Diary of a Dreamer: Storytelling & Filmmaking Thoughts:

My initial thoughts is that maybe I should’ve named this video the heading of this newsletter instead of I went broke tricking in Cartagena, Colombia. It was a click bait title and I actually think I might change it.

I watch my edits over and over to make sure everything is right. Im really big about pacing and score. I have so much content filmed that im always sure I can find the correct footage for whatever direction I want to take a movie. What i’m thinking right now, I know I didn’t do is any color correction. The film people that watch will say this is horrible. I believe story TRUMPS footage quality. One thing I know is that my story is unique. No one has it except for me so in a competitive world of video I have to use that to my advantage.

Most video I see is not storytelling anymore. It was a time where storytelling was prominent now the talking head YouTube videos and walking around and not saying anything just showing the scenery get big views. I think that’s why I never have been consistent on YouTube because im afraid I will never find my audience. My thoughts are black people just don’t want to watch my kind of content and im not cool enough to be embraced by the hip hop white people and the white generalist could care less. So I struggle with this and why im hit or miss or just sometimes let 100s of hours of raw footage of my journey sit on hard drives.

What has changed is NOW? I dont have the choice. This is the perfect segway to the video and WHY I do NOT have the choice anymore. I will start here….. People do not know me and people that have watched me do not know me. I feel its time to show myself. I preach sharing your story to my friends but then I contradict that because I only share the high lights. I did get more transparent in a video I did last year about quitting trucking and moving to Cartagena.

I shared a lot of my struggles. A lot of my life has been struggle and I dont think people want to see struggle ALOT. I think people on social media use it to get away from struggles of everyday. Well I cant hold myself back anymore. If my company is going to even exist I need to share the REAL story and that’s why I said I don’t have a choice anymore. As the title of this writing says my start up has no money, well its true. We are virtually out of business if something doesn’t happen fast. My thoughts are that im scared, sad, and confused all at the same time but then im also OK because I did the best that I could do. That’s why now its important for me to share these stories that I have filmed and maybe showing this story could render some support that will propel my dying company back to life.

Starting the video:

I wanted to start with EXACTLY what is really going on. We have NO MONEY and we cant even pay for our rent right now! first line, I was thinking that could draw people in. Then I offset that crisis with a VO telling myself the things that I really do. Things like be calm and know that one day it could this and tomorrow the website could be getting sale after sale. So I was telling myself to stay even keel. I have also found out that a start up running out of money is more common than you think. Even HUGE companies that you know of have at some point point ran out of money and had to face that reality to push forward of DIE!

The pacing of this is good and it goes to 27 seconds before my name pops in the screen. With a soundtrack that says I have problems. I think that went perfect.

Then I establish the story. I show my HQ in Colombia and say this is what is happening in my life currently. I did that because if you are a person that is seeing my video for the first time you are up to speed in my life. Of course I use that and always will take you back in my episodes to tell you more about who I am.

Looking for investors Scene:

This is real. The honesty of this is I dont know what im doing. When I dont know what im doing im very insecure because im a preparation person. One weak point about me is im not good on the fly. I know that about me. Im not very knowledgable about this raising money world and I think any person that is privy can watch and tell that this guy has NO IDEA what he doing. I wanted to show that. Im not perfect its many things that I dont know and I want to show that. I dont want to be the person that makes his self look like their is no flaws. Being the filmmaker, director, and editor I could easily do that.

Inside a Meeting:

This is also real we would set up cameras and almost forget they are rolling so we would get 15-28 minute clips of just raw conversations of what is going on. Some of it is cringe lol but some of it is great. In this scene im talking about the struggle of the Palenque collection. If you looked on Instagram it looks like its a winning collection but I was losing money on it the entire time. The fact is the prices do not match up. The margins are just too low because the Colombian economy is not good. I thought every tourist and every person from Palenque would purchase the gear I made for them but turns out they just didnt have the money because the price was too high.

It’s a part where I flip the camera view to Abraham and he has his hands in his face because he knows where this going. It’s going into one of my RANTS!

When I have that RANT and go off its in reference to a group of black people from America that wanted to buy some of the collection but wanted to know where the money was going. My rebutal is I put up $5,000 dollars nothing goes back until my money is returned them we can split profits. That’s just business. I mention imposter syndrome here because I feel im on to something but im always haunted by my past, in this sense this group of black Americans basically telling me that im not doing the right thing and they have to check if SAD is doing right by Palenque. Im like I created this collection not with intension to get rich but a way that will bring continual revenue to the village with these staple shirts.

Taking my audience back in my life:

In this scene, I needed to humanize myself. I need to show the growth. Outside of being a basketball player I was a very troubled guy. I was into alot of things. Luckily I have the footage show me rapping about killing people and one clip with a bandana over my face. That clip was from a music video but I was a robber in my life so that’s why I had the bandana in the first place. Then to fast forward to show me with Gronk, the hockey player, and Ti all supporting kids I was trying to show how far I have come. I even show the house I grew up in and how its abandoned.

Short Commercial:

I put this in because ultimately im running a business lets not forget that. Go buy my products so I can pay this rent lol

Giving a look into what goes on daily inside ALL Dreams:

In this scene I wanted to give viewers a real look inside. Im in the office and its just us. No Abraham to translate. At this point when we filmed Abraham is no longer employed by ALL Dreams and me, Tati, and Tati’s mother Mary have a conversation through the translator. I tried to give my best words of encouragement because it goes back to me trying to raise money. I have to run my own race and that’s what I told her. After we went to shoot some baskets.

FYI: The filmed used to show us shooting baskets is from a different time but it fit in the episode good and it shows what i’m doing in Colombia.

They passed on investing & Documenting myself:

Anyone that watched my pitch could probably tell I wasn’t going to get the investment. Again I needed to show how bad I am. I might get better who knows. I also say that I would rather just bootstrap and sell product but I need customers for that so its a conflict then I go back and just pour out everything. Here I had to just be real about my thoughts and what is going on. I say that entrepreneurs talk to themselves because in this scene I needed to do that. I needed to be real about my why and not giving up.

1994:

This moment I just wanted to let it run. I wanted to take my viewer back into the life of a kid that was still dreaming. He didnt know what the world had for him. It’s a naiveness and imagination that I wanted to show of myself. It’s pure, you hear my mother routing for me supporting me. It goes back to when im in the investor meeting when I say I needed someone else to support me besides my parents. I didn't do this on purpose but as I write this it ties in. It also ties into why I founded ALL Dreams because im the kid Dreamer and its so many other young people that have that pure imagination not knowing what the world has in store for them. At least they will have Support ALL Dreams to support them.

Thanks for reading!

This is my thoughts about making this video and my breakdown of why I did some of things I did in this video. Link to the is below. Link to my website is above support what im doing PLEASE!!