FAQ

• "Why only 2/3rds? Most movies need 3/3rds to be complete, right?"

  Two weeks before we were set to roll into production, we lost a crucial location for the script, Fort Massac, due to natural disaster/soil erosion.  Crucial in the sense that 1/3rd of the film centers around a fort location. Rewrites weren’t an option, nor was finding replacement locations. We tried, but due to several factors, including available supply lines, no suitable location was found in the two weeks leading up to production.

   

  We knew that to halt production would be a major blow to morale, as well as the momentum we had built up. Our historical advisor and art department came up with a solution to our misfortune: build our own fort in the style of the period.  Fate be damned, it seemed.

   

  We proceeded into production, knowing full well that we were only going to be able to shoot 2/3rds of the movie, and have to split off the remaining 1/3 until the completion of our own fort (which will be December).  We’re fortunate in that the script allows such a passage of time within the frame of the narrative.

  Last updated: Friday Sep 9, 1:31am EDT
• "Wait. Wasn't there something about a short story posted on here? And are there REALLY this many FAQs by contributors, or are you just the project creators using this format because it's easier to organize information?"

  You might notice that we've been tinkering around with a few incentives that just weren't really fitting in the right tiers. None of this affects the people who have contributed so far.

  The biggest change is that we removed the short story incentive as a primary reward, and are making it an added bonus to the first 10 people who contribute at the $250 level or more (where it was originally a primary incentive) . See details below!

  Details for the web story:
  You will be written in as a character in an original canon short story, to be published online at www.revelationtrail.com in December 2012. This will be written by John Gibson and Daniel Van Thomas (screenwriters for Revelation Trail) and Chas! Pangburn (writer for Revelation Trail: Lillith’s Story), and take place in the universe of Revelation Trail. ***This will not be a cookie cutter story with your name slapped in; it will be customized to certain personal qualities with which you identify.

  And, to answer the second question...well...this is the only format that keeps John's essay-length answers somewhat organized.

  Last updated: Saturday Sep 10, 7:55pm EDT
• "Where's the money going?"

  We need more money to pay for food, basic lodging and fuel for an army of filmmakers who want nothing more than to complete this project. While we had enough money for wardrobe during the summer, we also have to upgrade some items due to the changing weather (mostly, coats for characters and undergarments), so some money will go towards wardrobe. We’re incredibly resourceful with wardrobe, being able to retrofit many modern items. However, some things, like coats and shoes, aren’t as easy to cheat, so we have to buy new items for certain characters.

   

  We were actually on budget for the summer production, but this split has forced us to have to add on some costs that we didn’t have previously. At this point, every dollar amount helps towards the completion of the movie.

  Last updated: Friday Sep 9, 12:50pm EDT
• "Okay, so what you're asking for doesn't seem like a lot to finish a movie, get it duplicated, submitted to festivals and all that other stuff you're supposed to do."

  Right you are. It doesn’t cover all those things. The money that you donate today gets the film print completed. It doesn’t cover duplication. Doesn’t cover marketing (unless, of course, we go over, in which case overages get applied to the above mentioned costs).

   

  Our singular focus, right now, is to complete the best damn quality project we can, one that has already been built on the talent and dedication of independent filmmakers, actors, and the generosity of whole families, communities and strangers.

   

  Add to this the memory of lost loved ones who meant a lot to the project and encouraged us to live our dreams, and the money we’re asking for now will go a long way to making a high quality work filled good characters, story and passion that shows through every scene.

  Last updated: Friday Sep 9, 11:43am EDT
• "So, I'm interested in the film, but I'm more interested in the people behind it. In less than 80,000 words, can you tell me about the cast, crew and people behind the project?"

  You’ll never find a more down to earth group of filmmakers dedicated to a solo project, and who have remained a production family for this long. In some cases, it’s people who have been with the project since day one, five years ago. Other cases, since the trailers were shot. Still, with others, it’s PAs and other crew who were brought on in the final months and weeks leading up to the production. But by the end, we were all one big family, sharing the highs and lows of a production that involved so much blood (sometimes), sweat (all the time) and tears (on several occasions).  

   

  The director not only produces, but also cleans the portable toilet on some days (so that everyone shares in the worst of the on-set responsibilities). The lead actor also helps with fight choreography. The wardrobe master also helps with negotiating hotel and food deals. There are many more tales than this, from such a great group of folks, but those illustrate the nature of this crew: a team with one focus, to make a movie.

   

  And, we are a family that will see this project to the end. We’ve waited this long. We’ve overcome deaths in our families both during production and in pre-production. We’ve overcome losses of major locations. We’ve overcome voices that told us an indie western film is too expensive to make on a micro-budget.

  We will finish what we started so long ago, because that’s who this cast and crew is.  All we need is a little help and encouragement from you.

  Last updated: Friday Sep 9, 11:48am EDT
• "I'm curious, so I have to ask: what's with the mention of 'deaths in the families?' How does that fit into a pitch for funding?"

  Probably the most important person to the production, and our biggest supporter, passed away two days before we were set to roll out the casting call. My mother called me on a Saturday morning to let me know that my father had died (unexpectedly). He had led a good life, and was my hero, one reason being that he encouraged not only my brothers and I, but everyone he knew, to pursue life to its fullest. For this crew and I, he knew that making this film was part of that pursuit.

   

  Dad not only supported us with encouragement, but also contributed directly to the film, handcarving Preacher’s cross that is featured prominently in the film. It was because he was so passionate about seeing this movie made that my mother told me, shortly after telling me how he passed away, that “we are going to make this film. Your dad was telling everyone about it [right up until the day he died.]”

   

  When we buried Dad, we loaded him down with things that were important to him in life. Photos of family, shells from the beach, and a dozen other things that he found great joy in. Among the items, too, was a copy of the original trailers that we shot.

   

  On the second to last day of the summer shoot, Daniel Van Thomas received a call that his grandmother, who had been battling cancer for years, passed away. She was a very influential figure in his life, and her passing was a heavy burden on an actor who was unable to make it to her funeral and be with family in a time of need.

   

  So, Revelation Trail has gone from being a passion project, to a memorial for those closest to us who are no longer here.  It’s because of them that we are where we are today, and because of them that we will continue to throw our heart and soul into this project.

  Last updated: Friday Sep 9, 11:48am EDT
• "Anything special I should know about the incentives?"

  The first 25 people that donate at the $250 level or more will also receive a personal gift and handwritten note directly related to John Gibson and his father.

  Also, it's important to note that with all tiers of contribution, Living End Productions retains full rights and ownership of the film. You're still going to get some fantastic credit in the movie/IMDB credit, though, at the various producer levels, as well as special thanks where it applies. 

  Last updated: Saturday Sep 10, 8:35pm EDT
• "Some tech questions: what'd you shoot on? Is this what the final production will look like?"

  We shot with two Canon 7Ds and a Canon 2Ti; remarkable cameras that held their own in the heat and extreme conditions of the summer. We used a flat color preset to allow for more flexibility with color in post, so if the image looks a little flatter than usual for the 7D, that's why.

  What you're seeing here is the pre-vfx, pre-color shots of the film. We watched this on a larger cinema-sized screen at NKU, and to say the least, we were giddy with how it looked even before color grading and effects.

  Last updated: Friday Sep 9, 12:10pm EDT
• "Do you have a composer?"

  We've been asked this quite a few times, and it is, well, our first actual FAQ. Anyway, while we're getting some inquiries from some amazing musicians, we do have two composers already for the film. One of whom is Paul Wurth, who composed the music heard in the second half of the Kickstarter video.  As with many of the folks involved in the film, Paul, Daniel and I (John) go back pretty far with regards to our production history, and we all have pretty strong connections to the Western Kentucky region.

  Last updated: Monday Oct 3, 9:26pm EDT