ZAF622

The long overdue ZAF622 update

Hello there dear ZAF622 reader,  I can’t believe you’re still with me. How have you been? Had a good summer? Good, me too.

At the beginning of the year I was pretty excited about the next phase of ZAF622 and the project that is was becoming. But other projects kept getting in the way and ZAF622 slid further and further onto the back burner. This pattern of starting too many projects has always been part of my modus operandi. Well a few weeks back a story came through my pen that taught me a lesson about that and I am trying hard to change my ways. (you can read that story here.)

Basically what I need to do is get very focused on one specific project and not take on anything else unless it somehow helps that main project. This way I might actually accomplish some things with a project. So as I’ve late I have been putting almost all of my energy into my other site/project ArtPalaver.com.

Through Art Palaver I have been working on helping artists better market and sell their art. And since I have been truly focusing on Art Palaver it has grown in many ways and rewarded me in many ways as well. All of which lets me know I am on the right path. And I have basically poured the goals I had for this site into Art Palaver.

Some of you may know that Art Palaver grew out of ZAF622, it was the blog that went along with the webzine that was ZAF622. In many ways it is just a continuation of this project. I am not sure what will become of ZAF622.com but I will keep it live because I know artists still use the interviews that I have archived on here. For now though if you want to keep up with my adventures head over to ArtPalaver.com and subscribe to it.

Thanks,

Daryle

ZAF622 Internet Road Show Meets Lee The Horselogger

Episode 0001 has arrived.

Finally.

The ZAF622 team was growing frustrated with how long it has been taking to actually get this project off the ground so we decided to feature someone who came to us, Lee the Horselogger. Check it out…

Lee is traveling across the U.S. and hopes to even get to Russia via Alaska. We talked to him while he was in Fort Collins Colorado camped near I-25. After doing the shooting we had dinner with Lee at the Charco Broiler, also in Fort Collins. You can follow Lee on his website: http://leehorselogger.com.

Please let us know what you think. We are excited just to have this project finally moving forward. Currently we have two more episodes that we are editing and will have up very soon. And next month we are heading to Seattle so let us know if you have any connections there or any ideas for a story.

Thanks,

Daryle & Joyce

Slideshow From ZAF622’s Visit To Nebraska

Click here to view and comment on this photo set in Flickr.

Video footage coming soon.

Getting The Show On The Road | Kearney Nebraska

Once again it has been awhile since I have updated you on ZAF622. Basically because I wanted to wait until there was something to update before sending information your way. There are a few things…

We have shot two episodes that are currently in production. Number one should publish early next week with number two right behind it.

Currently we are headed out to shoot more. Destination: Kearney Nebraska. If you’ve ever driven I-80 through Nebraska it is the city with the huge arch over the Interstate. But we are not going for the arch. We are going for the Cranes.

Every year about 50,000 Sandhill Cranes stop in the area during their migration. That is a lot of big birds. Which attracts a lot of people to check them out. We are going to check out the people checking out the Cranes.

Stay tuned…

Failing To Plan Is Planning To Fail

Has it been almost a month since our last update? Sorry about that.

If you’ll remember the last post was about the crew of ZAF622 heading down to Florida with the plan to tape our first show. It did not happen. The camera did not even make it out of the case.

That is because the trip was not about ZAF622 it had many other things on the agenda. But I had thought there would be time to fit the show in. I thought wrong. We had a good trip though and that is the important thing.

Good can come out of failure though. It as forced us to sit down and do some planning for the show. And already we are seeing some fruit from that. We still have a long way to go though. Hang in there, we’ll get out act together at some point.

The Maiden Voyage

This post is set to publish at the same time our plane is schedule to depart Denver International Airport headed to Orlando International Airport. Though ZAF622 is not the main purpose of our trip we consider it to be the maiden voyage of the show. And if I am being honest I am a bit nervous.

You see I was not able to secure anyone or anything for the show. Something that is hard to do when you really don’t have a show or any previous shows. So we are heading to Central Florida in hopes of finding show material on the fly.

Tampa is a town know for its art so I am hoping to find at least one artist who will talk to us for a few minutes. Other than that the possibilities are wide open. The important thing is to start. Starting will give us a reference point in which to improve on. Each episode should be an improvement over the last one. In this case have “a“ episode is an improvement to not having anything at all other than my random ramblings.

I am excited that we get to check a very distant state off of our list so early in the project’s life. For the next week think about us as we attempt to meet the people of Central Florida and maybe tell a story or two. We will not have easy access to the internet so you’ll have to wait until we get back to hear what happened.

Team ZAF622

This week ZAF622 is hitting the road for the first time. More on that later. This post is about Team ZAF622. My vision and my goals for ZAF622 are bigger than I can do alone. It is going to take a team of people. More and more as ZAF622 grows. But for now I am starting with one team member, my wife.

Joyce has always been my number one supporter in what is becoming my life project, ZAF622. Now she is coming on board as the first official team member of ZAF622.

Video is going to require more than one set of hands for sure. That is why I am happy that she has agreed to join me on this crazy dream of mine. She is going to be helping with basically everything from planning shows to filming shows to help with editing. Maybe I can even get her to starting posting here as well so that we can have a new perspective into the development of ZAF622.

Moving Right Along

Things are starting to come together. ZAF622 now has an upgraded camera, a Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder. Not the ideal camera, that would a be a Canon XL2 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder, which is about $3500. Even though it is not ideal the FS100 will work to get this show started. Consumer camcorders have come a long way and the recording quality will be there for sure, especially for publishing to the web. What it lacks is the ability to command someone’s attention the way a larger pro-consumer camera like the XL2 does. At the end of the day though I am thankful to have a camera as nice as the FS100.

A big issue with camcorders is always audio quality. I went with an external microphone to help improve that best I can without spending too much money. Using a bracket the SMX-10 Stereo Condenser Microphone can be mounted on the camera or with an extension cord it can be used on a boom or hand held. Time will tell what works best.

Now that the equipment is coming together it is about time for the rubber to hit the road. Which is the scary part. And even though I am expanding the scope of ZAF622 I still have to have some parameters to keep the show focused. Two words keep coming to mind when I think about this. Creativity and causes.

Creativity is nice because it covers so much. There are an endless supply of stories out there of people being creative on so many levels for so many reasons. And I believe creativity is a big part of being human.

Causes come from my desire for ZAF622 to give back. To always seek ways to help people. There are so many small non-profits and individuals out there who saw a need and started to work on it. Often times we do not hear about them because they do not have the marketing and promotion engines that large well known organizations have. I want to tell their story and shine a little light on them.

The question that I keep coming back to is will those two work together? Can it be about both? I think the answer is that I won’t know until I try. And the beauty of this project is that it can always change, adapt, and adjust as needed.

I have not posted much these past couple weeks because of the holidays and also because I did not feel there was much to say. So far it has been a lot of thinking out loud. But I do want that to be a part of this project. I don’t know exactly what it will look like or how I will do it but I want to build a community around this crazy idea. I think I will work on sharing more of the process of ZAF622 now that we are nearing the launch pad.

I Blame The Olympics

Something occurred to me this past summer while watching the Olympics. Most of us do not have a gold medal to aim for. An Olympic medal gives an athlete a very specific goal to focus on as they train and develop themselves. How many of us have that in our lives?

Most of us don’t have that unless we look for one. So that is what I did. I started to look at my life and my interests in hopes of finding my Olympic gold. ZAF622 has been a big part of my life for sometime now and it has always been something that I’ve always wanted to develop into something bigger than a personal project. What would an Olympic Gold be for ZAF622?

The Webby Awards of course. The Webby Awards are considered the Internet’s highest honor. That silver spiral of ones and zeros is ZAF622’s Olympic Gold Medal. And I am adding it to the goals list.

Now I have something to focus on and keep in mind as I build The ZAF622 Show through out 2009.

14th Annual Webby Awards here we come!

All 50 States

That is another goal I have for The ZAF622 Show, stories in and from all 50 states.

Thankfully the ZAF622 World Headquarters is centrally located in Colorado. A little bit more West than East but still a great place to venture out from.