Beware of DROA

Recently a client of ours received a bill in the mail for their domain name renewal. They sent a check for $50 because the bill said their domain would expire in short order if they didn't pay.

This was a deceitful payment request from the Domain Registry of America (DROA). Fortunately, the hosting company was able to block the transfer. Be careful if you are solicited for renewal of your domain name. Contact your hosting provider if you have any doubts about the authenticity of a bill.

Sadly, the DROA was ruled against by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just 3 years ago but seems to still be up to their old tricks: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/12/domainreg.htm

Not surprisingly, the "Domain Registry of America" is actually a Canadian company. Even their name is dishonest, it would appear.

If you are attacked by the DROA, or any other scammer you can file a complaint on the FTC website. And do not pay any bill unless you are 100% certain you have a prior relationship with the company. Contact us if you have any questions and we'll be happy to help.

Stage 2 Studios Receives Corporate Sponsor Recognition

Stage 2 Studios was recognized Wednesday by the Palmer, Alaska Chamber of Commerce as a corporate sponsor. We are assisting with the chamber's website, integrating a new content management system (CMS) to better enable chamber staff to make updates and add content.

Creating an Effective Fundraising Video for a Non Profit

One of the best things about my job is that I get to combine things that inspire me with my imagination to create something new and exciting. Recently, our company was provided the opportunity to create a promotional video for a non-profit auto repair shop in the vein of American Chopper or Monster Garage. As a fan of of the shooting style of "Chopper" I was intrigued by the challanges of creating a fast cut style similar to the show while mainting the project's underlying theme: The need to raise funds to continue their services to the community. So... basically the challenge was to create a 10 minute video that was very exciting but also pulled on the heartstrings.

In doing research and planning for the project we decided that with documentary style shooting incorporating ambient audio we could really place the viewer right in the middle of the action. Accepting nothing but the best I teamed up with Frozen Lake Studios owner Jeff Morgan to provide audio support services. (http://www.frozenlakestudios.com) The result - Phenominal natural audio that really helped tell the story.

I knew that by combining the documentary feel with emotional and high impact shooting we knew we could really emphasize the emotional aspect of our story. We knew we'd need to interview members of the RightWay team but I really wanted to contrast those interviews with the interviews with clients of the agency. So... we decided to shoot the team interviews in the shop with activity of the repairs in the background, while for the client interviews we shot with almost nothing in the background, drawing attention to their heart and emotion. Tim Donor,
director of Rightway Automotive was able to provide interviews with two absolutely perfect clients. The result - A stunning portrayal of one of the coolest non profits in Alaska.

The video was unveiled for the first time at a fundraiser for Rightway in mid February and as a result raised a substantial amount of money for the program. All in all, it was a very successful project. By coupling the emotion of the story with impressive, high impact shooting and editing this project impacted all that saw it.

For a direct link to the completed video:
Rightway Video

To learn more about Rightway Automotive:
Rightway Website