The Devil and Harm is a chilling story of life and death. The Devil visits a sickly man named Harm in the late hours of the night and forces him to make a choice: accept death or bestow it upon another.

Led by two innovative Emerson College students, Daniel Hillel-Tuch and Silas Robinson are engaging a global community to make a great and edgy film. I spoke with Daniel about their victories and challenges.

I'm a Film major at Emerson College, but I also took a minor in Psychology. In my Developmental Psychology class the professor Eline McBridge, a lovely lady with a delightful Scottish accent, discussed death and dying including the famous Kübler-Ross model: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

For days I was obsessed with the notion 'what if I knew I was dying?' I imagined myself with only two weeks left of life, and how I would react to it.

Originally I wrote out the concept as a monologue, but as the idea developed I became fascinated with the contradiction of the super-natural forcing a moral choice based on nihilism. 

I wrote the original draft of the script almost two years ago, it was eventually accepted into the Emerson Script Anthology "Thread". As I was preparing it to be published, my cinematographer and then roommate, Silas Robinson, mentioned he thought it would be worth making. His encouragement made me follow through.

That's quite a spectrum of emotions and themes. How has your experience been as a crowdfunding pioneer in the world of film at Emerson College? Has it mirrored the filmmaking process?

What a lofty notion. I wouldn't call myself a crowdfunding pioneer, as I am definitely not the first one to utilize the tool at Emerson College. However, I have noticed that RocketHub, which is unfortunately not incredibly well known around the school, has struck a lot of students interest over some of the other websites. The ability to keep the money you raise no matter what, and the freedom to alter your main page including your videos, has definitely convinced people of the potential of RocketHub as well as crowdfunding. I plan to use RocketHub and crowdfunding for most of my future projects, and I know that others who have seen what can be done, will gladly follow this example.

Well thank you for the kind words. What advice do you have for fellow up-start filmmakers looking to experience the same crowdfunding success?

Most of the money that has been raised so far has been through family, and close family friends.

My parents have been a great assistance thanks to their list of contacts. Using family friends, I realized I would be able to raise the most of amount of money in the beginning. People with jobs, families, and a real disposable income are more inclined to contribute than say, college students who would rather buy a 12-pack. Also, my mother can be quite tenacious and was very useful in reminding people who pledged to contribute, that they should.

Originally, I designed an email that informed people of the project, I tailored each one specifically to the person I was writing to, and encouraged not a “donation” but rather a “contribution” in exchange for a reward. I've also been maintaining a blog devilandharm.tumblr.com thanking my contributors, as well as regularly posting on Facebook. I noticed that once I did, every now and then a small contribution would quickly follow. I passed on a guide to those on my crew, encouraging them to reach out to people as well.

I also sent out thank you message, to those who contributed, along with those who didn't. It serves as a reminder, and a demonstration that I am appreciative and paying attention.

Soon I will be contacting my close friends at Emerson College, as well as those back home in Holland, from who I imagine will give smaller contributions yet will help us reach our final goal. I wanted the project to look healthy before I contacted the more cynical younger generation, for who a $20 contribution means a little more than it does to a family man with three daughters. To them it should seem exciting to be a part of this project, a chance to influence what could be a great film. To them, it has to seem pretty cool. Fortunately, it is.

That's great feedback - gaining those first-followers is a crucial step. The "thank you" blog is brilliant and pretty simple.

Thanks for the candid answers - the whole RocketHub team is stoked about seeing this film. Show your support.

-Vlad