50in50 is back on the air!

It's been long overdue, but we're back. Check out http://50in50.wordpress.com for the new episode, and keep checking back every week.

Thank you again for all of your support.

-Brent
http://50in50.wordpress.com

Dear wonderful friends and supporters,

One month ago 50in50 exceeded its goal on Kickstarter. When the dust settled, and I began to be able to speak in complete sentences again, I asked, "Now what do I do?" So, I thought I'd share with you what has been happening with the project and where it's heading.

The first thing I did was hours upon hours of research on equipment, specifically cameras. I ended up deciding on the Panasonic HMC-150. This is one slick number that shoots gorgeous footage, and stores it directly on a high-capacity SD card. I got a good deal on it, too. All very cool.

Next step: I had to learn how to use the thing. It's a serious piece of hardware, and it came with one serious manual (written by Tolstoy, judging by the length). What ensued was, essentially, a self imposed, crash-course film school. I basically crammed everything I could about depth-of-field, F-stop, shutter speed, and NLE workflows into my head as fast as I could. I shot some really great looking footage... then learned that my laptop is now handily out-gunned by the high quality HD footage.

Is this boring yet? This might be boring.

The super-fast capsule review of the tech stuff is I bought another mic, some lights, a battery, and have come up with some post-production work-flows that I'm HOPING will make it so that I don't have to buy a computer with more muscle.

Now, the artistic stuff.

Getting this funding was a bit overwhelming in some ways. It's engendered a greater sense of responsibility with regard to quality. I mean that I now feel responsible to my investors to make a good product, whereas before, I only felt responsible to myself. It felt like a lot more pressure than I'd anticipated. I shot an episode that was going to be "my first episode back". It was this big, ridiculous Christmas-themed music video. It took a tremendous amount of planning, effort, and time than any other single episode. I built a freakin' green screen in my living room for it. I edited the whole thing, got it really polished, watched it again and said... no. This isn't it. This isn't what the project is about, and this isn't good enough. Deciding not to release that episode was really tough. It was an expensive way to learn some really important lessons, but I'm glad it happened.

I needed a visceral reminder of what this project is about. It's not about glitz and fanfare, and it's not about trying to "go viral". It's about acting and it's about story-telling. Bringing my focus back to those fundamentals was what I needed to reignite the creative spark, and I feel like I'm back on track, which is really what I needed after the long fundraising hiatus. So, November was about the acquisition of new/improved equipment and learning how to use it. December is about getting the creative side together. This month will be spent plotting, planning, and writing. Early January is when episodes will begin marching out again, and they won't stop until there are fifty of them.

So, that's what's happening. I'll be updating the blog soon and more often. That's where I really get into detail about Process (since this is a Process-oriented project, after all). I go into a lot of detail about how the characters are created, and how the episodes are created, too. If you haven't been yet, I'd encourage you to poke around and read a few entries. New episodes will be released there as soon as they're out. The project blog is at: http://50in50.wordpress.com

That's the skinny. I'll send out another update when the first episodes hit. 'till then, thank you again, so much, for your support.

Best,

Brent

Dear Everyone,

I don't know where to begin. Thank you. Thank you so, so much for making this dream come true. I'm still in shock, and the present reality is only just now beginning to sink in. This has been an absolute roller-coaster. What started off so strong in its first few days, quickly began to feel like an exercise in futility. This project hovered around the 18% range for WEEKS. Finally, it jumped to about 35%, and then just sat there. It was down in that range until just about three days ago. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that, how just 72 hours ago I was thinking, "There's no way." Not "It's improbable," but rather, "I haven't got a snowball's chance in hell." Yet, somehow, I forced myself to stay positive, and I tried to encourage positivity in others, and I still can't believe it, but it worked.

It worked because of you.

Dollar amounts aside, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SIX INDIVIDUALS came together to support this. People gave $5 to $1,000 and everything in between. People who I KNOW are hurting in this economy hit the Pledge button despite all that. That means the world to me. I can't even begin to express the weight of the feelings that begets in me. I am so, so, so humbled, and I am so, so, so grateful for your support.

This was a DREAM! This wasn't supposed to happen! Not in reality. Not in the real world. This project started out SO small, but from the moment it was born it just started growing and taking on a life of its own because... I don't know why, really... it just seemed like IT wanted to. It was always striving to be bigger and better than it was, and I was always hustling, trying to catch up to it. Well, today you've given it the chance it was fighting for. You've given it the chance to grow to the size it's wanted to be this whole time.

For my part, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make this project as good as it possibly can be. I feel the responsibility I have to make this project great. I owe you that (and I owe IT that). I will struggle to tell each story the way it wants to be told, and to portray each character as that character would want to be portrayed. Some of you will dislike some episodes, because they're too juvenile or ridiculous of inflammatory. And some of you will dislike them sometimes because they are too serious or tender or strange. That's just the nature of this particular beast: it never stays one thing for long. It is a project with a massive multiple personality disorder... and I think that's why I love it so much.

I promise you that I will do my very best.

In terms of what happens now, well, I'm not sure exactly. Kickstarter holds the funds for 14 days, and I'm going to be buying some new equipment to get these episodes looking and sounding 100% professional (SO excited about that). I hope to start shooting again, in roughly two weeks, give or take a little, and I'll release my first episode back soon after that. Then we'll start having some fun.

I'll be contacting all you backers soon. Just so you know, you're my hero. Yes, you.
(Man, I am going to be DROWNING in a sea of buttons...)

In terms of staying in touch and following the show, here is all the info you need (I hope):

The project itself and the blog that goes with it will be at http://50in50.wordpress.com The blog documents my experiences creating the characters, episodes, and the project as a whole.

If you'd rather just watch the videos, and aren't interested in the blog, all the videos will be on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/BrentRoseVideo Subscribe to my video channel, and keep checking back every week.

If you're into podcasts, you can get the videos delivered directly to your computer/phone/music player via iTunes if you subscribe here: itpc://50in50.blip.tv/rss/itunes/

To get on the official email list, shoot me an email at fiftyinfifty at gmail dot com (yes fiftyinfifty is spelled out like that).

If you're on Facebook, you can become a "Fan" on the official 50in50 page, to get special updates and see a whole still photo gallery: http://tinyurl.com/ckxnko I update this pretty frequently.

And lastly, if you're on Twitter, you can "Follow" me at http://twitter.com/brentrose (or @brentrose)

Wow. Okay, well, that about does it. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you so, SO much for your support. For your pledges, and for helping me to fundraise. This truly couldn't have happened without so many people pitching in and sticking their necks out. I won't forget that. I've said it before, but it feels truer now than ever: this project is all about people, in all of their many different flavors, it's only fitting that this project has been funded by many people, in all their many different flavors.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Much love,

Brent Rose
November 7th, 2009 1:20am

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am over the moon.

With twelve hours left on the clock, we just smashed through the $10,000 mark!!! I am so elated I can barely speak. I'm truly at a loss for words. So I'm going to save the bulk of them until midnight when this whole thing is officially over.

In the meantime, at the risk of sounding greedy (which I promise I am not)... let's keep going! We've got twelve more hours to raise funds, and anything additional we take in will just go to getting better equipment and employing MORE actors (and crew), and props and costumes and wigs, and... it will go a long way to make each episode BETTER. So why stop?

If you were going to make calls and send emails today, I hope you'll still consider following through with that. It feels weird to be saying this, but what the hell? It all goes to the project, and it all gets filtered back into the community of artists. So, let's see how far we can go with it!

And most importantly, THANK YOU. THANK YOU so, so much. This was such a long-shot, and the fact alone that so many people believed in this crazy dream... Wow, I can't do this right now. I'm getting really choked up. Umm... I'm going to get myself together, and I'll post another update tonight. In the meantime, know that I am incredibly grateful to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So much love,

Brent

Friends,

I cannot believe this. Just days ago we were stuck at 35%, and I truly thought that there was no way this was going to come together. Not possible. Yet, suddenly, here we are with just eighteen hours left to go, and we're at 92%. I started saying it out loud yesterday for the first time, and I'm going to say it again now: this is going to happen!

Bill Pullman is officially on board (see previous update) for an episode -- provided this funding comes through, -- which is incredibly exciting. More exciting? This project has 130 individuals who have chosen to support it! That breaks my heart it makes me so happy. Thank you to EVERYONE who has chosen to step up and support this schizophrenic project. It's because of YOU that we've come this far.

But we're not out of the woods yet. Just because we have raised over $9,200, does not mean that $750 isn't a lot of money. It is! To put it in biological terms: we've been pregnant for the last months, but today is when we go into labor. What does that mean? After all this effort, it's time for one last, grueling, final day of pushing. It won't be easy, but we've got to do it. The whole 9 months was in vain if you can't get the baby out, right? (Okay, I'll stop with the disturbing metaphors.)

We've got until midnight (Eastern time / 9pm Pacific) tonight, and we can go over all we want, but when the clock strikes twelve, we can't be under.

In practical terms, that means if you've been holding out on making some calls, NOW is the time. If you've been waiting to send an email to friends/family/co-workers, NOW is when that's gotta happen (and the earlier the better). If you talked to someone who was interested in pledging (or on the fence), and you see that they haven't yet, RIGHT NOW is when we need to call and remind them. And IF (it feels scary and crazy to even be contemplating this, but), IF we reach $10,000, we don't have to stop there. Anything above $10,000 still goes directly to the project, and means I'll be able to buy better equipment and hire more actors and crew (your friends?) more often. But enough about that, I don't want to jinx it, and we've still got $750 to raise.

Thank you. Thank you guys so much for all of the support, the kind emails, and, of course, the pledges. Thank you for all of your hard work, for asking people to pledge even when it was uncomfortable to do so, and for the continual cheer-leading. This project is yours too now, and I am deeply humbled, and deeply grateful to be sharing it with you. We. Can. Do. This.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..."

-Brent

P.S. And if some of you have pledged $5, and want to make it $10. Or $10, and want to make it $20. Or $50, and want to make it $100. Now would be the IDEAL time for that. Thank you again!

HUGE announcement:

Bill Pullman, star of stage and film (While You Were Sleeping, Independence Day, Sleepless in Seattle, and a million others http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000597/ ) has pledged to do an episode of 50in50 with me!! This is, of course, giant. Bill has a list of credits a mile long, and is currently on Broadway in Oleanna (go see it! http://www.oleannaonbroadway.com/ ) with Julia Stiles. Him offering to do an episode with me is a giant coup... but it can only happen IF the project gets funded!

We are currently at $7,593!! That's amazing. We've come a very long way in the last few days. Now, with this celebrity endorsement, can we raise the last $2,400? Yes. We can! We've got 30 hours to go!

Bill is OFFICIALLY in, and we have received his blessing to use that info to try to get the word out about this project! If you've called and emailed friends/family/coworkers before, but they didn't pledge because they didn't know who I am, well... maybe they know who Bill Pullman is, and maybe that will push them over the edge. Please keep trying! Tweet it! Facebook status update it! And spread the word like WILDFIRE!

Bill has collaborated with me on a video once before, for a show I did called The Leif Garrison Project. He basically had no time to prepare, but we went in and improvised, and his stuff was HILARIOUS. I cut together a reel of the best stuff that didn't make it into the episode. Here's a link to that: http://www.youtube.com/watch... Like I said, that was done with no time at all, and it still turned out pretty damn funny. IF funding comes through for 50in50, the episode Bill and I will do will knock your socks off. Please tell the world.

We can do this!

Best,

Brent

P.S. In the last few days many people have doubled their pledges, for which I am incredibly grateful. I know that's not possible for everyone, but for those of you that can, it would mean a ton to me... and you'd get to see some really fun stuff featuring Bill Pullman... THANK YOU!!

That's my mantra. I remind myself to breathe, and repeat those words. "This is going to happen." Say it with me now. "This is going to happen."

I was dealt something of a blow yesterday. I mentioned in an earlier update that I had done an interview for the San Francisco Chronicle about my project and Kickstarter. They thought the article was going to come out early this week, but as luck would have it (or wouldn't, rather), it now looks like it'll be coming out on November 10th... four days after my fundraising deadline expires. This was a bitter pill to swallow, as I had a feeling that that exposure was going to push me over the edge. But, as the saying goes, "No use crying over spilled publicity."

It just means that I (we) have to work harder. If publicity is to be done, we have to do it ourselves... and we have to do it fast and large. We've come so far in this last few days, however, I know that it's possible. This is not a far-fetched dream anymore... it's just going to take work.

First order of business, and most important: thank you. Thank you so much to everyone who has pledged in the last couple of days (so many new names!). Thank you to those who actually sat down and wrote an email (and made phone calls) to their friends, family, and co-workers; IT HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE (I'm starting to see donors pop up who bear the same last name as friends of mine). That grassroots effort is working! Thank you, too, to everyone who decided to double-their pledge in the last couple of days (or have said they intend to); that is an incredible gesture, and it's gone a long way. At this point in time, I have ONE-HUNDRED AND SIX BACKERS. That truly fills my heart.

Now. Onward. As of right now, I am within the 48 hour mark (45 hours, to be exact). Here's what must be done:

Will you please get on the phone and/or send an email to folks who you think will help. I have seen the results this generates! It may be awkward and uncomfortable, and I'm sorry to be asking you to do it (I've been doing it for six weeks now), but it WORKS, and I think it may be the only thing that WILL work. We all know people who love the arts and who are willing to support them. If they wanted to see a Broadway show, they would spend about $100 (give or take) and be (mildly) amused for about an hour and a half... 50in50 is a better deal! Not only will they get many MORE hours of entertainment, but the money they spend here won't go to line the pockets of fat-cat producers; it will go directly to the artist(s), and the project being created. You're not paying just to see something that someone else already paid to make. No, you have a direct part in the creation of the project itself. You are a producer. THAT is supporting the arts.

If you would make those calls and send those emails, you would be my heroes (even more than you already are).

Also, another strategy idea: I just dropped the reward price for the "I will preside over your wedding ceremony" option, so... know someone who's engaged? Talk to 'em. I've done several weddings, and they've all been extremely popular. I custom create the whole ceremony for the couple I'm wedding, and I've been told it's added a nice personal touch. There will be tears.

Thank you again, so much for your support. I'll write again soon.

Much love,

Brent "Please Spread The Word" Rose

Dear backers and friends,

We've come a long way, baby, as the saying goes. First off, thank you. Thank you so much, honestly and truly from the bottom of my heart. Whether or not we get to 100% of the goal by Friday, the fact that NINETY PEOPLE have believed in this project enough to pledge their hard-earned dollars, is incredibly moving, completely humbling, and absolutely inspiring to me. Thank you, so, so much.

We are currently at 52% of the goal! Hooray for breaking the 50% barrier, but holy crap for how far we have to go. I'm not giving up yet, though, and I hope you won't either! I have a new strategy, and I need your help.

Just moments ago, I changed the structure of some of my top-tier backer rewards, specifically, those aimed at small businesses. I have dropped the prices on ad space, which is nice, but here's the big one: I dropped the price of me creating a custom, funny, viral video (commercial) for your business to just $800! We're talking about a fully-realized, fully-produced, original, FUNNY video in HD that is sure to turn heads. For $800, that's the bargain of the century. If we can sell just FIVE of those puppies, then we're home-free, the project will be funded, and I will be the world's most grateful filmmaker.

So, here's what I'm hoping you'll do: Will you take 5 minutes and email every business-type person who might be interested in an opportunity like this? Even if you don't know anyone first-hand, you know someone who knows someone, so will you ask them to send it out? TWEET it, and ask them to retweet it telling their businessy friends about the commercial deal. To make it easier, here are a few sample tweets. You can tweet them yourself, and email them to your friends, asking them to use one of them (they work on Facebook status updates, too):
*****
Video pro @brentrose offering to create custom viral videos 4 your biz for next to nothing if you support his project http://bit.ly/4yfZSY

Been looking to make a cheap, funny commercial for your biz? Pledge $800 to this project http://bit.ly/4yfZSY & @brentrose will hook you up.

@brentrose has an killer project on Kickstarter. http://bit.ly/4yfZSY Pledge & he'll create a viral video for your biz for next 2 nothing!
*****
If you'll take 5 minutes and do that, we've still got a shot at this. Can you help?

Also, an interview with me is featured in Kickstarter's blog today, which can't be a bad thing. Here's the link: http://blog.kickstarter.com/post/232243617/creator-q-a-50-characters

Again, thank you all so much for your support, and for your help in spreading the word in these, the last few days!

Staying positive,

Brent

Dear friends and fans of 50in50,

The big news of the day is that there is only ONE WEEK LEFT in my Kickstarter campaign! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brentrose/50-characters-in-50-weeks That's the bad news. The GOOD news is that in the last couple days I jumped from 18% to 34% of my goal! That is a HUGE jump, and it's really exciting. What does it mean?

It means that it's possible. It's still a long-shot, but everyone loves to root for a long-shot, right? They key is for more people to get involved -- that is the essential ingredient. This is a grass-roots campaign, and it's truly not going to happen without you. Yes, YOU. Don't look around at the other people, thinking I mean them. I don't. I mean YOU. Will you take just a few minutes today, write a short letter explaining what 50in50 is, and why you believe it's important to support it, then go through your address book and click everyone's name who you think might be willing to help (either by pledging OR by sending it on to more people), and PRESS SEND.

The whole endeavor won't take you more than five minutes, and it might just be the one thing that can keep 50in50 alive. That donation of five minutes of your time, could make all the difference.

Will you help?

Thank you so much for your support.

Best,

Brent Rose
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brentrose/50-characters-in-50-weeks

Friends,

As of today there are only eleven days left until my Kickstarter campaign expires. So many mixed emotions on the subject. We've come far (raised almost $1,900), but we have much farther to go (another $8,100) and in only ten days.

CAN it be done? Yes, it's possible, but without your help I assert that I won't be done. Now don't get me wrong, I am going to spend much of the next 11 days doing absolutely everything I can think of to try to get more people on board, I promise that, but I'm only one person. If this is going to be a success, I really need every one of you to send emails to your friends. I need you to do some out-of-the-box thinking, too. Got a favorite blogger that you always read? See if you can get him/her to do a piece on 50in50. Got an in with a newspaper, magazine, or something like that? Reach out to them. Got a millionaire uncle, mother, father, grandma? Talk to them about 50in50 and see if they'll pledge support... see if they'll set up a challenge grant!

Why? Why is this important? Why should people fund this? If I've already made twenty-five episodes by myself, why should I need funding to do another twenty-five? All valid questions. The biggest difference is that I want to compensate the actors and crew who have been so generous with their time. The money you pledge isn't just going to me, it's going to go to a whole host of talented performers and professionals -- you won't be supporting just one artist, you'll be supporting DOZENS. I'm also going to upgrade my equipment to make each episode look and sound absolutely professional. I have some ideas that I'm really excited about, but which are really ambitious, and without some sort of budget (even a small one) it won't be possible to make them.

You may also notice that I've uploaded a new video and changed the Kickstarter page. The new video isn't particularly funny, but it's much more straight forward. Do you prefer this one, or the old (70's PBS pledge-break themed) one? Would love your input.

So, it's crunch time. It's not quite the 11th hour, but it's the 11th day, and considering how far we've got to go, we're going to need every minute of that time. Can you, will you help? It's not the impossible we're trying to achieve, it's merely the unlikely.

Thanks much, and more soon!

Best,

Brent

Hey there,

Some great stuff has been happening for 50in50 media-wise in the last couple of days.

1.) The highly revered Clyde Fitch Report (http://clydefitchreport.com) is now an Official Media Sponsor of 50in50. The editor-in-chief, Leonard Jacobs, has become a big fan. Starting today the Clyde Fitch Report will be featuring two episodes of 50in50 per week and will be trying to drive people to the Kickstarter site. Let's hope that gets us some extra juice. Here's a link to the first feature: http://www.clydefitchreport.com/...

2.) I just did an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. It was specifically about 50in50 and its involvement with Kickstarter. Very exciting stuff. My one worry is that the article won't come out much before the deadline, so we really gotta keep spreading the word ourselves.

3.) I just did a follow-up interview with Liz Shannon Miller. I'll have that up soon as it's published. In the meantime, here's a link to the first article she wrote of 50in50 for Salon.com/NewTeeVee/GigaOm: http://station.newteevee.com/2009/04/29/brent-rose-to-create-50-characters-in-50-weeks-or-die-trying/

Now, the progress report:
Things have SLOOOOWED DOWN, and that's not a good thing. The project shot to 15% of its goal in just over a week. In the week since then we've only gained another 2%. Scary stuff, but I am still optimistic about this. It just means that we need to work harder to get the word out. Anything you can do, in terms of emailing your friends about it, or posting a blog about it, to spread the word will be enormously appreciated. For my own part, I'm really encouraged by the reception I've received from my first push to get some more media attention, so I'm really going to push that angle, and redouble (or re-triple) my efforts there. If you're willing to take a few minutes and email your friends/family/loved ones/co-workers/exes/etc that would be amazing.

More soon. Keep positive. We can make this happen!

Cheers,

Brent