The hand over her heart say a lot. The Connecticut fans of Thomas Chapin -- long-timers and die-hards -- came out to a reception to celebrate Thomas' new CD and the showing of my film's new 15 min. trailer. This is the area where Thomas grew up and kept his connections strong until he passed.
It was a love fest, someone said. And it was. Most of the 60-70 people who came to the Real Art Ways center in Hartford knew Thomas, watched him play many times during his visits back home, and acknowledged, when asked if they wanted to see a film on him, YES! I was singing to the choir! And it felt good, as I watched them watch my trailer. It grabbed, it spoke it, it stoked their heart fires for Thomas and their memories of him. Good job Stephanie!
Yes, when you do a trailer for a film project, you want more than anything to communicate your idea that a film is worth making. My film will be an homage to a jazz great who left us too soon. And making this film about Thomas Chapin presents a way to preserve his memory and to keep his musical legacy alive and a good thing to remember.
December was indeed a hot bed of building the film project's momentum. I mentioned before in an earlier blog that there would be a convergence, there would be synergy, there would be a moment when the new CD, NEVER LET ME GO, and the Thomas Chapin Film Project would together generate PR and good exposure for the film. Well, it happened. The CD got good press in reviews in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Hartford Courant, with a CT radio interview, and in many blogs. It even made the Best of Jazz in 2012 in a few online columns and blogs. And a few mentioned my film project, for which I was grateful. Riding the coat tails of the new CD release is an honor!
We also kicked off our fundraising campaign to aid the film project in these early days of development and research by selling the CD's at the Hartford reception and at a party in Manhattan, with all the proceeds and donations going toward the film.
It was a love fest, someone said. And it was. Most of the 60-70 people who came to the Real Art Ways center in Hartford knew Thomas, watched him play many times during his visits back home, and acknowledged, when asked if they wanted to see a film on him, YES! I was singing to the choir! And it felt good, as I watched them watch my trailer. It grabbed, it spoke it, it stoked their heart fires for Thomas and their memories of him. Good job Stephanie!
Yes, when you do a trailer for a film project, you want more than anything to communicate your idea that a film is worth making. My film will be an homage to a jazz great who left us too soon. And making this film about Thomas Chapin presents a way to preserve his memory and to keep his musical legacy alive and a good thing to remember.
December was indeed a hot bed of building the film project's momentum. I mentioned before in an earlier blog that there would be a convergence, there would be synergy, there would be a moment when the new CD, NEVER LET ME GO, and the Thomas Chapin Film Project would together generate PR and good exposure for the film. Well, it happened. The CD got good press in reviews in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Hartford Courant, with a CT radio interview, and in many blogs. It even made the Best of Jazz in 2012 in a few online columns and blogs. And a few mentioned my film project, for which I was grateful. Riding the coat tails of the new CD release is an honor!
We also kicked off our fundraising campaign to aid the film project in these early days of development and research by selling the CD's at the Hartford reception and at a party in Manhattan, with all the proceeds and donations going toward the film.
Thank you's are in order for allowing me to use the CD as a fundraising tool to CD producers Ted Chapin (Thomas brother) and my sister, Terri Castillo Chapin (widow and the keeper of Thomas' legacy). With the funds that were raised, we were able to pay some outstanding project bills, including my grant writer, our research transcriber, and our travel expenses for the Hartford trip while setting aside some funds for an upcoming trip to North Carolina where I will visit Thomas' archives at Duke University. These small steps to keep the film project's momentum going are no small thing.
While in Hartford, Terri and I did an interview with jazz show host Chuck Obuchowsk at public access radio WWUH. The week before I spoke to Jim Siegel about the film project on his podcast Straight, No Chaser (listened to worldwide by some 15,000).
Yes, December blew hot for the publicity and PR momentum. As we approach January and February, I'll be gearing up for a major push to build more awareness for the film project, and for our buildup to a major fundraising effort on kickstarter.com, a place where artists can raise money for their creative project.
I hope you're running with me. It will be your chance to be part of something very important and very worthy! If you haven't already, please watch my trailer at https://vimeo.com/55292082.
Yes, December blew hot for the publicity and PR momentum. As we approach January and February, I'll be gearing up for a major push to build more awareness for the film project, and for our buildup to a major fundraising effort on kickstarter.com, a place where artists can raise money for their creative project.
I hope you're running with me. It will be your chance to be part of something very important and very worthy! If you haven't already, please watch my trailer at https://vimeo.com/55292082.
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