Behind the scenes - Page 9
The Leap of Faith
The funding deadline was the first one we missed in three years of work on this project. We agreed that we would have to have a minimum amount of cash on hand one month out or we would have to postpone production. When that date rolled around, we were only half way there. (That appears to be the golden rule, by the way. So, always set your fundraising goals at two times what you can get by with. Without fail, you will come up with half of that number.) Despite a few believers, namely my pops, who put our 1st share on his credit card, we were nowhere near the goal. And production was around the corner.
We had the talent. We had the script. And we had Kev Robertson, the perfect DP for the project. Aside from being one of the most talented DPs is California, Kev was down for the graffiti model. Graffiti artists create powerful, compelling pieces with little or no resources. We adopted that as our production model and Kev fully understood how to bring that aesthetic to the screen. Whenever I kicked it with Kev, I knew everything was going to be alright. But we still needed money for film stock and food.
Brant & I hung tight. We had assembled a strong team. Kodak agreed to hook us up on film. Chen Design gave us an office as well as design services. People were down for QoL. And we knew the script was good enough to stand on its own. But people were starting to get anxious. We had no locations, props, or wardrobe. And now, no money. We refused to go the Hollywood route and shop around. But we were starting to wonder if we could pull it on our own. One night quickly squashed that insecurity.
On June 27, 2003, we threw a fundraiser at Punch Gallery in SF. Brian rallied some of the city's hottest artists to auction pieces for us. The auction went great, as did the raffle. And we raised a significant chunk of change (relative to our budget). But, more importantly, we got people excited about the film. We had momentum. And it's all about momentum. Sure enough, the money came rolling in. Within a week, we were greenlit again.
The Leap of Faith
The funding deadline was the first one we missed in three years of work on this project. We agreed that we would have to have a minimum amount of cash on hand one month out or we would have to postpone production. When that date rolled around, we were only half way there. (That appears to be the golden rule, by the way. So, always set your fundraising goals at two times what you can get by with. Without fail, you will come up with half of that number.) Despite a few believers, namely my pops, who put our 1st share on his credit card, we were nowhere near the goal. And production was around the corner.
We had the talent. We had the script. And we had Kev Robertson, the perfect DP for the project. Aside from being one of the most talented DPs is California, Kev was down for the graffiti model. Graffiti artists create powerful, compelling pieces with little or no resources. We adopted that as our production model and Kev fully understood how to bring that aesthetic to the screen. Whenever I kicked it with Kev, I knew everything was going to be alright. But we still needed money for film stock and food.
Brant & I hung tight. We had assembled a strong team. Kodak agreed to hook us up on film. Chen Design gave us an office as well as design services. People were down for QoL. And we knew the script was good enough to stand on its own. But people were starting to get anxious. We had no locations, props, or wardrobe. And now, no money. We refused to go the Hollywood route and shop around. But we were starting to wonder if we could pull it on our own. One night quickly squashed that insecurity.
On June 27, 2003, we threw a fundraiser at Punch Gallery in SF. Brian rallied some of the city's hottest artists to auction pieces for us. The auction went great, as did the raffle. And we raised a significant chunk of change (relative to our budget). But, more importantly, we got people excited about the film. We had momentum. And it's all about momentum. Sure enough, the money came rolling in. Within a week, we were greenlit again.