Pre-New Year Update

It's been at least 2 weeks, and I have yet to hear from ANY of my potential sponsors that I sent letters and press kits to via my local post office. This is kind of discouraging, but I'm going to keep trying and hope that at least one business pulls through and decides to help me out.

In other news, I continue to get excited more and more each day about the conference. Just having the opportunity to meet new people in itself is amazing. I'll be keeping a day by day account here on the Mason Expedition, and also plan to keep you all posted on the events proceeding  the conference.

I'm sorry I don't have much else to share, but I hope that everyone had great memories this holiday season, and I wish you all the best,

Leena

Finally, it uploaded!

The following is an experiment that I decided to conduct after watching a few YouTube videos that had some advice on the journey to internet fame. While I don't see myself becoming a video celebrity, I figured I'd give it a shot:

Hopefully this plays right!

If it happens not to....

Editing Is Hard Work

Alright, so I admit that I haven't actually tried to edit my videos for here, because to be honest, I have a strict in bed before midnight policy. Should I not adhere to it, I am a walking zombie come 5am when I'm expected to be up and slightly alive.

However, I do know that editing isn't easy, because that's all we're doing in Multi-Media right now. I love it, but its difficult when you have a limited amount of material to work with. As for the...three?...videos I've recently been working on, I will have plenty of time to edit when I come home and don't have to be bogged down with assignments due the next day as I'll be out on Friday.

I hope to have everything up and running by Friday, and hopefully breathe some life into my YouTube channel.

Hoping more than one person actually cares enough to read this!,
Leena

Coming to a screen near you!

VIDEOS!

I made about three today, not counting the random clips that I plan to use once I get my head around this Movie Maker stuff that I have discovered I have. I am in the process of collecting tips on YouTube video popularity, and one such video gave me this general idea:

To make it on YouTube, you've gotta be a girl. I was not aware of this, but maybe there's some truth to it. As for dressing up specifically for the camera, I personally have decided it's a no-go. You will probably be seeing me in whatever I decided to wear to school that day. I might be cute, but bum-day is a usual for me, especially when it's as cold as its usually been outside. The only thing that's not 100% legit is the fact that I don't wear my glasses during my videos, because my webcam is evil and produces a really fugly glare.

This guy also said to be as random as possible, make your videos long (the very next video I watched said under 3 minutes, oops.) and make one everyday. You know what? I'm going to try that.

Not only am I shooting for 5 videos a week, I'm also going to vary their content. One day we might be chatting in my room, and the next I'll take you guys on a walk around the block. Maybe elsewhere? This is for a journalism and media conference, so I figure that I should be well-versed in keeping things fresh for the audience.

Tomorrow is going to be more than a little busy what with me going shopping for X-Mas pictures and such, as well as finding time to study for an AP test I JUST found out about, but I will work in some time for video editing and hopefully 2-3 posts by Wednesday night.

I love you guys already, even though I am aware of the fact that only my aunt is following this blog at the moment. I appreciate you Nikki, and yes, I am going to bed now!

Thanks,
Leena

Letters, Letters, Letters Everywhere!

Today is the day, even though it's almost 11pm and I'm wide awake.

Today, I wrote and prepared my letters. Being a resident of "Chuck County", a little more than half of them aren't going any farther than La Plata or Waldorf. But I am also sending my little packets out to the lands of NYC and Tennessee, just to see if I will have any luck with finding sponsors.

So far, I have contacted the following people/businesses:

• American Legion
• Steve Harvey
• Tom Joyner
• Elk's Lodge
• Charles County Woman's Club (Until last year, I wasn't even aware that we had one)
• Ken Dixon Automotives
• Board of Ed
• NBC News/Studios
• WUSA 9
• Kane of Hot 99.5 FM Radio
• The Maryland Independent
• Fox 5
• The Washington Post
• Dollar General
• Safeway
• Shoppers Food & Pharmacy
• Hot Topic Inc.

I also plan on doing some research in regards to retail stores, and possibly some local restaurants. Tomorrow I will be taking a trip to the post office to drop off the 10 letters that I currently have ready to go, and I will be also trying to figure out how to complete my Master's Research project in Photography that's either going to require me having access to some rowhouses or interesting looking subjects.

Looks like it's going to be a busy day, but I can't wait to get started!

Quick Update

Hello,

So far, I've discovered that this blog thing is harder than I thought it would be. See, this isn't my first time starting one. In fact, I've had about 2 already - I just didn't expect anyone to read them. With this one though, the intent was to connect with others and possibly get the attention of future sponsors. I did contemplate deleting my latest and first video, and am still debating it right now.

The thing is...I could. But if I decide to go "Forget it, it doesn't matter", what am I learning? The whole reason I wanted to attend this conference is to learn something and get to the point where I can make business contacts after I graduate from college.

This blog isn't amazing or anything, but it is in its early stages, and I'm sure that even the more popular ones weren't the best from their first posts. My videos will eventually get better, even if I've discovered that my webcam has a pretty poor quality when it comes down to it. I do take part of the blame but again, I'm pretty nervous knowing that someone will be able to watch them pretty soon.

As far as where I'm at now, I am very close to securing all of the money for my tuition for the conference.

I'd like to thank my parents, my grandma as well as all of my aunts and uncles who have donated way more than I ever expected.
Today I'm making efforts to get letters to not only corporations but local businesses and even my school board. Not everyone is answering my calls, but hopefully having a solid letter in front of them will inspire something. Before I jump into my homework for the day, I'll be looking up addresses and printing out cover letters in order to have these things out by the weekend.

Still working on things,
Leena

The Mason Expedition - Leena Neeb

The first official video of my blog, with hopes of more to come in the near future!

What exactly are you planning?

If I were to be completely honest, I would need to tell you that I am in the process of compiling a solid fundraising plan. The current list of my ideas includes the following:

• Dollar donations over Facebook via PayPal (this one needs researching...)
• Writing letters to the headquarters of local grocery stores, news stations and other chains
• Sending press releases to radio stations
• Donation pledges from businesses (Bronze = $100, Silver = $200, Gold = $300+)
• A referral arrangement that my uncle has promised to set up with me
• Raffle tickets
• Fundraising at school

I plan on getting a group of friends together and possibly selling things outside of local stores or after school hours. Actually, I have a few different plans for my friends and this blog in itself. So far, I am very interested in the concept of including videos in my blog posts. It might be a little more interesting to hear me speak, and I hope to get as creative as possible with them. I have some sort of software on my computer that's waiting to be utilized, so why not? I'll even use my empty YouTube page for once.

Later on today, I plan on experimenting with my first video of this kind. I haven't really used my webcam for much except for the silly pictures my eight year old sister and I took for fun, and I'm sure that there's going to be at least three takes before I get things going.

But I don't want you all to just hear me, so if I can get a group of friends together, I want them to tell you why you should sponsor me, and why this opportunity would be so amazing for me. They could give you a perspective that I couldn't, and hopefully it'll influence some of you to help me along the way.

Because I am in my first year of Multi-Media at school, I will also check in with my teacher to see if I could get permission to post some of my work online. At this stage in the game there isn't much for a concrete example, but we have quite a bit of time on this journey of ours.

The Very Beginning

Writing a blog is actually kind of scary when you think about it. In fact, I have been deliberating for the last few hours about how I should even start this first entry. Am I supposed to be formal and professional, or is this blog just a free expression of my trip along the way?

I'm a little afraid of the blank space here.

With this blog, I intend to connect to all kinds of people and show potential and current sponsors that their money really is going towards this outstanding opportunity in my life, and to highlight to any future employers that because of this journey of mine, I will take risks and learn new things to put myself out there.

I do not have a concrete plan of how I plan to raise the tuition for the conference, so I am going to try a variety of venues. Starting with this blog, I am also planning a host of other things. I plan on starting a webcast of sorts that hopefully will be compatable with this setup, and taking advice from the Communications Department at American University, I am going to utilize Facebook to broadcast my progress.

As a word to any sponsors that I may come into contact with, I thank you in advance for being part of the reason I am able to make it to Washington this summer. I could tell you that it will open up thousands of doors that I would not be able to get to without this conference, but it really doesn't explain how much this means to me.

When I grow up, I want to be making movies. Whether I become the director, the producer, the screen writer or even the DOP, I will be able to look back and appreciate the skills that I gained from my week at George Mason, all because a few companies or individuals believed that I had what it took to move things that much farther.

You see, your money is not going towards a week of my sitting before famous reporters and anchors and being talked at. I will be learning the ins and outs of journalism and media, something closely linked with film and communications. I will meet people that can get me places after I finish college and establish lifelong contacts that I can continue to use throughout my career. You are not simply handing out a donation that will keep me entertained for a week. You are investing in my future.

To my family members that are prepared to stand by and support me on this self-titled expedition, I can only say that I'm glad to have a group like you in my life.

I am beyond excited to travel to George Mason this coming summer, and will continue to keep you all up to date on my trials and tribulations, as well as any great news that happens to come my way.

Thanks for reading,
Leena