Lori, Author at Ahimsa Media

posted on February 9, 2014 by Lori

The Collection of Happiness Stories Continues

We always enjoy working with the Vancouver Theatre Company, Realwheels, and one of their latest quests has been particularly fun for us. A short while ago we launched a campaign with them to find out the different things that make people happy. This was done in collaboration with OneStory, the video interview App. Realwheels was curious to know how different people define their identity regardless of physicality by showcasing the universal concept of happiness and obstacles.

OneStory has proven to be the perfect place to collect people’s thoughts. You can see what is there so far by visiting the OneStory site. The different ideas of happiness are simple and inspiring, and everyone’s honesty with regards to obstacles is sincere and refreshing. Here I am getting in on the action:

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We’d like to know your story and have you add your voice to this project. Interview your friends while you’re at it. After all, someone has to hold your iPhone to interview you, why not turn it around on them? There are two questions we’d like you to answer, that will then be stitched together to form a seamless spot.

1. What is your name and what makes you happy?

2. Is there an obstacle to that happiness?

To do this you simply need to download the OneStory App for free on your iPhone or iPad. Once you open the App you will see different categories of interviews. Feel free to give a listen, people have some really interesting things to say! Our topic is found within the Featured interview topics, as well as within the Health related topics.

When you are ready to record your interview click on the red record button with an image of a camera on it in the top right corner of the screen. Scroll down and select ‘What Makes You Happy?’ Press Next in the top right corner and then enter the name of the person who will be speaking. Press Next again and then press the button that says ‘Record Answer’ when you are ready to answer the first prompt.

Share your story through your feeds using #WheelVoices and enjoy being a part of the Realwheels community where everyone has a story and everyone has a voice.

Filed Under: News, Stories In Action Tagged With: happiness, Realwheels

posted on December 4, 2013 by Lori

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Exploring Happiness ~ OneStory Together with Realwheels Bring You a #WheelVoices Campaign

This week marks the launch of a digital video campaign rooted in storytelling. We are thrilled to be participating alongside the innovative creative geniuses of OneStory, and the collectively inspirational group at Realwheels.

Realwheels is interested in your views on self-identification. How do you define and articulate your identity? They are exploring the sources of identity that are universal among all people, regardless of physicality. In order to gather and share as many different view points as possible, they have collaborated with OneStory, as it is a grand interview style sharing platform. Anyone at all who is interested is encouraged to either be recorded or record themselves answering two simple questions:

What is your name and what makes you happy?

What is the obstacle to that happiness?

Everyone’s videos will be available for viewing on the OneStory App, but you can also join in the fun by sharing your own and other people’s videos across your social media feeds with the #WheelVoices and #DisabilityArts hashtags, and by following and engaging with the #WheelVoices and #DisabilityArts hashtags on your social media feeds.

As an example, here is Realwheels’ Lindsey Adams’ OneStory on What Makes Her Happy …

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You can record your story directly on the OneStory App, which is a free download. Simply:

Download the free OneStory app to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch;
Create an account and verify your email address;
Click on the campaign or topic “What makes you happy?”;
Click on the camera button in the top right corner;
Enter the name of the storyteller and answer the questions in the interview;
Change the title of your video; and
Press ‘Post’. The link will be delivered within minutes of completing the interview.

Also, as of last night, you can now also create OneStories directly from your computer! Here are the instructions for recording yourself on your computer:

1. Go to the Realwheels campaign page at: http://www.onestory.com/campaigns/what-makes-you-happy

2. Click on the ‘Share your story’ button

Step #2 Click on the ‘Share your story’ button

3. This will launch a pop up window that offers two options for story capturing. One is to download the iPhone / iPad app from the App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onestory/id605376655 or the other is just to click on ‘Start Recording.’

Step #3 Chose your option for capturing your story

4. This allows the user to record directly from their computer, no app or interviewer required. After ‘Start Recording’ click on the ‘Continue’ button and then ‘Allow’ the program to have access to your camera and microphone.

Step #4 Recording directly from your computer, no app needed

5. Then simply wave to camera and be cued with a countdown to start recording your first answer with the OneStory Recorder. After completing that you will be given the option to choose to watch, re-record or move onto the next question (which you may have to ‘allow’ permissions for once more).

6. Once you are finished recording your answers, you will need to create an account or login to an existing one and then you can automatically upload your edited video to OneStory.com

7. Spread the word and share your OneStory videos, along with others you find inspiring, through social media using the #WheelStories and #DisabilityArts hashtags.

We are really looking forward to the stories that unfold!

Filed Under: News, Stories In Action Tagged With: digital campaign, happiness, Realwheels, storytelling

posted on August 22, 2013 by Lori

‘Tis The Season-For Back To School!

As summer winds to a close, it’s time to gear up for another school year. We would like to offer some helpful advice to make the most efficient use of the time you have to prepare. The whole family needs work and play together to make the mental and physical adjustment successful.

Yes…It IS that time again! (photo by Quinn Dombrowski)

Begin by slowly moving your sleep and wake schedule closer to that which will be required during the school year. You don’t want that first early morning to be a shocker!

Play some family games that require thinking. Fall back on the oldies, but goodies: Pictionary, Charades, Scattegories and trivia related games. A new personal favourite of ours is Snake Oil, a very creative game that builds strong communication skills.

If your children have not been doing any academic work throughout the summer, it would be a good idea to print out some cummulatative review worksheets from the grade level they just completed. Have them begin to write compositions by providing purpose driven topics. For example, ‘Write a review of all the television shows you watched this summer, or video games you played’, ‘Review and recommend different phone apps’.

In order to avoid last minute stress, start organizing school materials now. For once, take the time to find out which markers are dried out and which pens no longer work! Start planning for those dreaded daily lunches and experiment to find different options with ‘summer taste tests.’

If your child is a school-age actor, plan to have a meeting with his/her teacher within the first week of school. Gather the teacher’s contact information and decide on a mutual policy for missing school. This will save you time when your child books a role. We recommend creating a set kit that is always ready to go. Be sure to pack paper, pencils and other miscellaneous school supplies. Days on set can be long so we suggest including a good book and educational games. A mini version of your set kit can be made to take along on auditions.

At Ahimsa Media we are always available to help you with transitions between home, school and set. We hope everyone has had incredible summers and that all of our past and future students have a successful school year.

Filed Under: News, Tips Tagged With: Ahimsa Kids, back to school, child actors

posted on July 8, 2011 by Lori

Join In The Experience

All of us here at Ahimsa Media have been enjoying our relationship with Paperny Films and talk daily about the adventures their shows have inspired us to have. We are pleased to share some exciting opportunities that have come along for others to get involved with them as well. Paperny is casting for a few shows that are close to home for topics we either support, or are experiencing ourselves. Within our education department, we are always working to educate students of all ages, not just on academics, but on how to be well rounded, respected individuals in society and within their own family environments. One of Paperny’s new shows is looking for families who may have a teen that is rebellious and out of control and for behaviour specialists that can provide the struggling families with tools to build a a strong unit for a healthy future.

As Ahimsa has begun to spread its wings and create offices in Vancouver, Toronto and LA, we find ourselves amongst many boxes and small items that don’t really seem to have a proper place. We suspect that we will be closely following the new HGTV de-cluttering show, which is also accepting casting applications, closely for some wise advice. A large part of enjoying new places, and distracting ourselves from clutter, has been to indulge in divine local food. If you are a supplier of such divinity, the ever-popular Eat St. is looking for food carts to feature across North America.

In addition to these casting opportunities, Paperny also has employment positions available for Story Editors and Writers.

Filed Under: News