List of things to do before the Flying U Story

PRODUCTION

1. Create Storyboards

2. Run Storyboards by Erica to see if she has any suggestions

3. Run Storyboards by David (My Mentor :)) to glean information and tips

4. Find stories that can inspire this project

5. Email Erica to thank her and to reiterate what we talked about on the phone

6. Research Horse and cattle ranching

7. Get url: www.hittheroad.tv and hittheroad.mobi

TECHNICAL

1. Figure out Wireless Mic system for Video Camera

2. Shotgun Mic

3. Figure out lighting (night shots, light reflectors)
4. Battery Pacs

Direction #2

The other direction is bringing the stories upfront where I can cycle them so that the home page is always new.  The framework of the website should just be a very simple vehicle for showing the story content.  The ability to access all of the stories with just one click is important.  The fun design will be in creating the stories themselves.  

Direction #1

The initial direction I thought about was playing around with mapping.  The problem that I ran into was that it would have to be an engine that runs like GoogleMaps because zooming into small obscure towns is important.  Design for Africa use rollovers for their maps which I thought about but mine need detail (not just capitals and country names).  I don't want to use GoogleMaps nor do I want to spend my time developing a mapping engine (which I am not capable of) but rather focus on the content of the stories.  

Mental Mapping

Mental Mapping

Words that relate to the project

Wordle is a great way to generate word clouds from the words that you provide.  If you are looking at a site the most used words are bigger than the least used.  

I discussed this project with someone at an ad agency and he said that Broadcast was where the money was and that internet content is expected to be free even though the amount of work required online is equal and sometimes exceeds broadcast.  He suggested looking into the concepts of the economy of free.

Questionnaires

I managed to amalgamate all of the email responses for my questionnaire but the gist of the responses were that:

1. People don't really watch travel shows for research they do for entertainment (one person stated that she loved seeing shows about places which she had already travelled)
2. People don't use their phones to research a trip from the road
3. Almost all people use their home computers to research a trip
4. Most people still like using books the best
5. NONE used travel shows as research methods

This made me re-think the premise of my project.

1. My show should be for entertainment rather than information
2. The internet should be the primary vehicle of distribution
3. While mobile technology might be used more in the future it is not currently being used other than googlemaps

Introduction to Hit the Road

This project grew from a passion for travel.  I grew up on tour buses.  My mother was a travel host and planned niche tours all over the world, mostly with senior citizens, and I often left school for a few weeks to join the group.  One trip was a square dancing tour across the British Isles.  The memory of seniors with large petticoats underneath gingham dresses moving to the steps of a caller is something that remains etched in my memory.  Her tours were quirky and fun. 

Travel is in my blood.  I am looking for peoples stories.  I am looking for places to go outside of mainstream culture.  I am looking for adventures that take me away from urban living.

Here are some standard show formats that I do NOT want to follow. I want a cross between documentary and travelogue.