Welcome to American Lodestar!

 

What you are about to experience is a TEST of an unscripted Cable television competition that explores the crisis of polarization in American life. Think of it as a video storyboard for what would be shot as an actual series pilot and the model for the community activism campaign. American Lodestar will fund the citizen project the audience decides is the most effective.

 

Our teams of citizens, each featuring a conservative and progressive, attempt to work together to make a difference in their community. In a sense they are trying to model what collaboration looks like between rivals. In this TEST the city is Richmond Virginia  and the challenge is helping the RPS elementary school system deal with the unprecedented challenges of the COVID pandemic.

 

It was our original intention to shoot on location in Richmond, but the COVID outbreak ended that possibility as our host city locked down and the Richmond Elementary School system, the subject of our story, shuttered its in-person instruction.

 

Given the urgency and timeliness of the subject matter and the community’s enthusiastic participation, we forged ahead, turning to Zoom to create this video storyboard.

 

In an actual pilot, the scenes with the hosts, teams, coaches and Richmond VA residents captured for this test in Zoom will be shot on location using multiple cameras in a documentary style. For now, this TEST will give you an idea of the thematic and structural intent of the American Lodestar series concept.

 

The TEST features 5 episodes of the 10-episodes of a full season. We begin with Episode 2, the stage having already been set in Episode 1. The American Lodestar bipartisan teams embark on their journey to discover how they can help Richmond’s elementary school students and families.

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