DVDs For U.S. Schools (entertainment.time.com)
• How Abraham Lincoln lost his birthday holiday (constitutioncenter.org)
• Happy Birthday Abe Lincoln (markitmotion.typepad.com)
• Disney will give “Lincoln” DVD to every middle, high school in U.S. (denverpost.com)
• LINCOLN to be Distributed to All U.S. Middle & High Schools (chipandco.com)
• The Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg Invites Public to Sign Virtual Birthday Card for Lincoln (prweb.com)

February 1st, 2013, is the kick off date for Go Red for Women Day and what better way to bring awareness to National Heart Disease Awareness month, than to wear a color associated with hearts. Show your support, wear red and decide how you can get involved, and let others know you have made the choice to promote awareness and educate in your own way.

Check out these documentaries on Heart Disease and see what filmmakers and others in the creative industry are doing to raise awareness.

Documentaries/Videos on Heart Disease:

Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/heart/video-preview.html

The Last Heart Attack

http://sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/29/sanjay-gupta-reports-the-last-heart-attack/

Open Heart

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-nominated-documentary-shorts-profile-poverty-retirement-cancer-heart-disease-and-unemployment

Here is a Director’s Cut version of

Just a little heart attack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwGUOfge8NU

Websites for more in formation on Heart Disease

www.goredforwomen.org

www.heart.org

Check out the what’s happening on twitter:

#GoRed

@goredforwomen

#Heartmonth

Check out what’s happening on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/goredforwomen/

;

Share what you are wearing to support National Heart Disease Awareness

Tweet me @suzettemariel or post on my Facebook wall Suzette Mariel

Photocredit:http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php?id=10034376

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• iGoRed: Feb. 01. 2013 is National Wear RED Day – Join the Challenge (pslovecharli.com)
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• National Wear Red Day is Friday (pennlive.com)
• Hospitals plan events for Heart Awareness Month (kansas.com)

I just finished 2 days of shooting a short film I co-directed and produced with OneRiver Media and prior to shooting I did some research to decide how best to market my film. Big name production companies have full PR/marketing departments to get the word out and create buzz for their project, but small indie films like mine have to do it all themselves. For a start here are five great ways to begin marketing your film.

1. Logo – Capture the essence of your film with a great logo. Never underestimate the power of a logo to create a visual identity that the audience will connect with. It must be something that immediately strikes a chord in the heart of the moviegoer. Pay close attention to colors that will make an impactful statement. Think of red for horror movies and blue tones for action movies.

Check out American Horror Story and their use of red in their logo. http://www.fxnetworks.com/ahs/ The use of red adds the element of blood and violence to its logo.

On the lighter side of things look at how Ice Age chose to use blue in its logo to define the edges and added a 3D effect to the font. http://www.iceagemovies.com/us/ The color capitalizes on the theme of water, hence the use of blue.

For more in formation about the uses of color, view this link http://www.colormatters.com/color-symbolism/color-symbolism-theories

2. Trailer – Your trailer should be, in a few words, DRAMA, COMEDY, TENSION and MEMORABLE. Creating a trailer for your short film is one of the most crucial elements toward marketing your film. What you include and what you leave on the cutting room floor will determine if your audience will hand over their hard earned cash to see what you have to offer. Know specifically what category your film belongs to and cut the trailer towards that end result. Add key words from the movie that give the audience something to connect with and couple it with high impact scenes and you will have yourself something worth viewing.

3. Print/Marketing materials – Most movies have print and other types of marketing materials to create visuals that coincide with the film. Indie films should be no different in this respect. Create postcards, posters, stickers, standees or whatever to get the word out about your film. Create some promotional giveaways to entice viewers to connect with your social media and follow the films progress. Which brings me to, the use of social media for film.

4. Social Media Vimeo/YouTube – Creating attention online is a great way to gain attention and attract followers to your film. The big three, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are always a good start to get the marketing ball rolling. However there are more social media outlets available to garner attention. Check out the following and see how they might contribute to your marketing potential: Vimeo, Pinterest, Google+, Foursquare, Tumblr and Instagram.

5. Forums/ Groups/ Networks – The marketing fun doesn’t stop at social media. If you belong to any forums, online industry groups or online networks, these places are a great way to share your film. But a word of advice, don’t spam the groups with blatant promotional posts and links. Find a more subtle way to educate and entertain your colleagues by creating posts that share what your learned or challenges you had to get them interested in what’s on screen as well as behind-the-scenes. LinkedIn has a variety of groups available in the filmmaking community, as does Facebook. Choose groups that closely resemble the niche that you are involved with. Be active in the group and support other filmmakers works. Grow your network through engagement rather than solely relying on self promotion.

So there you have it, a quick sure fire way to start promoting your film.  I’d love to hear what you are doing to be creative in your endeavors, leave a comment or questions. Contact me for a setting up a private consultation to strategize for your film.

Go forth and be creative!

Image credit: Posterize  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php?id=10053564

Promotional poster of American Horror Story. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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• 10 Feature Films You Didn’t Realize Started As Shorts (flavorwire.com)
• Four Films, Social Media, & More To Come (celluloidandleftovers.wordpress.com)
• New Years Resolutions – A Filmmakers thoughts (ehranjade.wordpress.com)
• Teaser Trailer For The Excellent Looking Sci-Fi Short Film ’2088′ (returntofleet.com)
• See The Stunning, Student-Made Short That Got Hollywood’s Attention (fastcocreate.com)
• The Orange County Film Festival Collaborates with The Playground OC for Festival’s Opening Film (prweb.com)
• Watch: Awesome CGI Sci-Fi Short Film ‘R’ha’ That Hollywood Is Going Mad For (returntofleet.com)

Casting Notice- MALE ACTORS

Looking for one dark haired male aged 30-40 years old and one light haired male 50-70 years old for principal role in short film, primarily funded by Blackmagic Design and OneRiver Media. More info and updates on Suzette Mariel FB page.

Shoot to be held January 17-18, 2013 with the possibility of one other shoot date TBA. All locations shot within the SF Bay Area.

THIS IS A PAID, NON-UNION JOB. Pay scale is determined by experience. You will receive screen credit and financial compensation.

This film is scheduled for viewing at film festivals, the SF Supermeet, Atlanta Cutters, NAB, Hollywood Post Alliance Tech Retreat, Editor’s retreat in Cancun, Mexico, and various additional workshops and presentations associated with Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera.

Please contact Suzette@suzettemariel.com if you are available and interested. Please submit a professional digital headshot, and I will get back to you with an audition time.

Include your name, email address, phone number, website if available, headshot, and a photo that shows your physique, and acting resume.

You may contact Suzette Mariel directly for more information. Subscribe to the Suzette Mariel FB page to follow the updates associated with this film, future projects, events and workshops.

No cards for Christmas, but that doesn’t mean I’m Scrooge.

I made the resolution years ago, to stop sending “Christmas cards”, but that doesn’t mean I’m Scrooge, anti-holiday or broke. What it actually comes down to, is less stress. And isn’t that what life should be about?

Sending out gifts or cards for a productive new year, is easier and less offensive then sending Christmas gifts and running the risk of offending someone’s personal holiday. In business its always good practice to include everyone. It’s also cheaper because you no longer need to get it there by December 25th with million dollar overnight postage. So I’m putting the American version of Christmas on the banned list and sticking with the more inclusive holiday of New Year’s.

A new mantra…I choose to live with less stress, enjoy life more, live better and healthier.

If you and I have made a personal connection and I have your address, chances are something is coming in your mailbox to kick off the New Year in a sparkling clean fashion. “hint, hint”

Regardless of the holiday you celebrate, I wish everyone a wonderful moment in time and a very productive, successful, happy and prosperous New Year!

Today is 12-12-12, what are you doing to make it special?

I thought about it for awhile and want to do something that would last for the entire year. I want something that was not  for an evening but something that would actually make a difference in my life and other’s as well. It’s an unusual date and to commemorate this date I want to set 12 goals for the new year for myself. And what better way to approach goal setting then to hold yourself accountable by putting your goals out to you the readers of this blog.

So here goes my 12 goals for the new year:

1.  Uplevel my business with my new mentor
2. Finish the details for my two books and get them ready for  publication
3. Double my involvement with my charities, and start my on charitable efforts
4. Take more vacations (Yes that’s right, I need to plan some relaxation time with all of the goals I plan to achieve.
5. Create a workshop/seminar for new freelancers
6. Use more recycled products in my business
7. Offset my carbon footprint
8. Increase the number of books I read
9. Attend more conferences
10.  Network more with like-minded individuals ( A few months ago I joined the NAPW- National Association for Professional  Women. I’m looking forward to getting to know the group better in my local chapter.
11.  Launch physical products that benefit social and environmental issues
12.  Meditate, journal and be in harmony more with myself

Thanks for being a part of my goal setting session for next year. I’m looking forward to making changes that will not only do myself some good but others as well.

Please feel free to connect with me and let me know if you plan to make any goals for the new year. Let me know how I can help you reach new heights in your business.

Check out this other articles and find out what others are doing on this memorable day.

Photocredit: Simon Howden

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• Setting Performance Goals (kellybusinessadvisors.com)
• Kick Butt in 2013: Free Goal Setting and Action Planner Download (smallbusinessbonfire.com)
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• 12-21-12 – The Shift from Chaos to Universal Love (numerologyzenzone.wordpress.com)
• 12 Things to do on 12-12-12 (kvliveblog.wordpress.com)

It’s December the time of giving, gifting, gratitude and well if I must say, my birthday. (December 4th). Every year I like to give back on my birthday because I receive so much throughout the year, so I like to spread the love.

This year I’m sending an orphanage ten pairs of shoes, and creating a special luxury soap to benefit families displaced by Hurricane Sandy, and sending gifts for the youth at Homeless Youth Alliance.

If you are inclined to help please contact me and let me know which service project you chose for donation.

Please send HYA a donation in lieu of birthday gifts. Thanks so much to everyone who has continued to support this wonderful organization this year and in previous years. It truly makes for a wonderful birthday gift.

Homeless Youth Alliance
1696 Haight Street
San Francisco, Ca 94117
Attn:Mary Howe
Suzette Mariel’s bday wish

Homeless Youth Alliance
POB 170427
San Francisco, Ca 94117