NMC003 Roadrunner Reels Film Club

Rosa Linda

Recorded: April 9, 2015
Location: New Mexico
Subject: Roadrunner Reels Film Club

Hello Friends!

At the time of this writing, in February 2020, my family is in the middle of some major life changes. My husband just got the shocking news that he is being laid off. Our daughter, Ziva just had her Bat Mitzvah in Rincón, Puerto Rico. Our New Mexico home is under construction due to structural problems. Our belongings are spread out between the New Mexico home’s garage, a storage unit in Austin, Texas, friends’ homes in Orlando and West Palm Beach and our minivan in Okeechobee, Florida. We currently have no home base. Although we do know where we are sleeping tonight I can’t say the same about next week. We have been traveling as a family full-time for 7 months now and I am tired.

They say when you face a big, unexpected life change — say the death of a loved one or the loss of a job — you should not make any drastic changes in your life for several months, until the dust settles a bit. But we set this up in a way that we really have no choice but to make some big family decisions right now, and that is typically how we roll. Our unpredictable way of living would probably send many others off the deep end. For us, it is just par for the course. Over the years we have come to trust each other and to believe that whatever comes our way, as long as we are together, we will all be okay. When she was little, someone asked Ziva where her home was and she responded, “Home is where my family is.” That sums it up for me.

So, as we face the uncertain future together, I am grateful for this New Mexi-Castaways podcast which gives me the chance to pause and look back to a very different time in our lives. This episode is from early 2015, when Ahava and Ziva were in elementary school and we were working together to create a film called, “Sofia and the Mysterious School,” with the help of some amazing professional filmmakers and some really awesome kids. This was before we left New Mexico and moved onto a sailing catamaran. Before we became full-time travelers. It is fun for me to think of how much we didn’t know back then. I am also keenly aware of how much we still have to learn today.

I hope you enjoy this weekly podcast where I share my personal journey and my process. If you are looking for the latest updates on our family’s current adventures, please consider joining the “New Mexi-Castaways Crew.”

Thanks for all your support! See you again next week.

Lots of love,
Rosa Linda

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Episode Transcript:

Rosa Linda Román: 00:00 Hey everyone, before we get started, a quick note. This is one of the early episodes recorded back in 2015 before we left New Mexico and moved onto the sailing catamaran Dawn Treader and before we became a fulltime traveling family. As you can imagine a lot has happened since this was recorded but I do hope you enjoy hearing this backstory. If you want to stick around until the end I will share how to find out what we are doing now. But first, a step back in time before we went from New Mexicast to New Mexi-Castaways. Enjoy! Rosa Linda Román: 01:16 Wow! What a whirlwind this has been. Hello and welcome back to New Mexicast audio edition. I'm Rosa Linda Román and my voice is scratchy because I'm a little under the weather actually quite a bit under the weather and I am in the middle of a crazy, wild, amazing, awesome week that I wanted to share with all of you. as many of you know, I have been involved in filmmaking as a hobby for many years, outside of my reporting duties, both in mainstream media and then as an independent reporter on New Mexicast. And the filmmaking side has been a fun, creative endeavor. but usually I just step into a team that already exists and fill a role, using some of the skills that I got from my years in broadcasting. And also, after that in New Mexicast. I'm actually a certified pro in FinalCutX, which is an editing program, through Apple. Rosa Linda Román: 02:16 And so I use those skills, or, I've got some experience directing some short films in particularly with a group in Phoenix called Lime Wrangler, which was a really fun group of friends. we started out as screenwriters and then decided to start making short films. So I directed a movie through them called Cookies For Callie, written by James Sperl, who is now a famous, writer, a lot of horror, books that he writes. But anyway, I've enjoyed my creative endeavors. The big part of the filmmaking was kind of an escape from some of the hard news, scary stuff that I used to cover when I worked in local news. and it's just fun and I've enjoyed it. But again, I've usually stepped into a team that already exists, but this year is something completely different. at the beginning of the school year, I launched a film club called Roadrunner Reels at my daughter's school. Rosa Linda Román: 03:14 I was trying to figure out a way that I could contribute in a positive way using my skills, not necessarily, in the classroom making copies or doing busy work. as I know those jobs are so important to add, but I figure other people can do those things. But, not everybody can do, teach kids how to make a movie. And New Mexico is very big on filmmaking. a lot of movies are made here, a lot of TV series, everybody is familiar with breaking bad and in plain sight. Those were some of the series shot right here in New Mexico. So there are actual jobs in the industry for people who want to go into the business right here at home. So I thought this would be a good skill set that I can teach the kids. I actually thought about teaching a reporting class since that's obviously my, my degree and my background is all in, reporting. Rosa Linda Román: 04:08 But I, I thought after thinking it through that would really be more individual teaching where I could teach a few kids, who were really into it. But when you make a film, it's such a collaborative effort that I figured that was a good way for me to really involve a lot more of the kids and a wider spectrum. Cause not everyone wants to be a reporter. Not everyone wants to be an actor. Not everyone wants to be a writer, but put all the parts together and you might find something that sparks an interest in many different kids, which is my goal. So it has turned into that. And by the way, we're at the almost done point of this venture, at the beginning of the school year, I launched the club and we've been meeting every week, since then. That was in August, and this is now, April. Rosa Linda Román: 05:01 And we are now in production. What that means is we went from, I taught the kids the basics about making a movie, and then we wrote a script. they helped me write it and then I finished it up. And now we are actually, we have a professional crew all volunteering their time. Toby Eunice and Shelley Carney, Heather Antonio, Michael Miller, and Tom McGill. are professionals and Chris, Chris Rainey was another guy that was an actor that was trying to help, but he ended up getting cast in a big role, in New Orleans, so he couldn't join us. But all these people are volunteering their time to help these kids learn the art of filmmaking by doing it. Not just coming in and talking. We did have some great guests come in. Alexander Thorn and Laura Gardner, I think her name is. Oh, I have to look that up. Rosa Linda Román: 06:00 Anyway, and they, they talked to the kids, mentored the kids, helped share their expertise with the kids. But now we've moved into actually making the movies. The movie is tentatively called Sophia and The Mysterious School, and it's been a joy. I mean, it's been a whirlwind because we have to kind of cram everything in between the kids' school schedule and the professionals schedules, since obviously they're not getting paid. And so they, we have to do it when they're available. but it's really cool because not only did we write the script, we then had auditions and, we cast, I cast these kids who are my, my kids, my friends kids and the other kids in the school that have been, part of this film club. They are the ones that were cast in the main roles, the kid roles, and then the adults were cast in other roles, in the adult roles. Rosa Linda Román: 06:57 And it's been an interesting process because I went into it thinking I wanted to give them a real sense of what making a movie is. Like, I don't want to, you know, be jaded or make them, you know, dislike it. But I also want to be realistic that not everyone is gonna get that leading role. Not everyone is gonna, you know, get to be in front of the camera, but everyone can find a place on a film set and find something that they love. and I'm also, this week we're really teaching them how much waiting around time there is when you're shooting a film. But, it's been really amazing and I could get it go on forever about how it has been. but I've just felt like it's such a great way to transition after New Mexicast season two finished up. Rosa Linda Román: 07:48 I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my time, before I either launch another season or go onto a new adventure, a new venture. and so that's what I did. This film project has been the perfect transition thing for me. It's taught me so much about myself and, what really inspires me and working with these kids has been inspiring and working with the team that we have has been amazing for me. so that's what's on my mind today. I hope that everyone is having a great spring. Of course I'm loving the nice weather moving in and, I'll get back to you after we're done wrapping on this film tonight. We're shooting the big talent show scene at an auditorium. There are many, many moving parts and, I don't know how it's all gonna go. So I'll get back to you in the next episode to let you know how everything went on the film and what else is going on in my life here on New Mexicast. I'm Rosa Linda Roman. Rosa Linda Román: 08:43 Once again, I marvel at how much has happened since this was recorded back in 2015. I’m happy to report that I continued these recordings throughout the process of buying, prepping for and moving onto the Dawn Treader sailing catamaran, so you will have that to look forward to in future episodes. For now you can find us as New Mexicast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, or just go to New Mexicast.com for all the content that I have there. And if you want to support this show please consider joining the New Mexi-Castaways Crew. You can do that at Patreon.com/NewMexicast. Which is where we will share a lot more content, including photos and videos from each of these podcast episodes, plus updates on where this crazy crew is now. Thanks again for listening and supporting our Enchanting Adventures. I’m Rosa Linda Román and who you just heard was, “Samuel!” Yep. And this is New Mexi-Castaways.

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