Thanks for your rejection. Seriously.

Over the past two years I’ve had interviews with some amazing companies who all have something in common. They all told me no. Whether they actually followed up and said “Thanks for your time, but the position has been filled.” or left me hanging with no follow-up, they all said no. After two years of interviews and applications, and living in two major cities, I was never able to get a full time job.

Even STARBUCKS didn’t get back to me. Starbucks! And I’m a former employee. (I don’t understand it, either.)

I’ve heard it’s easier to get a job when you have a job. And from the look of it, and seeing my employed colleagues move onto new jobs, I can believe that.

To date, I have 164 emails in my “Job Applications” email folder. This contains both application notices and rejection emails.

This is not a pity post, or a plea for empathy. I honestly feel that I’m the closest I’ve been in a long time to doing what I’ve been created to do. And I wouldn’t be here (literally) if, say, Porter Novelli said “Yes.”

Just for fun, I’ve complied a list of everyone I can remember interviewing with and applying for. These are in no particular order:

Interviewed with:
Southwest Airlines Head Quarters
Nordstrom Head Quarters
Samaritan’s Purse Head Quarters
The National Partnership for Women and Families
Porter Novelli
Bates Creative Group
INM United
American Forest Foundation
Edelman/StrategyOne
World Hope, International
Relevant Magazine
Vineyard Vines Head Quarters
Crosspoint Community Church
Asurion Head Quarters

Applied to:
Warner Music Group
Jibe
Emma
Starbucks
Cirque du Soliel (how cool would THIS have been?)
TPAC
Schermerhorn Symphony Center
MTV
CMT
Thomas Nelson
Sony Music Group
Gaylord Entertainment
Dave Ramsey
HealthSpring
The Home Depot Head Quarters
DC Water & Sewer Authority
Twitter Head Quarters
Facebook Head Quarters
GAC
American University
RedPeg Marketing
Show Hope
Disney Imagineering (Social Media & Video Communications)
American Progress
ISEP
Living Social
Living Social Adventures
Nissan North America
Global Impact
Huge, Inc.
Halogen TV
American Public Health Association
Perkins Eastman
Jason Communications
NBC Universal
The Ellen Show
Maximum Impact Churches
Blackboard
Ketchum Washington
APCO Worldwide
CoStar Group
Paladin
MDB Communications
Forest Hill Church
CIRCA
Jaleo Crystal City
B-Reel
Creative Circle
AKQA
DDB Talent Management Group
Aquent
National Wildlife Federation
Doorways for Women and Families
Project Hope
Atlantic Media Company
Central Intelligence Agency (yes, even the CIA! – But I couldn’t tell anyone in case I actually got an interview)
USA Today
Intelsat
MarketArt
District of Columbia Public Schools
Home Builders Institute
The People’s Church, Spring Hill Campus
Discovery Channel

Wow… now there’s a list! And to everyone above I want to say thank you! Thank you for not hiring me. I feel more than ever that I’m closer to where I need to be in order to do what I’ve been created to do.

I’m producing two films first quarter, I’m screenwriting, I’m having a blast. Granted, I’m also waiting tables and dealing with some pretty crazy customers, but I’m the happiest I’ve been in two years! And it’s not about the money (clearly.) It’s about doing what I’m supposed to be doing. The money will follow. (I pray, dear God, that the money will follow.)

Some would look at a list this size and feel like a failure. I look at all those doors that didn’t open and then look at the ones that did and I’m encouraged.

Now, that’s not to say that I’m content to remain under-employed. I’m not. There’s a difference between being HAPPY and being CONTENT. I believe that happiness is a choice, and contentment is a catalyst. Am I content with where I am financially and professionally? Heavens no. Not at all. But am I happy? Yeah, sure. My discontentment drives me to create change and keep chasing certain lions.

Someone once said to me, “You’re like my husband. Never happy with what you’re doing.” And to that I say, “I’m VERY happy with what I’m doing. I’m the happiest I’ve been in two years. TWO YEARS! But I’m not content to stay this way.” That’s the difference.

So again. To everyone who told me “No” over the past few years, Thank you. For the ones who are going to say “Yes!” in the coming months, I say “Let’s do this.”

celebrate recovery

This is the opening sequence to a video I’m doing for Celebrate Recovery at The People’s Church. Due to anonymity, I can only show this opening sequence in my portfolio.

Celebrate Recovery Opening Sequence from Toby Sturgill on Vimeo.

Camera: Canon XF105 at 24 frames/second
Software: Final Cut Pro 7
Music: “The Healing Has Begun” by Matthew West.

design meets film

This is a pretty cool blending of design elements, 3D animation and film:

The Ambassadors Design & Animation Showreel 2011 from The Ambassadors on Vimeo.

the water and the blood

I love the look and feel of this video by Mark Cowart. The attention to the details of the room and not just a static shot on the person talking is super well done. Also? I’ve wanted to do this to my walls forever!

nashville lifestyle wedding video

I love a good lifestyle video. This almost makes me wanna get remarried. Woah.

This is a great one coming from Feria Cinematic.

“Leave Me” short film

One of my new favorite shorts… A recent widower deals with his grief through his wife’s broken camera. One of the more original shorts I’ve seen in a while. This is from Ryan Dunlap and Daros Films.

What are your thoughts? What’s the meaning? Is there a message?

NEWSIES takes the stage

When I found out that they’ve made a stage adaptation of the 90s cult classic musical, “Newsies” I didn’t quite know how to react. I wanted nothing more when I was 8 years old than to be in that movie. And growing up in musical theatre meant I was always on the look-out for someone to produce it. And for me to star in it.

Well I guess that feeling has always stayed the same because while I’m mostly super excited about this new production of NEWSIES I’m also a tad jealous that I wasn’t part of it. I mean, I’ve been carrying the banner since 1993, y’all.

I feel like this is going to sweep Broadway and be a hit for years. Like The Lion King or Wicked, NEWSIES is a classic story with a older-millennial cult following. So, while I’m over not being in this production, I am SUPER EXCITED that there are people out there who are just as super excited and “get” NEWSIES like I do.

and I’m back…

Hello again! Much has happened between my last post and this one so I feel like a whole new introduction is needed. What would the trailer for this movie look like? My guess is there’d be a #filmcamp in Denver, a film conference in Ridgcrest, NC  and a move back to Nashville.

After living a year in Northern Virginia and the DC Metro area, I’ve discovered that there really is no place like home. While I made some fantastic new friends and had some of the most memorable experiences I still couldn’t see myself in the DMV for much longer.

The time was right for me to leave Nashville a year ago and the time was right for me to return just last month. Over the course of that year I helped produce the Denver #filmcamp for Inside|Out Global and attended the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival.

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Introducing Inside|Out Global™

Back in 2009, I went to New Zealand for 15 days to be part of a group that taught filmmaking to urban youth as a way for them to discover their strengths, tell their stories and influence their culture.

A year later, I joined them again in Washington DC to do the same workshop with Metro DC youth. Two weeks after that I found myself moving to Alexandria VA with only what I could fit into my SUV.

So what have I been doing this past year in DC? Helping to get Inside|Out Global (IOG) established as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We’re finally official!

The mission of IOG is to empower young people to tell their stories and discover their gifts and strengths through filmmaking and the creative arts. Our vision is to see the world’s youth find, embrace and offer their unique gifts to influence and enrich their cultures.

Bonus: now that we’re a 501(c)3, means that you can make a tax-deductible donation to help us do this year round! (We accept checks of all sizes *wink).

This year, in 2011, we’re bringing the same workshop that’s been done in New Zealand and DC to the Denver area at the end of the month! I’ll definitely be blogging more about this experience as it unfolds.

Be sure to check out our brand new website and watch some of the videos the students have done. Keep in mind, these are filmed by students that (in some cases) have never picked up a camera before or seen the inside of Final Cut Pro. The stories they tell are true. I’ll post more videos this week as we gear up for Denver.

planned community makes their own movie

When I heard of this yesterday and then watched the trailer for the film I couldn’t believe it. Ditore Mayo Entertainment was asked to make a promotional video for a new planned community in Dallas called “Castle Hills.” They came back to their client and said, “We’ll see you one promotional video and raise you a real movie.” (Or something to that effect… I wasn’t there so I can’t say for sure.) A real movie based on a planned community?! Branded entertainment?! I love it.

Never mind the plot or the characters of “Cooper & The Castle Hills Gang“… I want to acknowledge the creative genius of this idea! It’s one thing to have Castle Hills be the location of a film. It’s another thing entirely to make a movie that SELLS Castle Hills. See the difference?

I’ve often said that Franklin, TN planned community “Westhaven” is much like a movie set. It was created by the same developer (Southern Land) who built “Seaside“, a charming & magical community that looks so fake that it was a perfect location for the film “The Truman Show” (of which I auditioned for three times and never got a chance to be in. I digress.)

When places like Castle Hills are created and are made to be so magical, it only makes sense to make it the location in a movie. Movies, after all, allow us to imagine and dream and see what it’s like to be on the inside of the character’s lives. Why not show (sell) those characters (lifestyle) to the country in a 50 minute film about the place and the charming people who live there.

From the first frame with the Jeep driving by against the bring blue sky, I knew this was Grade-A work; that it wasn’t B-Rate at all. From the lighting, camera moves, score, these guys have made a stellar piece of art that tells a story, but also (hopefully) sells homes within the Castle Hills community.

I’m all for new ideas and going beyond what’s been done before. Have you heard of something like this being done before?