NMC004 Film Club and See Mommy Run

Rosa Linda

BONUS Materials

Recorded: April 15, 2015
Location: New Mexico
Subject: Creating “Roadrunner Reels Film Club” and trying new ventures, like “See Mommy Run.”


Hello friends!

After months of hard work (and tons of fun!) our film club, “Roadrunner Reels,” was almost finished with final edits on “Sophia and the Mysterious School.” I was enjoying working with my daughters and other kids at their elementary school, plus the top-notch professionals who shot the film for us. Working on that project helped me transition away from the nonstop work I had done as a one-woman-band to create 2 seasons of New Mexicast (the video podcast turned-tv show). At the same time, I was looking for my next venture. At the time of this recording, I was working with my friend, Andrea Vincent, on her website, See Mommy Run. It was fun to stretch my creative muscles and work on this exciting project. More on that in next week’s episode.

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 Hello and welcome to New Mexicast the audio edition. I'm Rosa Linda Román. Right now I'm driving to rock climbing with my girlfriend Brandy. And I just left running with my friends, Alicia and Andrea. So it's a good day of fitness and I've definitely needed it. It's been a long stretch of being sick, which I don't usually get sick. You can still see I'm a little congested, but, I'm getting better and stronger. And one of the first things that has to always go back to being a priority after whether I'm sick or I go through a long stretch of kind of getting away from myself and what I need to be doing is the first thing that gets me back to center is, getting some exercise because that is how I keep myself in check. My mood is much better regulated and I'm much more productive if I squeeze in the ability to run or climb. Rosa Linda Román: 02:19 And most importantly for me, the girlfriend time. I spent many years working in isolation, because of having new babies and made the show New Mexicast. But I definitely missed the social part of my personality. It was not being, supported. So I definitely squeeze in the time no matter what. At least three times a week, I either run or climb or both, sometimes more. and it helps me be a better mommy and helps me be better at pretty much everything. but it is hard to make that a priority because everything else always encroaches on one's own time. My other thing that I do to keep my sanity, is I wake up before the kids every morning and I light some candles and sit in this little nook that I have in my closet. It's pretty funny, but it's just a little hideaway and that is the place that I go and I write and I read and I take my time being by myself in quiet before the craziness of the day begins. Rosa Linda Román: 03:26 So that means I get up at 5:00 every morning and then I wake the kids up at 6:00. So, it's always, you know, hitting the ground running. But, anyway, so, you might be able to hear it is a crazy windy day here in New Mexico. I'm driving between the East mountains where I live and Albuquerque where the rock climbing gym is. And that always gives me a chance to do some recording. so let me tell you about what I'm up to lately. It's been a very exciting time. I feel like I've made a major shift, from where I was just a few months ago, but specifically, I've been focusing on, making a film with this film club that I've told you about and it's just been such a wild ride. Just fantastic to get back in the director's seat and work with these kids and the professional crew. Rosa Linda Román: 04:21 We have had now five shoot dates. we had four main shoots and then, yesterday we had film club and during that time we got some additional pickup shots and we went to the second location, another elementary school and finished that and got some pickup shots there too. So I am now wrapped on two of the three locations. And then next Tuesday we will go back to the performing arts center where we have, have a bunch of backstage scenes that we need to record a lot of dialogue and things. and then after that, I will be done with the, hopefully getting all the footage I need to put together this film. we've been calling it Sophia and The Mysterious School. That's the working title, but my daughters do not like that title. And so I keep trying to come up with a better one. Rosa Linda Román: 05:15 But for now, it's called Sophia and The Mysterious School. anyway, it's just been really interesting to watch these kids shine. I've asked a lot of them. Right now we are doing things very differently than the beginning of the year when everything was focused on kind of the slow process of writing and thinking about the movie and making the making of the movie and what that might look like. and now we're doing, now we're in the action phase where everything is happening very quickly. we've had long hours after they get off of school, we then start with the actual, shoot, at their own elementary school. And then we had another nearby elementary school and then the performing arts center. So for three days in a row last week we shot from 3:30 after they got off of school until 7:30 or even 8:00, on a few nights. Rosa Linda Román: 06:10 So it was a whirlwind for the kids and myself. I just was amazed at how well our teamwork together. I didn't really know how it was going to come together when I first started this venture, but I just had this belief that we could do it. I knew I went into it in the beginning of the year with the idea that we could make a movie, that I really didn't want to just do an amateur thing where I teach them to play with the camera and that's fun and cute and that's great. There's great value in that, but I really wanted this to be a chance for them to see what a real film working on a real set would be like, to see if it's something they may have an interest in, in the future. And so that's what we've been doing. And, and when the kids, you know, we, we end up shooting these scenes and our two main actors, Matthew Berglund and Destiny Marroquin, when they get the camera on them and, you know, all eyes are on them, I just am constantly amazed at how well they perform under pressure and they, they know their lines. Rosa Linda Román: 07:22 They've been, you know, doing exactly what they need to be doing and I'm just so impressed with how they're handling it. some of the kids, it's been interesting to watch because I had 26 kids that basically have stayed for the long haul. Some, you know, we started, I think I said this in the previous episode, but we started with 37 and eventually those kids that really weren't interested have been weeded out. I would say there's probably three left that really don't have any interest in being there at this point. and we had a big drama last week because we, it was the Monday before we went into, our primary shooting and that was going to be on Tuesday. And I got a note from one of the moms telling me that, six of my girls were going to be choosing softball over the shoots, which are where the very next day. Rosa Linda Román: 08:14 So, it was a frenzy and a panic because everything that I had set up was based on these 26 kids. And then they decided not to participate, including originally one of my main actresses. So that was a big problem. And, after a lot of going around and going back and forth, most, well, most of the girls did not participate. But one of them, the mom said, no, you made this commitment and you need to see it through. And so it was really, that was I think, a very good lesson for that girl, but also for my kids to see that, you know, once you make a commitment you really need to stick with it. because I did send out in advance a questionnaire about what kind of conflicts they might have and I wouldn't have cast, the kids that had conflicts, over the kids that didn't because there were some kids that were there every single time. Rosa Linda Román: 09:12 And it's not really fair to them if someone changes their mind because they were, they didn't get the main role and they wanted to play softball instead. So these are the really interesting lessons that these kids are learning. And it's been interesting for me to watch how they have to struggle with these things. And you know, how I have, I've had to manage the changes in, you know, in the crew and the cast and how we make it work one way or the other. I mean, we had a really great actor, Chris Rainey, who was supposed to be our principal, and he's a paid, you know, he works in the film industry. and he had a job that came up in New Orleans at the last minute and so he couldn't do it. So we scrambled. And again, that was like a day or two before we were starting the first shoot and a, so I threw Marcus Martin, which is one of the dads of, of two of the boys in our club. Rosa Linda Román: 10:15 I said, “Guess what, you're the principal!” And he had auditioned, and he has acting experience. So it wasn't like I just threw anyone in there, but you know, having to kind of shift and roll with it and figure it out. that's the name of the game and it's been very enlightening. I think when we finally have the screening, which is basically, it's one month from today, when we actually screened this movie and people see it publicly, I think that it will help turn the table for a lot of people. I'm in the proving ground right now where everybody, nobody wants to, not nobody, but some people I think are hesitant to go all in because they don't know if we're gonna you know what it is. First of all, I mean, is it just cute kids with a camera or are we talking about something more professional and what, what's the end result? Rosa Linda Román: 11:06 But once we have that screening, then I believe that we can take that movie and go back to the community and say, here's what we're trying to do. And assuming we do a future film club, if we want to do that again, then we have something to show for ourselves. And I can approach local businesses and I can find a way to get other people on board. Because the way we did it this year was, you know, if expenses came up, I just paid for them. And, when it came time to feed the crew, the cast and crew, the moms and dads, you know, pitched in and brought, snacks and, and the PTO contributed $50 to help, buy snacks for the kids. So, you know, we found a way, which is great because the fact of the matter is it's a community effort. Rosa Linda Román: 12:56 But, in the future it would be nice to expand that to the business community that could support, these kids. Cause it really is a skill set that I think that will serve them and the community in the future. so that's the big thing I'm working on with the film club. And, then the other two things that I'm, I'm actively busy with and involved with is I'm working with my friend Andrea Vincent who, founded a website called SeeMommyRun.com and SeeMommyRun is, I like to describe it as kind of Meetup, meets, MapMyRun. of course she created this long ago before Meetup even existed. And I, I imagine before MapMyRun. but it basically is a way for moms who like to run or who might be interested in starting running to connect in real life. Rosa Linda Román: 13:58 And, she's done such amazing things with this, this website, but she also has three kids, one of whom is two years old, so she's had her hands full and they just moved here at the beginning of the school year from, from Virginia. So the process of working on, see mommy run has kind of taken aside, you know, it's taken a back seat to just life happening. And since I was trying to figure out what to do with New Mexicast anyway, and we started looking at, my husband and I talked about it and Nathan, saw SeeMommyRun and thought, you know, this is an opportunity. we could renovate it and really offer add value, to the community, which she has a great following and turned it into something even more. So that project is what I'm working on right now. but that's, that's one of the things I'm focusing on. Rosa Linda Román: 14:55 And then looking at New Mexicast itself, and by the way, SeeMommyRun is basically being bought by New Mexicast. So New Mexicast is the parent company. And SeeMommyRun is essentially, you know, one of our, assets, I don't know if that's the right word. That's not my area of expertise. The business side is why Nathan's involved, cause that's not me. and that's by the way, one of the big things that I'm, the takeaways that I'm working on right now and focusing on in my life is that I really, if you focus on, and I learned this from a, a guy called, his name is Roger James Hamilton. He has a, a thing called GeniusU and, and he's the millionaire master plan, creator. And basically I love listening to motivational people and he's one of my new favorites. Rosa Linda Román: 15:51 Tony Robbins is my all-time favorite, but, this one is a new one that I've been listening to. And basically he, his premise is that we all have, a genius inside of it. That's how he refers to it. And that genius is not the same as someone else's genius. He says there's four types. in this it, you know, that you might be, you might be a steel genius who's more better with numbers. You might be, I'm a blaze genius, which is more the social side, which is why it was so funny, that I was working solo for so long with New Mexicast and there's two other types. There's a dynamo and a tempo genius and I couldn't tell you exactly what they do because they're not me. But bottom line is what they're saying is you, instead of trying to do the things that are not your natural flow, you should focus on the things you're good at. Rosa Linda Román: 16:47 And when you do that and you align yourself or, or partner with people who have a different, genius than yourself, then you start to see the magic happen. And that is really what we're doing with see mommy run. And I'm looking very, in the future I'm looking to do that with New Mexico cast as well. once I finished season two of New Mexicast, I felt pretty burnt out by doing episodes all the time and feeling like I had to get everything done and really not bringing much in. I had a couple very great sponsors, over the seven years, but, but definitely not enough to cover my costs and it was really an expensive hobby. and I just really, you know, now in hindsight now that I've kind of moved forward, I realize New Mexicast the parts that I was good at, you know, building the content and the, you know, being the reporter, the host, I'm good at the social side. Rosa Linda Román: 17:53 All of those things were fine, but I took away from those things that I was good at because I was focused on the things I was not good at trying to get advertisers trying to run the business itself. really there were so many areas of New Mexico because I was a total one-woman band. I did everything. I built the website I built, you know, every part of, you know, got the podcast feed working. I, you know, built the content itself. I, I did the marketing, I did the, sales, whatever, every, every part of it I had, I did by myself. And, I think it suffered because of it. And the New Mexico cast was great and I believe that it still has a potential in the future, but it couldn't, it was not sustainable. There was no way I could continue putting out content like that. Rosa Linda Román: 18:48 The older my kids get, the harder it actually became. I thought it would be easier once they weren't babies, but it actually becomes harder because then, you know, I'm shuttling them around and they need to be places and they have their own opinions about things. And, I try to be respectful of that and I am, I'm looking for that work life balance. that allows me to really maximize my time with my kids and, my husband. And, because of that, I just couldn't justify taking, you know, putting my son in daycare, four or five days a week so that I could, create this content when it wasn't, not only wasn't it bringing in any money, it was, you know, costing a lot of money. So, anyway, I, I'm not saying that New Mexicast is no more. All I'm saying is I am now, I, I like to believe that I'm evolving and realizing that, you know, you don't have to, throw the baby out with the bathwater and if you can really get clear on what matters to you or in this case me, then you can surround yourself with what you need to make the rest of it work. Rosa Linda Román: 19:03 So that's what my, that's where my brain is right now, thinking about what the next step is going to be, for New Mexicast. And, I've been listening to some other podcasts that I really enjoy and that are inspiring me to think in different ways about, about the future of New Mexicast and SeeMommyRun and my filmmaking efforts and a few of them. One Day Business Breakthrough I really enjoy because it basically takes someone, a business owner, puts them in what they call the "hot seat." And once they, once they are in the hot seat, they talk about their business and break it down and figure out what needs to be done to turn it around. So there's a lot of tips that come out of that that I'm really enjoying listening to. And then, there's another one, by the same, the same guys, I think their names are Chris Ducker and Pat Flynn. Rosa Linda Román: 20:03 And there's another one by, Chris Ducker. What was his, I don't remember the name of it. and I know that Pat Flynn has one called, passive, Smart Passive Income. and so that, that has been interesting, that I've, I've enjoyed that podcast, those podcasts quite a bit actually. they really, helped me think about new ways of looking at the business and, kind of opening up my mind to different possibilities. so I'm actually very excited about that and I think that New Mexicast is gonna start, being something completely different in many ways, while hopefully taking the best of what I learned from, the making the weekly TV show and the video podcast and applying it in different ways, you know, to make it something more, sustainable and enjoyable. So that's where my thoughts are now. I've arrived at my rock climbing place and I'm going to go and climb and enjoy that. So I thank you for listening. I guess this was a bit of a rambling podcast, but that's okay. Sometimes you just gotta ramble. Have a great day. Bye. Rosa Linda Román: 20:43 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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