Production Update 3 – Many Miles, Many Stories

Production Update 3 – Many Miles, Many Stories

We’ve returned from our roundtrip journey across the country and the one regret we have is not being able to spend more time in each location. The people, attractions and natural wonders were absolutely incredible, but the cast and crew, much to our chagrin, were under a tremendous amount of pressure to push on each day before we would otherwise be ready. We stayed as long as we absolutely could to soak up the atmosphere and try to capture the essences of all these incredible places, amd the realities of working with a limited budget, and in turn time were daunting. 7029 miles in 24 days is quite a bit to accomplish. The hosts held up and drove every single mile through sore muscles, wind, rain, and scorching temperatures. Here are our mileage stats for the trip: Day Date From To Running Milage Day’s Miles Traveled 1 30-Jun Ridgewood NJ Long Beach Island NJ 134 134 2 1-Jul Long Beach Island NJ Daleville, VA 609 472.5 3 2-Jul Daleville, VA Nashville, TN 1012 403.1 4 3-Jul Nashville, TN Louisville, KY 1208 194.4 5 4-Jul Louisville, KY Bourbon, Mo 1612 404.1 6 5-Jul Bourbon, Mo Catoosa, OK 1901 289 7 6-Jul Catoosa, OK Tucumcari, NM 2394 493.2 8 7-Jul Tucumcari, NM Flagstaff AZ 2896 501.4 9 8-Jul Flagstaff AZ Needles, Ca 3264 368.5 10 9-Jul Needles, Ca Bakersfeild Ca 3545 280.1 11 10-Jul Bakersfeild Ca San Jose, CA 3794 249.1 12 11-Jul San Jose, CA Millbrae, Ca 3863 54.6 13 12-Jul Millbrae, Ca San Francisco 4096 15 14 13-Jul San Francisco Lake Tahoe 4417 232.9 15 14-Jul Lake Tahoe Elko,...
The End Is The Beginning Is The End

The End Is The Beginning Is The End

Too long; didn’t read: We’ve been busy locking down locations and have a lot of exciting announcement to make…soon. It has been quite a while since my last blog post, but that’s only because I’ve been sharing the load on the production end of this project. In the spirit of shared labor, my usual analysis will be replaced by some production updates. We’ve been busy, and so far we have confirmed locations in New Jersey, Missouri, New Mexico, Arizona, California and on the return trip, Illinois and Pennsylvania. It’s a nice cross section of restaurants, ranches, pubs and farms, and we have half a dozen other locations in the works. Once the trip begins, keep checking for specific updates on the locations and people who shared their time and stories with us. In other production news, we have extended our INDIEGOGO campaign because of some recent media opportunities that we’ll announce soon. If you haven’t had the chance, check out the campaign; if everyone who follows us shows their support with just $5 we’ll be able to add even more locations for the ride back and surpass our projected 12 episodes. Also, if you’re watching World Cup Soccer, keep an eye on our Twitter @BrokeOutWest. I’ve been live tweeting the US games and some of the other matches I’ve been keeping an eye on. -Ian...
Production Motivation

Production Motivation

The mission of Broke Out West is to observe and celebrate the evolving American Dream. I think a lot about the timing of this project and temperature of the audience. This show needs to be made now. People everywhere feel something, in the economy, in society, in the world is not quite as they expected it to be; somewhere out there people are making their unique circumstances work to their advantage. Broke Out West is speaking to an audience dubbed as the “The Poorgeoisie” which consists of well-educated but underemployed individuals with champagne tastes on a beer budget. We are hoping the pessimism surrounding the generation of recent college graduates will dissipate by revealing the struggle to find work. Key messages include: •             Americans are strong. •             Americans are resilient. •             Americans view challenges as opportunities. •             The spirit of optimism adventure and hope are very much alive in the country. •             Americans still yearn for journey, adventure, and the call to the West is an iconic American rite of passage.   We are seeking interviews with people and businesses that not only survived The Great Recession, but thrived and evolved. These stories of struggle and hardship will be told from the perspective that we all need to innovate and adapt. In finding these stories and celebrating the triumphs, as well as failures, we hope to share hope with our audience, and spark thoughts that will resonate and evoke some measure of inspiration....
Project Update 1

Project Update 1

We are still in pre-production. The team has been coming together and we have a preliminary shooting schedule.  We are reaching out to you for tips or leads for the ‘roadblocks’ we are encountering during this time. We are still on the hunt for a radio / ifb / rts solution for driving sequences.  The challenge we face is to capture audio inside a helmet from a remote (moving) location. We are also still trying to find a good deal on a truck or SUV for crew. If you have a contact at a tourist attraction, small business or mysterious location along the map, please let us know if they are interested in being featured on the show. Donations in the form of time, goods or funds are greatly welcome....