The country Day Book

Telling your story of country living

The Mission

We aim to tell stories that give a glimpse of life in the country from those who live it every day. In doing so, we hope to inspire, or at least inform, a new generation on a life in the country.

❋ Define country

Realistically, agriculture on a big scale is very difficult to just ‘get into’. We want to show all facets of what a life in the country could look like. From the small chicken farmer right up to the massive grain operation. Pulling the curtain back on a challenging, yet rewarding way of life.

❋ Make it fun

While living and working on a farm can be highly dangerous. It can also be a lot of fun. The freedoms and the real moments that are experienced can’t be experienced within city limits. In a world of TikTok trends and laziness, we want to show a crowd of people that still know the meaning of hard work.

A man wearing a black cowboy hat, glasses, a dark jacket, ripped jeans, and work gloves walking through a tilled field beside a rusty tractor on a farm during autumn.

Meet the producer

My name is James and I grew up on a farm in the hills of rural Quebec. Summers were spent producing hay and taking care of our holstein herd while admiring the views of the distant ski mountains. Up until my teens, all I wanted to be was a farmer. Of course, I went through a lengthy phase where all I craved was the city. It was an experience, but it wasn’t where I wanted to be. So, I went back to the country.

You probably all know that I have a photography business. In 2020 my photography work was drastically sidelined for reasons we all know too well. During that time, I went back to the now fallen family farm. My brothers and I started trying to inject some life into the old place and documented our journey. Within a month a fairly well-known tv producer reached out and it set off an 18 month journey developing our show and marketing it to networks, even negotiating an assistant producer credit to my name. While not under strict NDA, I can now share why we got shelved at the last minute, and the reason is absurd! I’d be happy to share it with you in person. Sadly, our farm journey ended through a parental divorce and the sort of drama that makes you bang your head against the wall a few times.

This whole experience has brought me here. Wondering how many other stories are worth telling and simply not being told. Now understanding that there is a whole world of people interested in these stories. It also reconnected me to my love of the country in a big way. Which brings me to this project.

I want to share your story.

A woman with curly blonde hair and glasses sitting in front of construction equipment. Filming or photographing her with a camera setup inside a garage or warehouse.

How does it work?

Super simple question sheet that you answer that helps me start figuring out the episode and how to structure it.

The question sheet

We pick a day for me to come out and set up a couple lights. I’ll ask you questions about your farming journey and let you ramble as much as you want. Typically this only takes 2 hours.

The shoot

This one is a little trickier. It can be filmed the same day, or location depending, a second day. I grab a ton of shots to overlay on your interview. A video is boring if we just stare at a person’s face. These shots are relevant to the story and set the tone.

B-roll

After my filming, when I’m back in front of my computer piecing together your story, I will ask for pertinent pics or clips you may have that tie to things you may have said during your interview. It can be old snaps, old videos, or whatever you think could work. It just further drives that emotional connection to the story and adds an unpolished charm everyone can relate to.

Archive footage

Finally, this is a fun project. There’s no real timeline constraints, no stress, and no agenda other than to get people hyped about something that I’m passionate about.

Communication

Right through to the video being complete, we will be in contact. It’s your story, I’m just telling it. So, I will have random questions. I may see something in a clip that I’m not sure you’d like the world to see. So I will check with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

I think we often lose sight of the amazing things in our life due to proximity. If we chat and I don’t think there is a story, I won’t sugarcoat it.
That being said, not everyone needs a whole mini-doc video. Maybe we just showoff one cool aspect of your country life in a run-and-gun style video.
In other case, we may want to branch it into two videos because your life is just that cool of a story.
This has been asked so much already. No, there is no cost other than your time!
Currently, I’m self-funding. As viewership grows, I will pursue advertising and sponsorship funding as long as it aligns with the overall goals and views of the channel.
It will never cost the stars of the episodes.
Absolutely! If you have a service or product being produced on your farm, let’s make sure we give it a moment to shine.
Vulgar language may be muted just so the algorithm doesn’t hate us.
I don’t want to mute your voice. With that being said, we are not looking to promote any political agendas. This does not mean you can’t speak what’s on your mind.
It’s your story! When it comes time to edit, I will craft it into an entertaining watch, but I’ll never misrepresent you.
Just the same, I’m always mindful of what I’m shooting. The amount of times we did sketchy stuff on the farm that couldn’t be shown is insane. I won’t knowingly show anything like that. If it makes it into the cut, you’ll see the video before anyone else, so we can just cut or replace that clip.

Person riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) during sunset in a field with trees.

Thank you

Whether or not you choose to proceed any further, thank you for your interest in our project. I hope that at the very least, you become a follower who enjoys the content we produce.