The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 74 - "Ships passing on the big blue wet thing" - Getting Lost

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 74 - "Ships passing on the big blue wet thing" - Getting Lost

Hosts: My bros. Steven, Robbie, and I. :D

"Have you ever had that moment when you realized that you weren't as sure of where you were than you thought? The landmarks are gone, the familiar faces missing, and your direction seems lost forever. What do you do in times like those? Better yet, what do your characters do? How do stories about getting lost help a character grow? In today's episode we explore why stories include "getting lost" elements, and how you can best use these tropes in your own stories."

Oh my goodness, what a silly episode.  At least it felt a little silly while recording it.  We recorded late at night, and the crazy comes out around that time.  I listened to it, and it's always interesting listening to the final product vs how it felt recording.  There's always that moment in the middle of recording where I'm pleading with my brain, "Come up with something!"  But the episode really came together!  Bad puns and all. :P

I think we've all experienced getting lost.  It's a little scary, unless you find the experience rather exhilarating.  Some people like being lost.  Rather in our own life, or in stories, being lost is a chance for discovery.  A chance for growth.  And sometimes it's simply a test of will.  Being lost can last minutes to years.  What will you find while getting found?

The Creator's Playbook is a podcast on Spotify and other platforms, hosted by my brothers and I.  It's all about storytelling, techniques, ideas, and discovery.

Have a great weekend!  

I hope you have a listen,

Sarah

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 73 - "In Plain Sight" - Asteroids

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 73 - "In Plain Sight" - Asteroids

Hosts: My bro Michael and I

"Who doesn’t love a good Earth annihilation story? An asteroid spiraling towards Earth! I mean, it sure caught the dinosaurs by surprise. But is that all asteroids are good for? There’s a treasure trove hiding away in space rocks. Fortunes and resources that would have made the cunning Long John Silver crazy with wanting desire. What possibilities lay in the asteroid belt and beyond? Join Sarah and Michael as they explore the power of asteroids and what they mean for the future of the human race in life and fiction."

This was a fun podcast.  Doing this podcast made me realize how much I need to learn and relearn, which honestly is a good thing.  Something I enjoy.  For this podcast I prepared by doing a lot of research. In terms of a good quick refresh there's a video by Professor Dave Explains called: Pluto, Comets, Asteroids, and the Kuiper Belt.  Though I kept mixing up the names of moons in the podcast.  There's not a moon named Titus!  Though there should be.  Heh, though Titus in Greek means Titan, which is a moon that surrounds Saturn.  Titus is a really good solid name.

So Michael and I just had fun nerding out and theorizing stuff.  Asteroids really do hold so many possibilities in terms of value and potential use for the human race.  In terms of space exploration and growth they hold the key.

Have a great day!

The podcast can be heard on Spotify and other podcast places,

Sarah

The Creator's Playbook Podcast: Episode 61 - "Galactic Entanglement" - Family Secrets

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode: Episode 61 - "Galactic Entanglement" - Family Secrets

Hosts: Myself with my bro Robbie

"Who doesn't love a little family drama? Especially when said drama is caused by hidden family secrets? Babies switched at birth. Great-Grandparents hiding a younger life of crime behind a prominent virtuous life. Family secrets are a great way to spice up or develop a plot. Join Robbie and Sarah as they explore family secrets in life and fiction."

This weeks episode is brought to you by family secrets and scandal.  The crazy happenings in each family known and unknown, and how that affects those involved personally.

In the beginning there's a point where Robbie was like "We need to share our family secrets!" And I was like. :\  Not something I planned on doing, so the dead air was edited out.  Honestly, what we came up with was kinda silly, and mine makes me look bad.  I thought about editing that whole section out, but left it in.  There's more deep stuff that could have been shared, we all go through stuff, but the past is the past, and I won't share anything involving others.  So I shared a story about Robbie instead, because he was present.  I would like to think I was a good big sister!!!!

The story itself starts around 10 minutes, and it's the last 20 minutes of the podcast where things really start moving and soars.  I was really getting into what we were creating.  There's a sci-fi universe I've been building up, independently, and somewhere I need this little family unit involved in a way, somehow.  I love these characters.  They're so getting a cameo or minor plot line.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Sarah

P.S. I'm listening to Disney Parks area music, and it's just so happy. :)

The Creator's Playbook Podcast: Episode 59, "Infinity Mirror" ~ Black Hole

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode: Episode 59, "Infinity Mirror" ~ Black hole

Hosts: My brother Michael and I

"They're older than the stories on earth. They're perhaps one of humanities last greatest mysteries. Black holes will perhaps be one of the most elusive space marks of the universe. They can't be breached but they can't be escaped. Within them could be universes in of themselves. Today Michael and Sarah explore ways to use black holes in storytelling and how to use their mysteries to inspire."

So funny thing about this episode, usually I have an idea of what we're going to talk about.  Michael hosted this episode, which means he was tasked on writing the prompt.  We were going to talk about something entirely different, and right before recording Michael's like "We're going to do black hole's!" :D  And I was like, "Black holes?" 0_0

Heh, so we did black holes.  Michael knows a lot about science, it's awesome.  I grew up on Science Fiction and loving science, but I don't understand things as well as I'd like.  During this episode I think you can hear my brain getting mushy. :P  In the end I learned a lot, and it's inspired me to start digging deep into science again.

You can listen to the podcast on Spotify or wherever else podcasts are hosted... I should probably learn those... links above.

Hope you're having a great week! 

Sarah

P.S. I'm still trying to figure out a schedule for this blog.  Ultimately I'd like to post at least four episodes a week, that would be great, but some weeks, honestly, three will feel awesome too.

 

Heads Up on the Podcast

Just a really quick update.

My brothers Steven and Robbie started a podcast last year: the Creator's Playbook.  They took a little break, but either this week or the next (the goal is this Wednesday), they will start posting episodes again.  Some exciting stuff, the official announcement isn't until the end of the month, but my brother Michael and I will be joining the podcast permanently.  We will all be hosts and each episode will be two of us, so we'll be taking turns and mixing it up.

I am announcing this early, just in case there might be those wondering if the podcast may have been abandoned.  It hasn't!!  And episodes will be starting up here really soon.

A month ago I recorded an episode with Steven, but we were trying a new program neither of us completely understood, and there was this echo default setting thing selected.  It messed up the audio a little in parts when we talk over each other.  I haven't heard it, so don't know the extent of how it sounds, but we've decided to post the episode within the next few weeks or so.  It was so much fun to record.  Hopefully we didn't talk over each other too much!!! Heh....

So we're all excited.  We decided to do this podcast fully as siblings last month.  I've got two episodes recording soon that I'm hosting, and the topics are really fun.  Planning for that.  

The podcast I was going to do with Michael is getting put on hold for now.  We've talked that it's something we would like to do, but for now Creator's Playbook is the priority.

We're still learning and growing and developing, and the podcast will get better and better as a result.  Hope you will take a listen when it comes back, or check out what has already been released.

Sarah

Talea Studios Update: January 26, 2019

I haven't done one of these in a long time.

New Year, New Focus.

Last week I had a meeting with my siblings, and it went very well.  There are a lot a projects we're working on, and in the process we found much needed new footing.

There's not much I can say.  There are smaller projects that will roll out.  But, most important, what gets me excited, is that there is a major project that will take a bit of time that we've decided we're ready for.  It's a project that we never felt ready for, but as we've grown and worked on our talents, we're finally ready to tackle this awesome goal.  It's a passion project.  And that's all I want to say! 

There's a quote that's been popping up in my life recently.  I've mentioned it twice in the last month: "It's kind of fun to do the impossible."  Walt Disney.  Sometimes words or sayings will show up in our lives as a beaconing message.  I'm going to heed this wisdom.

Last May I got to visit Disney's private apartment at Disneyland, and at the end the hostess talked about Disney being a storyteller, and how there are still storytellers.  I wish I could remember the words she said, but it touched me.  And I realized in that moment how much I want to be a storyteller.  So I'm getting to the basics.  Working through some Great Courses Plus lessons.  I think I just have this love of stories.  I've always loved stories.  My music is a form of storytelling.  When I perform, it's storytelling as well.  And I just think of Kermit the Frog, sitting on his log in the swamp, playing his banjo and wanting to make millions of people happy.  That impressed me so strongly as a kid.  The idea of making people happy through art.

So those are the goals.  A lot of secrets!!!  I can't tell you how much I hate keeping secrets.  But as time moves forward and things finalize more will be revealed.

I just wanted to let you all know we're still working and wanting to make incredible things possible.

Finding Motivation From Google

This last weekend my siblings and I had a Talea meeting.

 

Usually I have a really inspiring message to start the meeting with, to get it going on an uplifting note, but this last month has been hard for me, so I struggled coming up with something good to say.  My option, then, was to consult the internet, just for some inspiration, and so I searched "motivational quotes" on Google.  The top 5 search results was honestly perfect.

"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."

~ Anon.

"You can't have a better tomorrow if you're still thinking about yesterday." 

~ quoteslife101.net

"Your mind is a powerful thing.  When you fill it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change."

~ Anon.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."

~ (A few people are attributed to this quote)

"A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence."

~ Jim Watkins

There was honestly something in each of these quotes I needed to hear and ponder over, and it was good doing this blog post just so I can reread these quotes.

In a sorta related, not related note: My brothers and I are working on another cell phone game, this time for both iOS and Android.  We've tested out the first prototype, and my siblings and I are excited over the potential of this game.  I can't give a release date because none of us can guess how long this game will take, plus we're only on the first drafts with many more to come.  The iOS factor, and trying to get it on the Apple store is a challenge none of us have faced.  I'm composing the music!  So I have a lot to learn there as well, but there will be an EP released with the game.

I'll make sure of it :0)

Keep Trying; Keep Praying

 "No one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying."

 ~ Jeffrey R. Holland

I will not give up.

Maybe I'm foolish.

Maybe I'm crazy.

But I won't give up.

In me, deep inside, I believe Talea Studios can and will be successful.  I believe I can be successful in my music and writing.  I believe the games my brothers and I are working on can find an audience.

There's been bumps in the road with my family in accomplishing our Talea goals: Marriages, moving, new jobs, new families to support, serving missions, etc.  Normal stuff that can easily derail any dream and goal.  But even with bumps we are not giving up.  We all believe in Talea.

"Please don't nag yourselves with thoughts of failure.  Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve.  Simply do what you can do in the best way you know how, and the Lord will accept your effort."

 ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

Though I must be honest with myself.  Have I done everything I can?  Am I working as hard as I should?  Is there a lot more I could be doing?  With these three questions I can easily answer a resounding yes.  There's a lot more I should and can be doing to help the business, and I will.  I've been aimless and unfocused.  I haven't worked as hard as I should.  But here's the nice thing about life, it's not over till it's over, and I plan to live a long time, if God permits.

I'm recommitting myself to my goals and projects.

Recommitting myself to my family's goals.

By the end of the year I will have music to post online.  I'm not giving a date here, as I don't know how long this process will take, and I want to learn mastering and mixing music, so there's going to be a learning curve.  I've been meaning to learn mixing and mastering, but put it off.  And it would be good if I learn how to edit videos, so I'm not so dependent on my brothers.

And there's some other projects I won't talk about until they're close to or at completion, which will be awhile for some of these projects as there are learning curves for these projects as well.  But by the end of the year--hopefully by mid Autumn!--I'll be able to start sharing some of these things.

Mind Drift, The New Game App by Talea Studios

 Mind Drift!

 aka

MindDriftRGB

 (RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue)

 I have been teasing for some time that my brothers and I have been working on a cell phone game app.  I'm happy to announce that it's available for download from the Google Play app store for android!  Just search for either MindDriftRGB or Talea Studios.  I wish searching Mind Drift would bring the game up, but for some reason it doesn't, but the two other search terms will bring the game right up for download.  Click here to download the game.

Mind Drift is free with the occasional ad.  My brother Robbie has the ads popping up every 5-10 losses.

So what is Mind Drift?

 It's a color matching arcade game.

As the colored jewels fall from the top of the screen, touch either the right side of the screen or the left side to spin the the three colors at the bottom.  Match red with red, blue with blue, green with green.  

Mismatch the colors and the round is over.

There are a few "difficulty" levels.

Zen: This mode was newly added with today's update.  Essentially the game stays at the basic level, never increasing in difficulty, promoting a zen like state.  It's the "relaxing" mode, or the mode for kids or anyone who wants to play without the added challenge of increasing speeds.

Standard:  Mind Drift starts at its easiest, slow pace speed, increasing in difficulty bit by bit until you mismatch colors.  (I was going to write "until you fail miserably," but that would be mean.)

Medium: Unlocks at 101 points reached.  After you unlock Medium, you can select this as your difficulty, and whenever you die and need to restart, the game begins at 100 points, not 0 points. 

Hard:  Unlocks at 300 points.  Once again, when you unlock this mode and can select Hard as your difficulty level, the game starts at 300 points instead of 0 points.

Playing in Zen mode will not unlock Medium or Hard difficulty levels, nor will the points be added to your high score.

My brother Robbie is the crazy one whose achieved 540 points.  The highest I've ever achieved is 180 points.  Steven has reached 211 points.  Neither of my parents have made it over 100.

Currently the game isn't available for Apple products, as we haven't started the process of getting the game on iTunes.  That's one of our goals.

We also have the goal of adding a couple more playable modes for Mind Drift.  "Zen +" will act like Zen, only it starts around the 50 point difficulty speed, and will continue at that speed.  A little more challenging.  And there's going to be "Interchange" mode, where there are no repeating colors, aka no blocks of colors falling down.  Even though we're working on more games, we're going to continue to work on Mind Drift, improving it and making it better.

Oh!!  And a biggie!!  My brother Steven and I wrote the song for Mind Drift.  It will soon be available for download on Band Camp, under our band name Cerulean Jade.  We composed a completed version of the song, with an ending instead of the loop, we just need to do a final master of the song.

My brother Robbie did the programing for the game, and Steven did the art.

Here's a sneak peak for two more games we're working on.

And there's another game in development after these games that I've started story boarding and creating characters for.  That game, which will remain nameless for some time (though the name makes me giggle :0) is going to be fun.  Can't wait.  Those characters are so much fun to write.

So much awesomeness ahead!! :0)

My Moms Amazing Jewelry and Paintings on Etsy

 My Mom has an Etsy shop.  Her passion is making jewelry and Painting, and I wanted to show off some of my more favorite pieces of hers, which can be found in the Talea Studios store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaleaStudios

And the last one is my absolute favorite!  I want this bracelet.

 And my Mom even paints!  She's talented like that:0)

This painting:

Is based on this picture I took while visiting the Grand Tetons:

 This next painting is so tranquil

 And the last is a painting of my most favorite place in the World.  Cambria. (You thought I'd write Disneyland :0)

 All of these amazing pieces of art can be purchased at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaleaStudios

Cerulean Jade Update: 09-29-2012

I took the above picture a couple weeks ago.  It's of the Payphone cover song Steven and I did, and I still find this hilarious.  666 views with 13 likes?  Crazy.

Our next cover song "Someone like you" from Adele is on track.  Steven's finished arranging the chorus and verses, and has the bridge left, which is super close.  Our goal is to record early next week, which means the song will be online by the end of the week, at the latest!!  We've decided the video is going to be super simple, as in I'm going to sing the song in one take with myself singing to the camera.  Good ol' non-complicated cover style.  The effect will be an emotionally raw video, which works well with the song . . . and the fact that it will help us get the song up sooner is a plus!

Steven and I have also discussed putting up the instrumental/karaoke videos of the songs we do.  So we'll soon be getting the instrumentals of our original song "Dream Maze," and cover songs "Payphone" and "Someone like you" up as well, so you can hear Steven's amazing arrangements :0)

More fun stuff in the works!  And our studio is soooooooooo close to finishing!!  Carpet in, electrical almost done, etc.  I can't wait to play with the green screen.

Sarah 

What's Next for Cerulean Jade?

Goodness, where do I start?

The problem with Steven and I is that we have so many ideas . . . and we're in love with all of them

For me I'm working on a cover of a song from Brave, "Into the Open Air."  I'm playing the piano on this one, and overall it's going to be simple.  For starters, I don't have Steven's amazing ability to sit down at a piano and just play.  We're different like that.  He has a couple months of piano lessons.  I have years!  Plus a music degree.  I'm sheet music dependent.  That's going to change!  This project is going to help me with this, but it's a bit scary.  And I don't know what I'm doing.  Music Theory was the easiest out of the Music Theory core for my degree (which also included Music Dictation and Sight Singing).  My fingers don't work the way I want them too!  This is a skill I really want to learn, and this is a great start.  I also want to throw in some Irish flute.  Steven's never mastered anything other then voice and electronic instruments, so this will be good practice for him, too.

The next combined Cover we're doing is Andy Grammer's "Keep Your Head Up."  It's a fun, upbeat, positive song, and it will be a little like the Payphone cover we did.  I'm not going to promise a release date for this!  I've made that mistake before.  Not doing that again.  But it is a really fun song:0)

And . . . wait for it . . . we're working on an online graphic novel!!!  Surprised?  Before my youngest brother left on his mission, he came up with the bases of a story idea.  We promised him that we would turn it into a graphic novel, as a gift, only that hasn't happened yet.  I'm still in script phase and Steven's developing art concepts.  Our goal is to get the first 10 pages up by the end of September, right before he comes home.  I've been having so much fun playing mad scientist with this world  . . . or should I admit to a slowly developing God complex?  Ehhh, I will admit that I'm having way too much fun.  Think slight Steampunk, slight sci-fi, and Final Fanstasy-ish world, and you have something akin to what Steven, Robbie, and I have dreamed up.  Art Concept drawings coming soon!

Oh, and of course original music.  Steven and I are working on an original song, and the sounds he's coming up with are super fun!  That's 2-3 months out.  Then we're going to do an original song based on the graphic novel world we've created (I can't wait to do the music video for this . . . we just got a green screen :0).  And there's a few jazz songs I've written that I was just going to release under my name, but Steven's like "it would be really cool to do electronic jazz!"  And I'm like "What!?"  He thinks it can work.  We'll see.  I'm slightly doubtfull.

Anyway, are we crazy?  Probably, but insanity is fun.
Sarah