Derek DeBoer (top) with the Aston Martin he aspires to drive.  Aaron Freedman (left) focused on fighting again & Brooke DeBoer of Chop Chop Media (right) films the dreams.

Derek DeBoer (top) with the Aston Martin he aspires to drive. Aaron Freedman (left) focused on fighting again & Brooke DeBoer of Chop Chop Media (right) films the dreams.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.” Henry David Thoreau

This is an exciting moment for Chop Chop Media.  I dreamed a dream of being a director and wa la…it’s happening!  Derek DeBoer has dreams of racing cars at the professional level and he is doing it!  Aaron Freedman dreams of fighting professionally in the MMA again after a severe injury and continues to fight for his dreams!  My blessing is twofold;  not only do I get to do what I have dreamed of doing, but I get to film these fine gentlemen going after their dreams and share it with you.  Everything is better when you share!

Each of these projects has expanded my knowledge of filmmaking and stretched me as a person.  There have been moments of anxiety, because as those who make documentaries know, it’s hard to go at it with a clear plan.  Filming a profile of an athlete needs to be a flexible and open experience in order to allow for the unfoldment of the story.  Inherently, I am a producer, a producer is after an expedient, organized  process to produce a final project or result.  Often flexibility doesn’t come easy to the organized planner.  It is so important to stay open because we are getting to know our cast of characters and involved in a process of allowing those voices to come through.  Having an inflexible plan can clutter the mind with a mission and punch lists that blind the interviewer to the interviewee.  I am learning about beginning my conversations with with an open ended question, allowing for the conversation to develop and flow.  It is important to help the interviewee feel comfortable in order to share with you their story.  Then the key is to listen.  What wonderful metaphors for life.  Interestingly as I become better at my craft I get a little better each day at understanding my own story and inner being.

The last week has been an anxious experience preparing to fly to New York and film our progress update on Aaron Freedman.  This time I am flying solo and have only myself to blame if I miss a valuable shot.  This is where the dream meets reality and the grit and courage take over to push me past fears of making mistakes of not being good enough.  If I stop here, the dream dies.  As Jim Carrey said, “It is better to risk starving to death then surrender.  If you give up on your dreams, what’s left?”  So true, Jim Carrey!  So, when I feel afraid I force myself to sit down and do something with the project, watch a great documentary, or read an interview displaying journalistic excellence.  This then inspires me to continue.  Right back on the theme of everything is better when you share.  Tom Shadyac makes this point in his latest documentary “I am”.  In this documentary he shows evidence that humans and animals alike were designed to participate in a cooperative experience, learning from one another, and sharing ideas, making decisions by consensus.  Maybe if we all follow our dreams and do it at the personal level our government will follow suit.  I’m not giving up my dreams about that and neither should you.  We are all connected in thought and spirit.  Humanity can live in harmony with one another.

If we can live in harmony with one another where does Aaron’s fight fit in?  Why does he fight?  What motivates him to “go to war” in the cage?  We’ll be asking all of these questions and showing Aaron’s fight to get back in the cage for his next professional bout.  Aaron’s documentary is a story of dreams, grit, pain, focus, determination, humor, culture, and characters.  Is it possible to have this harmony we dream of if we listen to one another better and understand where one another are coming from?  Aaron is approaching his sixth month of living with an injury that he hides from the world, except for the fact that I am documenting it all.  He is determined to look away from the pain, try not to walk with a limp, and give attention only to his desired end result and fighting for his dreams so as not to feed the negative thoughts or fears that try to take over the mind. “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams.  Think not about your frustrations but about your unfulfilled potential.  concern yourself not with what you’ve tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do, stated Pope John XXIII”  I’m sure Aaron would agree.

Our aspiring professional racer Derek DeBoer, who happens to be my husband, battles with these ideas every day.  There is always a practical reason why he shouldn’t (never “should on yourself”) go after your dreams or do something that might be considered crazy or improper.  Derek has pushed through the odds to find time in the cracks to create his Kickstarter campaign which launches on October 10 to support his dream of driving in the 24 Hours of Daytona with the TRG Aston Martin team.  As a young child Derek manifested his dreams by burning holes in the tires of Hotwheels tearing down his driveway.  Now, Derek DeBoer, father of three, husband,  and working man, aspires to fit his race car driving dreams in the cracks of real life.  Chop Chop Media will bring his experience to you.  Can he fund his dreams through cooperative crowd funding support, sharing an inside look at his process of becoming a legitimate professional driver?  We really hope so.  Chop Chop Media is a company that supports dreams and shares what a heart of a dreamer looks like.  Everything is better when you share!

Follow along on Chop Chop Media’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ChopChopFilm?ref=hl

You can find more on Derek DeBoer and his kickstarter campaign on his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ProjectMotorsports

And Aaron Freedman on his page https://www.facebook.com/aaron.freedman1?fref=ts

 

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