Excellent. Now let’s see if you have the chops to be an international spy!

The V.I.X.E.N. Network is RECRUITING and we need your help to solve a new mystery.

Yes, this is a test—AND it’s a test for which we have yet to find a solution! So here’s your chance to become a Level 1 spy in the world’s most elite, dynamic, undercover agency for change in the world!

Here’s your challenge: we recently received a series of six (6) postcards in the mail from an unknown sender. On the front side is a montage of seemingly random images—a different arrangement on every card—and a puzzle on the opposite side (we think they relate to the images on the front of their respective cards).

Each card is different from the next, so it appears we’ve received 6 clues to some mystery we don’t yet understand.
This message was included with the first card we received:

To Whom it May Concern at V.I.X.E.N. HQ ~

You’ve a triple agent in your midst. That agent is compromising their oath to V.I.X.E.N.’s mission and wreaking havoc in the time-space continuum.

The card in this envelope is one of a set of six containing clues related to anomalies we’ve been unable to explain over several decades. The puzzle on the back of the card resolves to 1/6th of a secret code.

You’ll receive another five cards over time, each with a puzzle that resolves to a part of the secret code. Once you have all six cards in your possession, we’ll send you to a protected website where we are housing all the files. Our hope is that you will see a connection and be able to help us to identify the culprit behind the anomalies, and stop them in their tracks before any more damage is done.

We’re not sure if we should take this information seriously or not, so have decided to use this as a tool for recruiting the world’s top thinkers and doers to potentially become V.I.X.E.N. agents.

For now we are distributing the cards as part of a pledging system—a sort of laundering of the cards through an innocuous project called “Real Girls Kick Ass”. It’ll be a great test of your commitment to the demanding life of being an international, and inter-dimensional, undercover agent.

Once you’ve pledged to this project, and the project has reached it goal and been funded, you’ll receive the cards. You will have a limited time to solve the puzzles, determine the secret code, enter the secret spy site and investigate the anomolies as best you can.

Although we do have a team inside V.I.X.E.N. working on this project attempting to figure out the code, we know that with your help we’ll get to a solution much faster.

We want everyone we can have working on this, so please head to the “Real Girls” project page and start working with us.

Best of luck!

- V.I.X.E.N. HQ

Vicky Vixen Pilot

“Vicky Vixen” is a highly creative mix of three very popular genres – comedy, action, and fantasy. Imagine, if you took the sassy brain of “Veronica Mars,” the comic book fantasy of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and mixed it with a big dose of humor and outrageous action from “Kick Ass,” then you get a hint of what this unique series will look and feel like.

“Vicky Vixen” is about the real and fantasy life of a likeable and geeky high school girl, Victoria Fox, and her alter ego, Vicky Vixen. Victoria experiences herself as a shy, uncoordinated, odd girl out – even though she’s quite brilliant. She really longs to be “normal,” but it’s hard when you have social challenges, a high IQ, and an overactive imagination. Victoria is also a compulsive reader – her current favorite subject is Cold War espionage.

Whenever life’s challenges become highly stressful, Victoria imagines how her favorite character, super spy Vicky Vixen, would handle the situation. When conjured up by Victoria’s imagination, Vicky Vixen morphs from an adventure novel character into a real flesh and blood alter ego – happy to defend Victoria by kicking ass! But when the lines blur between fantasy and reality, can Victoria put her “genie” back in the bottle before they are both found out? As the story progresses, it’s clear that Vicky Vixen has her own path and agenda.

Who’s Behind Those Creepy Dolls?!?

Ahhh, glad you asked! Here are some Behind the Scenes footage about the amazing (if a bit tweaked) team responsible for the creepy stuff, as well as the funny, outrageous, embarrassing, in-your-face stuff.

“Real Girls Kick Ass!” is our first non-fiction “girl power” project under the Vicky Vixen moniker and it profiles the struggles and triumphs of teen girls.  Mind you, these young women are not elite celebrities worshiped in the media—they are your friends, neighbors, classmates, those regular “girls next door” pursuing their dreams with passion and determination. These girls kick ass in many arenas: sports, academics, politics, arts – you name it.

Our pilot episode features Paige Van Zant, a petite 5’3” girl who kicks ass literally! Don’t let her size fool you, she can take down men nearly twice her size – you can see it in our video!  Learn how Paige transformed from a high school freshman who was physically bullied by older girls, into a mixed martial arts fighter competing in full contact matches. She’s not only tough – she’s academically bright. At only 17 years old, Paige is now taking college classes at a community college while she finishes high school.

Quips Paige: “I like surprising people…that this little blond girl can beat people up.”

We, the Vicky Vixen Team, are on an ongoing mission to bring entertaining, inspiring stories to girls on the cusp of discovering their hidden powers.  Enjoy the pilot episode of “Real Girls Kick Ass!”  We look forward to bringing you more! If you know a “real girl” with a great story who lives near Portland, Oregon, please contact us.  We want to hear from you!

“Real Girls Kick Ass!” is our first non-fiction “girl power” project under the Vicky Vixen moniker and it profiles the struggles and triumphs of teen girls.  Mind you, these young women are not elite celebrities worshiped in the media—they are your friends, neighbors, classmates, those regular “girls next door” pursuing their dreams with passion and determination. These girls kick ass in many arenas: sports, academics, politics, arts – you name it.

Our pilot episode features Paige Van Zant, a petite 5’3” girl who kicks ass literally! Don’t let her size fool you, she can take down men nearly twice her size – you can see it in our video!  Learn how Paige transformed from a high school freshman who was physically bullied by older girls, into a mixed martial arts fighter competing in full contact matches. She’s not only tough – she’s academically bright. At only 17 years old, Paige is now taking college classes at a community college while she finishes high school.

Quips Paige: “I like surprising people…that this little blond girl can beat people up.”

We, the Vicky Vixen Team, are on an ongoing mission to bring entertaining, inspiring stories to girls on the cusp of discovering their hidden powers.  Enjoy the pilot episode of “Real Girls Kick Ass!”  We look forward to bringing you more! If you know a “real girl” with a great story who lives near Portland, Oregon, please contact us.  We want to hear from you!

Vicky Vixen Pilot

“Vicky Vixen” is a highly creative mix of three very popular genres – comedy, action, and fantasy. Imagine, if you took the sassy brain of “Veronica Mars,” the comic book fantasy of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and mixed it with a big dose of humor and outrageous action from “Kick Ass,” then you get a hint of what this unique series will look and feel like.

“Vicky Vixen” is about the real and fantasy life of a likeable and geeky high school girl, Victoria Fox, and her alter ego, Vicky Vixen. Victoria experiences herself as a shy, uncoordinated, odd girl out – even though she’s quite brilliant. She really longs to be “normal,” but it’s hard when you have social challenges, a high IQ, and an overactive imagination. Victoria is also a compulsive reader – her current favorite subject is Cold War espionage.

Whenever life’s challenges become highly stressful, Victoria imagines how her favorite character, super spy Vicky Vixen, would handle the situation. When conjured up by Victoria’s imagination, Vicky Vixen morphs from an adventure novel character into a real flesh and blood alter ego – happy to defend Victoria by kicking ass! But when the lines blur between fantasy and reality, can Victoria put her “genie” back in the bottle before they are both found out? As the story progresses, it’s clear that Vicky Vixen has her own path and agenda.

Who’s Behind Those Creepy Dolls?!?

Ahhh, glad you asked! Here are some Behind the Scenes footage about the amazing (if a bit tweaked) team responsible for the creepy stuff, as well as the funny, outrageous, embarrassing, in-your-face stuff.

Travis Buffington, camera operator, editor, After Effects artist

The Dude still abides in Travis Buffington. After recouping from a broken leg (a 720 kickflip broke bad), Travis was ready to nap his skateboard and get back to film work. My good luck. Travis stepped up to the plate and helped me completely humiliate myself for the Kickstarter video. First, he operated the camera for all of the green screen work. Next, with surgical precision, he cut me out of the background. It’s done digitally, so it doesn’t hurt too bad. After editing the whole shebang, he created motion graphics & text and layered in photos and sound effects. Whew, what a job!

Travis is a badass cameraman who doesn’t believe in Facebook. He specializes in beautiful time-lapse photography and gnarly skateboard footage – with and without protruding bones!

Sam Garr, assistant director

Sam arrived to the Kickstarter shoot about an hour late. I don’t know, something about a real paying gig he was shooting. Jeeze, priorities! When he arrived, we were already behind schedule – I guess we missed him. Sam started cracking the whip like a good assistant director should. Next thing I knew, we were back on track. Sam also gave me valuable feedback on my performance – which kept me from sucking too bad.

In the indie film world, Sam is a triple threat. He’s proficient at producing, shooting, and post-production. He’s a very intimidating guy. He sounds just like Dr. Evil and has the same haircut too.

Chris Miller, chief lighting technician

Chris showed up in the studio for our Kickstarter shoot with three huge carts of lights and grip equipment: flags, c stands, sandbags, the works. He said he might bring a couple of extra lights… What a guy! Turns out, he would need his whole bag of tricks to make me look respectable. Well… as respectable as one can look wearing a silly blue suit with Doberman Pincher ears. And the way Chris lit the green screen – it was so beautiful, I cried.

Chris owns and operates Mastermind Video, a full service video production company. In addition to quality lighting, Chris is an excellent camera operator. He can really do it all – but he specializes in covering live events and action sports.

Kevin Hassenkopf, teleprompter operator

When Kevin jumps into the ocean on the set of “Bay Watch,” he doesn’t get wet – the ocean gets “Hoffed.” No wait, I think that’s supposed to be a David Hasselhoff joke. I get those two guys mixed up. They are both annoyingly handsome and have similar funny sounding names. David might have more fans in Germany, but he can’t rock a teleprompter like Kevin. When I made my Kickstarter video, I had never used a teleprompter before. Kevin was a totally awesome pro and made me look great! Well… he helped me suck far less.

In addition to awesome teleprompting, Kevin is a stellar production assistant and up and coming camera assistant. Oh yeah, he’s also a smooth operator – camera that is!

Mien Yockmann, sound mixer

On the day of our Kickstarter video shoot, Mien was really sick. He had a temperature and his voice sounded awful. I was surprised he didn’t ask to sit the shoot out, but he didn’t want to let me down – especially since he had the key to the studio. That’s one of the many things I love about Mien – his loyalty and dependability. Plus, he was willing to loan me his wig for my drag scene. Like I have said many times, Mien is a man of many talents! No, I won’t say anymore. You’ll have to ask him about that yourself.

Mien operates his own video production company, Once Upon a Stage Productions. He offers a smorgasbord of services that include videography, editing, sound, music, and CG animation. He also generously shares his knowledge by teaching video production to high school and college students.

Curtis Christianson, lighting technician

Curtis is the “silent but deadly” type. Wait, I don’t mean it like THAT. What I mean is that Curtis is deadly serious about his work and he doesn’t run his yap all the time. Don’t get me wrong, he’s very social and has a good sense of humor. But when he is on set, he doesn’t mess around. Curtis grew up on a farm baling hay, so he knows how to jump in and work his ass off! Curtis was a super multi-tasker on my set: grip, electrician, slate master, and script notes. And he performed them all extremely well!

Curtis is a rising star as a professional lighting technician. No one works harder or hustles more than Curtis. He also has a keen eye for catching mistakes on camera before it’s too late.

Christina Kortum, make up, FX make up

When I asked Christina if she would help me with my Kickstarter video, I told her she would be doing glamour make up. She was very excited, since she’s mostly hired for special effects (FX) make up. You know, monsters like zombies, vampires, and politicians. When she found out that her assignment was to turn me into a woman, she threatened to quit. “Damnit Randy, I’m a make up artist, not a surgeon!” After her shock and disgust subsided, she accepted the project as a professional challenge.

Actually, we had a lot of fun on the shoot. Christina worked diligently and poured on the glamour – lots of eye make up, false eyelashes, and red lipstick to match my blouse. When she was done, she succeeded in transforming me into a… well… a monster. But a very glamorous one! Seriously, Christina is very capable of doing excellent glamour make up (with a proper subject) in addition to severed limbs. In the Vicky Vixen pilot, she made Vicky look both hot and scary!

Christina owns Ravenous Studios, which has been super busy lately creating make up effects for a variety of film projects. You can soon see some of Christina’s prosthetic work on the upcoming NBC fantasy series “Grimm.”

Vicky Vixen the  Webseries

Randolph Sellars, Writer + Director

Profile written by Adrienne Fritze.

The Kickstarter Video Explains it All

Sometime during my first creative meeting with Randy, I remember asking myself, “What the hell does this middle aged guy know about being a teenage girl?!?” He told me about his daughter Meghan. We talked about my daughter Talus. We swapped our parent-of-a-girl stories, and it was somewhere in there that I realized Randy didn’t really know squat about being a girl, but what he could do, and does in spades, is listen.

Now, mind you, this isn’t the hearing-with-your-ears kind of listening. No sirree. This is the kind where you listen with your ears, eyes, mind and heart. It’s the kind of listening where empathy is at its peak.

It’s what makes Randy so valuable to his clients–he can tell their story not because he knows it–rather because THEY know it and where he shines  is in translating that into words and moving pictures that move, touch and inspire others.

So, by the time we got to our next creative meeting, I knew he was the perfect man to tell this teenage angst and awkward story about Victoria Fox and her journey to self confidence and bold living through her alter ego Vicky Vixen.

Not too long after those early meetings, it was time for us to craft the pitch for our Kickstarter campaign. Randy was a bit attached to the idea of having one of the actors take the viewers through the projects we were brainstorming and storyboarding. But I knew better than to let someone other than Randy tell this story. It was his sensitivity, his wicked humor, his collaborative practice–his listening–that brought the Vicky Vixen pilot to life. I knew it had to be HIM in front of the camera this time.

He writes about Victoria unleashing the volatile genie Vicky from her imagination, so I knew there had to be a wellspring somewhere inside that semi-conservative exterior. Randy took my gentle urging to be the one to tell this story himself, and then he let the inner landscape of personalities erupt.

I love it when I’m right. };-}

If you haven’t checked out the “Real Girls Kick Ass” Kickstarter video, go check it out now. Let us know what you think of the audacious inner universe of our very talented story telling genie, Randy Sellars, and make a pledge to keep the Genie on the outside.

The following profiles were written by Randolph Sellars.

Mien Yockmann

Mien is one of my favorite all time collaborators. And the reason is quite simple – he’s one of the smartest people I know. I don’t believe there is a subject on this great earth that Mien doesn’t know SOMETHING about! Astrophysics – check, biochemistry – check, computer science – check, music theory, Soviet literature, Italian Neorealism… get the picture? Of course, he can’t tie his own shoes, but who cares?

Fortunately for me, Mien is also a very talented filmmaker. He is brilliant at writing, editing, visual effects, and music. He’s helped me on Vicky Vixen with all of these skills. I’ve had great collaborations on many projects with Mien over many years. He has talents that compensate for my weaknesses. And his strengths complement and enhance my strengths. More recently, I invited Mien to join me as a writer on the Vicky Vixen project. With an eye on transmedia storytelling, we have expanded the grand narrative of the Vicky Vixen universe to include amazing new storylines that take place in the past, present, and future.

Mien is the owner of Once Upon A Stage Productions. He produces a diverse range of projects for his clients, utilizing all of his above mentioned skills as well as high quality computer animation. Mien also teaches video post-production classes at the Art Institute of Portand, Oregon.

Vicky Vixen Spy Game

Adrienne Fritze – creative director, lead story designer

I first met Adrienne on Facebook. I checked her out thoroughly and liked what I saw! So, we started hanging out together to see if we were compatible as possible partners. Her kids liked me. Her mother liked me. Her dog REALLY liked me. So we got down to business pretty quickly and it was awesome! No wait! It’s not what you think! I’m already happily married. Adrienne and I are BUSINESS partners. Seriously, it has turned into a great match. Working with Adrienne has totally supercharged the Vicky Vixen project! She brings new and exciting business and creative skills to the project – including transmedia storytelling experience.

In addition to her advertising experience, Adrienne is a creative entrepreneur who has been creating transmedia projects since the late 80’s – before it even had a name! Adrienne created a popular series of live action role playing games in Japan called the Black Ink Mysteries. Next, came serial publications Ryukyu Quarterly, a print magazine, and Metrozine digital magazine, a project way ahead of its time. Back in the US, Adrienne developed and organized a city-wide festival in Portland called FIRE: Women in Music, Film and the Arts, showcasing the artistic works of women from all over the world. The festival spanned 30-days in 9 live locations in Portland, with reporting and sharing that connected via a website on the internet. Interestingly enough, FIRE also pre-dated another country-wide successful project, The Lilith Fair, by a year and a half.

Colwyn Fritze-Moor – transmedia developer, story consultant

Warning, Colwyn is a dangerous kid! No, he’s not wanted by the FBI or anything that sinister. Although, there was that Facebook hacking incident… Mark Z. was pretty embarrassed, so nothing ever came of it. What I meant to say is this: It can be dangerous to your adult ego if you hang around with Colwyn too long. He’s just too brilliant at everything he does. And he’s a good-looking and polite 18-year-old, which really pisses me off. He doesn’t MEAN to make you feel inferior. Damn smarty pants.

All right, I really AM glad that he’s on MY team. I was really lucky to get him too. Amid job offers in Washington D.C. and Salem, OR working for congressman Earl Blumenauer and governor John Kitzhaber, he decided to stay in Portland and work at Artful Phoenix where he is now Associate Transmedia Producer and Chief Technologist working on web and game design. I’m so glad that his mother let him play video games. OK, I’ll admit it – Colwyn is my secret weapon. With his age, hipness, and brilliance, he’s the indispensable guy for our project – bridging youthful culture and technology with adult responsibility and experience.

Randolph Sellars – Baditude Entertainment CEO

Profile written by Adrienne Fritze.

What the funk?!?

Creative genius can be a funky thing. Ofttimes the visionary artist on a project, though brilliant, can drive you mad. Quirks in personality, superstitious habits, awkward behaviors can show up in some of these artists at the most inconvenient times.

Randy is a brilliant creative. Fortunately for his cast, crew and exec team, he is NOT one of those artists whose very essence leads you to insanity, just insanely playful professionalism. Turns out his funky thang shows up in front of the camera, which is indeed a fortunate thing for our Kickstarter project!

I’ve worked with a lot of right-brained folk, and a lot of left-brained folk, and Randy has a great balance of both. He’s a seasoned creator of films, commercials, and anything to do with moving pictures. He’s skilled at creating and managing tight budgets while finessing the very best out of people, equipment and media to make a production top drawer stuff. Randy is wickedly humorous (which includes a healthy dose of slapstick), gentle and firm on the set, and one of the best creative collaborators I’ve worked with in my 35+ years in the business of storytelling. It helps that he too has passed the mark of 50 (in human years, 350 in dog years!) so on those days when I’ve got a hitch in my get-along I know he’s got some ointment, herb or tea suggestion to cure whatever ails me.

I often tell my business partners and professional colleagues that he’s the best client and project partner I’ve ever worked with. I’m telling you that now too. Just the absolute best. Ask the Dalai Llama. He knows it on a first-hand basis. ;)


The following profiles were written by Randolph Sellars.

Adrienne Fritze – Artful Phoenix Studio, CEO + CCO

The day that I met Adrienne, my whole world changed. Well, maybe not my whole world – but certainly the world of Vicky Vixen. I thought I was looking for a marketing person to help me promote my Vicky Vixen webseries. At the end of our first meeting, I ended up with a business development partner as well as a badass marketing guru! What the hell happened? I don’t really know – she put some kind of spell on me that hasn’t worn off yet. It’s not a problem though – I’ve just joined a group of very cool people who are also under her spell. It’s not like we are a bunch of zombies under the control of a voodoo mistress… although I get tickled at the thought of that image.

Really interesting people can’t help being drawn toward Adrienne’s amazing energy. That’s because Adrienne is a “dream come true” maker. She has this uncanny ability and history of helping people, especially artists, make their dreams come true by inspiring, coaching, and organizing them so they can reach their goals. Adrienne is uniquely qualified for this because she is a talented artist herself AND an accomplished businesswoman and entrepreneur. In my case, Adrienne has helped me to expand my dream in both a creative and pragmatic way. Working together now as a symbiotic team, we have the vision and the plan to expand Vicky Vixen, the webseries, into a fully realized transmedia brand that will kick ass on a multitude of existing and emerging platforms.

Adrienne is not just a positive and creative rah, rah cheerleader type… although she does perform cartwheels and backward hand-springs quite gracefully. She has real world business and advertising experience. As Senior Account Director and acting Director of Client Services at USWeb/CKS Portland (now part of Razorfish), Adrienne was an integral part of several early cross- media campaigns for several top corporate clients including adidas, xBox, and Samsung USA.

Samsung USA was Adrienne’s direct client, and her team created one of the first cross-media story campaigns ever for their ground-breaking portable music players. Yep, these amazing devices pre-dated the iPod and were a big hit for her client. She created compelling storylines for their new electronic products and developed an interactive interstitial story site. She then enhanced these stories with a successful print and web campaign.

There’s a lot more to Adrienne – check out her additional entrepreneurial credits under The Vicky Vixen Spy Game heading. She’s a tireless and creative workaholic who will late into the night until it’s right. Just don’t mess with her before morning coffee and 10AM!

Colwyn Fritze-Moor – Artful Phoenix Studio, Associate Transmedia Producer

When I first met Colwyn, I immediately knew he was a unique individual. Even though the occasion was very casual, Colwyn was wearing a jacket and tie. From the waist up, he looked way too business-like (in my opinion) for a typical 18–year-old. Before you jump to the conclusion that Colwyn is a complete fashion nerd, you should know that he balanced his clothing ensemble from the waist down with well-worn jeans and Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers. I’ve since learned that he has several different colors and patterned “Chucks” to choose from depending on the occasion and the particular task at hand.

Not long into our first meeting, I realized that Colwyn was a “wunderkind.” The term wunderkind (from German: “wonder child”) is sometimes used as a synonym for prodigy, particularly in media accounts. This designation places him in the rarified company of people like Orson Welles, Michael Jackson, Pablo Picasso, and Bobby Fisher. OK, I may be hyping a little bit, but I fully expect Colwyn to become the Steven Spielberg of transmedia producing. He has the intellect, the creativity, and the mastery of current technology.

Oh yeah, did I mention that Colwyn is also mature and capable beyond his years? At the young age of 18, he’s already bagged some impressive jobs. He was the Phone Bank Manager on the Kitzhaber for Governor Campaign (that’s the guy who won the Oregon governor’s election by 12,000 votes). He was also a Project Manager for Working Artists Network and he even started his own business in web design before graduating high school! Colwyn is our point man for technology development – and he also heads our top secret panel of teen advisors. Their function is to help keep me current and avoid any “un-cool” content blunders.

Paige Van Zant

Paige Van Zant was our first “real girl” story. What a great way to kick off our series – by profiling a young woman who kicks ass literally. Paige is a 17-year- old, 5’3” dynamo who lives with her family in Reno, Nevada. Don’t let her petite stature fool you. This cute “little girl” can take you down in seconds with a flurry of body punches and a knock out kick to the head! In just over a year, she has become highly proficient in mixed martial arts – a lethal combination of western and eastern fighting disciplines. She’s honed her full contact fighting skills mixing it up with boys and older women in the ring. When she turns 18, she plans to compete in fully sanctioned MMA matches.

Paige is not just physically skilled and disciplined. She is a high achiever academically as well. Paige attends a community college where she is finishing her high school requirements and getting college credits. Her current focus and passion is the culinary arts. Be nice to her and she may serve you up a gourmet meal. Treat her wrong, and she’ll serve YOU up as hamburger meat!

Crew

Sam Garr, Director of Photography

Sam Garr has been my “go to” guy for many years now. He’s always been my first choice as a “B” camera and Steadicam operator when I’m shooting. He’s now become my “go to” Director of Photography when I’m directing. Sam shot the beautiful interview footage of Paige as well as her kicking ass! We had to edit out the sound of Sam’s laughter whenever Paige knocked the stuffing out of her poor sparring partner. OK, I laughed nervously too. We were both just thankful it wasn’t us taking a pounding!

Sam has been in high demand for several years as an ace camera assistant for feature films and commercials. Part of his success is that he is super tech savvy. He has an iPhone camera app for every situation. He now kicks ass as a camera operator and Director of Photography on a multitude of projects.

Hollie Metrick, editor

Hollie is my patron saint of “kick ass.” She has been invaluable to me in many capacities on several projects. On “Real Girls,” she rocked on the set and in the editing room. As Paige was pounding her padded opponent in the gym, Hollie was sound recording every powerful punch and kick. In the editing room, Hollie pulled out all her tricks to fully tell Paige’s story. She skillfully inter-weaved Paige’s interview footage with her ferocious fighting skills – and added a proud father’s unique perspective. The results deliver to the audience a succinct and satisfying glimpse into the life of this inspiring young woman.

Hollie is currently kicking ass on the hit series “Leverage.” She’s quickly moved from camera department intern to camera production assistant.

Travis Buffington, “The Dude”

Travis has been my one of my main dudes for quite some time. He wears many filming hats so well; there is no appropriate title for him other than “The Dude.” On “Real Girls,” Travis was an awesome gaffer for Paige’s interview session. She looks great, doesn’t she? During the actual shooting, Travis operated the “behind the scenes” camera. Later that day, he followed all the fight action in the gym with a handheld light. His rad skateboarding abilities enabled him to rock this task with Zen-like mastery.

Travis is a badass cameraman. He specializes in time-lapse photography and gnarly skateboard footage. A recent broken leg at the skateboard park barely slowed him down. “The Dude” is back in action!

Mien Yockmann, sound mixer, still photographer

Mien is always a busy guy – so I was lucky to have him as a member of my lean dream team. Mien also wears many hats well. This time around, he started the day as my sound mixer for Paige’s interview. Despite the usual location recording challenges (barking dogs, cars, lawn mowers), the sound quality was impeccable. Later in the day, Mien showed off his action photography skills in the sparring gym. He looked like a combat photographer storming the beaches of Normandy, diving to the ground and rolling to perfectly capture Paige frozen in a mid-air kick! I still have buried shrapnel from that shoot – stuck in my head!

Mien operates his own video production company, Once Upon a Stage Productions. He offers a smorgasbord of services that include videography, editing, sound, music, and CG animation. He also generously shares his knowledge by teaching video production to high school and college students.

Big Thanks to My Crew!

So many amazing and talented crew people collaborated with me on the Vicky Vixen pilot over many days, that there is not room on this page to list everyone or adequately profile each person individually. I would like to thank each of my team again (you know who you are) and acknowledge their valuable contribution of talent, time, and energy. I truly could not have made this project without the generous support of all these talented professionals!  To see a complete list of those who contributed, please check the credits in the Vicky Vixen pilot.

~ Randy

Primary Crew

Sally Spaderna, line producer, body double

Sally is not only an awesome producer, she’s a true Renaissance woman as well. She’s capable of wearing many hats – and looking good in all of them! The Vicky Vixen pilot was made on a very modest budget, so we didn’t always have every crew position covered at all times. That’s when Sally quickly changed producing gears and stepped right in to pull focus, wrangle cats, or get into wardrobe and make-up. It’s a fact that I love Sally for her brilliant mind and can-do attitude, but it’s extra impressive that she’s fit and smokin’ hot enough to be Vicky Vixen’s body double for visual effects.

Before returning home to Portland, Sally worked for MTV in New York. In addition to extensive camera assistant experience on feature films, Sally has risen quickly in the production ranks. She has credits as an assistant director, production manager, and producer on features, documentaries, and shorts.

Sam Garr, director of photography, editor, special effects

Sam Garr has been my “go to” guy for many years now. He’s always been my first choice as a “B” camera and Steadycam operator when I’m shooting. He’s now become my “go to” Director of Photography when I’m directing. Like Sally, he has many other skills that I value. He does the best South Park impersonations of anyone I know. What I meant to say is that he also helps me, as an assistant director, run the set efficiently. Oh yeah, he does a great Sean Connery as well! What I meant to say is that he’s also a whiz at post-production. Sam edited, color corrected, and created all of the visual effects and titles for the Vicky Vixen pilot. He’s always totally on top of all the latest technology. He’s the first guy I know to get a time travel app for the iPhone.

Sam has been in high demand for several years as an ace camera assistant for feature films and commercials. Part of his success is that he is super tech savvy. He operates with a camera’s guts like a surgeon. He is now becoming recognized for his film artistry – racking up camera operating and Director of Photography credits on features, commercials, and shorts.

Jeff Feller, “B Camera” operator

Jeff’s incredible story is a riddle of sorts. Jeff does not live in “our” present world – he is living one day in the future in a “fantasy world”. How is this possible you may ask? Well, Jeff is currently living in New Zealand on the other side of the International Date Line; therefore, his time zone is one day ahead of ours in the “future.” As if that isn’t cool and strange enough, he is toiling in the heart of “Middle Earth” with elves, dwarves, and hobitts. If you’re a Tolkien geek, you may have guessed – Jeff is working on Peter Jackson’s “The Hobitt.” He’s shooting all the behind the scenes work of the cast and crew on the set. I’m incredibly happy for him. OK, I hate his guts!

Even though I may be a little envious of Jeff’s dream job, I’m really thrilled and proud of Jeff. You see, I discovered Jeff and take all the credit for everything he knows. When I first met Jeff, he was working for the highway department scraping up flattened animals. I knew there was something special about that boy, so I gave him a camera and put him to work shooting on Vicky Vixen. My instinct was right – he did a fantastic job. I believe he’s naturally gifted.

OK, it didn’t happen exactly like that, but I did help him get some of his first jobs in the film business. The rest was all Jeff. Next thing I knew, Jeff was shooting behind the scenes on “Twilight.” Jeff’s career rose quickly probably because Jeff is really bright and learns quickly. He also works super hard at perfecting his craft. And he’s probably a clever blackmailer. Wonder what he has on Peter?

Patric Michael, production designer, motion graphics

Patric is not only an awesome production designer with great visual taste, he is my own personal magician. He doesn’t have a hat, but he constantly surprises me by pulling stuff out of his as…stounding pick-up truck. Don’t get me wrong, he can design a perfect color palette as well as the Hollywood guys and gals. But when it’s an emergency, no one can fix stuff or whip up something great like Patric. For instance, Patric “hotwired” several dolls to make them perform on command. Give him adequate warning and resources and he can build you anything you can imagine. So, turning a living room into a therapist’s office with no budget was a piece of cake. Patric is that rare individual who is equally artistic and highly technical. In other words, his left and right brain hemispheres are both huge! Only his ego is modest.

Patric has performed his art magic for over 20 years on a gazillion projects including numerous feature films and TV movies. As if that isn’t enough, he has also built large ships and published several novels

Christina Kortum, make up, FX make up

Christina is my secret weapon for creating all of Vicky Vixen’s outrageous looks. Well, she is not so secret anymore! Christina has quickly become the most sought after effects makeup artist in the Northwest. No one loves creating monsters or blood and guts as much as Christina. Warning, if you go to her house, don’t eat anything out of her fridge or microwave. Just ask her husband. Besides costume assisting and makeup for Vicky, Christina is responsible for transforming beautiful Teresa Decher into a nerdy Victoria – quite a feat. On our last day of shooting, Christina pulled out a miracle with no notice. In less than an hour, she turned Teresa into a drooling zombie creature so that she could torment herself playing Victoria. Come on, you didn’t know that was Teresa, did you?

Christina has quickly amassed over 24 credits as a special effects make up artist on features, TV series, shorts and webseries. Her credits include the IFC hit series “Portlandia” and the highly anticipated NBC series “Grimm.” Christina owns and operates Raveneous Studios which provides special effects make up and prosthetics services to the film industry.

Karlton Coffin, music composer, singer

With a badass last name like “Coffin” and a very large physique to match, it would be easy to mistake Karlton as the head of an outlaw motorcycle gang. On first appearance, Karlton might seem intimidating. But when you meet him away from a dark alley, you quickly realize he’s a good guy. After all, he’s a family man and holds down a respectable job at Intel. When he smiles, he’s just a big teddy bear! But if you listen to him singing death metal lyrics in a recording studio, your initial fear will likely return.

Among his many music contributions to the VV project, Karlton performs as Vicky’s voice in the song “Badass Chicks.” He also performs the VV end credit song “Parking Lot Ass-Kicking!” Really, he’s a nice guy, I swear it! Look at his photo. See, his daughter isn’t frightened.

Karlton has his own incredible recording studio, Liquid Reality Studios, where he performs and records many different genres of music – he’s actually a versatile and talented musician.

Kristin Zabawa, still photographer, story editor

Kristin has been my biggest fan and supporter of the Vicky Vixen project since its inception. And I love her for it! I can’t even begin to list all of the many roles that she has stepped in to fill when there was no one else – thankless jobs like making the coffee, buying toilet paper, and stopping trains. That’s the down side of being the director’s wife – you’re sometimes taken for granted and stuck with the crap jobs. She’s probably most proud of her contribution as our set photographer. She’s the one who has taken nearly all of the incredible photos featured on this website. Kristin totally kicks ass with a camera!

Kristin has also been a huge help to me as a story editor. Whenever I write something, she is the first person to read it and give me positive feedback like “this sucks!” You should really thank her – she takes out most of the crap and replaces it with wonderful creative story ideas. Kristin also makes me practice “good listening skills” and encourages me to connect with my “feminine side” when I’m writing for Victoria or Vicky. All of her suggestions help, but I have to say I don’t really like wearing the wig and panty hose in the office.

When Kristin is not busy making me a better man (almost a full time job), she works as a fine art photographer. She recently had a very successful show of equine images at Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort.