Building Our Mission

Thrilled to say Nomad Builder:  On Assignment is a new TV/Streaming show we have in development with creator/producer/host and contractor Nick Jardine. Nick is a popular on-camera contractor with experience all over the world. We thought why not incorporate these talents and help communities in need? Please tune in to our production meetings by clicking here, as we build our online web community. Soon we'll release our show website where you will be able to track the progress of our show and the community capacity missions we will travel to serve. We will travel safely and more productively with your messages and posts of support. For more info on Nick, please read all about him and watch his on camera home improvement tips here.  And may we also ask for about a minute of your time to complete a superquick five-question survey? This would really benefit our research in a huge way. You may submit your answers by clicking here. And please share. Looking forward to having all of you watch our broadcast this time next year!

The List

Here it is:  The ultimate production resource, "Nicole's Curated Crew List." I have wanted to do this for years! And now with List.ly we have the perfect platform.

No more private messages of "Nicole, who would you recommend for…." Let's search this list, share throughout the industry and get to work! Check out the list by clicking here and crew up! Not sure how to join? Click here for clear instructions on how to add your entry.

And if you have not been contacted by me and wish to be on the list, it's quite easy: Please contact me directly with two professional recommendations. That's it! Also, please be upfront about if you're just entering the business as an intern or an assistant. We'll take care of you.

Joining our list is quite seamless. We're listing crew from Line Producers, to AD's to Wardrobe Dept, to Dramaturgs, to Caterers, to Boom Operators, to Visual EFX Artists, to Publicists, to Payroll, to Web Design, to Distribution. All positions and departments are a must.  Let's promote the talented crew behind Film, TV, Theatre and Digital. Check us out here and please share!

Hold on! It's the end of the year!

It's the end of the year and I've been honored to be so busy getting everything off my plate.  My plate is still full and I have everyone of you to thank for it.  First I wrapped up our #EConvo series with a 10-minute sponsored segment with my friend Mali DeSantis who does incredible work with children with autism. We featured her holiday gift guide for these special children with special needs. Watch our web conversation here. So proud of her and honored to have her sponsorship.  Also thrilled to be sharing our Little Brother:  Chapter 5 (Tucson, AZ) editing room links with all of you.  I'm always honored to bring the voices of our young men to the screen. Check out our clips on my Patreon channel and please let me know what you think? What do you want to see more of? Or less? We love hearing from you--especially before final cut! I have also been quite moved, as you probably have, by all of the protestors staying on message with #BlackLivesMatter during the aftermath of a rapid-fire series of high profile Black male killings.  A couple of tours around Twitter will show you that #PoliceLivesMatter is also a response. Are there two sides to this story? There usually are. So I'm hosting my first Twitter Chat with my colleagues at the Good Men Project this Wednesday at 9pmEST. We're talking good policing. Let's see where it leads--hopefully to a productive, healthy and prosperous 2015.

The Heroine's Journey - Not so Heroic

Just published in The Good Men Project is my interview with the very talented Alice Meichi Li.  While attending Comic Con in NYC this Fall, I heard Alice speak on the intricacies of The Heroine's Journey vs. The Hero's Journey which is the go-to story structure for the majority of film school and literary graduates. According to Alice, being the female star of books and films leaves our so-called heroines in a grave deficit at every single turn on her adventure. And this opens up the door for real-life demons and dragons to enter our lives.  Ultimately the proposed setup does not just bring the possibility of grave danger, but instead inevitable failure. Maybe a new solution--as brought up by the panel--is to just replace the same three act story structure, character development and dialogue of our heroes with a female in the role. What a different world.  Life and art often intersect. Come study this writing analysis with me by reading our article here.  And please leave us a comment--especially if this changes your mind on the last bedtime story you read aloud. (smile) 

Illustration by Alice Meichi Li

Illustration by Alice Meichi Li

Black Men Loving

At the beginning of the year I was reminded of the sentiments of one of my Board members, when reflecting on the impact of our work at EPIPHANY Inc., that "Black Men are In."  We knew that the state of Black men was destined to be a topic on our national agenda. We did not foresee the explosive reaction that so many would have--and so quickly--in response to our sometimes injustice system.  We demand a new narrative. The time is now. And in my work and fellow filmmakers work, I am happy to celebrate those who are steadfast in presenting all who walk this earth as equals. It was a pleasure getting to know and welcoming the latest filmmaker into the fold, Ella Cooper of Toronto. Thank you, Ella, for your beautiful new film on fatherhood titled Black Men Loving. I was inspired and thrilled to add it to the Black Dox selection of articles for ByBlacks.com. Please click here for our interview and the trailer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s a phrase that has been leaving my lips all week.  This week in particular has me happily delivering this greeting publicly, but privately shedding tears. Tough week.

This country was just knocked to its knees again by race. Why do events in Ferguson, MO (a few exits up the highway from where I grew up) weigh so heavily on our minds? Our lives are accustomed to patterns.  Setting a schedule, washing the dishes, depositing a paycheck…some patterns we count on for our comfort and some we dread. Into which category does the killing of young Black men fall? 

The names of the dead are too many, the cries for justice are too often and the families of these victims are too weary.  When young Black men are marked for death and are considered disposable for so long, a pattern was to have formed like all others in life—eventually taking on the role of what we consider to be common sense. But we have the human race on our side.  Enough human beings have their neighbors/sons/daughters/brothers/sisters’ humanity to protect and serve.  I am thankful human nature reveals itself to make sense at times. Peaceful protests by hundreds and thousands in the name of justice happening across a nation built on race?  For this I am grateful for a pattern that instead of promoting racial division, sparks a movement for change.

Ferguson Map

International Men's Day is Upon Us

As I write this we are on Day 3--Mental Health Day--of International Men's Day and #19DaysofHealing. How do we incorporate the health and well-being of men in our daily lives?

As a woman who films and speaks in public spaces on When Young Black Men Learn About Love, I especially take an interest in the emotional stability, mental capacity and relationship possibilities of men.

I am thrilled to participate in the international observation of #IntlMensDay this year with two #EConvo events.

1) An EPIPHANY Conversation: Male Feminists meet Sacred Bombshell Abiola Abrams. Please RSVP here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c35j21u98usssect4nc0cv9krmg.

2) An EPIPHANY Conversation: Real Talk with The Good Guys with Dr. Rhonda Perry. Please RSVP here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cphdn7oajinb32q1vaijn3t4j2c


And, as always, our films on young Black Men and their thoughts on Love are available at www.LittleBrotherFilm.com. Please purchase this educational series for your classroom, organization, NGO or house of worship.

We're having a conversation during these #19DaysOfHealing on Facebook as well, here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1524948244414243/?pnref=story.

Let's talk to our men. Today.

The Perfect Pitch?

I'm very much looking forward to my appearance as one of the U.S. panelists featured in the upcoming Toronto event, The Big Pitch, from 404 Media Group.  Have a book or business that needs publicity? Want to expand your audience and multiply your sales?  I'll be in the presence via webcast of a number of esteemed industry guests who will join me and the hosts in sharing our adventures, expertise and tips! No industry secrets here. We're all about the reveal!  There are many ways to get your product noticed. I am grateful for the avenues that have been afforded to me and I am always willing to share. I'm also thrilled to spend this three-hour session learning what works and what doesn't from others in the know.  Click here for what is sure to be an exciting and informative evening designed to move your project forward at lightning speed and with amazing results.  And hats off to 404 Media Group for what is sure to be an amazing opportunity for attendees.

Building Happiness

My latest article to publish with Toronto's ByBlacks.com features on camera expert Nick Jardine, a contractor who's becoming a television favorite to audiences everywhere. Jardine hails from Canada, by way of Australia, by way of South Africa. Well traveled and well versed on the craft of building beautiful homes, Jardine takes it one step further by providing renovations for clients that makes their lives easier, more enjoyable and beyond what they ever envisioned.  "I build happiness," says Jardine. And we're happy to have his expert advice when we try to play Mr. or Ms. Fix-It ourselves. Click here for the full article.

We Are Still Mad

Just hosted an incredibly informative #EConvo on the supposed return of the Chibok schoolgirls that was supposed to take place this week.  None of our panelists were convinced it actually would happen. There are too many failures in the surrounding environment to ever see the girls--or any children of the region--safe, educated and thriving.  We learned that 80% of the educated youth do not have jobs available to them.  Abortion in the state of Nigeria is illegal.  Any money that Nigeria claims to be swimming is not accounted for. A $20 million safe schools initiative from the UK? Where is it and which schools are secure?  Boko Haram does not want to see girls educated. Well, we need to be educated even more. Please click here for our webcast. Please share it with your communities. We met the press secretary for Representative Frederica Wilson from Florida, a lawmaker who keeps the pressure on our government to keep the pressure on the Nigerian government and the abductors on a daily basis (#JoinRepWilson + #BringBackOurGirls on Twitter). We need to keep up the protests and activism and not succumb to activists fatigue. We are still mad! And we want innocence back. We want human trafficking to come to an end. And we want a solid education and a promise of a future available to children everywhere!

The Camouflage of Race

So honored to yet again have an article published in the Toronto publication ByBlacks.com.  Meet Mary and Susanna, slave and relative of the slave owner to whom Mary told her story.  The turning point in their lives are documented more than a century later in artist Megan Morgan's beautiful photographs set in her unique style of hybridity.  The photographer, the influence of her own background on her art, and the inspiration and connection of this incredible moment in history may be found by clicking here.

Fall Catalogue

I am excited to announce that I have been busy designing some very fun and informative online classes.  For those who wish to boost their social media profile and design a media plan (on and off the Web) for your artistic endeavors, startups and inventions, let's connect either one-on-one or in a series of online group sessions! We're in the age of DIY. I'll have tips on managing your time online and identifying where everyone has a potential fan base-in-waiting. I'll be here to coach you through it (at very reasonable prices -- try $18/month for six months for some). Our #EConvo Media Planning Workshop Series will debut the first week of November. Will have info up for applying and sharing next week.  Only a few slots available! Hope you join me! We're sure to have a blast!!

A Different Kind of Love

These past few weeks have kept me busy with some writing projects that I am really proud to have researched and shared with all of you.  One is on a situation I have frequently encountered that I felt needed exploring in print.  The best way to describe it is as we get older:  Life can either get messy or get simple. I just hope we give each other a chance to make the choice. Please click here for my latest article for The Good Men Project on the Rules for Dating While Married.



New Address

Yes, I still receive snail mail. And yes, I have a new address! After years of being at PO Box 2126 in Midtown Manhattan, I have moved to Manhattan's Upper West Side.  Please send all snail mail here:

 

Nicole Franklin

EPIPHANY Inc. (optional)

27 W. 60th St.

#20344

New York, NY  10023-9991

 

The phone and e-mail stay the same and may be found on my Contact page here.  Thanks, Everyone!!  Yes, I still accept handwritten notes! Very romantic and nostalgic.

William Greaves Remembered

When my friend and mentor Bill Greaves passed away I instantly reflected on all of his accomplishments. And I instantly knew that I only knew a fraction of his impact on our media lives.  Luckily I write for the Canadian publication ByBlacks.com.  Bill spent 11 years there. He met his beautiful wife, Louise, there.  A large part of his filmmaking roots where there. So please click here to read where my tribute to a pioneering auteur and civil rights champion begins. 

Director William Greaves on his set of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One.

Director William Greaves on his set of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One.

Back Home to Ferguson

For all who are inquiring about solutions to the crisis in Ferguson we have been working under the radar a bit, but I can now share with you some of our plans.  Here is the incredible partner I have been lucky to team up with at Qeyno Labs.  Please read about our upcoming Hackathon in "Why We Are Going To Ferguson" by Kalimah Priforce (and see if you can spot my Mom in the photos!) at this link: http://bit.ly/10a975C.  We were already in the planning stages for an annual Hackathon in St. Louis beginning in April 2015. Then came the horrific event of Michael Brown's death.  Our call to action is now. If you are interested in joining our advisory board or team of volunteers, please reach out. Thank you so much. Technology put to good use in the hands of the children will bring a bright future.

Qeyno Labs' Abby Bobe.

Qeyno Labs' Abby Bobe.

Keeping Up Appearances

One of the best parts about filmmaking is actually screening the film, speaking publicly on the topic and receiving instant feedback from audience, fans and friends.  I was really thrilled to make an appearance this past Sunday on friends’ Chana Ewing and Tracy M. Adams/DJ Monday Blue’s new radio show The Doyenne’s Den on BBoxRadio.com.  So relaxing to chill with some really bright women and have some bumpin’ music to bat!  Thursday of this week sees the first two chapters of Little Brother launching into an afternoon of discussion led by our favorite film consultant Dr. Raymond Winbush. If you’re in this region of Tennessee, please visit this forum and take home some knowledge and warm feelings toward the state of our young Black men.  They need us.  And this Saturday, I’m thrilled to appear before the extension of our New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) membership by going Upstate to be on an UPWIFT panel “Women in Diversity in Film and Television.”  All of these appearances show our EPIPHANY community the importance of our work. Let’s keep them up! And contact me here for your next event as well.  See you soon!

PEC has Launched!

For fans of media done right a direct link to action is finally here. Figuring it out took a minute and my full concentration a minute more, but I am so convinced we are now at a point as media creators and consumers where we can work together to put quality product and messaging in the digital space. I formed a producing club! And I would love for you to join us!

For everyone reading this post, please visit a page I set up at Patreon.  By clicking on Patreon.com/NicoleFranklin and donating as little as $1/month, you have instantly joined the Producing EPIPHANY Club (PEC).  You, the PEC membership, now have a direct payment plan toward expanding the storytelling in the current landscape.

EPIPHANY Inc. is now in its 15th year of production. We have gained numerous—and extremely loyal—community of supporters along the way. And we listen to our community and it is only because of the community that we are able to distribute our educational and commercial films to a wider audience. Thankfully distribution has not been too much of a problem for us. But funding has its challenges. So, we decided to start working on our business model a bit more. And it’s simple. With the current technology, we are able to keep budgets and number of crew to a minimum. What else is a nice minimum? Being able to have our community fund not just one, but a few projects at a minimum of $1 per month.  PEC members now have an affordable option to support films they know will educate, entertain and succeed. And we will be able to continue quality filmed storytelling at the forefront because of our PEC community.

I have to applaud Patreon for providing this platform.  And it is working for thousands of creators out there. Why not us?

Join us at Patreon.com/NicoleFranklin.  For a minimum of$1/month you instantly become a member of the Producing EPIPHANY Club (PEC). Signup is easy. Increasing, decreasing or discontinuing payments is just as easy.  Re-registering is a breeze as well! Your PEC dollars are a wellspring for our ventures:  financing the modestly budgeted, but top quality short documentaries and feature films (yes, dramatic features—we have scripts!) currently in development, community service, and employing cast and crew! 

For $1 and $5/month pledges, PEC members enjoy the following:

Opportunities for Casting within EPIPHANY Inc. productions
Participation in Polls/Surveys that EPIPHANY Inc. conducts
Invites to screenings and premieres of EPIPHANY Inc. films

Funding Graduation Gifts for the stars of our long-term documentary series Little Brother

Downloadable Scripts and Notes for EPIPHANY Inc. insight
Consultation with EPIPHANY Inc. President Nicole Franklin about any aspect of the business
Opportunities to be an ambassadors for EPIPHANY Inc. Film and media across the globe
Participation in Giveaways
PEC Member -requested Talk-Backs and Q&A with EPIPHANY Inc. Cast and Crew
PEC Member spotlights for promotion and thank you’s benefitting your ventures as well!      

We are the Club that WILL have to you as a member, but still be the cool Club to join. And, if we’re not, we are confident you will definitely let us know.  Membership is easy. Just click here.  Thanks!!