“I’ve come up with aspectacularidea for our next project.” He taps on the table in quick succession like he’s playing the drums, then cheers, “We’re going to Australia!”
Chapter 2
jett
Sofía’s so excited she’s stopped speaking.
My idea is great, but I didn’t expect to stun her into silence.
Bright rays of California sun pour in from the large windows, illuminating the strands of her hair into soft molten-brown spirals I want to curl around my finger. I scan over her face—the high cheekbones and full lips, the long lashes batting over deep-brown eyes—as I recommit her beauty to memory.
Ice rattles in my empty cup while I spin the straw, waiting for Sofía to process. Ever since we finished production for theAliens of the Deepdocumentary I helped fund and produce, I’ve been searching for a new project.
For a long time, I dedicated my channel to harmless pranks and small skits, but I’ve slowly changed direction and started sharing content I’m interested in, like deep-sea creatures. To my surprise, my viewers welcomed the shift with open arms and demanded more.
But since the documentary, I’ve been stuck.
No new ideas. No videos to post. The creative well is, well, empty.
I’ve relied on repurposed content and weekly highlights on nonprofit groups to keep myself relevant, but the anxiety of becoming a washed-up, irrelevant has-been is creeping up on me.
That is, until I saw a video of this dragon-dinosaur hybrid online. I was convinced it was AI, but it turned out to be a real bird found in the northern parts of Australia.
One spiral down the internet rabbit hole, a few podcasts, a nerdy conversation with Oliver about bugs, and the idea came to life. A series documenting the unique, wild nature found in Australia. Like with my deep-sea documentary, I knew I couldn’t execute it on my own, although the scale of the project wouldn’t be as large as convincing a research organization to let us use their boat.
I can film and produce this idea on my own without needing a production company to coordinate logistics and permits for the use of remotely operated vehicles.
While I don’t need a whole company, I do need someone who has experience coordinating large projects, keeping track of logistics, and, most importantly, who can have fun. Sofía was the only person who came to mind—the only one I wanted.
Doug, my videographer who met Sofía on the research vessel, told me I was batting out of my league by trying to convince her to work with us.She’ll never agree,he said.She has a great job she loves.
Well, she did agree (after a lot of begging on my part), and now she has an even more kick-ass job she loves.
Take that, Doug.
“We’re…what?” she finally says, eyes wide with excitement. Or uncertainty. I can’t tell.
“Headed to the Land Down Under. That’s my idea. I want to highlight the nature and animals that live there.” A new notebook appears out of thin air, and her hand flies across the page. “My thought is we could spend a few weeks traveling around the country. It would give Doug and me enough time to film content and for us to also explore.”
I list off the animals or areas I’d like to visit, and she diligently takes notes. This is precisely why I hired her. She has the skill set to take my ideas and bring them to life in a way I can’t. Sometimes I can’t focus on a single task, torn between thirty different things I’ve started. Other times, I become so hyperfocused that the world fades away.
The perks of having ADHD.
“When do you want to go?” she asks, clicking and unclicking her pen.
If it were only me and my camera, I would leave tomorrow, but to execute this properly, there needs to be a plan in place. An itinerary. Bookings and reservations.
“Sooner the better. How long would it take you to plan?”
“Depends on the budget, what you want to accomplish, the people going, visas, things like that, but I would guess a week to plan, and then once I have approval, I could book everything.”
“There’s no budget.” A laugh rips out of my lungs when she jerks back. “It would be me, Doug, Molly, and I want our friends to join us for a section of the trip.”
“So the people going would be you, Doug, Molly, Charlie, Mateo, Amy, and Oliver?”
It’s been far too long since I’ve seen all our friends, Sofía included, in one place—the last time being at the premiere forAliens of the Deepa few months back. Charlie and Mateo could only take a few days off from their PhD work, and Amy, Charlie’s best friend, couldn’t afford more than two days off from the café where she works. Oliver, Mateo’s best friend from college, only stayed long enough for the premiere, having to return to England for a family event.
It’s about time we all hung out together again, and where better than Australia?
