It's a Wonderful Life

With the year coming to a close I started to think about the last 12 months. I have so much to be thankful for. This has been such a wonderful year. There have been ups and downs but mostly ups or at least that's what I choose to focus on. 

When the year began I was working as a bartender and waitress trying to hang on to my dreams. I wanted to work in production. I wanted to be behind the camera. I wanted to meet a wonderful man. I wanted to live my dream life.

As the year progressed I reconnected with old friends (thanks Facebook), I ran for the animals, I met an amazing man, I became the voice of a cartoon character ("Study Hall is for flirting & texttttinng"), I dove face first in the mud after overcoming some hefty military style obstacles & wading through water waist deep and that was only the beginning. I was also able to do some traveling. No new stamps in my passport but amazing journeys none the less. I went to the Jersey Shore, Key West, Fort Myers, The Poconos and Delaware.

I watched my film group grow to nearly 250 members. I am so proud. There have been so many great connections made through the group I can't begin to name them all. But I personally have benefited from each & every active member. Thank you all for your continued support of the group. I hope to offer some more beneficial workshops along with some fun networking events in the coming year. 

There were a few people this year who told me I was inspiring to them. I thought really, how could I possibly be. I always feel like I am not doing enough, I am not where I want to be, I don't have all the answers & I am still very much a work in progress. The thought that I could inspire someone was baffling but extremely flattering so thank you. 

During the latter part of the year I went hiking, sailing, created a viral video about a bed bug (with the help of some talented people), quit smoking, quit all my "day jobs" to focus on my dreams, entered a contest to become a host of a travel show (thank you everyone for all your support during this process), was an extra in a Jersey Shore parody starring Sally Jesse Raphael. I swear you can't make this stuff up. 

But the most import thing I did all year was to begin developing my own production company. With the encouragement & support from friends and family. I will be traveling down the path to owning my own business in this coming year and I couldn't be happier.  

It truly is a wonderful life & I have all of you to thank. 

They're Coming For You

So for the last four weekends I have been attending a Viral Video workshop. It was being hosted by Indigo Productions & taught by James Murray of North South Productions, among other things. I was paired up with five people I had never met before & we were assigned the task of creating a viral video from soup to nuts. 

All of us coming from different backgrounds & having different levels of production experience, it could have been a nightmare. But I had such a wonderful time working with my new found friends. 

Here is the fruits of our labor:

Article about the Westchester Film Industry Meetup

Click here to read article on Patch.com

OUR TOP 10 LOCAL MEETUPS

By Katherine Ann Samon | Email the author | 6:00am

Summertime means a desire to be more social and try new things. So if the call to adventure and meeting new people is keen, no sweat. Just head over to a nearby meetup. They're started by people just like you.

When Holly Sugrue, 32, returned to Mamaroneck after working in Florida for several years, she found her hometown sorely lacking in one aspect:  "I couldn't find a film group in our area," says the freelance videographer, who did her first video for Patch this week. "So I decided to start my own."

Her "Westchester Film Industry Meetup Group" is one of the strongest in our area, although it only began in March of last year, logging 202 members and 29 meetups. They convene once a month, sometimes twice, at Larchmont's LMC-TV studio for several hours to talk shop and trade contacts.

"Our members include everyone related to film and video, from videographers like me, to actors, sound and music people, editors and screenwriters."

Sugrue credits the supportive atmosphere to helping toward her latest accomplishment, which is having one of her video projects on a scavenger junt through the streets of New York appear on NBC's Time Out New York in the coming weeks.

"You don't have to travel to the city to meet like-minded people," says Sugrue.

Her meetup is one of our Top 10. What's the criteria?

* The event is a short drive away. Initially I restricted myself to Larchmont and Mamaroneck, but with five of Larchmont's eight meetups being child related, I expanded to a five-mile radius, including New Rochelle and Rye.

* A meetup took place within the last five months (although most of the ones listed here happened this month)

* The sum total appeals to a variety of interests—so if not for you, then maybe for someone you know.

1. Westchester Film Industry

Members: 202

Upcoming: TBA

Most recent: July 8

http://www.meetup.com/Westchester-Film-Industry-

Whoa so many new things going on...

Ok so to bring everyone up to speed on what's been going on over the last two months. A couple of really fantastic things in no particular order:

• The Westchester Film Industry Meetup Group hit over 200 members. A wonderful milestone for the group. In the future I hope to keep expanding the membership as well as special events and projects that the group works on. I am currently looking for an alternative location to host the group. The location we are using now. (LMC-TV Studio) is fantastic and generous for allowing the group to meet there but it can only accommodate about 20 people. My intention is to expand and would need another location for when the group becomes larger. If you know of a place please feel free to share. I am also interested in hosting a film networking get together for my group and possibly other local groups and I am currently looking for a location for this as well. 

• I started an internship with Indigo Productions (in Mid Town) famously known for their viral video spoof JK Divorce Entrance Dance which last time I check had 7,203,255 views. They have also worked with many well know names in business like Lancome, American Express, MTV, Rolling Stone etc. They specialize in creating video and multimedia presentations that engage, educate, motivate, persuade, and inspire. They see the big picture and provide visual solutions to communications challenges. Since I started with the company I have taken on a small project. I directed, produced my first shoot with Indigo a few weeks ago and I am well into the post production stages. I am having a wonderful time, learning so much and getting a chance to work with some very talented people. 

• Picked up another freelance job. I will be doing some work for the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Patch.com website. My first project will begin on Monday, July 12th I will be getting some video coverage of a new resturant that is opening up in Mamaroneck. More on this at a later date.

• The Pilot I worked on as an additional camera person is finalized and I am looking forward to hearing what happens with this project. I will keep you posted. Here are some photos from the shoots. 

• The Amazing Race videos that Phil and I shot last month will be making an appearance on NBC's Today in New York morning show during the Time Out NY segment. They will be featuring Mary & Pogo Events as a Best Bet. Check it out Saturday July 10th on NBC at 6:30am. I will add a link if and when it becomes available.

• The Larchmont-Mamaroneck Patch.com site will be doing a story on The top ten meetup groups in Mamaroneck & The Westchester Film Industry Group will be featured in that story. I will add a link when that gets published. 

• Blowback Productions and Able Ferrara present a film by Jenner Furst, Daniel B Levin and Julia Willoughby Nason "Dirty Old Town" a film that I PA'd on a few times over the summer has just been released and I have a special thanks in the credits (You are very welcome). A fantastic project a must see. Info about the movie:  "The Bowery becomes a nexus of shatter dreams when a merchant has 72 hours to pay his rent. Facing extension, his ramshackle tent of antiques lures a troop of misfits, freaks and renegades who form a tableaux-vivant full of carnival pageantry, white lies and victimless crime in a fleeting glimpse in downtown New York." 

• Brick City has just been nominated for a Prime Time Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Non-Fiction Filmmaking. Good Luck! 

Slowly but surely I am making things happen. I will keep everyone posted on all things to come. Hi ho hi ho off to do what I love I go...

It certainly was Amazing.

Well it certainly wasn't a race to get the edit done. So I have finished the video, which actually turned into two short videos for Pogo Events. It was so much fun to make. I really love what I do. Now if only I could learn how to use Motion better I'd be golden. =) Here they are... 

The Amazing NY Race 1 from Holly Sugrue on Vimeo.

A scavenger hunt around NYC. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

For more information go to

www.pogoevents.com

Tell them Holly sent you.

The Amazing NY Race 2 from Holly Sugrue on Vimeo.

A scavenger hunt around NYC. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

For more information go to

www.pogoevents.com

Tell them Holly sent you.