Today the person to whom I want to say thank you and focus on has contributed to my passion for writing. Never in a million years did I expect or anticipate the support received from this person. Sunday afternoon, January 18, 2015, while the team for the hair salon owner’s video shoots was setting up, I became “tutorial-ready” as Ms. Sherri Thomas’ demonstration model. “You are going to need to lose the gum…it can pick up sound…” was one thing said to me by this person who told me he was in charge for the day. A little later, I guess he came up with a thought or already had this idea formed in his head because he asked me, “Can you dance?” My head was hanging over in the shampoo bowl at this point, “Ha! NO!” I laughed. I thought to myself, the only dancing I did was with my older sister growing up, most times in our bedroom in front of the mirror—PRIVATE DANCERS! Anyway, he had this whole idea created in his brain. At the end of the shoot for the tutorial, I was thinking “what in the world…” because someone literally had her son come to the salon to teach me the Sha-nay-nay in the matter of minutes (I guessed I spelled it right. I never heard of it until that day). This writer, producer, and director had me humiliating myself repeatedly until he was satisfied with the shot. (Seriously, everyone said it was fine, I just felt ridiculous…lol!) This is how I met Mr. Michael D. Francis.
Michael specializes in taking projects from concept to completion. He has worked in various production roles for many shows, to name a few: Nellyville, Judge Judy, Survivor, Biggest Loser, The Voice, America’s Got Talent, Let’s Make a Deal, and Judge Faith. So for a writer like me, where writing is not my actual field of work, it is humbling to have someone who is “walking in” their craft every day to pull you into one of their personal projects they are working on to help someone else. For some reason they believe you can do what they need done. He has taken time to pay attention to the fact that I write without me ever mentioning it or hinting for him to notice. He has taken time to make me aware of workshops/events or other opportunities for writers. Michael even recently took an opportunity to recommend me to a university professor to write a piece for a film project still under production. These are all the types of things that make me thankful for Michael’s thoughtfulness and generosity. So that generosity deserves just a little bit of embarrassment from me. J
Michael prides himself in helping others achieve their dreams and reach their goals. It shows and I can definitely vouch for that. A Californian, he keeps many St. Louis people in the entertainment field working. Michael shares that he is working to bring more production and entertainment options to St. Louis. The hope is to expand the opportunities for the talent pool that exist here. You should also know that Michael has written, shot, produced, and/or directed web content that has captured millions of views for up-and-coming comedians to comedic veterans, like Mike Epps. However, do not be fooled, Michael’s production work reaches beyond the entertainment arena into the world of unsung heroes like the non-profit, The Korey Johnson Foundation (http://www.koreyjohnsonfoundation.com).
A guy who likes to stay behind the scenes without a lot of fanfare, Mr. Michael D. Francis is developing multiple shows of his own based right here in or “about” St. Louis. He hopes to have them on the air within the next year. Yeah, I think it is time for someone to come out of the shadows.
https://www.facebook.com/michael.d.francis.10/about
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