It's July, almost the 4th, a time of celebration.
Ok, that's not a bad opening line.
        I haven't blogged in a while, ever since Kickstarter ended and the prep for filming my film began shortly after a mental break and after transplanting myself again to NYC from the island of Kauai where I had sequestered myself for the 45-day online fundraising campaign. I love that word sequestered, it has many uses these days.

Can you tell I am making this up as I go?  Why? Time is precious now as I begin to shoot my film this month with a to-do list is endless. So I'm writing off the top of my head, it's an improv, something I am learning about working on this film of mine.

In journalism, back in the days of my J-School years, we called it "free writing." Wikipedia defines it as: Free writing is a prewriting technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. It is used mainly by prose writers and writing teachers. Some writers use the technique to collect initial thoughts and ideas on a topic, often as a preliminary to formal writing.

In jazz, a band free writes with instruments, notes and chords. It's called improvisation. Some improv in jazz is so free, i.e. they go wayyyyyy out with their feelings, thoughts and emotions as they composeon the spot to express something new and fresh. That's what I am learning as I research the Thomas Chapin story. He was a free man, and he loved taking the journey to wherever it led him and his band, and he loved drawing the audience into that journey to give them one helluva ride! 

Well, I hope my improv here is going to draw you in, but I promise it won't be so wild.

The last few months, though, have been a wild ride for me. Packed up again and left Kauai for Jackson Hts, NYC where I am living and working on my film. I'm in the space where Thomas used to live with his wife, my sister Terri. She's a gracious host and good company, especially when I need to take a break and we go out for dinner or to a movie. She understands that I have to be glued to my computer and chair to get all this shoot planning done, so we're even skipping going out on the July 4th so I can keep working. My back hurts, my neck too, not to mention my body aches caused from sitting too long. This, my friends, is the life of a filmmaker on deadline. Nose to the grind, hands on the wheel.  Focus, focus, focus.

Yikes, I have 25 on-camera interviews to do this month, plus attend a big, grand wedding at the Plaza, a black-tie affair that will be a wonderful diversion in between my two shoot periods. The first shoot will be in Hartford, CT where Thomas grew up and later went to jazz school and played the clubs with friends, and where his long-time fans followed his every recording, radio interview, concerts, club gigs, and news articles from the time of his public launch into the Lionel Hampton Band and through the seven years of his own Thomas Chapin Trio. These fans are die-hards, and I loved meeting so many of them when we launched my film's fundraising trailer. 60 of them came out! And they glowed when I asked about their connection to Thomas.

I'll be seeing some of them again on July 8th on our first day of filmming, at the Monday Night Jazz Series at Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford featuring musicians/longtime friends who played with Thomas. They'll be a septet for this concert under band leader Mario Pavone, who was Thomas's bassist and fellow composer for the Trio and for all of those seven years. The band will be playing Thomas' SKY PIECE, on his last recorded CD before he passed. Thomas did it with a flute and his Trio; this will be a Septet version with horns instead. Can't wait to film this and capture it for my documentary.

The days to follow will be on-camera interviews with the Connecticut musicians who played with Thomas, including Mario. These were Thomas' homeboys. I'm sure the stories will be intimate and funny and sad. It was here Thomas played his last concert, a 10-minute flute solo at Cheney Hall when some 60 musicians played for him and a turn-away audience of some 500 fans and curious folks. Thomas died 12 days later; what's not to cry about. He was so beloved in Hartford.

One of the interviews will be with someone who only played with Thomas once, and that was in Hartford. But while Jaimoe of the Allman Brothers' fame, lives in this area, he is a world stage player who began as a drummer with blues man Otis Redding. Jaimoe remembers seeing Thomas for the first time and being wowed by his alto sax playing. He ended up having his gig with Thomas recorded on video, footage that we are now trying to locate. I just love gathering stories like this!

The other shoot will begin in mid-July and go for six days in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Interviewees will be NYC musicians who played with Thomas and jazz writers/critics who followed him. My sister Terri, Thomas brother Ted, educator Larry Ridley, and long-time friend Arthur Kell will share their stories too. 

Yes, it's a vigorous schedule, but I want to keep the momentum up and do as much as I can with the money I raised at Kickstarter back in March. I'm working fast, I'm working hard, to keep my promise to backers to film this summer!! 

One last word. If you ever make a film, don't film in July, the middle of summer in NYC! My big concerns are the heat, air conditioners that work, and city traffic that could tie up my film crew. Other than that, I'm just so happy to get this going. I'll get that massage later when I am done, because I'm going to need it, and I will deserve it!!!

Stephanie, without regard to spelling, grammar,...

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.

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.

On June 14 in Scottsdale, Arizona, in a sacred space called The Boulder House, an event hosted by Diamond Visions Events allowed me for the first time to expose an audience to Thomas Chapin's music.

There were some jazz lovers among the 50-plus who attended, but my guess is that most were among the "uninitiated". That is they were far from being jazz fans or afficiandos. 

They had been sitting for a while as I shared stories and clips of my 25 years of filmmaking; some got restless, I must confess, as I was going on a bit too long.

But when it was finally time to share about my new film project, the room stopped moving, and all ears and eyes were on the clip I played for them as an introduction to Thomas Chapin.

I had a feeling they would enjoy this clip, a 6-minute video of the Thomas Chapin Trio playing on the big stage before 10,000 people at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1995. 

What I didn't anticipate was the silence and stillness in the room as the music romped and the Chapin riffs and chops filled the space.  This powerful performance seemed to drench the air with energy and excitement.  It's that "Thomas Chapin thing" I thought. Folks who had seen him play live would talk about this phenomena. Captivating energy, mesmerizing, stimulating jazz.

That night, I became very sure that the film I was making would prove to be one that could hold any audience. Because Thomas could, his music could, did and still does. 

Can't wait to mesmerize and Thomasize everyone with this film!!

When you start a film project, there are so many things to "launch".  A website. A social media plan. A way to formally announce the project. The fundraising.  I'll come back to these to explain my strategies and thinking on their launching.

Let's talk Research. 

Research is what you do day and night while you do everything else.  On an average day since I created this project, I have been researching the subjects of Thomas Chapin and his life, the world of jazz, the people I should talk to, and the business side of launching this film. I probably have spent almost 8  hours a day!  Some in the morning, some in the afternoon, and a lot of it at night. Some of it in "dream" time.

Research, ie education, is a steep, vertical learning curve these days.

On Tuesday, May 15, I begin my first Research Trip.  First?  Yes, this is only one of many times I will have to leave my quiet, country-living in a cottage on the island of Kauai and head into the Big Cities where this story takes place.  Mainly New York City. Where I will be meeting with some of the primary storytellers for the Thomas Chapin film.  His brother Ted.  His trio members, Mike and Mario. A high school class mate of Thomas, Arthur. John, a jazz festival promoter who brought Thomas to the big performing stages of jazz at Newport, RI and in Europe.  Jerry, who played with Thomas in Lionel Hampton's band in the 1980's. Terri, Thomas' wife and partner for 10 years before he passed; she's my sister, a central storyteller for my film, and my host in NYC. And there are a few others important storytellers who I am still setting up appointments with. 

This trip will also take me to Tuscon, Arizona, where I will meet and interview two other storytellers. Marty, who met Thomas toward the end, but saw enough to know how special a musician and person Thomas was. He advised Thomas in jazz business matters and holds, I think, a very important perspective on the timing of Thomas' passing.  Interesting!! I will also meet up with young, next generation player, Nadar Nihal, who is an American studying spirituality and music in India. He knew Thomas only by listening to his music but was inspired to play his horn at Thomas' memorial on the 10th anniversary of Thomas' passing.

Also while in AZ, my dear friend Carmella will be hosting a fundraiser in hopes of adding to my Early Birds list of donors.  (Have you thought about becoming an Early Bird?  click here.)

Won't you follow my blog, and take this trip with me.  I will be posting as I go.  I will let you in on some of my Research findings and will be posting photos.

In filmmaking, funding the film is the greatest conundrum.

A great idea, but will they fund it?

For all filmmakers, funding is both a matter of faith--they will come, the funders-- and art-- the art of strategy, business acumen, and effective marketing and promotions.

Funding the film is a high-risk venture for any filmmaker who commits to "putting it all in".  That's why it sometimes feels like insanity to venture in.

But having raised several million dollars to make my nine documentaries--four that made it to PBS and one that won an EMMY, I know that it still takes unreasonableness to say, "I am going to make another film, because this is my gift and calling, this is what I do and do well."

Art is never a rational process when it comes to creation; funding, on the other hand, is a rational process and can be successful with smart thinking, out of the box strategies, and luck of your own making. 

Yes there is luck in business. And good timing. And fistfuls of stories of dreamers who found a way. I am up to it all and am asking you to take the journey with me, and to be a partner in making this film a reality. 

Early Birds are needed to assist in the film's launch and survival during its R&D (development and research) phase -- when there is nothing to see.  Who are the Early Birds? They fans or friends.  They are connected, like a supportive family or circle.  Or they just love the idea of the film, or just BELIEVE.  Belief is a strong expression of confidence in the film idea and in the filmmaker. 

When I had creative doubts early on if I could make this film and I was unsure of myself, the fear was strong.  My sister Terri sent me this quote to encourage and embolden me. It's from William Hutchinson Murray (1913-1996), from his 1951 book entitled The Scottish Himalayan Expedition.

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

                   Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.                   
               Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.

And so I say:  I have begun. And so has Providence.

Early Bird Friends can donate now.