"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas."
-Joseph Stalin
I just did the math and it's been 37 days since I moved to Riverhead. In that that time Selladore Films has gone from an idea to a licensed business. We've created a website, a Facebook page, a bank account, and I've learned more than I ever wanted to about New York state tax law. I was going to spend this post talking about the journey starting a business has been, but after thinking about it, I figured I'd better back up to "why."
Why are the three of us determined to do this and does our media saturated world really need more people producing video?
Stories have always been important to us. Thousands of years ago they were passed on through generations by word of mouth, eventually written down, conveyed in plays, and since the 20th century, recorded visually. We love stories. But they are more than simply a diversion; they contain ideas. Ideas, when they take root, give birth to action. They can start wars or end them, determine whether a person responds with compassion or hatred, or change the values of a generation. We can’t fully comprehend the amount of ideas we are fed each day. Never before in history have ideas been more accessible. Anyone can share their thoughts, stories and ideas. Since we live in an age filled with both information and misinformation, the value of stories that impact us with truth will always go up.
Our goal is to hone our skill as storytellers and to use it to impact people with truth. The range of stories we want to tell is wide, whether they be up-and-coming small businesses becoming a brand, bringing to light the heartbreaking stories of children living on less than we can imagine and the physical care others are providing for them, or messages of hope transforming their lives. We believe that these stories can be told in such a way that people will be motivated to take action.
We hope to use this blog to share our journey: our experiences, our lessons learned, and the stories that impact us. Whether it’s about working on a promo film for a local business or getting ready to travel overseas, we hope to share this passion with you along the way.