Saturday, October 31, 2015

Communications is a Two-Way "Street"

@DalmatProd: "Hi. You guys did a helluva job getting that kid out of the pipe. Poor little guy! We can really appreciate those efforts."

           @123FireDept: "Thanks and thanks for the RT, Fav and Follow.

@DalmatProd: "Our pleasure. Please have a look at our blog at bit.ly/DalmatProd see what we're doing and how YOU can help us. And it doesn't cost a cent! Hopefully, you'll return the favor and Follow us as well. #StaySafe"

          @123FireDept: "OK, thanks."

And that is the last time we heard from that fire department. Of course, that Twitter conversation above is imaginary (and way more than 140 characters!). Nevertheless, this is a common experience and one that we've experienced many, many times.

Although we started the account in 2011, we didn't really get going with it on a daily basis until just about a year ago. When we started, we used the "Search" feature to find ID's related to keywords such as "Fire," "Fire Department," "Firefighters," "EMS," "Paramedics," etc. That got us started raking in the ones we "followed." Now, add in Twitter's "Recommendation" service, "You May Also Like to Follow," and lists of three ID's closest to my keywords and the ID's we've just followed. In no time at all, we had 30+ followers and we were following over 600! Using this same system, it did not take long for us to hit that Twitter's magic 2,001-Followed. That meant, until we convince a lot more folks to follow us, we we were not allowed to follow anyone else. Boy, that sucks! Big time.

Eventually, thanks to many of you who are reading this, we built up our "Followed By" numbers and as of yesterday, October 30, 2015, we have over 800 followers. Sounds great, right? WRONG! It sucks! Big time.

While we understood from the "get-go" that our tweets, especially from the point that we began to share conversations regarding firefighting issues, that we would most likely not appeal to "civilians," our belief, as naive as it was, was that once firefighters, fire/rescue departments, paramedics, EMT's, etc. saw that we were working on a new, dramatic TV series about the fire service and that we, the partners of the company, were all either current or past firefighters and first responders, that they would "Follow" us by the thousands! OK, well, by the 100's!! How about, "dozens?" Not that one either? How about, "here and there?" And that's the way it been ever since. 

As we became more familiar with Twitter and its nooks and crannies, we looked at a great many other ID's.  Additionally, we found that by clicking on "FOLLOWERS" on our ID page, we could see each and every Follower of ours. That too was eye opening. Why? Because we found people who issued their first tweet of a dozen just 10 days ago, having 20.8K Followers! People who quote sayings from the "Farmers Almanac," with 32.4K followers! Moreover, some of those who are following us, including individuals, departments, agencies, union locals and professional groupings, have thousands of followers as well. So, here we are, trying to target over 1.2 million firefighters (no, not each one individually!), paramedics, EMT, etc., and we're lucky to have earned the 800 that we currently have.

Last week, we sent out a tweet to our followers, asking very politely, that for those who have a minimum of 1,000 followers, if they would be kind enough to send out 1 tweet to them, suggesting they follow @DalmatProd and/or check out our blog, then follow us. We kept our fingers crossed and waited. And waited. And waited. Guess what! We're still waiting.

Are we angry, upset? Nope, not a bit! Are we disappointed? Kind of. Why? Because all the work we're doing is for you. YOU, not us! And the funny part is, we're not asking for money; any money! Not a red cent! Unless....Twitter has a secret charge that we don't know about, for referrals, suggestions, etc.

Why is increasing the number of our followers so vital; so important? Simple. At some point, if we decide to engage in a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money to shoot the pilot episode, our adviser informed us that 800-1000 followers on Twitter was nowhere near the number of followers that need to express an interest in the project, so that we will have at least a chance of success with the campaign.

So, if you are one of our followers and no matter how many followers you have, would you please Tweet your followers and suggest that they take a look at us? We have shared both the synopsis, as well as a copy of the original script with some of you, asking for your personal feedback, based on your experience and reputation in the fire service. And while almost everyone of you wrote back how much you enjoyed the story and wished us good luck, we can count on just a couple of fingers the number of you who indeed did share our handle and/or blog, to your followers. 

In closing, one of the first and most important adages we learned when we first joined up was, "I got your back," whether you're behind the nozzle-jockey, caring for the surviving family of a LODD, or almost anything that is a part of our life in firefighting. We hope we can count on you to have our backs! Let's make communication a two-way street. Please.

Till next time,
Stay Safe & Every One Goes Home

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

We Are Here to Serve You - Which Would YOU Prefer?

10/27/2015 - Good morning gang. Just a quick note. A number of followers on Twitter and Facebook have suggest we create either a weekly podcast or a YouTube channel. The purpose would be simply to discuss (with more than 140 characters + more time) many of the same key issues we all chat about on Twitter. These topics include, LODD's, Fire-Fighter Health Initiative 2015; tactics, strains on ourselves, our families, PTSD, etc.

Either way requires a significant time commitment. I know. Back in 2001-2004, I was invited to join the then, PIO for Boca Raton Fire-Rescue, Frank Correggio, on his live radio show, "Burning Issues," every Sunday evening from 5:00PM - 7:00 PM ET. We had a blast, with listeners around the world and interesting and well-know guest speakers either calling in or sitting with us in our studio. Each show was archived so that listeners could listen to it later if they missed the live broadcast. YES! We were doing this long before the word, "podcast" was even thought.

So, if you would like us to provide some sort of forum on one of these media, please let us know. Just leave a comment here and let us know what you would like and would listen to.
And please. subscribe to this blog. It means a great deal to us.

Stay Safe - Every One Goes Home

Steve Greene
Dalmatian Productions, Inc.

Friday, October 23, 2015

That's News to Us!

Another quick post tonight. We had a very informative and positive conference call on Wednesday evening, between our partners and two reps from the crowdfunding platform that we are seriously considering. They provided both clearer and stronger information that will play a major part in our final decision.

There was one very important point that they brought up and we weren't aware of. And that is before we can even begin our campaign for money, we need to very seriously and strongly increase the number of our followers! Now, if we were just throwing a few "rescue videos" on YouTube, we'd be fine. But we're not. We are looking to finance and produce a professional and dynamic pilot episode of our show, "Cause & Origin," and that will take a major increase of followers and, at the right time, a lot of money.

Listen, we're currently closing in on 800 Twitter followers. According to our advisers, we will need to increase that number into the tens, if not hundreds of thousands! How can we do that?

Here it is in plain language: There are an estimated 1.2 million firefighters throughout the U.S.; career, volunteer, and paid on-call. There's no way we'll reach all of them, but think of it this way. When the time comes for the money, if every one of them donated $1.00, we'd be perfectly set to shoot the pilot. But that is not going to happen!

Again, we desperately need your help. Please reach out to each and every firefighter/rescue friend you have. Reach out to your spouses and significant others. Reach out to your broader family. If you're a member of the IAFF, please contact your local and regional members. Letter HQ in Washington and Ottawa know that you'd like to support our efforts. 

How do we define, "support?" We are not asking you for a single penny, right now; not a dime! All we're asking for is to help grow our numbers so that when it is time to launch the financial side of the campaign, we'll have thousands of people to share our message with. 

So many have come forward already to help in any way possible. And we are sincerely appreciative of your support, loyalty and encouragement. Now, please tell everyone else you know. They don't have to be involved in the fire service. They just need to enjoy quality television with great writing and compelling characters!

THANK YOU! Stay Safe  - Every One Goes Home!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Progress in Small Steps!

Good evening, friend. Just a couple of quick notes for you.

We've reserved our new domain, www.causeandorigin.tv 
We haven't set up the site yet, but we're tossing the ideas around!

Some of you have seen that we've created a new ID on Twitter: @cause_origin. So, even if you still follow us at @DalmatProd, we ask you to please follow us at our new handle, @cause_origin, as well. THANK YOU!!

This Wednesday evening, we have a big conference call between our partners and the big folks at the crowdfunding platform we've been do our research on. Hopefully, it will be a fruitful meeting and will generate positive results!

That's it for now. As always, we thank you for your following us on Twitter, reading our blog, and most importantly, your friendship. This project of our is all about YOU!!! We want to tell your stories and help educate the public, both our citizens and the politicos who watch the tube, who we are and what we really do.

Remember, #StaySafe and #EveryOneGoesHome! 

Friday, October 16, 2015

It's a Long, Slow Road to TV Prime Time!

Sometimes, it's just damn depressing! It really is. Even though you might think that after working some 20 years to make this dream happen, we'd be used to the lag time, when things just slow to a crawl. Think of it this way, you have a bunch of really good calls in a row. Each one requires the best from every participant and the calls are almost all different. First you have a complex, confined-space rescue, then just a couple of hours later, you have a working fire in that huge building that you always knew was going to beat you down to a pulp. On both sides of those, you have non-stop EMS calls, a few routine, then you have a difficult delivery, a full-arrest, and a poisoning of a child. All this in just one tour.

Now, you go nearly a week with nothing worse than an ingrown toenail, an elderly resident who simply forgot where he parked his car and the proverbial, cat up a tree. 
"What the hell happened to all that action we had just a couple of days ago," you wonder. Those are the responses you live for!

NOW,  you have an idea of what we're going through. Initially, we thought this week was going to be a big one for us. However, those damn circumstances that you never think about or prepare for, or expect, show up. And with that, molasses is moving across the floor faster than our developments!

We started the week with an excellent conference call. Almost all of our company meetings are conducted via conference call as we're spread out around the county with two members in different parts of Florida, one in Wilmington DE and one in Los Angeles. We decided to continue our discussions with one of the major crowdfunding platforms and to secure domain names for the new show. So we can share that the new domain will be CauseandOrigin.tv. We'll be initializing new email addresses and a new Twitter name this coming week.

That stuff was the "fun" part of our meeting. Then came the section where we have to act like grownups and take care of business. There's a new corporation to form, what type is should be, how to capitalize the new corporation, etc., etc. etc. BORING!! But, it does have to be done. And that's done in between all the really important stuff we do in our lives, like work, teach, household errands, yada, yada, yada. See what I mean? Aren't you enthralled?

Now that's not to say that there isn't some good news. As of a few moments ago (1708 HRS EDT) we have 724 Followers on Twitter. It's a great number, a really great number. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near enough! Why? Look at the numbers:
  • There are approximately 1.2 million firefighters in the U.S. (including career, volunteer, combo and on-call)
  • For our crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to shoot the pilot and provide the networks with a great show that they will fight over, we need every one of those firefighters to donate $1.00 each! Right - like that's ever going to happen.
  • So, we need to reach as many fire-rescue personnel, plus other first responders from all "branches," i.e. LEO's, EMS, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. and ask them to contribute whatever they can.
  • On top of that, we need to reach each of the great periodicals that service our industry and convince them to pick up an editorial story about our goal to produce this show.
  • On top of that, we need to reach as many companies and other businesses whose prime customers are those of us in fire-rescue, EMS, law enforcement, and convince them to be promotional sponsors of the show.
And how is all that going to happen? That's the Million Dollar Question! (sorry for the pun!)

Listen, we deeply appreciate everyone of you who have contacted us via Twitter or email and want to support us. However, we do not want to ask you for money yet. What we do desperately need you to do is simple and free: please pass on our information to everyone you know in the "business." If you work for one of the magazines, tell them about us. We'd be happy to talk to them about it. And if you work for one of the companies that service our businesses, let them know about us too! Just provide them with our Twitter handle (@DalmatProd) or our web site, www.dalmatianproductions.tv, and they can email us for more details. We will write, call, talk and even visit any company that would like to work with us to make this dream, this dream of all of us, come true. 

No, it's not easy. Yet, we have all learned that nothing that is worthwhile in life, ever is. But this is something the fire-rescue personnel, all first responders, deserve. A good, accurate television program about the fire service that will show the viewers what our lives are all about. Who we are and what we do.

Any questions? No problem. Just DM us on Twitter or through the web site.

Now, Stay Safe and Remember - Every One Goes Home!

Friday, October 9, 2015

How Much is That Pumper in the Window? Or That Ladder Truck That Bends in the Middle & Has A "Q"?

If you've been following us here or on Twitter (@DalmatProd) you see that we are getting very serious about using using crowdfunding to raise the money necessary to produce and shoot the pilot episode of "CAUSE & ORIGIN." However, besides the individual donations that can be made, there are additional sources we will be looking at. (That's right...in the future tense - we are not looking for any donations at this time!)

If you caught our Periscope broadcast yesterday (under DalmatProd) we mentioned several there. Let me touch on a few:
1. We're sure you have all seen the credits at the end of a TV show or movie where it says, "Promotional Consideration Provided By..." That occurs on two levels; 1. A direct financial contribution, and 2. Product Placement. Most people knew nothing about product placement until two movies made the term quite clear - "2001: A Space Odyssey," which had the airline name of the now defunct, "Pan Am," all over its shuttle and other rocket ships. The second movie that brought this idea to the forefront on movies and television was the favorite, "E.T." In that film, Steven Spielberg found himself with a problem. He had wanted to use "M&M's" as the candy used to tempt the little alien out of the garage. When the Mars company turned him down, he went to a smaller company with anxious to promote a new product. The company was Reese's. The product was Reese's Pieces. Thus, a company is able to advertise its fine products by providing the product at no cost to the production. 

Our fundraising efforts will include product placement, as well. If you/your company have a strong connection to the fire-rescue service, we will be happy to talk and/or meet with you to see how we can use your product in our show, "Cause & Origin." Thus, your product will be seen by millions, many of whom we expect to be first responders. 

To add a little "frosting," to the product placement, we plan on acquiring a Class A RV and drive around the country to visit as many firehouses as we can. So what's the "frosting?" The RV will be encased in a wrap that will show your product or logo. The size of your "wrap" will be determined through the value of your product placement. 

We plan on a somewhat similar program to be carried out as part of our crowdfunding campaign. For every donation in a certain category, we will be sending you a "charm." For example, a $5.00 donation may get you a miniature Halligan tool with the show's name inscribed on it. Contributions in higher numbers bring better "charms," i.e. a donation of $1,000.00 might earn a day on the set with us; a donation of $10,000.00 might have you cast as an extra. Get it? Got it! Good!

This weekend, we are approaching 700 dedicated Followers on Twitter. And part of the reason for that, we believe, is because we are not tweeting just about the show, we tweet about key issues facing first responders today. And we thank God for every single one you. However, we need more of you. When we try to explain to possible investors and we quote the figure of almost 1.2 million firefighters in this country, the number of 700 followers isn't so terrific. 

Thus, we strongly need your help!! We need you to talk up our project to your fellow firefighters, EMT/PM's, LEO's, and rescue squad specialists. We need you to "spread" the word to your family, friends, neighbors, Aunt Grace and crazy ol' Uncle Charlie! Moreover, if you work for a company whose primary target audience is in the fire-rescue service, we need you to tell them about our show and see if you can pique their interest. Now, don't worry that you have to "sell" them. That will be our job. We will be happy to flight out to wherever your company is based and meet with them to explain the entire process.

So, that's the how we need you and the why we need you. Please remember, we are currently not requesting contributions or donations of any kind. We do, however need your smarts and your talking help. In the old days, we might have deputized all of you to "ride with the marshal." We don't do that anymore, but we ask you to remember one very important fact: We are doing this for each and every one of you. This will be a family show that demonstrates the important jobs we do and all that we face, that most people have no idea about.

If you have any questions or just want to chat about the show, feel free to send us a Direct Message on Twitter (@DalmatProd) or on Facebook (once logged in, search for Dalmatian Productions, Inc.) We will get back to you as quickly as possible.

We thank you in advance for your help and support. God bless!

Steven S. Greene
President
Dalmatian Productions, Inc.





Follow us on Twitter: @DalmatProd and Read our Blog at www.bit.ly/DalmatProd

See the pilot episode of “America’s Heroes: The Men & Women of Fire/Rescue®, at: http://bit.ly/1hvSYxH

And Remember - EVERYONE GOES HOME!


 

Thursday, October 8, 2015

How Do You "Deliver" a TV Show?

Wow! We just finished our second Periscope broadcast. And a big "thank you" to those of you who tuned in and to those who sent tweets afterward. They are very much appreciated. So in this entry to our blog, I'm going to put into the written word what I discussed on the Periscope broadcast.

As we've explained over the last several months, the sole reason for our company, Dalmatian Productions, Inc., since its inception, was to create and produce quality television programs about the American fire service. The problem was that we were working before our time. Initially, our goal was to produce a couple of reality TV shows (before "reality" came to mean the distasteful stuff we see today) about our jobs. We had a show about volunteers and paid-on-call members and another about career departments. We had placed letters in all the top industry magazines and received hundreds of entries from departments all over the country. We got to work and shot two different pilot episodes. By the summer of 2001, we were gaining interest:
1. I was sought out to write a segment on fire prevention week for the then, Rosie O'Donnell show.
2. While in Israel that July, I was asked to return to Israel in the fall to produce an Israeli version of our show, "America's Heroes: The Men & Women of Fire-Rescue" for Israeli television.
3. Our distributor was getting interest from American cable and satellite networks for the pilot. 

Sounds good, right? WRONG! 9|11 happened. 

Besides being emotionally crushed and devastated, we knew that we had to stop all activity dealing with the fire service. For even though everyone we were dealing with knew that we, ourselves either were or had been members of the fire-rescue service, we did not want to appear that we were trying to use this horrible tragedy for our own purposes.

Over the years, we developed numerous other ideas for pilots, but they all fell within the broad concept of "reality." And over and over again, the TV networks weren't interested in good stuff about our jobs, but instead, wanted us to create a show that would disparage the fire service and hold it out to ridicule. We adamantly refused. 

Then, several years ago, I came up with the concept for "Cause & Origin." We bounced it around with different thoughts and ideas and finally, arrived at what we have today. And this is where YOU come in! 

To produce the pilot episode of "Cause & Origin," we have to generate a significant amount of cash. Watch any one-hour drama on TV today and you'll get a brief idea of what it takes to produce a show. Add to that the costs we will incur for the special effects and real fires, coverage, etc. and that gives you an idea of the mountain we're facing. Thus, our inclination to use crowdfunding to raise the money, a la "Veronica Mars," movie revival.

However, before we can even begin the campaign, we need to know if you, your family, your friends, your coworkers, etc., would like to see a dramatic series about the fire service. There has not been one since the days of "EMERGENCY!," "CODE RED," and "FIREHOUSE." Well, do you? And if you do have the interest, would you be willing to make a donation to our crowdfunding campaign to help make it happen? Well, would you?

That's it! That's what we need to know. So, we're asking you for your help....not your wallet...at least not yet! What we need to know right now is would you like to see this show and would you make a donation (even one dollar!) to help us create it?

To let us know, please send a tweet to us. That's all we need for now. Easy right?

Thanks for reading this entry and remember, #StaySafe and EVERY ONE GOES HOME!