Save no-budget OBLIVION Web Series!
Project by Mike Cuenca
http://obliviontheseries.com/donate
Oblivion is a 22-minute episodic series following the interlocking lives of a group of counter-culture types in the fictional city of Holwenstall.
This is a completely DIY project made with absolutely no money, a 4-person crew and a large ensemble cast. Our project is incredibly ambitious and we've been able to pull off things sans a budget just through local resources and favors much in-tune with the punk ideology we present. But there's only so much we can get away with without your assistance!
Here's how Kickstarter works:
We are asking for $5,000. Half of which would go towards marketing expenses, and the other to complete a few more episodes. We have until January 10th to raise that amount. If by January 10th we don't meet our goal, everybody walks away like nothing happened, nobody is charged.
All you have to do is register with Kickstarter and through Amazon Payments your donation is processed. If you don't have an Amazon.com account, Amazon will ask you to register during the pledge process, but it's relatively painless. To learn more about Kickstarter click on this link: http://www.kickstarter.com/learn-more.
Your pledge would greatly increase the chances of our show surviving. Money for expendables, lighting, securing locations (we've been kicked out a few since we shoot without permits), set dressing, props, counter-culture wardrobe, make-up, water for the cast and crew (everyone’s usually dehydrated) and occasional catering would be nice. We also seek donations to help us market the show to build a larger audience as well as to attract the attention of any future sponsors or financers by taking out print ads, making flyers, posters and other materials. It would assist us in building a great PR package.
If you pledge $2 you receive a thank you credit at the end of an Oblivion episode as well as on the website. If you pledge $20 you get to be an extra on the show plus receive a merch bag with stickers and buttons, etc. If you pledge $125 you get all of the above and receive an autographed copy of the first season of Oblivion once it hits DVDs plus your name listed in the interior packaging! The more you pledge, the more you get...including screening tickets to future theatrical screenings of Oblivion with a Q&A, a chance to meet and have drinks on the house with the cast & crew, airline tickets to fly out to LA and even be set-up in a hotel. It's all up to you!
This project is a labor of love to all involved. Three of our cast members even live out of state and pay from their own pockets to fly out for shoot dates. Your support would mean a great deal and allow us to flourish as independent filmmakers in a world marginalizing creative freedom.
We greatly appreciate your support!
You can learn more about the show at the official website:
http://obliviontheseries.com
View a few behind the series features here on:
http://obliviontheseries.com/behindscenes.html
And read a cool review TubeFilter wrote about us regarding our pilot episode:
http://news.tubefilter.tv/2009/09/30/oblivion-sex-drugs-rock-n-roll-and-lots-of-f-bombs/
Project location: Los Angeles, CA
If you pledge $2 or more you receive a thank you credit at the end of an Oblivion episode as well as on official web site.
A personalized thank you video by the crew and some of the cast sent as a downloadable link to your email box.
All of the above, plus merch bag with stickers, buttons and personalized autographed glossy flyer.
All of the above, plus be a background extra on the show if or when you're in the LA area. You won't get a line but you'll be on screen in some form!
All of the above plus full cast autographed 11 x 17 poster.
All of the above, plus exclusive first (and downloadble) access to any future Oblivion episodes before they're released to the public.
All of the above, plus large sponsor credit at the beginning of an episode.
All of the above, plus limited edition Oblivion T-shirt in size of your choice.
All of the above, plus a copy of the first season of Oblivion upon DVD release and your name listed in the interior DVD packaging.
All of the above, plus a CD-R of five songs from Ziggy's still-unheard band on the show (written and performed by Mike Cuenca) and a six-pack of your beer of choice.
All of the above, plus five mixed CDs of songs that have inspired the show.
All of the above, plus we name a recurring character after you.
All of the above, plus production script of an episode of your choice autographed by all participating cast members in that episode and an all expenses paid dinner with creator Mike Cuenca, marketing producer Jason Lawless, and wardrobe stylist Yvonne Trinh at a taco truck when you're in town.
All of the above, plus two tickets to a Jail Wedding show (featuring cast member Brian Waters), including back stage passes, and a copy of their EP.
All of the above, plus UPGRADE all expenses paid taco truck dinner to either authentic Mexican restaurant Gardens of Taxco or Wokano sushi restaurant.
All of the above, plus CDs and free Itunes downloads of prominent punk-related bands like The Hydes, The Power-Chords, Beat Beat Beat and Christ Vs. Warhol that are soon-to-be-featured on the show. As well as T-shirts of some of the bands.
All of the above, plus comp tickets to EVERY future screening and Q&A of Oblivion (including premiere) and comped entry to a DJ Lawless hosted ska club or music event of your choice.
All of the above, plus airfare to LA for a theatrical screening weekend (US residents only) plus guest star on the show, you get to keep your on-screen wardrobe, receive an invite for two to the after-party and a Producer credit on IMDB.
All of the above, plus we fly you out to LA for a premiere weekend, set you up at a hotel, and you get to hang out with the crew & cast acting as their characters at an LA bar of your choice for a nite-- drinks on the house.
All of the above, plus legendary GERMS drummer Don Bolles will wake up next to you in the hotel...naked. Either that or you get to hang out with him for a few hours. Your decision.
All of the above, plus an okay working Mac OS X with 1.8 GHZ/2 GB Memory and 90 GIGABYTES OF MUSIC ripped directly from Mike Cuenca's personal music collection.
Los Angeles, CA
Mike Cuenca is a self-taught underground filmmaker responsible for punk-themed short film Psycho ’78 and the incomplete mockumentary Tammy Vargas.
His first feature length film is Scenes from Oblivion, a youth-in-quarrel/semi-comic drama reflecting his Cuban-American upbringing and love of punk rock music. Scenes from Oblivion was made on a shoestring budget and his fondness for its supporting sub-culture characters spawned the idea to give them, Oblivion, their own spin-off web series.
Cuenca’s growing body of work addresses such themes as personal identity and freedom, absurdist philosophy, and punk ideology with a dose of slapstick. He cites his major influences as Woody Allen, Jim Jarmusch, the Marx Bros, and French New Wave cinema.