Kickstarter

Raison D'Etre:

When the alumni from the past 60 years of Barrington High School performing arts take the stage on July 10th, 2010, I will hopefully have captured the pain, the joy, the guts, and the glory that goes into putting up a stage show. The purpose of their show is to create an endowment for the arts so that some student (and future students to come) may have an easier time as they embark on a life in the arts. Another purpose is to show that despite a bad economy and high unemployment rates, the arts funding is something that cannot be cut from our children’s future.
I will show through the experiences of this small group of individuals how the tools you learn in the performing arts can be carried through your whole life. There are many movies about a sports team who overcomes a big challenge. This movie is about how this group, through their love and years of dedication of the performing arts, and their willingness to come back for another Hoorah, can potentially save a vital program from getting the axe.

The Trailer:

The trailer shown above is not meant to be the final trailer, it is merely a representation of how I would like the film to be. A good portion of the money raised on Kickstarter will go to getting better quality video and coverage out of the interviews. This trailer is something I put together from the very first time I met with this group (notice the snow on the ground). Since then I have shot over 12 hours of footage when I have been able to afford to travel there. I have kept in touch and have been flying back for any major developments.

Style:

I am attempting to adhere to a verite style. I am not intervening or having anything to do with the production the alumnus is putting on. I am simply trying to catch this group in their natural environment without any pressure to do what I would want them to do. I let them talk to the camera when they want and I respond minimally. Along with this, I am doing "talking heads" interviews, but will try to keep it to a minimum in the final product. This is to allow the action to speak for itself and to allow the characters and situations to form organically on their own without a lot of editorial. I am using a lot of wireless lav mics so that I can catch conversations and shoot from across the room with little interruption. I am also making it very visual, showing the beauty and simplicity of living in small town America. I am shooting with a Panasonic HVX at the moment, a nice sturdy camera that shoots HD.

Money:

Here is a wish list that I will use the money raised by Kickstarter for, My goal is $5,000 dollars at the minimum, just to get through principal photography:

Rentals: Too expensive to buy but just expensive enough to rent and drain your budget. (everything from light stands to sand bags to monitors).

Camera: (HVX or Canon 5D Mark II) to shoot ridiculously nice interviews with and to have as a second camera when it is show time. I intend to have a camera front of house and a camera catching all the backstage antics. Also another cameraman.

Sound: Sound is a difficult thing to get right. I need equipment (A couple lavs, small mixer). If I make enough I can hire a sound guy, this will take the burden off of having to be aware of camera work and sound.

Camera and Sound accessories: (P2 cards, wires, cables, small glide or steady cam, etc.) All that stuff adds up.

Housing and Transportation. Flights, cars, roof for the month of June-July. Unfortunately the documentary isn't over when the curtain goes down on the show. I will need to stay afterwards to catch what is commonly referred to as the "show hangover".

A Fancy-Schmancy Website for the Film and for lovely people like yourselves to check for updates, trailers, and whatnot.

Ugh, so many things to haul around...but it will be worth it.

Hey, Have you checked out the trailer above yet?!

Thanks for taking the time and considering my project,
Mitchell Bisschop