tell yourself there has to be a cheaper way to get your hands on it. Why not grow your own hoodia plant? That would be ideal,
but unfortunately it is impossible to grow your own supply.
The hoodia gordonii plant is found only in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. It is a common mistake to refer to it as a
hoodia cactus, but it is technically classified as a succulent. There are many varieties of the plant, but only hoodia
gordonii contains the active ingredient that suppresses appetite.
Hoodia gordonii is a slow-growing plant that takes about three years to grow to a height where it can be harvested. In
addition, it will not grow in regular soil. It requires well-drained sandy soil like the soil found in the deserts of South
Africa.
The hoodia plant has fleshy, finger-like stems and has blooming flowers. The scent of the flowers attracts flies, which are
necessary to pollinate the plant. The scent given off by the flowers has been compared to rotting or burning flesh. Even if
you could grow your own supply, imagine the flies and stench you'd have to put up with!
Hoodia has been traditionally grown in the wild. Given its tremendous popularity, manufacturers have been trying to grow it
commercially to keep up with demand. The commercial growing of hoodia gordonii has had limited success, however. In fact,
there are only a few hundred acres throughout the world devoted to the commercial growing of it.
While the hoodia plant does well in the wild, it has proven to be difficult to grow commercially. It seems to be especially
vulnerable to rot and mysterious diseases. Crops are ruined overnight and the growers don't even know why. Furthermore, the
foul odor of its flowers and the flies it requires for pollination makes it undesirable for most growers to work with.
In addition to the challenges of growing hoodia gordonii commercially, seed providers have been left with virtually no
stocks. The prices of the seeds have skyrocketed due to the limited supply. If you find seeds for sale online, be wary as
most are probably fakes or are different varieties of hoodia. Only the hoodia gordonii variety acts as a powerful appetite
suppressant.
Since growing your own hoodia plant isn't an option, the only way to get your hands on hoodia gordonii is to take diet pills
that contain it. They are expensive, but given the high demand and limited supply, the prices will only continue to increase.
If you're considering them, now would be the time to try them before they become completely out of your financial reach.
When I Miss You I Just Close My Eyes
If you're excited about your latest TV or film project and are hitting a pitching wall, you may be tempted to grab a camera, call in some favors and shoot the whole thing yourself! Is there ever a right time to do that? Well, yes. And there also are right times to not even consider it. Let's talk about the truth and consequences behind shooting your own reels.
Presentation Reels
For filmmakers, you'll often want to shoot a presentation reel to convince funders to come aboard. That actually is a terrific idea. But not always a necessary one. Start with a solid screenplay first. Shopping a screenplay is far easier and certainly wholly acceptable as a means to get financiers, key team members and even vendors on board. If you're not getting any action from the script, put your next budget dollars towards a professional script analysis. Make sure your script is truly shootable and worth shooting. It costs only a few hundred dollars for detailed development notes from The 1-3-5 System, for example (for info on this system, visit my website listed below). It will cost you a few thousand, at the least, to shoot a reel and hope you can do with pictures what you haven't yet done with words.
EXCEPTIONS: The big exception here is when you have a challenging, non-CGI visual, setting or performance that repeatedly is questioned by script readers. If you keep hearing "Can that be done?," it might be time for a presentation reel.
RULE: Once you commit to doing a reel, hire a professional staff and crew. A shoddy-looking reel may cost you credibility, while excellent production value can really boost it.
Sizzle Reels
For reality producers, your show's demo tape is called a "sizzle reel." And your battle cry is all too often, "I'll just produce the show myself!" Slow down. I had an interesting discussion last weekend with two major reality production and network execs, both of whom were happy to get sizzle reels since they feel reels help them sell an idea to others on their team. But I have often heard exactly the opposite from execs: "Sizzle reels can kill a deal." One concern is that reels often don't match the vision your pitch was building in an exec's mind. Bye-bye sale. Another concern is that a good producer conforms a pitch to work with the brand of each partner s/he meets with. So a sizzle reel you shoot that satisfies one prod co's brand may completely violate the mission of another company, etc. How many reels do you plan to shoot?
For more detailed dissection of when to sizzle or not, read my book, The Show Starter Reality TV Made Simple System, Vol. 1: How to Create and Pitch a Sellable Reality Show (for info, visit my website listed below).
FYI, the general consensus at the end of last weekend's debate was, if at all possible, be sure to ask the exec you plan to pitch how they feel about sizzle reels.
EXCEPTIONS: If something in your show is visually electrifying or conceptually challenging in words, a demo reel of just that portion of your show is a big help.
RULE: Don't cheap out on the shoot! Make it look great; it's also your calling card to show what you can do if they keep you attached to the show.
Performer Reels
No disagreement here. Any time you are presenting unknown talent to an executive, a reel that showcases their ability and brand is a winner. For fiction, that's a casting tape; for non-fiction, that's a talent reel. For a casting tape, invest in real audio, and choose sides that sell your talent in his or her strongest part of the script. For a talent reel, you can include a brief personal introduction (interview set-up is fine), the talent in action in their natural environment and even testimonials. Whatever project you're doing, light this reel beautifully and edit it professionally - this is the face of your project!
Professional Reel
If you are a director, producer, DP, editor or other B-T-S professional, you often will be asked for a demo reel of your work. Note that there is a huge difference between a professional reel...and a professional anthology. You don't/shouldn't/can't put absolutely everything you've ever done onto a tape. Take the following advice - even though it challenges everything you believe in. Make a branding statement with your demo reel. Choose shows and selects that all accent your point-of-view as a content creator. Or that highlight your particular visual style. Or that showcase your big league clientele. Decide what impression you want your reel to leave, what makes you special as a project hire, then play the rough cut for people and ask them to share their gut reaction. If their feedback doesn't match the kind of projects you most want to get - get back in there and re-cut that reel.
All Reels
You have 5 minutes at the most for a reel, but know that an exec really will only look at the first 2-3 minutes. Don't get carried away! If studios can get you to pay $14.00 for a film by showing only a 30-second trailer...well, you get the picture. Now go get that deal!
Both Travis Van Slooten & Dma/donna Michelle Anderson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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