New Projects!

I woke up in the morning to my cat head butting my nose, I guess it's a lot better than her breathing in my face!  Two seconds later my daughter is knocking on my door, "waaattttt !!!"  I wail, (can a person not even sleep in ?)  "Wake up muuummmmm"   my daughter calls out.   "What is the b!@@dy time for gods sake!"  I yell at her , "it's 6.45" she yells back cheerily, oh groannnn.. the school run, oh the joys of parenthood. 

Well now that the drama of the dengue fever is over , I can go back to focusing on my work. I have finally finished the presentation deck for a new show, which I usually send out to my producer and best friend who is in Australia,

My bestie and Producer Peggy, on another mad night out.

because a.) I value her opinion and b.) she has no hesitation in giving me her undiluted opinion , even if I don't like it.  I try not to argue back too much but she knows me too well !! Then I also have another bestie in a part of Europe who critiques my writing and editing skills ( my grammar and editing is a bit orf at times!)  and a couple who help me with my 'cough cough "sums", my layout and graphics.  So you see having your tribe supporting you is really important , I couldn't do it without them.

You are wondering where I get my creative concepts from ?, I guess it has to do with what is happening in my life at the moment , after all that's how I got the concept for the 'Art of Living Show', it was basically about friends and family looking for housing, this new show is also quite personal , and it came to me about a year and a half ago when I was visiting my mum in England. 

I've begun to start  looking for sponsors , and said as much on one of my social networking platforms.  I'm really pleased to know that people are reading this blog and reaching out to offer their help to me. It's absolutely wonderful to know that people are willing to pool their resources together and muck in,  we all benefit in the end right?.

Shooting the Art f Living Show on location in Port Dickson

For the first season of my first show,  I was incredibly lucky and managed to land a fantastic sponsor for the entire show, but it's never that easy especially if you're not working in the "system".  I am not affiliated to any cable or FTA networks or assigned productions, so being the little rebel that I am, I source my own sponsorship.   Having had to do this for a few years , I can say that there are also bodies out there to help you (err not those kind of bodies gals.. sorry eeppp!) 

Of course the first that comes to mind is FINAS.  I have been there, I have pitched my show for  my second season,  they usually have a panel of  8- 12 professionals from the film & media world who will review your work, so make sure you have alot of hard copies and CD's of your show ready! Don't worry,  if you are presenting to them, they will give you a list of what is required.

However the main centre to hand out information would be KPKK ,  I found the folk there to be very friendly and informative, they will also be the ones to send out circulars on Industry Grants  from the following agencies

• MDEC  that is our Multimedia Corporation and they offer great grants , especially tech driven content, their VP Michael Warren is a really decent chap if you can get ahold of him!
• CRADLE their mission is to help with start ups and and seeding content driven projects, make sure you're books are up to date!
• MTDC which is the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation, they have the most substantial grants to offer.  You can also look into SKMM because when they tender grants they are fairly substantial too.

Just be prepared to have all your documents in order, and what I mean is,  deep breath, 

your company documents (yes you have to have a company already set up) , your annual reports or audited reports, P&L reports, and company profile and a write up on your project. Yes it's a lot, but if you take it a step at a time, you'll get all the docs  and be able to send it off to them.  My suggestion, be patient, be persistent and try to make friends with them, no one ever lost out by being friendly and nice.

The  creative investment arm of our government is called MYCREATIVE .  The CEO is a chap called Johan Ishak, he's really switched on and is a tremendous help, as are the other team members.  I have nothing but good things to say about this body, however, they go through everything with a FINE tooth comb to be able to grant you any sort of loan, so make sure you are really prepared. 

I managed to rope Johan in for an interview on the radio station.

There are many grants and loans available from the government and non government sectors, the main objective  if you want one,  is to grit your teeth, and get on with it.  If this is what you want to do, then roll your sleeves up and just go for it! 

I've always said being a producer is very much like being an actress, you're bogged down with one show for several months then you have months free till the next one! Which is why I started doing  World Ventures , writing and some PR work In between otherwise I'd go potty!! But you see I love what I do, I love that my film directors can interpret what's in my head and breathe life into it, can't wait to get stuck in, elbow deep, knee high in celluloid!      ( hello I didn't say cellulite k stop giving me beauty spa recommendations!!)

Now to get back to my most favourite part.... not!, getting the budget cut down even further! Have a lovely week folks, catch you on the flip side.