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November 30, 2008

AWARENESS



Had an interesting conversation with a colleague who's considering doing his first triathlon with Team in Training (there's an initiative in the office to recruit new members). He said prior to the meeting, he had no idea what TNT was about. He recalls seeing the logo on a donation display at the local pizzeria, but that's about it.




That's what struck me the most. For those who are not involved in endurance sports or have not been affected (directly or indirectly) by cancer, disability, etc., their awareness level to many of these charities can be low. For me, it underscores the importance of spreading the word and sharing the stories through this blog, the posters, and of course the film, to help raise awareness for the charities featured in ATHLETE.

On that note, check out this article on Girls on the Run from a local paper in Livonia, Michigan:

"...someone asked if she'd ever heard of the international Girls on the Run program. The question sent Fryberger to cyberspace to research the program..."

And lastly, watch this holiday video from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Gives me the chills.




DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 03:05 PM |

November 28, 2008

ATHLETE CARDS





Received the ATHLETE postcards in the mail today. They look sharp. Get yours today in the ATHLETE movie store. No minimum orders. Less than a dollar each card. You can even mix and match. Net proceeds go to charity.

Happy Holidays,

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 11:54 PM |

November 26, 2008

ADP PICS OF THE WEEK

This is fast becoming one of my favorites parts of the week. Going through the The ATHLETE Defined Project collection to find photos to feature on this blog. Love it.


Girls on the Run by zzmartinj.




I made the local news (sort of) by Russell Cox.




Achilles Track Club/Team Riley member Walking it in!! by Liz Oakes.



Pre-Marathon dinner by look@j.



My singlet by Lady Southpaw.




See more inspiring photos from Flickr users in The ATHLETE Defined Project.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 12:29 AM |

TWITTER D



It was bound to happen. First Flickr, then Facebook, and now I'm on Twitter. I first heard about it seven months ago while having lunch with Matt Martone, who is a walking Zagats guide for all things Internet. At the time I really didn't understand Twitter. I mean, why would anyone care if I had a turkey club for lunch. Or if my morning train was late.

The irony is that for someone who's spent more than half his career in the Internet space, I'm a pretty slow adopter of all things new and trendy online. It took me years before I realized how great Flickr is. And now I can't live without it.

So what changed with Twitter? Well, over the past few months, I remember seeing Twitter updates on the LIVESTRONG blog. Random bits of info posted by Doug Ulman, the president of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which offered a very unique behind-the-scenes look at life at the foundation (different than what you might find in an article, blog posting, or video online).

But even then I hadn't considered using Twitter. It wasn't until I saw Lance's talk at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. And that's when it clicked. Twitter can be an invaluable marketing tool to help raise awareness for the film, the athletes and their stories and help broaden the film's audience. So there you have it.

http://twitter.com/athletemovie

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 12:07 AM |

November 23, 2008

FLASHBACK: CHICAGO 2005



Look what I found. Pics from the 2005 Chicago Marathon. Fond memories. It was the third marathon I had run over an 18-month period. And it was the race where I had my best finish at 4:19. A nice improvement from previous marathons in San Francisco (6:39 in 2002) and NYC (5:17 in 2004).




What's interesting is that I started filming ATHLETE about a year after running Chicago. But that wasn't the original plan. Even before Chicago, I had already signed up to run Berlin in September 2006. But dropped out two months before the race. I was completely burnt out (mentally and physically) and did not want to run anymore. So, instead of running in Germany that Fall, I began work on a movie about running (and swimming and cycling) instead. Could not be happier with that decision. Afterall, there's always Berlin next year. Hmmm...






Btw, I just discovered you can find past marathon results for most races at marathonguide.com.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 01:27 AM |

November 22, 2008

PRESS INQUIRIES

Since completing ATHLETE, I've been approached by a few major magazines interested in writing about the film. So to give the editors a better sense of the documentary, I just finished cutting a 10-minute reel featuring select clips from ATHLETE.




I'm still pretty scarred from the whole experience of editing my first feature, but putting together this reel was actually pretty exciting. Strategic in fact. The goal? Find the most compelling, but not the most revealing shots (in terms of the storyline). Scenes that give the viewer just enough of a feel for what to expect. Now if only editing the film was this easy.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 04:50 AM |

November 20, 2008

GIVE 100

Just came across this neat campaign called Give 100 by Nike. It promotes the fact that 100% of its profits from the LIVESTRONG Collection go towards the Lance Armstrong Foundation.






Campaign was shot by top fashion photographer Walter Chin.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 12:52 AM |

November 19, 2008

ADP PICS OF THE WEEK

Operation Rebound bikes by weathershenker.




Survivor Triumph by crispyteriyaki.




Untitled by Mongstirs.



Nov 10/day 2 by momcarey.



2008clearwater-035 by debra slifkin.



See more great user-submitted photos in The ATHLETE Defined Project collection on Flickr.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 01:18 AM |

ATHLETE X 3

ATHLETE Kellie recently picked up her own set of teaser posters for her home.




Thanks Kel for supporting the charities.

Get yours here today.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 01:03 AM |

November 16, 2008

ADP REACTION

Reaction from a Flickr user regarding The ATHLETE Defined Project:




It's no surprise that ATHLETE (not just the film, but this blog, the photos on Flickr, and the posters) is a real passion-project of mine. The most gratifying part is to hear that some aspect of the project has inspired an everyday athlete. Thank you momcarey. Best of luck with training.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 10:25 PM |

ARTIE 2.0

Here's a reworked version of Artie's ATHLETE teaser poster. There were a few things about the first version that I did not like. For one it didn't feature Artie (unlike the other two posters, which do include actual photos of Jenny and the twins). Second, the original concept was to show both legs to reveal two important things about Artie -- his age and the fact that he participates in triathlons.




Those are the markings on his right calf. The "S" stands for the sprint distance triathlon (500-meter swim, 8-mile bike ride, 3.5-mile run), which he trains for in the film. Those visual elements, along with the cane (which represents his disability), make the tagline, "Defy the Odds", that much more impactful.

This new version of Artie's poster is now available for purchase online. All net proceeds will benefit the NYC chapter of the Achilles Track Club.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 08:10 PM |

November 13, 2008

LIFE AFTER THE FINISH



So what's life like after completing your first film? Well, it's not exactly filled with Coronas and Sports Illustrated swimsuit models on a white, sandy beach. Been working on the release/distribution plan and have spent quite a bit of time at Kinko's, FedEx and Staples recently. I forgot what an interesting place Kinko's can be late at night. The customers, the staff. Everyone in there has a story and a reason for being there in the middle of the night. That's a film into itself (Clerks 3?).




Have also been fighting a cold lately (sorry to everyone around my cube who has had to listen to all of my hacking, coughing, sneezing and grunting). I guess 2008 finally caught up to me.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 12:21 AM |

November 12, 2008

ADP PICS OF THE WEEK

Here are some great shots from The ATHLETE Defined Project on Flickr.

Preparation for the hardships of the day by somebear.



Untitled by Fordham Observer.




Untitled by aperture-8-.



Untitled by chad's.



Go Achilles by paulkist.



Thank you all for contributing. Keep 'em coming.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 06:29 AM |

November 10, 2008

RUNNING IN THE RAIN


ATHLETE subject Carrie at the Mendon 50K trail run (31.1-mile ultramarathon) in Rochester, NY this past weekend. Amazing.

Nice shot Terry. Thanks for sending.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 08:12 AM |

November 01, 2008

ATHLETE FEATURED ON SPORTS SOCIAL NETWORK

ATHLETE teaser posters and stills are currently featured on the home pages and newsletters of YourRunning.com and YourCycling.com, two leading social networking sites for athletes.






Thank you to editors Simon Martin and Whitey DeBroux.

DLM

GIVE BACK: Take part in THE CYCLE OF GIVING.

Posted by DLM at 05:05 AM |