Taste and See

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24May

Marrissa on Vacation: Savannah

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Yesterday I embarked on a journey to a foreign land…

SAVANNAH, GA!

oh how I’ve missed the land of Georgia. Snapbacks, tattoos, and HEAT! It’s so freaking hot!

But Savannah is supposed to be the classier sister to the other Georgia cities: beaches, Paula Deen, other Southerners– that’s how classy they are in Savannah. Savants (people from Savannah) are not country, they’re Southern. There’s a difference.

Hopefully over this Memorial Day weekend, I’ll be able to TURN UP, TURN DOWN, and get my GRUB ON in Savannah!

cues theme music

Brief Rant about Traveling:

I’m on my way to the airport and I can’t help but giggle at the people on their way to work. I feel like I’ve got the biggest inside joke and I’m the only one who’s in on it. I can’t help but to walk a little taller with my 2 bags for a 4 day weekend, like Look at me! I’m an overpacker on the way to the airport, not another commuter drone!!

Upon arrival at the airport, I obediently print my boarding pass and proceed to the security line. I’m your classic overthinker and super early bird (only when it comes to the airport) because TSA has me so p-noid. When I get to the gate, after 15 minutes, it’s now exacftly 55 minutes before boarding is to begin. My boyfriend says I have a touch of OCD. I’m coming to grips with that.

As I settle into my seat, I realize it’s time for my travel ritual: gotta call my mommy! But of course, she doesn’t answer, so I’m now left to my own devices. I become overly anxious about not missing a single moment of my first vacation since December 2012. I dig deep into the larger of my 2 bags, pull out my fancy camera and begin awkwardly taking pictures of…well…nothing.

You see what I mean? I console myself though, thinking, well I’m new at this photography thing. I’m more used to being the silly one in the shot, not the one taking the cool shots of the angles of buildings or sweet sunrises. But I’m practicing! If you have any helpful tips, please let me know!

I realize that my first practice photography session is a true bust as soon as I get the bright idea to start taking pictures of kids! Everyone likes pictures of kids, I thought. When I pondered how weird I sounded, I finally put my expensive ass camera away. Here we go again, left to my own devices.

With another 48 minutes left at the gate, I put in my headphones and listen to the iPod I bought myself for Christmas but maybe listened to all of 10 times (I bought it to motivate me to go to the gym. Instead, I sit at my computer for hours on end and listen to Spotify.)

Adele is playing in my ears. The 21 album. I get all mellow and wistful, like at the beginning of any journey. Adele is the perfect travel music. I love her and I’m so ready for this vacation.

I’m excited to see Savannah for the first time. I’m a beach girl, so I’m automatically into ANY city that has at least one body of water. Maybe I’ll go see the Geechees on one of the islands! That would be so dope!!

I need to get out of my comfort zone. Like Brandon says, I’ve got a touch of OCD, so if I don’t have the proper itinerary, I freak out. But I don’t want to do that this trip. I’m going to be spontaneous and adventurous! Just hope it works out.

21May

Kickstarter Campaign Video

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19May

Kickstarter FAQ: Why are you creating a travel show web series?

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It’s really about two things:

Exposure – So few of us actually get out and explore new things, new places, new experiences. I want to expose everyone to a world where traveling is fun, easy and so enjoyable.
I love to Travel – This one’ s a bit selfish. But I really love to travel, and love to see new things. I was bitten by the travel bug after my first trip to the Bahamas with my mother — I haven’t looked back since!

A travel show is a unique type of web series– travel shows don’t really have a big presence on the internet. Because this type of show is missing from the landscape of online web series, I figured, why not create a market for myself? Each and every day, camera and digital filmmaking technology increases at a rapid pace. At this rate, we’ll be able to watch YouTube videos with extremely super high definition. That means, beautiful images, immaculate landscapes and very highly defined shots (such as a travel show would be) could be displayed at a high quality level. It would be a highly visual experience on the web, which is what Taste and See is striving to do. This story needs to be written. Let us be your writers.

DONATE TO OUR KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN HERE!

DC Newseum circa 2009.

12May

Kickstarter FAQ: Why do you need so much money?

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LOL to this question. But I get your point. $5000 reads like a lot of money (all those zeros!). In order to give you a quality product, we’re purchasing brand new editing hardware and software. $5000 also includes the cost to promote and market the web series.

I want you to trust me: you WILL be satisfied with the end result! So, won’t you give to our Kickstarter campaign?

For the number crunchers who need more details than that, SEE THE FULL BUDGET HERE.

Random old photo of friend with a lot of Dirhams.

11May

Falling in Love in Paris

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Every year, so many Americans flock to Paris. They crave the lights, the action, the history, the art, but most importantly, they crave the love.

Paris became the city of love when…well, no one knows that part. It just is. And us foreigners have perpetuated this idea of a romantic Paris for centuries.

In 2010, I found myself packing three suitcases full of stuff I didn’t need, and stowing away to Paris too. I was mesmerized when I touched down. I thought, Life can no surely get better than this. I had the quintessential, romantic and dramatized, hectic and frantic metro ride back to Paris proper from Charles de Gaulle and to my home in Daumesnil.

Each day I walked around the city, I saw love. The woman who faired la bise with passersby, the young kids flirting in the metro, the jealous lovers squabbling in the alleys. It was palpable. You almost choked on the love.

Thankfully, I was above all that. Until…
Until, Chico.
*Sigh* Yes, he told me his name was Chico.

In my 10-year-American-secondary-school-and-university French, I interpreted his beautiful words. He told me I was pretty, that he was a chef and that he wanted to cook me dinner.

I was swept away by his charm, his loving nature and his gorgeous African smile. He floored me and I was enamored. He gave me a sort of joie de vivre that I thought I was missing. A week later, we were dating and making out in front of my apartment, the other study abroad students looking on.

You couldn’t tell me nothing. In 3 weeks I knew I was in love. In 4 weeks I knew it would never last. By April of that semester, I knew I was going to enjoy it despite any of that.

Finally, with two weeks left to go, we broke up. The next day, I was so tormented and called him, desperately requesting a meeting to end my misery. He acquiesced, and we dated for 13 more days until I flew home.

Friends in France have since told me, Yea Marrissa — we’re pretty sure he was married. Or they might say something like, We think we saw him with a child in his arms.

Yea, whatever. It was Paris. It was love. It was enough to make you feel like you’d gained a few more years back on your life. It was refreshing to the soul. I’d learned to love again.

And with that, I wouldn’t change anything about my experience. I’d gladly move back to Paris and do it all over again.

To my boyfriend that’s probably reading this, never fear. I’ll warn you before I go back the next time.

05May

Kickstarter Campaign FAQ: Where will my money go?

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A lot of questions have been flying my way about the Kickstarter campaign. But easily the most significant question has been,

Marrissa — Where is my money going?

Let me level with you. Your money was hard-earned. And the team here feels super special that you would even consider donating to us. That being said, your money is going straight towards financing the post-production, editing, potential distribution, marketing and advertising for Taste and See, Season One. Sound like a lot? Matter of fact, it is. Which is why we need your help. We refuse to make a product that’s shoddy work. When we upload the final version of the Pilot Episode to our website, and possibly distribute to other broadcasting mediums, we want to be able to say that we put 100% effort into it.

Marrissa — How did you come up with $5000 as the goal?

I promise we didn’t pull that number out of thin air. We took some time, did a bit of research and came up with a budget that you can find HERE. It includes costs for a video editor, for promotional materials and for digital video editing hardware and software. Once we came up with a budget, we kicked off the Kickstarter and hoped for the best!

Marrissa — How do I give you my money already?

No one has asked this question yet, but I want to make this as easy as possible for you. So, how do provide financial support for Taste and See? Just take the following steps:

Access the Kickstarter Fundraising Page (but not yet, we’re not there yet)
You’ll be asked to create a Kickstarter username. Log in using Facebook — this is the easiest way, trust me.
Note how much you’d like to give (this can be ANY amount, from $1 – $5000)
Select the reward you’d like to receive. This will be anything from a personalized post card, to a t-shirt and tote bag, or even a permanent Executive Producer credit.
Donate using Amazon Payments — If you don’t already have an Amazon account, no worries, it’s super easy to sign up. All of your payment information is secure, Kickstarter is a reputable site.
You get an email confirmation telling you what an awesome person you are.

Donate to our Kickstarter campaign HERE.

Keep up to date with the status of the Kickstarter campaign HERE.

01May

Kickstarter Campaign FAQ: What is Kickstarter?

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Thanks to everyone who has supported the Kickstarter campaign thus far! We’re over halfway through Day Number Two and we’ve raised $155 today! That puts us about 3% of the way towards our goal of $5000. Woot woot! Here’s a visual breakdown of our progress thus far:

Sweet right? I want to encourage everyone to continue to support the campaign. Find out as much as you can about the project from one of the following places:

our Kickstarter page;
our website;
Facebook;
Twitter—> and then go tell a friend about the movement!

Now, you may have asked yourself at this point, like a number of other people have asked,

Marrissa — What is Kickstarter?

Well! So glad you asked. Kickstarter is a no-risk way to raise money on the internet. It’s a platform for creative types–like filmmakers, fashion designers, and artists– such as myself, to raise funds for an upcoming project. Anyone can create a profile, write a description of the project, and set a fundraising goal. Once the goal is set, you have a certain number of days to spread the word about the project and get people to go to the Kickstarter fundraising page. For us,

we’ve got 59 days to make our goal of raising $5000!

We’re hitting up every person that we know to achieve, and potentially surpass, our goal! Any person (no matter where he/she is in the world) that finds the profile can easily donate money to the cause. The best part is that every supporter, or backer, of the project, will receive a reward for being such a wonderful person!

You’re probably wondering at this point,

Marrissa– What happens if you don’t meet the goal in the next 59 days?

Well, if we don’t make the goal, all the money will go back to you, the donors. Then we get back in those grassroots, and we start again.

But we don’t need to worry about that, because it’s so simple and easy! All you need to do is click the link below (or any of the four links in this post), and DONATE, DONATE, DONATE!!