We’re moving forward on production on a scene by scene basis – in other words, we do what we can, when we can, as time and resource allows. We’re also going to be looking over the first 25 minutes as well.
I’m thinking about releasing some of the bigger scenes as we complete them to those interested in paying per scene to do so, which would help with little things like make-up supplies and snacks for the cast and crew. Take a second to answer the poll so I can see if it’s a good idea…
If you answered yes, how much would you be willing to pay per scene?
We have found our Director of Photography! His name is Wade Yamaguchi, and he has a RED Scarlet camera, which shoots four times the resolution of HDTV video. This allows us the option to get our film to the big screen should we get distributed on a massive scale (I intend to try!).
Wade lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, and has graciously agreed to travel up Boise, Idaho, and film the first 30 minutes of MARK OF THE VEIL for no cost. However, we still do need to raise funds to pay for his monthly expenses, as Wade is a freelance videographer and has bills to pay like all of us.
Watch the video to see more, and then click on the “Donate” button below to help Wade get here. This money goes directly to him, I don’t see it or touch it. This is strictly his pitch; he is that excited to be a part of MARK OF THE VEIL! And we are equally as excited to have him!
All we need is 40 folks to give $50. We’re not doing a Kickstarter or other fundraising site for this. It’s going directly to Wade’s Paypal account.
On December 5th, our first attempt at fundraising came to a close. I had set a goal for $13,000, and we ended up bringing in a little over $500. My biggest takeaway from the experience was the realization that I really can’t do it all; as it is with MARK OF THE VEIL, I’m the writer, director, producer, editor, and composer. I’ve juggled those roles for years, and once I can find the right Key Grip/Camera Op to go with our Director of Photography and Assistant Director, we should be fine with that; but I can’t be the marketing and promotional guru, too.
So, my most immediate task is to build a team of folks who are excited about the project and can give some time to it on the front end. We’ve found a great team of actors to fill the cast, now we just have to find some equally awesome promotional wizards. We will be running another fundraising campaign, and I’m going to need them to make it happen.
The plan is to film the first 30 minutes (the first act) of the film on a shoe-string budget (if any) in March, and launch a second fundraiser with a local screening at a theater such as The Egyptian Theater, the Downtown Boise Edwards Cinemas, or The Flicks that provides the “Kick” to our Kickstarter a few months later. The idea is that we start getting an enticing taste of Act II as the screening winds up, and, suddenly, a PAINFUL cut to black creates a collective sigh of, “We wanted more!” from the audience. (That’s the hope, anyway.) Then comes the punchline: we need your help to finish the movie!
And yes, I do believe we will be moving away from IndieGoGo (the site we used for our first round) and checking out Kickstarter. The key difference between the two crowd-source fundraising sites is that IndieGoGo allows you to keep whatever earnings you make, regardless of your success or failure, whereas Kickstarter doesn’t give you anything until you meet your goal. Now, this difference originally swayed me towards IndieGoGo, but I’ve realized that there seems to be less of an emotional attachment to a project with less risk involved, and the prospect of losing everything or not getting anything provides quite an energy, not just with the fundraising team, but with the project’s supporters.
So, that’s where that’s at. More to come.
In the meantime, enjoy this new teaser trailer we produced last week. The beginning of many more snippets to come.
We are moving forward, regardless of the money. I am extremely proud of this cast and crew; they are quickly becoming a fellowship with a drive to see MARK OF THE VEIL succeed, and mark my words, you will be seeing these guys’ and gals’ faces everywhere in a short while.
