One Week
Dear Supporters,
This morning, I was hurtling down a bike trail in east Toronto, my camera gear carefully packed in a bike pannier. I was bringing my audio equipment to the guys at Trew Audio, where I’d bought it, for a pre- vulture shoot tune-up. The Don Valley Parkway and river were on my left, the rail tracks, my right. The river was rushing, muddy and full of debris from the summer storms that have been hitting the city the past couple of days.
I was brought up short by a night heron standing on the riverbank. The night heron is a primeval looking bird with red eyes, black epaulets, and twinned decorative feathers extending from the back of its head like antenna. I watched the bird watch the water, moving only when absolutely necessary. And suddenly it hit me- we’re leaving to film birds of prey in the Himalaya a week Thursday. I whipped out the 7d and took a couple of shots for posterity.
In Austin, Russ is putting the finishing touches on our itinerary, drafting workflows for media management and troubleshooting filming strategies with Drew, our cinematographer. He and Drew are testing out equipment, test packing, and crowd sourcing equipment needs like extra compact flash cards. Our fixers in China have been busy booking vehicles, scouting active nests and sourcing on-site gear. We are all literally gearing up.
It’s been a couple of months now since Russ and I sat across from each other on a transoceanic skype connection, trying to decide on our criteria for shutting down the June shoot. It was a tough call, but in the end I think we made the right one. Everything feels much more under control now, and we’re all getting really excited. We leave our respective cities next Thursday, and will all be together at our point of departure on Saturday.
We’ll be shutting down our web presence while we’re away, but rest assured we are cooking up plans to deliver those awesome kickstarter rewards.
Again, a thousand thanks for making this a reality. Every little bit has put us that much closer to successfully executing this incredible project.
Stay tuned…
Lis and Russ and Drew
PS- One last note: if you haven’t responded to the kickstarter survey, the one where we get all the info we need to send you rewards, please do!!! We need those responses so we can send out postcards, etc etc etc.
91
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$10,405
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Funding period
Feb 6, 2011 -
Mar 9, 2011
- First created · 1 backed
- Has not connected Facebook
- Website: thevultureproject.com
Pledge $1 or more
2 backers
A salute, hand shake, or high five on our way to Asia... You choose.
Pledge $5 or more
2 backers
(buys 15 packages of ramen noodles): Special Thanks noted on the website of the film, and the knowledge that you've filled the bellies of 4 thankful filmmakers.
Pledge $10 or more
7 backers
(buys a pack of batteries for our mics): Special Thanks noted on the website of the film, a postcard signed by the crew sent from location, and our unreserved thanks.
Pledge $20 or more
12 backers
(postage for five film festival applications): Special Thanks noted on the website and in the film credits, a postcard from location, streaming access to the film before its release, and our deepest gratitude.
Pledge $25 or more
27 backers
(vehicle rental for one day): Special Thanks noted on the website and in the film credits, a postcard from location, a packaged copy of the final film, and our deepest gratitude.
Pledge $50 or more
13 backers
(a visa for one crew member): A postcard from location, a packaged copy of the final film, a Vulture Project official T-shirt, a 'made possible by' credit in the film, and our broadest gratitude.
Pledge $75 or more
13 backers
(pays for the entry fee for the protected area where the vultures are found): A postcard from location, a packaged copy of the final film, a Vulture Project official T-shirt, a direct download of four on-location 'Making of The Vulture Project Episodes', a 'made possible by' credit in the film, and our keenest gratitude.
Pledge $150 or more
8 backers
(buys our bus fare into the protected area where we will shoot): A postcard from location, a packaged copy of the final film, a Vulture Project official T-shirt, a direct download of four on-location 'Making of The Vulture Project Episodes', a 'made possible by' credit in the film, a series of 8 ½ x11 production stills chronicling the production, and our highest gratitude.
Pledge $500 or more
0 backers
(Immunizations for one crew member) A postcard from location, two packaged copies of the final film, a ‘made possible by’ credit in the film, 5 ‘Vulture Project T-Shirts, a personalized video thank you note shot on location, and streamed over the web (can customize if you would like this to be personalized as a gift for someone else), a framed production still from our online gallery, and our endless appreciation.
Pledge $1,000 or more
0 backers
(Covers hotel costs for one crew member for the shoot): Associate producer credit, two copies of the doc, a signed poster, snapshots of one of the crew making a donation of 10% of the value of your donation to the monastery nearest our location (in your name if possible), and our profound appreciation for your generosity.
Pledge $2,000 or more
0 backers
(Pays our local guide): Associate producer credit, two copies of the doc, 3 signed posters or a series of production stills (your choice) with the opportunity to view and comment on the rough cut of the production, snapshots of one of the crew making a donation of 10% of the value of your donation to the Monastery nearest our location (in your name if possible), and our most humble thanks for your contribution.
Pledge $5,000 or more
1 backer Limited (3 of 4 left)
(Pays for crew member’s flights): Executive Producer credit, with the opportunity to view and comment on the rough cut of the production, two copies of the doc, 3 signed posters or a series of production stills (your choice), snapshots of one of the crew making a donation of 10% of the value of your donation to the Monastery nearest our location (in your name if possible), invitation to the festival premier of The Vulture Project... AND we will CALL you FROM LOCATION either via skype, cell, or payphone to express our deep, deep gratitude for making this incredible film a reality.
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