Hi all,

I'm a long-time member here although it's been a while since I posted. I used to be a regular here with my late husband, Tony Gangemi.

Today I'm writing with an opportunity that might start off small and end up being huge. I am running a project that I hope will eventually turn into an organization that finances films and other creative projects. Here is our mission statement:

Stand up. Take action. Embrace diversity. Promote change.

STEP is a creative movement of people from all walks of life who want to celebrate diversity. Many groups of people – LGBTQ+, Muslims, Latinx, African Americans, women, and people with disabilities – feel that their voices are not being heard. And many people who are not part of those communities feel misunderstood as well.

Our goal is to create a wide variety of content to help people who might not understand a different perspective STEP into somebody else’s shoes.

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We are currently in the planning stages but trying to gather content from a diverse group of filmmakers and creators for our very first project. To give you an idea of what we're looking for, here is what I posted to the group:

As promised, this is our first official call for content. We want to kick off our project with a bang – with a short film that is the embodiment of our mission statement:

Stand up
Take action
Embrace diversity
Promote change

What does that mean? It means we want all of the following. In each case, submitted material should show diversity, give us an opportunity to step into a community or somebody’s life, or showcase how people have the potential to promote change.

1. Film footage. We will be adding voice over and music so we don’t need a lot of dialogue. That said, if you have a great piece of footage that includes words, we still want to see it. We're not setting a limit on length, but please don't send us hours of footage. Pick out what fits the project and send only that.

2. Photographs. We want to look at places and faces that tell a story. Black and white, color – show us what you’ve got.

3. Artwork. What have you made, or could you make, that would fit in with what we’re doing? This is a big world and there’s room for all kinds of expression. Send us an image of your artwork (digital photos or film).

4. Writing. Do you have a poem or essay that fits in with our mission? Do you feel inspired to write something that does? We want to read it. We’re looking for pieces that we can use to create a patchwork narration that will match the footage and images that we choose. If you’re a slam poet and have film, we’d love to see that too.

5. Songs. Are you a songwriter or a musician? If you have written a song – or would like to write one – that fits with what we’re doing, please send it.

6. If you know anybody who might like to contribute to this project, please share this post with them.

The end result, we hope, will be a short film that is as rich and diverse as possible. One that puts forward the idea that brought us all together in a unique and unforgettable way. Once we have sorted through the submissions, we’ll have an editor cut the whole thing together into a single film. Then we’ll add music and release our first official film.

We want to get started as soon as possible. You’ll have three weeks from today to submit footage. Please email files or links to Vimeo or YouTube to stepdiversity@gmail.com. We’re also setting up some project management tools to help us keep track of everything, so we’ll update you on those as soon as we can.
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Don was kind enough to feature this project on his blog today, but he encouraged me to share it here, too. We will accept submissions from anybody, but the footage or other content submitted MUST demonstrate diversity in some way. Please email all submissions to stepdiversity@gmail.com. You may also email that address with questions or post them here on this thread.

At this point we do not have a Facebook page for the project. However, we do have a secret planning group and anybody who wants to join can friend me on Facebook or send a message and I'll add you.

I know there's a ton of filmmaking and writing talent here, and I really hope that some of you will want to be involved. Again, there's no money in it now -- but I do believe there will be in the future. I hope we'll be in a position to provide financing and other resources to projects that fit our mission statement. This is your chance to get in on the ground floor!

Hoping to hear from some of you soon.

I'm pretty much a lefty, but the parameters are not by cup of tea from a writing perspective. Do wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

Quoted from eldave1 I'm pretty much a lefty, but the parameters are not by cup of tea from a writing perspective. Do wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

Thanks.

Quoted from eldave1 I'm pretty much a lefty, but the parameters are not by cup of tea from a writing perspective. Do wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

Dave,

Is there some clarification that is needed to help this resonate more with you?  

- Don

To everyone else,

I will brook no snark nor trolling on this.  

- Don

I hope this isn't seen as trolling or snarking but nothing is clicking with me on this. The request is full of energy, enthusiasm and has a positive vibe but I'm struggling to understand the scope. For me it is too open.

This is probably just me, as I know my limitations. I'm the type of writer that needs a focused remit to get my creative juices flowing, that's why I love the OWC's so much. If someone said to me, write a sci-fi script about anything, I'd be sat there a week later completely stumped. However, if someone said, "Write a low budget sci-fi script between 6-10 pages where a character is trapped with an AI that has just become sentient." And I'm off, my brain will go off at a 1000 miles an hour and I'm full of ideas.

So the idea of creating 'something' which is diverse and promotes change is a lovely concept but it's not making my mind tick over at all.

I mention this in case the organizers of this project have something more specific in mind or can come up with some focused creative challenges which will achieve their goals.

I hope my comments are useful.

-Mark

Quoted from MarkRenshaw I hope this isn't seen as trolling or snarking but nothing is clicking with me on this. The request is full of energy, enthusiasm and has a positive vibe but I'm struggling to understand the scope. For me it is too open.

Mark,

Spot on and a valid point.

Quoted from Don Dave, Is there some clarification that is needed to help this resonate more with you?   - Don To everyone else, I will brook no snark nor trolling on this.   - Don

No, Don - I think I got it. I probably should have been more specific in my response. What I meant is that I do not to photographs, artwork, songs, etc and the other things they seem to be looking for because I suck at those things. That was it