By: Selina
Through “This Week in Crowdfunding,” you’ll find five of the
best projects Trust the Dice found hosted on crowdfunding sights this week.
These are Films/Web Series’/Shows of varying lengths and genres that we believe
in. If you like any of the projects you see here, donate to them, tell your
friends, and/or post it on social media.
These projects don’t just need money, they need people to
care and spread the word that they exist.
Support creativity. Support indie artists.
Remember that every actor, director, writer, and movie you
have ever fallen in love with had to start somewhere.
Trust the Dice does not, and will not, accept payment from project
creators for
Appearance on this list. Projects are chosen solely on the merit of the
idea,
proposal, and people involved.
Trust the Dice will be going on vacation starting December
24. We will return on January 2 with our Top 20 Movies to Look Out For in
January.
5 – OddySee
Crowdsource Platform:
KICKSTARTER
Director: Unknown
Writer: Unknown
Other Staff: Unknown
Amount Requested:
$3,500
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $1,310 raised by 9 backers.
Type of Goal: All
or Nothing – This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by the
deadline.
I’ll be honest, I’m a little hesitant to add this project to
the list at all. However, it was the only other film I found that would fit in
this fifth spot. It does have a cute plot idea and their Kickstarter page is
well laid out, which makes it easy to see where your money is going. On top of
that, their introductory film is engaging and funny.
My hesitance does not come from the fact that OddySee is being created by a student
club, most of the films I find for this list are being made by students. My
issue is that there doesn’t seem to be much information on who’s in, or working
on, this film.
In the introductory video, you see the faces of people
working on OddySee, but only get
first names. I can’t tell you the full name of the writer, director, or anyone
else. I attempted to get in touch with them to fill in the information gaps,
but no one ever got back to me. Unfortunately, all I can tell you is
speculation at this point.
The negatives out of the way, the plot does look
interesting. It’s not the most unique idea, but they put a spin on it that
makes it much more interesting in general. I know that, if this were a film
coming out in theaters, it might very well be something I would want to pay to
see.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$5 – Pledge $5 or More – Shout Out/Thank You on the Production Club at UWM
Facebook page and access to all behind the scenes footage and pictures.
Highest Fund Reward:
$1,000 – Pledge $1,000 or More – A date night on the location with the
producers, directors, and writer, and all previous rewards.
4 – Minds at War
Unfortunately, Minds at War was unable to be completed, and the director has requested removal of its mention. Change made: 3/26/22
3 – The Night
Cleaner
Crowdsource Platform:
INDIEGOGO
Director: Zoe
Ward
Writer: Zoe Ward
Other Staff: Pratik
Shah (Cinematographer), Arkesh Ajay (Producer), Annie Pace (Producer), Gayatri
Bajpai (Assistant Director), Jien Sun (Costume Designer), Naomi Gonzalez Kahn
(Production Designer)
Amount Requested:
$24,000
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $4,315 raised by 35 backers.
Type of Goal: Flexible
– The campaign will receive all funds raised even if it does not reach its
goal.
I was immediately attracted to this film. It actually took
me all week to decide if I was personally attracted to it, or if I truly
believed the film could be successful. In the end, I realized it was both.
The story really speaks to me on a deeper level, even though
it seems to lean toward drama as a genre, which is not my favorite. That look
at the connection of two people spurned by society feels like home for me where
entertainment is concerned.
What strikes me as the most important thing I learned from
the Indiegogo page and the introductory video, is that the entire crew of The Night Cleaner seems to have a
significant and unarguable faith in the writer/director, Zoe Ward. It helps to
raise faith in a project when everyone involved believes so heavily in the
person in charge.
As for the page itself, it’s highly informative. You know
where your money’s going and the perks are eye-catching.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach Ward for an interview,
and I truly regret that. I wish I had something more to say on her project than
just what you can learn on her page. It seems like this film could become
something amazing.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$10 – Heartwarmer – You are now part of the Night Cleaner family. You’ll get a
shout-out on Facebook and regular updates from the production team.
Highest Fund Reward:
$5,000 – Executive Producer – The name says it all! Receive an Executive
Producer credit, come visit us on set and receive all other perks on offer.
2 – Silicon Beach
Crowdsource Platform:
INDIEGOGO
Director: Max
Gold
Writer: Max Gold
Other Staff: Stephen
Tringali (Cinematographer), Max Silver (Producer)
Amount Requested:
$20,000
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $50 raised by 3 backers.
Type of Goal: Flexible
– The campaign will receive all funds raised even if it does not reach its
goal.
Originally, Silicon
Beach was a little lower on my list, but after getting to speak with
writer/director Max Gold, I knew it needed to be higher.
This feature film is a thriller that takes a look at the
anxieties of a group of young professionals as they attempt to build their
startup business. The plot alone sounds interesting, but it’s difficult to
really look deeper into it until you watch the introductory video.
The video on the Indiegogo page is a great teaser for the
film and it supports the simple idea mentioned in the overview enough that it
makes everything that much easier to picture.
One of the facts about this film that make it seem like it
is such a small risk for investors, is that it is already complete. All the
money being raised through crowdfunding is going directly to post-production;
things like editing and composing.
I was able to get a phone call with Max Gold on Saturday
afternoon. He seemed happy to be discussing this film and, after only a few
moments it was easy to tell why.
Gold has a significant amount of passion for Silicon Beach and, from everything he
told me, even more faith in his cast and crew.
“I just want to underline the fact that this film was made
by a community,” Gold told me. “Every single person involved was committed and
excited to bring this to life.”
One of the things I asked Gold was about his inspiration for
the film.
He told me a story about how he worked side tech jobs while making
films for over a decade, which allowed him to understand the startup world very
well. He took that knowledge and combined it with his own personal experiences.
The anxiety he drew from to create Silicon
Beach was from knowing that he was working those tech jobs, but was unable
to really commit to them. He was, essentially, leading two lives.
Every morning, he was spending several hours writing his
scripts, then he would have to go to work exhausted and try to do what he was
supposed to. All the while, making any real work friends was difficult for him,
because he wasn’t there for the career, he was there only because he wasn’t
able to exist solely on his film work yet.
Anyone with any kind of creative ambition probably relates
to that story on a very deep level. I know I do.
He went on to explain about a previous project, one that he
had to rely on others for. It was a larger budget film that got delayed because
the people financing it weren’t as helpful as they should have been. When
creativity is stifled by a lack of funds, it easily fuels rage and rebellion. Silicon Beach is the manifestation of
that rebellion. Proof that Gold and his crew were capable of putting together
something spectacular without having to rely on a giant budget to get through
it.
We all know how I feel about the importance of rebellion, so
I’ll just add here that learning the inspiration for Silicon Beach was another reason why I knew it needed to be higher
on this list.
One of the other interesting aspects of Silicon Beach is the method Gold decided to use for perks. I
noticed that the films Indiegogo page split the perks into two different
categories: for the audience and for fellow movie makers.
According to Gold, he’s noticed in the past that sometimes
people would donate money to his project and want something other than the perk
offered – like direction and advice from someone more experienced than them. On
the other hand, there were just as many laymen that only wanted to put some
money toward helping along a film they thought looked pretty cool.
After seeing this method, I think it’s something more
creators should look into.
In the end, I can’t wait to see what Gold and his team do
with this film. I’m betting it’s going to be phenomenal.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$10 – Thank You Tweet – A thank you tweet. Tweeted to 35,000+ followers by
director Max Gold (@blindhummingbrd)
Highest Fund Reward:
$5,000 – Executive Producer Credit – An ‘Executive Producer’ credit on the
film. This perk includes: -IMDB credit –invitation to cast and crew screenings –invitation
to visit the editing suite during post-production –invitation to the LA
premiere (flight and accommodations not included.) Congratulations and welcome
to our team!
1 – Focus
Crowdsource Platform:
KICKSTARTER
Director: AJ
Winters
Writer: AJ
Winters, Stephen Fletcher
Other Staff: Kelly
Renata (Line Producer), Jacob Abercromby (Director of Photography), Mark
Flanders (Music), Shannon Rogers (Cast), Mabel Foong (Cast), Reece Bagrowski
(Cast), Mike Moshos (Cast), Keegan Zykowski (Cast), Flavia Marini (Cast), Teddy
O’Hearn (Production Assistant), John Reid (Production Assistant), Stephen
Fletcher (Production Assistant), Jonathan Giles (Production Assistant),
Ashleigh Barrow (Production Assistant), Biance Roose (Costume Designer), Alex
Roussel (Costume Designer), Justine Hinz (Script Supervisor), Mitchell McKenna
(Editor), Philip Healey (SFX), Amelia Robinson (Graphic Designer), Robin Cook
(Graphic Designer), Karlien Kemp (Graphic Designer)
Amount Requested:
$1,460
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $74.52 raised by 3 backers.
Type of Goal: All
or Nothing – This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by the
deadline.
This web series immediately caught my eye. It has a solid
plot and its introductory video was an interesting teaser trailer. I had no
idea that between the moment when I chose this project and when I’d write the
article, they would release the actual pilot on YouTube.
I watched the pilot the moment I finished talking to the
director, AJ Winters.
The first thing I can comment on is the quality of the
pilot. I’ve seen original pilots for popular TV shows that didn’t exhibit the
kind of quality Focus had. I’ll avoid
the obvious pun here, but I will say I was very impressed. At the end of the
episode, I wanted to see more, I wanted to know more. It was such an
understated video, but it served its purpose well.
What makes the quality of that pilot even more incredible is
that the cast and crew of Focus are
all on the young side. Winters told me that the majority of people working on
the film are between 16 and 30 years old.
Trust the Dice loves to support indie projects and we love
to support youth in creating entertainment even more. The future of films,
series’, and everything else, comes from youth and people willing to take the
chances that mainstream entertainment doesn’t encourage. In this case, Focus meets both those requirements.
I believe that web series’, like those based on YouTube, are
going the way of Netflix. There are so many unique, interesting projects being
created on the platform that it is impossible to ignore completely.
I’m aware that it might be a little scary to offer funding
to a project run primarily by younger, less experienced people, but I’ll say it
again: everyone starts somewhere. You can choose to only support people with
greater levels of experience, but I believe that’s a mistake that keeps the
entertainment world from growing.
When I asked Winters if she had anything she wanted you to
know, she said:
“We are 100% dedicated to making this show possible and I
will continue to strive to make it so. This Kickstarter is just the beginning
for us, and hopefully, with the help of sponsors and pledge donations, we will
be able to film Season 1 of FOCUS next year. I want to facilitate and make the
dreams of my cast and crew a reality and therefore I won't stop until this
succeeds.”
I know their perks don’t start until a relatively high
number, but you can make smaller pledges that will garner a thank you from the series
creators.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$200 – Skype call with the cast – If you pledge over $200 we would like to
thank you personally with a Skype call with our leading cast. You’ll get to
meet them and ask them any of your questions about the filming process!
Highest Fund Reward:
$1,000 – Be a part of Focus – If you pledge over $1,000 we would love to get
you on board with our show! Always wanted to do a little acting? How about
spending a day behind the scenes? Or maybe you’re a bit of a creative writer
yourself and want to contribute to the script writing process? We want to give
you the opportunity to be involved in the creative process!
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