SWAY Update Letter

This is a letter we just shared with our SWAY friends and fans this past week. I wanted to share it here as well.


Dear SWAY friends,

So many of you have requested an update, that we figured it was about time to let you all know what is happening with SWAY.

First, we want to thank you all for your support and encouragement throughout this crazy endeavor of making a movie. We honestly couldn't have gotten this far without you. We are so very blessed to have such a great, diverse, investor and friend base to whom we are indebted.

We have finished the first rough cut of the movie, and it is 90 minutes and 22 seconds long. We have figured out what footage we still need and hope to film in the next month. Sarah has also compiled a blooper reel that is quite humorous. We are currently working on putting together a new trailer and hope to have it up in the next few weeks.

We recently met with a company about distribution. The owner was amazed at the amount of work that was accomplished almost all by volunteers. He seemed quite impressed and we are hoping to have the soundtrack on iTunes in late Spring.

Along with finishing the film itself, we have recently increased our networking capabilities on the web and have several new places for you to stay updated and follow up on what is going on with SWAY. You can follow us on:

TWITTER:
www.twitter.com/swaymovie

INDIEGOGO:
www.indiegogo.com/sway2010

BLOGSPOT
www.sustainedmomentum.blogspot.com

LINKEDIN
www.linkedin.com/in/dianelejeune

and this new SWAY profile page account that is sending this email. And as usual you can contact us on the SWAY group, the Feeling Good Entertainment page on Facebook, or via email at lejeune.diane@gmail.com, or lejeune.sarah@gmail.com.

As we finish post-production we covet your prayers, we still have a lot to learn and a lot of money to raise. Our most recent investors are Terry and Kelly Maples from Cincinnati, OH and they have been such an encouragement and blessing. If you are at all interested in becoming an investor in SWAY please contact Diane or Sarah. We really need continued financial support, and every little bit helps.

Please know we love you and are excited for you to see our first effort in making an independent full-length movie.

God Bless,

Diane and Sarah LeJeune

It's a God Thing

Attempt something so

impossible that unless

God is in it,

you are doomed to failure.

This has been my motto since grad. school in 1996. However, until this past year, I've never really attempted something this monumental. The making of the independent movie, Sway has pushed me further, in every way, than I could ever have imagined.

To give you a bit of insight into this project, I would like to share with you from the forward of a book that I'm writing entitled, It's a God Thing.

"My family is just an ordinary family; much like yours. We struggle to make ends meet financially, schedule too much in our busy days, fight over whose turn it is in the bathroom and have goals and dreams that we would love to see fulfilled.

I am sure that you would agree that while some challenges may be ordinary, the individuals who makeup our families are extraordinary. The same is true in the LeJeune home.

A few years back, while attending a seminar for my day job, I jotted down notes for a family Mission Statement. This lead to a Vision Statement, Purpose Statement, Guiding Principals, and Target Areas for the LeJeunes. I will not go into detail - that’s a book that may be written someday - but to give you the foundation for why we do what we do, it’s summed up in our family mission statement:

We exist to love and serve God, one another and our world.

One Guiding Principal outlines our commitment as a family to pursue excellence in our lives - to be the “best one on our row,” so to speak. One of the 4 Target Areas is the Arts. The kids play instruments, sing, write music, enjoy theatre, movies, museums, and so on.

It is this foundation from which my daughter, Sarah, believes that she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to do. Success, which I believe is defined as sustained momentum, has not always come easily to her, but yet she continues to persevere, learn and grow.

And so it is that kind of teenager, along with tons of help from lots of her good friends, who, with the complete support from her parents and brothers, has attempted the nearly impossible task of writing, directing, casting, acting, choreographing (with Betsy Foster), dancing, and singing in an Independent, motion picture musical for her first professional job. Sarah will be the first to tell you that God was in this endeavor every step of the way and that He brought just the right person at just the right time to help us. She completely knows that she could not have done it alone. There are over 100 friends and professionals who have made SWAY a reality."

 (c) 2009 Feeling Good Entertainment and Diane C. LeJeune

We have tried to live by this motto since we set out on their family adventure to Tennessee in 1997. We really have never fully experienced complete and total dependence on God at this level until we decided to make SWAY. Now I cannot imagine living any other way!

Philippians 4: 19-20 My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever.

Thanksgiving

Anyone who knows me, knows that Thanksgiving is by far my absolute favorite holiday. I find an attitude of gratitude to be so refreshing in myself and others. I want to share something with you for which Sarah and I are thankful.

In May and June of last year, we filmed a movie. We've NEVER done anything this monumental in size in our entire lives. We filmed 13, 14, 16, and 18 hours days when we were on set in Salisbury, NC. It was insane and for me especially, very tiring! But one factor (among many) that sustained our momentum during the insanity, was the amazing folks at the three locations where we filmed and again the rest of the locations in Nashville. For them, I am very grateful.

So, I want this 4th blog to be a bit different. Now please keep in mind that there are dozens and dozens of cast/crew/investors who are critical to any success SWAY might have, but I'd like to focus on the locations who helped two amateur film makers bring their story to life.

You can find a list of everyone involved on our SWAY Facebook Group Page!

We are grateful to:

Catawba College, Salisbury, NC (http://www.catawba.edu/)
National Dance Clubs, Bellevue, TN (http://www.nationaldanceclubs.com/)
Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN (http://www.trevecca.edu/)
Don, Teresa and Morgan Smith Family, Fairview, TN
Loew's Vanderbilt Hotel, Nashville, TN (http://www.loewshotels.com/)
Kraus Gallery, Nashville, TN (http://www.krausgallery.com/)
Parthenon/Centennial Park, Nashville, TN (www.nashville.gov/Parthenon)
Bellevue Church of Christ, Bellevue, TN (http://www.bellevuechurchofchrist.com/)
Steppin' Out Dance Studio, Spencer NC
Miss Amy's School of the Arts, Dickson, TN (http://www.missamysdance.com/)
The Isaacs (http://www.theisaacs.musiccitynetworks.com/)
Salisbury Florist, Salisbury, NC (http://www.flowersofsalisbury.com/)
Red Nose Lighting, Nashville, TN (http://www.rednoselighting.com/)
Rowan County Airport, Salisbury, NC (http://www.co.rowan.nc.us/)
315 Club, Salisbury, NC (http://www.threefifteen.com/)
Party Rentals, Salisbury, NC(http://www.partyrentalsplusnc.com/)
Cat's Music, Dickson, TN

If you ever have need of any of the services that these folks offer, please think of them first!

Philippians 1:3-4a
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of your, I always pray with joy.

Impacting your Sphere of Influence

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, 

which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10

I've started attending a new women's Bible study at my church.  We have just begun to read the book, So Long, Insecurity;  You've been a bad friend to us, by Beth Moore.  At first I was a bit skeptical since I feel like I have worked through so many of my insecurities, but I was quite happily surprised to be very inspired by something I read in Chapter 2.  

Her first comment that I underlined reads:

"Scripture claims that believers in Christ are enormously gifted people." (p15)

She follows a few pages later with:

"If you know Jesus Christ personally, He has chosen you, too, and has appointed you to accomplish something good.  Something that matters.  Something prepared for you before time began (Ephesians 2:10).  Something meant to have a serious impact within your sphere of influence."  (p18)

I totally believe that every human being is blessed with special gifts and talents by God.  As parents, we have a imperative responsibility to help our children discover these God-given gifts in themselves, and develop them.  We must encourage young people to give their best effort and use each talent to the fullest for God's glory.  As adults, I believe we must continue to be good stewards of our talents as we serve God and others.

What are your talents/gifts?  Are you accomplishing good for God's glory?  Are the good deeds prepared before time began being wasted while you ignore your gifts?  Are you having a serious impact within your sphere of influence?

I love the idea that God could use even me to impact my world.  Am I always successful at my attempts to use my talents and change my world for the better - heck no!  But as I keep focusing on sustained momentum in every aspect of my life, I'm hopeful to do a much better job!  And no matter how I fail, God is there to sustain me.

So as usual that brings me to my SWAY update.  We are still doing our best to keep sustained momentum for Sway.  And with God's blessing this week, we accomplished that goal.  We've been working since June of 2009 to get the movie edited.  And we've had a couple of false starts, but yesterday, in earnest the rough draft is officially underway!  Sarah estimates that nearly 45 minutes of the 96 minute movie (est.) is completed (rough).  Its tremendously exciting!  And she even cried today as she finished editing the final scene!  Pretty cool.   For my efforts, it looks like we've hired an accountant.  We needed one two months ago, but today the deal is complete and the software to do our books was purchased.  Its funny, both Sarah and I needed software for very different tasks, and God met our needs.

What I want you to see is that Sarah and I are gifted in such different ways.  Sarah is so creative and technologically savvy.  And I'm the organized, behind the scenes, running the business side of things person.  She and I make a pretty good team - God designed it that way.  But what if one of us didn't use our God-given gifts?  We'd stop any sustained momentum dead in its tracks!  Yay God for perfectly gifting your children!

I really hope that this verse in Ephesians inspires you to look for every opportunity and to listen for the Holy Spirit's call in your life to willingly use your talents and gifts to impact your sphere of influence.

Wait On The Lord

There are times when sustained momentum seemed impossible over the past year. When Sarah and I wrote the story for SWAY on Interstate 10 on our Louisiana road trip in December, 2008, who would have guessed that we'd be in post-production on a full-length film a year later. In some ways, time has gone by so very quickly, and in other ways, I can't believe we're still working on the rough edit.

We have learned hundreds of new things this past year that we had no idea of last year. We've learned things like where to place a camera on the set, how to set up lighting, costuming, casting, contracts, copyright information, software, screenwriting, how to start a Limited Liability Company - just to give you a few examples. Honestly, though, I believe that the single most impactful thing we have learned this year is to better . . . wait on the Lord and to be patient. Of course, we still have a lot to learn but we are doing a much better job of relying on the Lord and waiting on his perfect timing. Everything that we've accomplished to this point was clearly guided by God's perfect will and timing. It's not been easy but its been so worth it.

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait for the Lord's help find renewed strength;
They rise up as if they had eagle's wings,
They run without growing weary,
They walk without getting tired.

Sway Update

If you are reading this and do not know what SWAY is, then let me share. Sway is a 96 minute (approx.) movie musical that my daughter and I were inspired to make. It's a very fun story line with great music. All the music that's included was inspired by Michael Buble's renditions. Sarah selected songs that weave perfectly through the story. We've also recorded ten songs for a cd to accompany the dvd. The story is a college boy meets college girl romance where they fall in love, experience heartache in breakup and an eventually love brings them back together. There's fun choreography and dance scenes throughout the beautiful campus at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC.

We are still looking for investors. We have approximately 35 investors to this point. Some have given us $20 and some have invested $1,000. If you have an interest in learning more about SWAY and making it a reality, let us know. You can contact us at either:
sway2010@gmail.com or www.swaythemovie.com (paypal option) or on Facebook (SWAY group page).

Just to keep you in the loop, next we are working on:

Licensing for the cd - approx. cost - $1,500
Merchandising - approx. cost - $2,400
CD manufacturing - approx. cost - $250
Music production - $8,000

We are hoping to have the cd available on ITunes by April 1st. We continue to invest, ourselves, and would love others to come along side us to help see SWAY become a reality. Thanks so much to our latest investors: Terry and Kelly Maples of Cincinnati, OH. We are so grateful to our family and friends who believe in this special project.

You can check out the SWAY teaser at www.swaythemovie.com. We should have a new trailer posted in the next few weeks!

Remember, Wait On The Lord and rest in his perfect timing. We're trying to! God bless.