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.
5 – The
Eidolon
Crowdsource Platform:
Kickstarter
Director: Mageesan
Surendran
Writer: Mageesan
Surendran
Other Staff: Sean
Sanders (Cast), Myles Jenison (Cast), Clythus Scotia (Cast), Vern Barrel (Cast),
Katie Sanders (Cast)
Amount Requested:
$7,509
Current Standing (as
of Saturday): $12.78 raised by 2 backers.
Type of Goal: All
or Nothing
Who doesn’t love a good dystopian/apocalyptic story?
The Eidolon, a TV
series, seems like an interesting take on your basic apocalyptic story. From
what I can tell from the Kickstarter page, the series sticks to what happens
after humanity is already wiped out. At least, most humanity. Of course, that
leaves little law or morality to combat corruption.
Although the series looks pretty good from the information
given, and the brief look the trailer gives us insight into the personality of
the cast, that’s not the entire reason I chose it for this list.
On the Kickstarter page, there’s ‘a word from the Director’.
That’s what really caught my eye.
When someone has to fight for every bit of movement they
make in a specific area, they’re bound to do better with what they’re given
because they have to. It’s easy to recommend a project being done by someone
like that, because it’s easy to believe that project will succeed.
The only issue I have is that the page doesn’t tell you who
the writer/director is. I assume it’s the person who posted the project – that person
is named in the above chart – but I’m not certain.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$0.75 – Social Media Tag! – Don’t have much to spend but want to help the
cause? At CA$1 ($0.75), you’ll still have our eternal gratitude, plus you’ll be
tagged in an official The Eidolon promotional post on any of the social
platforms of the following: Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Highest Fund Reward:
$751 – Big Bundle Box! – You are going to love this limited-edition bundle box,
which includes the first ever Eidolon figurines! (Includes previous rewards,
excluding the Associate Producer Credit, Special Thanks, and Private
Screening.)
4 – Empty Moon
Crowdsource Platform:
Indiegogo
Director: JC
Taylor
Writer: JC
Taylor, Alex Beilman
Other Staff: Anthony
Zucco (Co-Producer), Ky Lotte (Director of Photography), Grayce Lee (Set
Production/Design/Art Head)
Amount Requested:
$1,500
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $560 raised by 4 backers.
Type of Goal: Flexible
Although there’s precious little information about the plot
of this project on the page, the creators make up for it in the trailer – in
the most amusing way possible.
Why is it so amusing to watch people abuse themselves with
spicy peppers? I really couldn’t answer that, but there’s a whole corner of the
internet dedicated to it for a reason. That reason being that it’s funny as
hell.
The creators used that method in their trailer to catch the
attention of prospective backers well enough that you have no problem listening
to every word they say. Mainly because you’re giggling through it. I think it’s
made even funnier by the fact that the project does not seem like a comedy. It’s
based around the serious subject of grief and moving on.
Also, I really think it’s a great idea when creators post
about their staff/cast the way they did. Getting to know the people behind the
film is a great way to get more interested in what’s happening. It doesn’t hurt
to list their qualifications either.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$20 – Special Thank You – Your contribution will get you a names Special Thank
You in the credits of the film!
Highest Fund Reward:
$250 – Executive Producer Credit – For this generous contribution, you’ll
receive an executive producer credit on the film, as well as all previous
perks.
3 – The Firefox
Guardians
Crowdsource Platform:
Indiegogo
Director: Gunjan
Menon
Writer: Documentary
Other Staff: Shivang
Mehta (Photography), Mark Dumont (Photography), Peter Venn (Executive
Director), Louise Heren (Expert Consultant), Daryl Fernandes (Second Camera
Operator), Emma Butterworth (Music Composer), Gautam Pandey (Special Thanks),
Doel Trivedi (Special Thanks), Sumeet Keswani (Special Thanks), Janani Pradhan
(Special Thanks), Dr. Axel Gabauer (Special Thanks)
Amount Requested:
$7,000
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $1,570 raised by 15 backers.
Type of Goal: Flexible
Documentaries don’t usually make this list simply because I
normally find them unbearably boring. Many of them are narrated by monotoned voice
actors that put me to sleep. Already this one is different because the person
responsible for its creation has a passion for the subject that comes out in
her tone.
She also has a lovely accent. I don’t believe staying awake
would be difficult for this one.
Another reason this film doesn’t seem like other
documentaries is because the subject is just so damn adorable.
Red Panda’s (aka Firefoxes) are so obnoxiously cute it’s
ridiculous. If you’ve spent more than a week on Reddit, chances are you’ve seen
your fair share of adorable Red Panda gifs. If you haven’t, here’s a couple:
The final reason I found this documentary worth mentioning
is because it’s more important than it seems on the surface. Sure, I could sit
through hours of random Red Panda videos/gifs, but that’s only a way to get me
to see this documentary that touches on the species being endangered and how
people are attempting to help rebuild the numbers.
In a world where environmental consciousness has taken a
dive because of politics, it’s more important than ever to catch people’s
attention about the issues of the natural world. Using cute furry faces is a
hell of a way to do that.
As an added note, any unused funds will be donated.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$5 – Welcome to the Himalayas! – Thank you for your contribution! You will have
our eternal gratitude and the feeling of being part of something precious. You
will receive all updates of the film and behind the scenes photos on the page.
Highest Fund Reward:
$1,000 – Ultimate Red Panda Champion – You are a champion! Thank you so much
for your very generous contribution. We’ll credit you as an Executive Producer
in the film, send you all our VIP goodies and a T-Shirt with your title. We
will invite you on a special dinner date in Bristol or New Delhi and also to
our film’s screening in Bristol, UK in October (travel expenses not included).
2 – Bound
Crowdsource Platform:
Kickstarter
Director: Daljit
Kalsi Jr.
Writer: Daljit
Kalsi Jr.
Other Staff: Marritt
Vann (Co-Producer)
Amount Requested:
$4,500
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $825 raised by 7 backers.
Type of Goal: All
or nothing
Clearly, the director of this film isn’t quite as familiar
with crowdfunding sites as the rest of this week’s picks are. He does a good
job of outlining the project but not so much on the behind-the-scenes stuff. In
fact, the actual title of the film appears nowhere on the page. I was able to
discern the title from flashes of the cast being shown in the trailer. The cast
was not named.
Despite those issues, I urge you to not overlook this
project. I believe it is a ‘diamond in the rough’ kind of situation.
From what I can tell, this is not a documentary. It seems to
be a drama based on the true story of a woman that failed to escape a terrible
situation. The subject is based on the sex trafficking industry. Any industry
that trades people for money and throws them into abusive situations deserves
to have the brightest light possible shined upon it to highlight the darkest
areas.
That’s what this film means to do.
Clearly, the director has a passion for this subject and, as
a journalist, he’s likely to understand how to appeal to the public so that his
film becomes something people want to watch. That’s despite the fact that he
freely admits that it will be a difficult thing to see on screen because of the
sensitivity of the subject.
Taking important subjects and opting to show them in a
dramatic setting, rather than a documentary, opens the subject up to a bigger
audience… which is always a good thing.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$10 – Be Listed in the Film’s Credits – Your name or the name of your
business/organization will be listed under the ‘Backers’ section in the film’s
final credits.
Highest Fund Reward:
$100 – Become an Executive Producer – Your name will be listed as an Executive
Producer in the film’s final credits and will be listed on the film’s Internet
Movie Database page.
1 – Unspeakable
Crowdsource Platform:
Indiegogo
Director: Milena
Govich
Writer: David
Cornue
Other Staff: Unknown
Amount Requested:
$20,000
Current Standing (as
of Saturday night): $13,355 raised by 142 backers.
Type of Goal: Flexible
Here we have someone who’s clearly familiar with the
entertainment world. She’s acted in professional, and well-known, projects, and
she has previous experience in directing. Granted, that experience is still
rather new – but it means she knows what kind of difficulties she could wind up
facing and how to overcome them.
Aside from the benefit of supporting women in directing,
this short film has many great things going for it.
Govich will be working with her husband, Cornue, to bring
the drama/thriller to life. Unspeakable
is about a girl that tries to run from authorities by pretending to be another
young lady that was kidnapped as a child. The plot allows for some incredibly
dramatic storytelling. Besides, when married couples work together, you know
chemistry on set will likely not be an issue.
Although it’s not usually a factor in my choosing process, I
should acknowledge the kick-ass rewards being offered as well. As you would
expect when an already established actor brings something to a crowdfunding
site, her connects are helping her with rewards. That means investors have a
chance to get some great swag from their favorite shows or, if they donate
enough, even meet some interesting people.
What I like most about those kind of rewards is that it
means more of the money donated goes straight to the film and less to rewarding
people who donate – without skimping.
There’s very little to not be excited about when it comes to
Unspeakable.
To show our confidence in our number one project for this
week, Trust the Dice has donated a small amount to the film.
Lowest Fund Reward:
$5 – Social Media Thank You! – You will get a giant social media Thank You from
Milena Govich and the Unspeakable team!
Highest Fund Reward:
$10,000 – Be in the Film! + Exec Producer – You get to be in the film! Make
your film debut and play with the pros on the set of Unspeakable in a walk-on
part. Plus, Executive Producer Credit in the film and on IMDb. In short, you
are a rock star and making our dreams come true!
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