It's always a bit nerve racking to throw a party - especially one that is announced/planned very last minute. I'll admit a few times I was quite worried that "no one was gonna' show".

But I am so, so happy with how everything turned out - on every level. Jimmy, the man behind 'Little Radio', was fantastic and extremely helpful and easy-going. Angela, from BlackCatInc, did an awesome, awesome job planning the event (and she also didn't kill me when I, like an ass, forgot to thank her during the speech... I was rushed and awkward'ish). 'A Faulty Chromosome' finished out the night great with a laid back acoustic show.

And most importantly: people came!! Lots more people then we realistically expected. We were praying for 50, and by the end of the night we are fairly positive we had a 100 people make an appearance.





So thank you to everyone who helped make the night very memorable! Thanks to all of you who made donations. To all you "secret santas" (as Jill would say) who donated cash, we're sorry we didn't have the foresight to set out pens by the table.

It was just a really, really great night. I tried very hard to say "hello" to everyone, I'm sorry for those of you I didn't get to speak with at all (or even those of you who I didn't get to speak with for more than only a few minutes).



And, of course, we wouldn't have been able to do any of this with out the help of our two sponsors: Next New Networks/Indy Mogul and Pando!

Check out all the great flickr pics from the night. And I have to share this video that my friend, Lan, put together using stills from his 20D, I love it:



tags: pedal, documentary, indie, vlog, blog, bicycle, coast-to-coast, community, funding

Labels: A Faulty Chromosome, Flickr, Indy Mogul, Little Radio, Next New Networks, Pando, Party, Thank You

Tim Shey, from Next New Networks, asked the lovely Micki Krimmel to do an IM interview with me about Project Pedal for NNN's recently launched indie-filmmaker-geared site: Indy Mogul.

The interview is being posted in two parts - here's a few paragraphs:

Micki Krimmel: Project Pedal is the videoblog/documentary project by filmmaker Mike Ambs. On June 2, Mike and his crew will embark on a cross-country journey to document two cyclists as they bike their way from Washington to Maine along the Adventure Cycling Trail, culminating in a feature length documentary tentatively titled "Pedal." Since October of 2004, Mike has been sharing his experience with the project on his blog, posting well-produced video episodes along the way. As with any first time film project, Mike has seen his share of ups and downs while trying to pull it all together. Now, he's just two weeks away from production and Next New Networks has stepped up to help send him off in style by hosting the "Pedal Push Party" this weekend in Los Angeles.

I chatted with Mike over IM about the film and the community of supporters he's been building through his videoblog.

MK: What the heck is Project pedal? Is it a film or a videoblog? I'm so confused!

Mike Ambs: Ha. Well, it's a bit of both... When I first started the project three years ago, it was just going to be a documentary. Then I got all swept up in the videoblogging scene and started thinking about how much happier I would be with the project if I could mesh my two favorite things: documentaries and vlogs. We're going to continue posting videos during production and post. We'll post lots of updates from the road, episodes when I get back talking about how things are going, etc. The finished product will be a feature length doc.

Continue reading the interview here - and don't forget to check back on Indy Modul for the second half. Hope to see you at the party this Saturday! In the mean time, for the next 3 days, I'm locking myself away in a friend's cabin to clear my head.

tags: pedal, documentary, indie, vlog, blog, bicycle, coast-to-coast, community, funding

Labels: Black Sheep, Indy Mogul, Interview, Micki Krimmel, Next New Networks, Party

It's been over 3 years since this project started - it's been a long, trying process... but as I said in my first post on project pedal: "Strangely enough... I wouldn't want it any other way."

We've had a lot of help over the years, everyone from fellow videobloggers and even, by strange strokes of luck, Hollywood producers.

I know I wouldn't have gotten far without their/your support. Because of this - we want to do something special before we begin production on June 2nd: we want to throw a party!

Giving us an opportunity to get most of these people, who have been involved in one way or another with the project, together in one place at the same time, and see, in a very real sense, the results of their involvement. And hopefully raise the last bit of funds we need to make it coast to coast.

Our friend Angela has been helping organize and detail the event - which will start at 6pm on the 26th at 'Little Radio'. It's $5 at the door and we'll be accepting more donations inside if people would like to help out even more. Lots of free food & drinks!

The 26th, oddly enough, is the 6 year reunion of my first bike trip.

It's very strange for me to think back on how the words, "hey, we should ride our bikes across the country" have had such a long term effect on my life. What was supposed to be a two month journey has evolved into something much, much more.

We're planning on playing the episodes on the projector screen - and if you have anything: vlogs, video footage, etc that you'd love to share with the rest of class, just contact me and let me know. We're really just interested in getting people together and having a chance to talk and celebrate all of the great work that people are doing out here.

I really hope many of you reading this will be able to come.

We're collecting RSVPs in two locations, choose which ever you already have an account for below (if you don't have an account for either, I'd pick upcoming, they're great).


[Event Sponsorship info coming soon...]

tags: pedal, documentary, indie, vlog, blog, bicycle, coast-to-coast, community, funding, little radio, party

Labels: Party, Pre-Production