Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
One day we decided that we were going to make “Plans.” The same as we decided one day to write it. Immediately, the world changed. There was a subtle, but distinct reality shift in simply going from saying “this is a script Jason and I wrote” to “this is the movie we’re shooting in July.” It became as real as if someone had walked up with a call sheet and booked us. People’s reaction was different when we spoke about it. It was easier to get their feedback. Their involvement.
Just as suddenly, the clock ticked. It had been nearly a decade since we typed the title into a blank page, but now there would be requirements. Pre-production. Cast, crew, locations, equipment. Contracts, schedules and storyboards. Dependencies! Contingencies!
Money.
We’d require money at some point. We tabled that. We decided we’d proceed for as long as we could. We scouted locations we knew we could get for free, we talked to actor friends about playing supporting characters for scale, we started to secure gear and crew on favors. Everything was either on loan or on deferred salary. Everyone would share in the work, and everyone would share in the spoils. We had yet to spend a dime.
It was stone soup.
There are variations on the story of “Stone Soup”, but the one I know best is about traveling soldiers looking for a meal, who happen upon a village of little means. They start a pot of boiling water in the center of town and when enough passers-by had gathered, they dropped a nice, round, heavy fieldstone into it.
“What are you doing?” they asked. “Why, making stone soup! It’s ever so good… if only we had some spices…”
And so it goes until everyone pitched in what portion of the ingredients they could and eventually they all shared a fine stew. And it stands as a fine example of the power of co-operation in a time of scarcity. Some variations paint the travelers as hucksters, grifters or cons, but most show them as just a couple of hungry guys with an idea. They had the recipe.
A script is a recipe. And our nice, round, heavy fieldstone? Our decision to make the movie.
Will.
How do we do it? We’ll “stone soup it”. But we’ve more than a stone. A script has value. We are media professionals, our time has value. Equity has already accreted in the project, so rather than just ask for ingredients, we’ve been able to offer that equity in the form of deferred salary, rental fees, credits, experience, etc.
So what can you, dearest passers-by, o fellow digital villagers, do to get involved? Easy.
1) Micro-donation via Invested.in (4% of our target in less than two days!). We’ve tried to keep the budget to zero, but the reality is that our shoot will last over 18 days. Some days will be particularly long and so we are raising $5k to cover craft service and meals for the shoot. Food is one heckuva morale booster on set. In exchange for financial support, we are offering everything from signed swag to producer credits depending on the level of support.
2) Equipment: Canon EOS 5D MKII, Lenses, grip kit, lights — We will be shooting in the Greater LA area for most of July. If you have this equipment and are local, we’re planning on shooting on DSLR. We’d love loaners, but are happy to rent (deferred).
3) Day crew: PAs, grips — The shooting schedule is broken up such that anyone looking to snag a production department credit, gain more experience, or just volunteer because they love making the movies can do so in small chunks (4 hour day, three days a week, for example)
4) A DP: We’ve held off hiring a DP, because we’re convinced that someone out there has a reel they can send us. That someone has done more with less. They live and breathe to run and gun. They love the idea of shooting HD on a DSLR, and better yet they own one. Their reel has shots they’ve done using an HD capable DSLR and those shots are stunning. Innovative. Daring and original. And simply and repeatably orchestrated. Of course, this dream DP also doesn’t mind deferred salary. But they are out there, we know it.
Filmmaking is the most collaborative art form there is. We can push the boundaries of that collaboration. We have, among our collective community, all the same tools at our disposal as any studio has at theirs and we can accomplish a great deal more with them. We are a studio free studio.
