Tourism

Blog, Daily Blog

Travel Series: Egypt


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Skybok’s very own, Tami Scripps, visited Egypt and returned with footage to share with YOU! If you wish to travel to Egypt, are intrigued by beautiful views, or just love learning new historical facts- head on over to our instagram or facebook to see our travel series posts.

Atlanta, Blog, Daily Blog, Points of Interest

10 Facts About The Swan House in Atlanta, Georgia!


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The Swan House Atlanta Georgia

Skybok recently shot “The Swan House” in Atlanta, Georgia – Wow! What a remarkable testiment to history. The Atlanta Historical Society aquired the house in 1966 and has made the experience for visitors exceptionally interactive, with actors portraying the characters who once lived in this iconic home.

Fun Facts About Swan House

  1. The house is an example of a classic 1928 mansion
  2. It was built at the end of the jazz age
  3. It was built by a noted architect, Philip T. Shutze, who designed Swan House and its gardens, as well as many other important buildings in the city of Atlanta
  4. It lies in Atlanta’s “Buckhead” neighbourhood
  5. It is part of the Atlanta History Centre
  6. It was a filming location for “The Hunger Games”
  7. Its original owners Edward and Emily Inman. The Inmans had accumulated wealth from cotton brokerage and investments on transportation, banking and real estate
  8. The house combines Renaissance revival styles with a Classical approach on the main facade
  9. Edward Inman died in 1931, but Emily collected her family into the house and lived there until 1965. The house and grounds were acquired by the Atlanta Historical Society in 1966. See the Atlanta History Center’s website at: http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/
  10. Many of the furnishings are the Inmans’ original furnishings

The Swan House Atlanta Georgia

The Swan House Atlanta Georgia Stairwell 1928

The Swan House Atlanta Georgia

All, Daily Blog

A Day at The Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta!


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Margaret Mitchell Museum Atlanta Gone With The Wind Atlanta
The entrance to Margaret Mitchell’s home where she wrote “Gone With The Wind”

Where to Buy Gone With The Wind Products
“Gone With The Wind” products at the gift shop

I recently visited Atlanta, Georgia, where I was attending the International Rotary Convention. I had little to no knowledge of Atlanta, and was pleasantly surprised with some of the amazing tourist spots! One of them being The Margaret Mitchell House + Museum – the original home of the famous author and birthplace of “Gone With The Wind”! FYI: It took her 9 years to write the book, during which time she would seal chapters of her book in envelopes + hide them in secret spots around the home. I highly recommend this fantastic destination if you’re in the city – an entertaining, educational venue where you can learn some valuable historical info, not only about the author’s life, but also about Georgia history + the era in which the film was made. My favorite part was the guided tour through the apartment + the behind-the-scenes info on the audition process with highlights on the making of the famous film (including archival footage of the film premiere + celebrity interviews). Book your weekend getaway today via EXPLORE TRIP (They are currently running a brilliant S U M M E R  S P E C I A L!).

Grab a bargain Summer Fares to top cities nationwide. Get $15 off with promo code DEAL15. Book Now!

Margaret Mitchell, Peggy Marsh to her friends, dubbed her apartment, “The Dump.” Surprisingly, it is in this shabby little apartment on the bottom floor that this petite, yet mighty woman wrote a big ‘ol book that sold faster than a duck on a June bug!

It is here that the notorious Peggy Marsh wrote Gone With the Wind. A Pulitzer Prize followed. Fame, fortune, and fans, too.

Gone With The Wind

Margaret Mitchell Quotes

Margaret Mitchell Museum Atlanta Gone With The Wind Atlanta

Margaret Mitchell Museum Atlanta Gone With The Wind Atlanta

Typewriters from the 1940s

Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell House Atlanta

Margaret Mitchell's House in Atlanta

1940 kitchen

1940 kitchen

Singer Sewing Machine

Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind Typewriter

Gone With The Wind Premiere 1940 Loews Grand Theatre

Vivien Leigh Scarlet O'Hara

Margaret Mitchell Oakland Cemetery Grave
Margaret Mitchell’s Grave at Oakland Cemetery

Blog, Daily Blog, Fredericksburg, Points of Interest

A Video Showcase of Altstadt Brewery


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Altstadt Brewery Texas

Skybok recently filmed the video profile of a new brewery in Fredericksburg, Texas. Altstadt Brewery also wanted videos on both the history of the German “Purity Laws” also known as the “The Reinheitsgebot” according to which they brew their beer, and an explainer video on the difference between Lager +Kölsch. Altstadt has a growing community on Facebook + Twitter, where the videos have been well-received by patrons. The videos are also up on Skybok’s YouTube Channel here. Skybok did some great shoots of the facility, and took some candid photos of the six packs amidst the iconic wildflowers of the Texan Hill Country. Camera: Canon Rebel T5 + iPhone 7 Plus with Depth Effect.

Altstadt Brewery Texas

Altstadt Brewery Texas

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Blog, Daily Blog

Music Venues We Loved Filming


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The South African music scene has evolved so much in the last decade. I personally love listening to one of our top DJ’s, ‘Euphonik’. Check out my Spotify playlist of South African artists to hear his sound along with many others.

Skybok was fortunate to film some incredible music venues that contributed to the country’s music scene by providing platforms for local artists to reach new audiences + connect with old ones.

Here are stand out places we filmed in various cities:

Grahamstown

East London

Cape Town

Port Elizabeth

 

Social Media Marketing

The 10 Commandments For Entrepreneurs Everywhere


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1. Seven days thou shalt labour + do all thy work, for the startup life knows no sabbath.

That includes holy days. All-night coding sessions, missed meals + triple espressos are the order of the day.

2. Thou shalt not torture thy customers with an endless beta.

To a customer, the “beta testing” label doesn’t mean much. If you keep making mistakes + your buttons don’t work + their password gets leaked, saying that you were “in beta” isn’t going to make them feel better – or stick around.

3. Thou shalt not take thy competitors’ names in vain.

Badmouthing competitors sounds a little too much like gossip. “We’re very careful: we don’t talk about competitors, we don’t slag them, we don’t throw them under the bus,” says Dave Olson, VP Community at HootSuite. The point is to focus on building a better product. “We don’t compete against people; we compete against ourselves,” he explains.

4. Thou shalt practice humility + not compare thyself to Mark Zuckerberg.

If you have to compare yourself to Mark Zuckerberg, you probably shouldn’t be compared to Mark Zuckerberg. Brian Wong, the 21-year-old founder of Kiip, complains about this phenomenon: “This is giving birth to a generation, unfortunately, of extremely cocky, ego-driven young entrepreneurs that think that just because they’re young, they should be paid attention to,” he says.

“I am my own person, I am my own class of entrepreneur, and I will build a company without anybody asking me how I built it compared to someone else. I’m going to build it my way.”

5. Thou shalt confess thy sins with true contrition + then fix the problem.

Otherwise, your customers will be vengeful rather than forgiving masters. Social media has made business more + more transparent, so it’s hard to get away with apologies that don’t admit wrongdoing – “We are sorry if some were offended” – or apologies that skew the facts.

6. Honour thy investors, that their purse-strings may be loosened.

Zvi Band, the CEO of Contactually, recommends keeping in touch with current investors every 2 weeks + potential investors every week.

And while you may not always follow investors’ advice, show some respect + actually take it seriously. Even if they didn’t create your startup, they are helping it grow.

7. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s acquisition.

Holding out your hopes for a $1 billion acquisition like Instagram’s is foolhardy, to say the least. And even profit-hungry investors don’t want to hear about your acquisition fantasies. “If you show me a slide as an early-stage company that mentions your exit opportunities, and in 3 years you’ll sell to Google for that return to me, I’ll just laugh at you – but the laughing means you’re dead,” says Jeff Clavier of SoftTechVC.

8. Thou shalt not steal thy startup’s contact list.

In a recent scandal, one of WakeMate’s cofounders used the startup’s email list and Twitter account to promote his new product, MiLife+, and raise funds on Indiegogo. He claimed it was affiliated with WakeMate, but the other cofounder didn’t know anything about it. Here’s the full story. The Indiegogo project was eventually taken down due to the drama.

9. Thou shalt kill thy startup if thy money is gone + thy customers are few + thy website is ugly.

Closing down a startup may be a painful process + an admission of failure, but it frees you up to move on to the next exciting thing. “You got a lot of good guys running companies that are not doing well, when they could be joining forces and building a lot more value,” says Mohan Belani, the founder of Asian tech blog e27. “I call it a zombie. People don’t want to kill themselves.”

10. Thou shalt practice generosity if thou becomest a gazillionaire.

Virtuous choices including being a mentor or investor, opening an accelerator + donating pizzas to hungry entrepreneurs in your  your community.

And that’s the way to startup heaven.

Thanks for this awesome article Tech.Co!

All, News

Vodacom Mobile App!


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South African Videography

Skybok welcomes talks about an exciting venture in the mobile app realm, linking our videos with a brand new “Connect City” Smartphone app set to launch later this year.

It’s an app exclusively for visitors to Nelson Mandela Bay here in gorgeous South Africa.

We love the idea that starting this Summer, tourists will have the benefit of a quick, easy-to-use navigation tool right at their fingertips. Skybok is on board to bring the city alive in a visually engaging way – and we’re having tons of fun doing it! ;)

Videographers South AfricaVideographers South Africa

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Skybok Honoured at BWA Regional Business Achiever Awards!


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Tamika Doubell Business Women Entrepreneur

I was honoured to receive an award at this year’s Business Women’s Association of South Africa’s Regional Business Achiever Awards. Held at The Crystal Towers in Cape Town, I was thrilled to receive this recognition of distinction in business as an entrepreneur in the film industry! Skybok is all about connecting the world. I look forward to our exciting future doing so. I am very blessed that I was able to turn something I am passionate about into a profitable venture. It’s exciting to have been named in amidst such successful women across the region in all industries. I am proudly South African and marvel each day at our beautiful country and our people. Thank you, BWA! More photos from the event here.

BWA South Africa BWA South Africa