About this project
INTRODUCTION
When I was studying animation in film school we would watch these incredibly made short films by filmmakers like Jan Svankmajer, The Quay Brothers, Henry Selick, and many others. Here's one of my favorite films by Jan Svankmajer: http://www.youtube.com/watch...
STORY (5 min short film.)
The film is about the relationship between a man and woman, where the man brings into their lives different vices and addictions symbolized in the film by mud, cigarette packages, adult magazines and other filth from the outside world. These items will come to life, crushing the woman's soul.
We firmly believe that drug abuse, alcohol, and pornography addiction can break down individuals and tear families apart. We hope this film will serve as a cautionary tale, shedding light on the effects of abuse and encourage those in bad relationships to seek help before it is too late.
It sounds dark but it will be told in an unconventional, and beautiful way.
TECHNIQUE
This film will be shot using a combination of stop-motion animation and live action actors. The actors will be animated frame by frame to make the props of mud, rocks, bottles, cans, etc... move across their bodies.
My last animated short film "MuM" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win many awards around the world. Here it is below: http://www.nxtdream.com/project/mum
Here are two examples of recent commercials I shot using Live action and Animation together: http://www.nxtdream.com/commercials/rogue-tattoo/ http://www.nxtdream.com/commercials/cvs-pharmacy/
HOW THE MONEY WILL BE USED
I shot a live-action commercial for a friend of mine a little while ago and we did it all for the price of a lunch. We shot in a place we got for free and in 3-4 hours we were outta there. Post was editorial on my mac, and the sound was music with no foley. So pretty easy to do and it turned out AWESOME. Here's a link: http://www.nxtdream.com/commercials/joel-ward-magician/
Animation of this nature, on the other hand can be quite expensive to do it right. You need to rent a place and be there for at least 14-16 days of shooting (not including prep). Gear you can usually borrow from a friend for a day, but for two+ weeks of shooting, you need to pay them something. Same thing with actors and crew. People can work for free for a day or a weekend, but for this type of animation you need to be able to pay people for the 2 week+ time commitment. (Even though our crew will be very very small.)
Also we need cash to buy the supplies and props. Bottles, cans, magazines, trash, etc... sounds like free stuff, but we'll have to purchase most of it, and build a small set on stage. Also we'll need gallons of white makeup for the actors to wear everyday... Basically all of the stuff you can get for free for a live-action deal we'll have to pay for.
For post there's a lot of work.... in live action you can get a lot of the sound from production and sweeten it with foley. There is no sound while shooting animation, you have to literally re-create EVERYTHIING and mix it in. It's a lot of work, but that's part of the fun of filmmaking.
My hope is that kickstarter will allow filmmakers to be able to make great films by testing out new ideas, camera techniques and tell truly original stories. Not as a full time career as a short filmmaker but as something to do in-between paid commercial projects to push new ideas and develop great films that everyone can enjoy.
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
125
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$30,005
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on March 26, 2011.
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• You get a credit at the end of the film. • And all of the stuff above.
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• You get an awesome poster. • A prop used in the film as part of the animation. • A button with the logo of the film. • And all of the stuff above.
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• You get a 1080p HD digital download of the film. • And all of the stuff above.
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• You get a signed DVD by Jon Heder and Director Nick Peterson. • And all of the stuff above.
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• Limited Edition, hand numbered "Drained" T-Shirts. You can choose whether you'd like Nick & Jon to sign it or not, your choice. We're only making 100 of these. • And all of the stuff above.
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• You get an Associate Producer Credit. • And all of the stuff above.
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• Access to an exclusive live video webcast of the film with Jon and Nick, and a Q&A immediately following (limited only to the first 15 backers starting from 3/23/10. • And all the stuff above.
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• You get a Co-Producer Credit. • IMDB.com Credit • And all of the stuff above.
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Project By
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Jon Heder - Producer. A graduate with a BFA in Animation. He was most successful for playing the title character of the 2004 comedy film Napoleon Dynamite. He has also acted in the films The Benchwarmers, School for Scoundrels, Blades of Glory, Mama's Boy, and When in Rome, and provided voice talents in the animated films Monster House and Surf's Up.
Nick Peterson - Producer, Writer, Director. Graduated from Calarts in the Experimental Animation Program. His hauntingly emotional stop motion film “MuM” won numerous awards around the globe, including a Student Emmy, and an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. Nick Also wrote and directed the Live Action Feature film Dark Mind, and now divides his time between Commercial, Feature film and Music Video work.
