Sons Rising - Chronicling a Man’s Life through Film
The story is very universal, honest and relatable and I’ve been wanting to tell it for years. It’s simply about the lives of men, from when they’re born to when they become fathers! But the unique concept of how I’ll structure the story was inspired by a song. One night in late February I was up super late listening to the track, on repeat, and I wasn’t able to stop the ideas from flowing. It consumed me and I knew I had the idea for my next passion project! Within weeks I was emailing around, working on getting rights to the track… I usually listen to music differently, always thinking of ways to use it in video. I tend to see it as the soundtrack to life and if you watch the video content I put out, music is usually one of the driving forces and I love to edit around it. I think once people watch the film, they’ll see that the song will work exceptionally well for the story being told, and I’m sure the film will grip a lot of its viewers, both male and female. My experience thus far has been both exciting and humbling, to tell the truth. It’s cool being part of this new wave of creatives who’ve come up with alternative means of getting projects made. Many of these projects, otherwise, wouldn’t have been getting made just five years ago… On a more personal level, it’s humbling to see that people believe in you enough to give their money so you can produce a film. It gets past the point of jumping for joy when you realize that people truly have faith in you like that. They have faith that you’ll produce something they’ll be proud to say they were a part of. That’s kind of heavy, but in a good way. The support’s really been remarkable and I’m grateful! Even those who can’t provide ‘fuel’ for the project have been gracious enough to spread the word and that’s been huge. I think it’s important to be transparent and do what you can to let people know who you are and what you’re doing. They’re trusting you with their money, so they have to know that it will be put to good use… It also helps to be validated as a creative, somehow. Fortunately for me, I’m able to point to my last film to show that I’m able to pull off something people might want to be a part of… Also, I can’t reiterate enough how important it is to utilize social media. With my project, I let my friends and family have a crack at it first and then I started to branch out to others who might be interested in getting involved. For example, I reached out to the band whose song I’m using, and they agreed to spread the word on their social network so their fans can get in on the action. You have to be aware of people out there who would want to get involved, not just because they know you, but because they’d be interested in the content you’ll be producing… Lastly, come up with cool rewards and incentives! - Samuel Ebat, Filmmaker
- September 12, 2012
Costs of Living - A Poignant New Musical
Costs of Living was actually inspired by two things coming onto my radar at roughly the same time. The first and more obvious, was the Times article which inspired the narrative. In 2009, two immigrant cab drivers (Nepali in real life, Chinese in my fiction) who were sharing opposite shifts off the same medallion were both trying to make their fortunes and bring their respective families over when the night shift driver, who was comparatively less successful at it attempted to murder his partner and ultimately killed himself. This notion of Promise versus Potential in the American Dream or, to put another way, this lack of distinction is something that frequently weighs on my mind. That first generation immigrants believe there is any kind of guarantee for success if they simply commit to their labors is, in my view, somewhat disingenuous. And therefore inherently tragic. Further, that the bi-product of Social Darwinism in our democracy frequently leads to “brother against brother” violence was also something I wanted to explore. The second bit happened when I read Wes Moore’s book “The Other Wes Moore”. Which, in a nutshell is a literary documentary of two identically named individuals, who grew up blocks away from each other under similar conditions and circumstances. One wound up being a Rhodes Scholar (the author) while the other was convicted to life in prison for attempted murder. That (to quote Moore) “my story could have been his and his could easily have been mine” sort of hit me like a fist. Maybe it is naive of me, but I felt compelled to cast light on this lack of oversight in our individual communities. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it seems like the way our system is structured, that sort of support system just can’t exist. Anyway, the combination of these two discoveries was the genesis of Costs of Living. Crowdfunding has been, for want of a more specific term, eye opening. And humbling. By and large, musical theater that is grown from an original idea- not born from a pre-existing and usually well-known property- is a hard sell. Couple that with a story that is seemingly “foreign” and the odds get stacked considerably against you. There are a lot of factors in play here. Some folks respond to the project itself. That’s bound to happen yes? They see the video we produced, they read the copy, they hear the audio we posted on RocketHub, and one of those things resonates. But others, (most others,) respond because there is or are people involved whom they care about, whose opinions they trust. So when my cast says “help fuel this project because it’s something I’ve spent time with and believe in” that’s sort of the greatest thing ever. On the other hand there are also folks out there who have contributed simply because it’s become common knowledge among my Facebook community that anyone who fuels the project will get a public shout-out from me… by way of a goofy photoshop MEME I make from one of their photos. More on this below. Overall though, the response has been overwhelming. I think by and large, there is this misunderstanding of what crowdfunding is on the part of the project-makers. Which ultimately translates to a misunderstanding of what it is to project-fuelers. People seem to think that they need only post a sharp video, copy paste their project language and spam the crap out of their friends and neighbors. I have historically never had success from that tactic. Especially now that we’re at a point where crowdfunding is so common. (On any given week there are between three and six projects I am asked to support.) Taking no action seems to lead potential fuelers to believe that what’s happening is they’re being solicited for a handout. Despite evidence to the contrary. That said, I am doing the best I can to communicate to potential fuelers that my project is something I truly believe in and is something worthy of their consideration. That translates to jumping through as many hoops as I can manufacture for myself. So if like, the question is “what would you do for a Klondike bar?”. The answer can only be “Brother, I would do SO much for a frickin Klondike bar. You haven’t begun to know what it is I would do for a Klondike bar.” To wit, I have made approximately one hundred photoshop banners for all of my fuelers. I have branded my project with the hash tag #MakeCOLGo. I have produced a few video blogs, (all on my own thank you very much) some of which are kind of ridiculously overproduced… I’ve tried my best to communicate “this is cool. You should want to be a part of this.” And all of this stuff is, to me anyway, hilariously entertaining. Even if you don’t dig the humor of it, the level of commitment I’m putting towards these little digital doodads is pretty apparent. It is incredibly labor intensive. I mean, when the time I spend doing it could be time spent working on rewrites for my show or whatever. But it’s had a direct affect on our numbers. And that is simply undeniable. So I guess, to anyone who has a project that’s kind of a hard sell, I’d say focus entirely on what makes YOU geek out over it. Recognize that the stakes are higher than your own personal interests, and communicate that. - Timothy Huang, Composer, Lyricist, and Asian Dude
- September 9, 2012
Crowdfunding a Novel - Of Broken Bones and Broken Lives
I’m what’s known as a Third Culture Kid (TCK). Although my parents hailed from North America, I was born and raised in Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia. The country itself is endlessly fascinating and some of the particulars of my unique upbringing provide good fodder for stories. At a deeper level, however, my writing addresses the sense of displacement or alienation that is not unusual among people anywhere. I wanted to explore why TCKs and others like us tend to be resourceful and adaptable, flexible and forgiving, yet always hold something in reserve. There is always a trace of the foreigner in us. Crowdfunding on RocketHub has been easier than I expected. Because my project is intensely personal in many ways, I thought long and hard about launching it so publicly. I also worried about keeping up my end of the bargain, wondering if I would make the best use of this opportunity to seriously advance a creative notion that’s been percolating internally for so long. Well … I received enough positive response in the first few days that I realized I better keep my nose to the grindstone. The work itself has been both difficult and rewarding. Two weeks in I can mark a lot of progress, and I’m incredibly aware of how much more remains. I’ve been surprised to see support come from unexpected quarters, and occasionally disappointed when it fails to materialize from some I thought would be readily on board. Half way through I’m starting to pick up a few fuelers from far beyond my personal circles. I’m hoping to see that grow. This is an adventure. I’m halfway through the time frame and nearly two-thirds of the way to the fundraising goal. This is encouraging, but I’m acutely aware of the amount that still needs to come in. My inner circle has already pitched in; now the ripples need to flow to people I don’t know. I’ve been doing my best to make a wide range of my personal and professional contacts aware of my project without being intrusive or annoying in any way. My updates are short and open-ended. My personal blog is updated regularly and I promote it through Facebook. I’m thanking each fueler individually by email. At the 15-day halfway point I’m sending an email update and appeal to about 300 contacts. I’m hoping that will put me over the top, and then we’ll see how high we can go. UPDATE: With less than two days left, the project has crossed 125%. - Doug Koop, Writer and Spiritual Care Provider
- September 6, 2012
The Art of the Strong Start - 52 Shades of Greed
How did you come up with the idea to create 52 Shades of Greed? I wish I could claim the concept, but it was really a group effort. The Alternative Banking group needed some illustrations for a deck of cards they wanted to hand out on #S17, their big anniversary day of action. The concept was that of a “stacked deck” where every card had a person, institution, or financial instrument that was doing more harm than good. I agreed to do a few of the cards, and I brought on my friend Daniel Nyari who agreed to do the design of the cards. This was manageable in the short time frame they had. Daniel suggested bringing on other artists and illustrating ALL the cards. I was hesitant but went with his suggestion. When we put the call out, the response was overwhelming. Suddenly the project became much bigger, and much more inspiring. We decided to fundraise to pay for the production of the cards, and when we started talking about it we found a lot of folks who were interested in a story like this. It is a story with lots of angles. It is about Occupy, certainly, but it is also about collaboration between illustrators of all stripes and levels of fame to say something important about the world. It showcases artists as teachers who are engaged in politics and social welfare, much more than servants to other peoples’ messages. For us it is also about the incredibly inspiring process of coming together to create a unique and beautiful art object. We found ourselves called to reach out to more media sources and tell them about the project. The project really evolved over time and that time was in just 1 week! I am incredibly proud of our artists, and the Alternative Banking team, for stepping up so fast when it became clear we could do something great. Crowdfunding is hard work. Why is this project important to you, and what about it made you willing to put in the effort? Beyond just that it’s awesome and I want one of these decks myself? Something that is very important to me and Daniel, as well as Occupy, is that people get paid a fair living wage for their time. The initial funds we raise will go to pay for the printing of the cards as well as the artists. Beyond that, we want to make this a project that works for everyone involved in their own lives, both the artists and the Alternative Banking team. We want this to be something we can show off to past and future clients, and we can be proud to say “We made this together.” In light of that, we plan on rolling out some new big rewards if we can reach well beyond our initial funding goal. We would love to plan physical shows and events which are just as beautiful and educational as the cards themselves. We are currently talking to gallery spaces in New York about a show and series of panel discussions on finance for creatives. We would love to fill up with enough rocket fuel to go to other cities with this project. How did you create the team behind this project? Daniel and I have a pretty wide network and were able to reach out to many of the people there for this project. We were very lucky to find this group who were willing to work on this crazy deadline, and the quality of the pieces just blew us away. I would hire any one of them again in a heartbeat because now I know they can come through. We also found an incredible partner in AdMagic, the people who made the cards. They worked with our tight deadline and printed all the cards in the U.S. We want to do it all over again just to work with them! The Alternate Banking group was great too. They came up with all the card names and copy. Everything really came together perfectly. You launched this project with a lot of momentum. Can you offer some advice to others, who are about to launch their own projects, on how to find similar success? We got a lot of advice from experts, including the folks at RocketHub. Everything from timing to how to put the word out. One great tip we got was to create an internet event, and get all our networks to push the project and our hash tags all at once. Getting commitments from various news sources and big tweeters really helped get us moving. The internet rewards large, sudden changes in activity. So if we did a slow build, gathering momentum, we would not have received the attention we got. Occupy never trended on Twitter for exactly this reason, the slow buildup isn’t rewarded. By creating a spike, going from zero to lots of action very quickly, we were able to create a buzz and buzzes tend to turn into roars. After your success with “A Baby’s First Book of Zombies” on Kickstarter, why did you choose to work with RocketHub? I loved our Kickstarter experience, but we did feel like we could have reached more people. I had been to one of RocketHub’s events and got the clear impression from their team that they are active in helping push great projects. I was right. We got tons of great, and very specific advice from the team at RH. Everything from when to launch our campaign, to custom reward levels, and even feature requests when we had them. I felt like Rocket Hub was very much a partner with us, not just a host, which was great. - Marc Scheff, Illustrator, Designer, Art Director, and Entrepreneur
- September 4, 2012
Kenguru - A New Car for Greater Access
At Community Cars, we have recently begun producing low speed electric vehicles that are purpose built for people in wheelchairs: the Kenguru. The Kenguru is 100% electric, has a top speed of 25mph (federally regulated), is street legal for community use, has a range of 60 miles, and most importantly, is built from the ground up specifically for a person in a wheelchair. As a woman with a disability, I was getting so tired of depending on other people for transportation! Not only does it make me feel like a burden, but it is completely contrary to my independent nature. The Kenguru solves the problem, and the current project on RocketHub will make the Kenguru useable for people like myself, that have limited upper body strength. I look forward to being able to travel to the movie theater, my favorite restaurants, and the grocery store without help and on my own schedule. Can you even imagine such a basic desire!?!? Supporters are responding overwhelmingly positively. Our supporters are a nice mix of people with disabilities who want to buy our product once it comes to market and people without disabilities who just want to help our mission because it is about basic needs, and they recognize the importance of transportation as it relates to quality of life. In terms of advice, my only regret is not spreading the word more before bringing my project live! The time is flying by and there is so much outreach to be done. If I had it to do over, I would have lined up partnerships with huge mailing lists beforehand so we could get the word out on day one. - Stacy Zoern, CEO of Community Cars
- August 31, 2012
RocketHub Success Check-In: Sweet Soubrette
Since our last album release, my indie rock band Sweet Soubrette has expanded from a four or five-piece into a eight-piece big band with strings, horns, bass, drums and keyboard (amazing to think this all started out as just me and a ukulele). Toward the end of last year two things happened: our producer moved to the west coast, and my brother surprised me with the results of a secret crowdfunding campaign. He had raised enough money from friends and family for Sweet Soubrette to record two new tracks with a new producer, the talented Don Godwin. I bawled like a baby when I opened the envelope and saw what my brother had done, and saw how many people cared about helping move this project into its next phase. Dozens of people were literally invested in what we were going to do next. For all of these reasons, it was a big deal to record our songs “What’s My Desire?” and “Be My Man” in big band arrangements early this year. “What’s My Desire?” was inspired by Anais Nin’s book Henry and June, so it’s really sensual and dark, which I think comes through in the recording. “Be My Man” is basically disco pop. The new tracks both sounded so good when they were done that instead of holding onto them until a whole album’s worth of material was finished (though we are now working on that), I decided to release them on a limited-edition EP along with two live show recordings. The album art is a photo from the “What’s My Desire?” video shoot (video to release this fall!), so that became the title track. The EPs arrived just in time for a pre-release tour of France in May: me solo, with a Paris backing band for one unforgettable gig. The “What’s My Desire?” EP was officially released on August 14 with a show at The Living Room in NYC. We’ve gotten some great responses to the new recordings; the blog either/or said of the title track, “If ever a tune was deserving of the adjective ‘lovely’, this is surely it.” Time Out New York said: “Sweet Soubrette’s style comes with a pinch of Regina Spektor quirk and a spoonful of old-timey burlesque.” The release show kicked off a five-day tour of the Northeast: five of us went on the road to Massachusetts and upstate NY in a mom minivan (which I guess makes me mom). Among other shows, we played an outdoor waterfront festival where a trio of six-year-olds danced in front of the stage like the Supremes. It was epic. Now we’re going to close out the summer with a big band show at LIC Bar on Wednesday, which should be a lot of fun. When we played there in May, the stage was a tight squeeze for us even with a couple of band members missing; we ended up putting two horns up in the DJ booth. This time I have no idea where we’re going to put everybody, but it’s going to be a good time. See Sweet Soubrette live tonight - Wednesday, August 29, at LIC Bar, 45-58 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City (9pm; no cover). “What’s My Desire?” is available as a download or a limited-edition physical CD (with bonus tracks) at sweetsoubrette.bandcamp.com, or in person at the show. - Sweet Soubrette Photo by Katya Bassil
- August 29, 2012
A City of Trees Sprouts in Toronto
Mikey Hill, a founding member of the band, and myself used to be in a post-hardcore musical act. During the off times of our practices we would write songs on the side that didn’t really fit with that band’s hard rock sound. We found that a lot of musical genres predisposed themselves to certain emotions. Wanting to branch out artistically and finding it hard to break out of the genre we were in, we decided to start a new band where we were free to explore in anyway that struck us. Thus The Maladies of Adam Stokes was formed. We gathered together friends who we knew were of like mind and started making music. Almost three years later we found ourselves with enough well crafted songs to make a record. Running into the roadblock most musicians face, we were short on money. Enter RocketHub. Being Canadian there are limitations to which crowd funding sites were available to us. Luckily for us Rockethub is exactly what we were looking for. And now we’re well on our way to releasing our first full length album. Our crowdfunding experience has been OVERWHELMINGLY positive. Being a fan myself I know that a lot of people want to support the acts they feel passionate about, but don’t really know how. It’s become common knowledge that when buying a CD though a retailer or on iTunes, alot of the money is lost in other costs before getting to the band. As well, going to live shows is a huge help, but there’s not much you can do if the band you love doesn’t really come to your city often. Crowdfunding has really changed that for us. With RocketHub fans know that not only does all the money raised (minus the small collection fee) go to the band, but that money is going to be used to help make the project happen. I think it’s a huge motivator when people feel like they are not only supporting but actually becoming part of something larger. The people that have supported our project are actually responsible for helping make our dream a reality. That’s crazy to think about. Without them it wouldn’t happen. For success, first and foremost you really need to know your audience. Think about what you’d be looking for if you were in their spot. This will allow you to offer rewards that will speak to them. Second, add value to your rewards. Yes its important to try and make the margins such that you’re getting whatever you can to fund your project, but make sure that the next step in the reward ladder is close enough and enticing enough that anyone will want to give you more because they’re getting value for their money as well. The last piece of advice I can give is communicate with your core audience. Make sure that whoever the rewards are aimed at don’t just feel like they’re being sold to. Talk to them before and after they contribute. It’s not enough to email, twitter and facebook the project, call people. Talk to them face to face and make sure they know how much every little bit will help. After they give let them know how thankful you are and ask them to pass it along. If they know how much you care, they’ll care too. - Kohji Nagata, The Maladies of Adam Stokes
- August 28, 2012
Independent Athletic Brand, Spira Inspires Passion and Crowdfundings New Line
After many years of development and testing, We are proud to introduce the Spira® Stinger 2. I know this a really cool looking shoe, but the outside is just the beginning. Like the human spirit, true beauty is found on the inside. I was an attorney for 17 years before starting Spira. While I enjoyed the practice of law, I knew immediately once I tried on the first pair of prototypes that the development of the WaveSpring technology was destined to change the footwear industry, and potentially impact the quality of life of every person on the planet. That vision has never waned. This new shoe we’re introducing, the Stinger 2 is the most exciting shoe we’ve ever developed, and most remarkable shoe ever made. The timing is perfect! I love the RocketHub platform! It not only gives us an opportunity to tell our story in succinct but impactful way, but also provides a credible aggregation point for our existing brand supporters to share their passion with others. Obviously, on the first day the fuelers were people that we invited to the site, but since then, it appears to be growing organically. One of the best things is the support of the RocketHub staff which has been really responsive and supportive. This is the future of venture funding and we’re beyond excited to be on the front end of it. When asked, I describe the RH site as Facebook meets a larger and much gentler Shark Tank! My advice for crowdfunding success, first invest the time up front to make your presentation as good as it can possibly be. We spent two months fine tuning the presentation to try to communicate the message in an understandable way. In the case of our shoes, it’s easy to become too technical. Second, let your friends and family know about your project. The platform is only as good as your ability to share it. Third, make sure your goal is realistic. Aim low. If it takes off, great, but you don’t want to end up disappointed. Finally, share your passion. People are investing in you even more than your project. - Andy Krafsur, CEO, Founder of Spira Footwear & Crowdfunding Extrodinaire
- August 23, 2012
Lizzy and the Lizzards Rock Around the World
I’ve been singing and writing lyrics professionally for about fifteen years for the pop/rock band This is lizzard, which I founded together with my husband, Roland Stolk, in the late 90’s. Over the years, as we were struggling to make a living as independent musicians, something pretty big happened: we had kids. Those kids were, and are, the driving force and inspiration behind our project, ‘Lizzy and the Lizzards Sing it Like it IS’. As a parent, I’ve found music to be an ideal tool to understand my children’s needs, help them in their development, encourage them to communicate, teach them new things, and make every day enjoyable all at the same time! In our family, there is always a reason to sing a song, whether it’s peeing on the potty, or learning what traffic lights mean, or getting a cold. We sing about stuff we deal with every day, stuff that all kids deal with every day. Just recently, we released the song and video for ‘I Got an Owie’, which was very well-received. Kids and grown-ups not only love the song, they also relate to the theme, and have incorporated it into their lives, which I consider a huge compliment as well as proof that our music really can be used as a developmental aid! Now, the inspiration to write children’s music has gone far beyond our own four walls - we’re inspired to write songs not just for our own kids, but for kids everywhere. I get the impression that crowdfunding in the Netherlands is still a relatively new concept, compared to in America, so I’ve noticed some hesitation from potential Dutch fuelers. On top of that, all our songs are sung in English. Despite the fact that kids in the Netherlands learn English at a very young age, it’s still hard to market music for young children in the Netherlands in any other language than Dutch. At the moment, we’re focusing our attention on potential fuelers in the States more than the Netherlands, due to the language barrier. The support has been overwhelming so far! I’m American, but have lived in the Netherlands for over twenty years, and when it comes to writing lyrics, I can express myself better in my native language than in Dutch, even though I speak it fluently. Regardless of all that, though, the response from our Dutch fans and supporters has been wonderful. At the end of the day, we make music that kids want to get up and dance to, no matter what language they speak! In future, I can imagine all the songs being translated into just about any language, including Dutch, once ‘Lizzy and the Lizzards’ really takes off! I still consider myself a crowdfunding rookie, but if I’ve learned anything from my experiences on Rockethub so far, it’s that a personal approach matters most. The rewards are also a reflection of that personal approach - besides free music, eternal gratitude and credit on both the website and the soon-to-be-debut CD, fuelers can receive anything from hand-drawn sketches to personal video messages to an incredibly awesome one-of-a-kind hand-made hat in return for their generosity! I would advise others looking to crowdfund a project like mine to begin by engaging closest friends and family, who will support you in all your endeavors. Send personal e-mails to friends, asking them to take a moment to consider fueling your project. Each time someone fuels it, thank them publicly, which will probably inspire others to help out too. Get in touch with online groups and bloggers that deal with similar themes, to ask if they would consider spotlighting your project somehow. I’ve always found it difficult to ‘sell’ myself and my music by way of promotion, but when it comes to ‘Lizzy and the Lizzards’, which is something I believe in 100%, I’m extremely motivated. I am convinced of the positive, constructive effect our fun, funky and functional concept can have on kids and their grown-ups. If the motivation, passion, and support is there, I honestly think you don’t need a whole lot more to make it success. - Lizanne Hennessey, Singer, Mom, and International Crowdfunding Pioneer
- August 20, 2012
The House at the Edge of the Galaxy
It has been about a year since my last RocketHub campaign where I presented Pisces of an Unconscious Mind short film. The film was completed in September 2011 and sent around different festivals to compete to be selected among thousands of short films that had been produced around the same time. I am proud to say that in 2012 Pisces won a Drama Award at the Official Best of Fest festival, it was selected by Oscar Qualifier Atlanta Film Festival as well as Woods Hole Film Festival which was named one of 10 best USA Film Festivals by Filmmaker in 2010, Magnolia Film Fest, it was shown in Anthology Film Archives last Spring as well as selected to be shown in August 15th by New York City International Film Festival in the Abingdon Theater and just now, we’ve got notified about another festival selection from The Rome International Film Festival in Georgia. But we are not finished yet, it is just a year since it is been produced, and the film is still circulating among Festival circuits around the globe. I am using this huge momentum for my next film - The House at the Edge of the Galaxy which is going to be my second film that I wrote. The House at the Edge of the Galaxy will take you to the Edge of the Galaxy where a little boy finds himself trapped in the house he wants to escape, but can’t. The boy meets a cosmonaut who knows how to plant a star and make a house a home. It is a major key for this production to find that Edge on Earth (or elsewhere in the galaxy) that the story is about, and I think we did. The place we are going to shoot is truly unique. It is an old house that is standing in the middle of the forest, and it feels lost. The house was built in mid 18th century, and was locked until 1930th. It was re opened in 1954 I was told. When we came inside of the house for the first time, we found magazines and newspapers dated 1954 on the floor. I am very excited to shoot there. Everything inside of the house is fantastic and truly unique. Lights streams through the old imperfect glass windows, spider webs, wallpapers, a bird nest on the lamp up in the ceiling, old dusty bottles on the floor, crooked furniture, dry and dusty with noise floors, cracks, all of these things play together and create mesmerizing shades and shadows we hope to capture and magnify or re - create with the camera when we are there. Our story organically fits into the house’s environment, but of course we try to make it even more surreal and tell our story in the film. What we want is magic to happen, but we want the reality not cease to exist. We want all to co exist inside of the film and take you in when you watch it. We are in the midst of rehearsals, design meetings, costumes ordering, crew building, equipment renting, thinking about shots, strategy, light, and all of this going in parallel and eventually will submerge into one single point that is seen not too far from now, the Point of Departure into our production world. Production is a huge process and incredible collaboration with everyone in the crew. And everyone in the crew is professional and fun to work with at the moment. In comparison with Pisces, this production is going to be bigger and more involved. When do we start? Very soon! On 23rd the whole crew will arrive and settle inside of the big house located near the prime location. Then we will sleep, I hope — It is 5 hours away form NYC and everyone surely will be tired after the road. But, early 24th early morning it is a start. Obviously, we are very excited about this production and everyone is totally hyped up. All of us feel that we are creating something unique and artful. We want this to be a special experience told by the film. We want this film to be truly an art piece. Where are we right now? Right now we are looking for your continuous support. Rocket Hub campaign shows us that there is a world out there that is waiting for us to make this film. What can be more gratifying than knowing that our film is expected by many to be finished, I can only think of one thing, probably just going and finishing it. But you are in charge to give us that feel. Thank you RocketHub and YOU for your continuous support. - Gleb Osatinski, Independent Writer, Director and Film Producer
- August 14, 2012
