Full Company Meetings

Full Company Meeting 2016

State of the Studio - As of 2016-01-30 we are assured by Terminus Media that we will have 90 days from notification if we need to relocate the studio. There has not yet been any notification, so we are proceeding as normal.

What We're Working On

1. Monthly Newsletter
2. Monthly Podcast (ARTC's Podcast - primarily rebroadcasts of live performances)

Live Performances for 2016 (confirmed)

1. SF and Fantasy Expo (March 5-6)
2. 221B Con (April 1-3)
3. Treklanta (April 15-17) (website very infrequently updated)
4. Libertycon (July 8-10)
5. Dragon Con (Sept 2-5)
6. October show (date TBD)
7. An Atlanta Christmas (date TBD)

The Sound of Liberty

1. A grant-funded project
2. Intended to showcase classic science fiction that emphasizes the Bill of Rights
3. Projects in progress
   1. The Proper Thing to Do
   2. Lone Star Planet
   3. The Probability Broach

Studio Work

1. In Progress
   1. War of the Worlds: The Untold Story
   2. Treasure Island
   3. Nairobi Jack Rackham and the Lost Gold of the Atlantimengani
   4. Dash Cardigan
   5. Sherlock Holmes and the Crime of the Century
   6. Brotherhood of Damn Sassy Mutants
   7. Can You Hear Me?
   8. The House Across the Way
   9. Nothing-at-All
   10. Assorted shorts
   11. Live edits
       1. The Dunwich Horror
       2. The Shadow Over Innsmouth
       3. The Passion of Frankenstein
2. Upcoming for 2016
   1. Rory Rammer - entire series
   2. Sarabande for a Condemned Man
   3. The Horseman of the Hollow
   4. The Challenges of Brave Ragnar (full series)
   5. The Doom of the Mummy
   6. The Time Machine
   7. Bumpers Crossroads - entire series
   8. An Atlanta Christmas Vol. 2
   9. Assorted shorts

Distribution of Studio Work

1. Website (CD mail order only at this time)
2. Audible.com
3. Audiobooks.com
4. Findaway (libraries/military)
5. Skybrite
6. Audioflix
7. Bandcamp

Marketing

1. Social Media
   1. Facebook
   2. Twitter
   3. Instagram
   4. YouTube (URL is temporary - new YouTube channel will launch in 2016)
   5. Flickr
2. website
   1. Blog posts
   2. Photo Archive
   3. Staff page (not public-facing at this time - send bios and headshots to David ASAP)

Goals and Activities for 2016

Podcasting

1. Retire existing podcast
2. Stitcher
3. Convert to Centauri Express Audio Magazine
   1. Updates every 2 weeks
   2. Uses serialized content (Dash, Nairobi, Ragnar, etc)
   3. Other content TBD
      1. Interviews
      2. News
      3. Promos for other audio dramas
4. Form podcasting network for audio drama
5. Action Items
   1. Complete editing and QA on first two serials (Dash, Nairobi)
   2. Gather additional content from membership and/or outside sources (NPR contributor style - finished work should be submitted and can then be inserted into the episode)
   3. Develop "business plan" for podcasting network, then use that plan to curate and recruit members.

Live Performances

1. Monthly performances
2. Have an additional presence at conventions beyond performing
3. Action items
   1. Develop panel content on various parts of audio drama and ask conventions for panel slots
   2. Determine venue
   3. Recruit technical personnel for monthly shows
      1. Producers
      2. Directors
      3. Audio engineers

Studio Work

1. More producers
2. More directors
3. Documented pre-production procedure to help new producers streamline their process with best practices
4. Contracts for past, current, and upcoming productions
5. Keep The Producer's Checklist current

Writing Projects

1. As always, writers are encouraged to write what interests them. There are projects that could use attention, however.
2. Serials Needed
   1. Crimson Hawk (partial season completed)
   2. Season 2 for existing serials (Dash, Nairobi, Ragnar)
   3. Blues for Johnny Raven (pitch to Audible for potential funded project in progress)
   4. Create new serials
3. Sound of Liberty (link goes to list of available titles)
4. Script archiving/reformatting (authors are requested to provide electronic copies of scripts when available)

Revenue

1. Sponsors
   1. Sponsor conventions?
   2. Targeted approaches towards potential sponsors whose demographic we reach most often
   3. Develop sponsor kit with rates, audience stats (interpretation of Google Analytics would be helpful here)
2. Sales Opportunities
   1. Overall sales manager needed
   2. Better online sales presence
   3. Sales presence at conventions we are not performing at
   4. Merch
      1. Pins
      2. Patches
      3. Badge ribbons
      4. What else?
   5. On-demand merch (T-shirts, etc)
      1. Threadless (screen print/dye sub) (Artist's Shop not yet open - pending launch by Threadless)
      2. Queensboro (embroidered)
3. Donations
   1. Patreon
   2. Amazon Smile
   3. Direct donation via PayPal
4. Investigate addition distribution options
   1. CD distributors
   2. Additional electronic outlets (Downpour)

Marketing

1. Increase social media activiy (don't want to be obnoxious, but once every week or two isn't sufficient)
2. Increase blog posts on website
3. Complete photo archive (tagging photos, writing blog posts about them)
4. Convention ads
5. Individual outside blogs
   1. Asking them to do stories on us
   2. Placing ads when appropriate
6. Ads in programs for local theatre productions
7. Individual podcasts (ad placement when appropriate)
8. Auditions (new actors are new people to help spread the word)
9. Broadcast ads on terrestrial radio (not cheap)
10. Public relations - We need better engagement with our audiences
11. Writing articles for print publications (AJC, Creating Loafing, etc)

Awards/Reviews

1. Mark Time Awards
2. Sarah Awards
3. Grand Prix Nova
4. The Winter's Tales
5. Audio File Magazine
6. Individual blogs that review SF/Horror/Fantasy in general

Internal

1. Board restructuring (explanation too long for this forum - see a Board member for details)
2. Opportunities for involvement beyond production (listening sessions, writing groups, etc)
3. Guidebook for new members
4. General recommended resource - Drama Production Podcast

Strengths

1. High level of talent available for writers, actors, tech, etc.
2. Large script library
3. Tools and facilities to execute
4. History and legacy and quality
5. Experience
6. Could double our current number of titles within the next 2 years

Weaknesses

1. Tendency to be insular - We look within ourselves when we need help instead of recruiting the right people. This tends to cause results that are less than they could be or a habit of wasting an opportunity if the skillset is not immediately available.
2. Risk of the studio becoming a liability as we may focus on output over quality
3. Aging of the membership/leadership
4. "Poverty" mentality - While we don't have a lot of money, we do have some and need to be leveraging it strategically. We also don't think of ways to achieve goals that require money if we don't have enough - we tend to throw up our hands and say it can't be done. An excellent explanation of this is in the first 30 minutes of this Profitcast episode.