About this project
Thank you to everyone who supported this campaign! I can't express how grateful I am for your help in finishing Greyscale (www.GreyscaleMovie.com) and The Wind Merchant (www.TheWindMerchant.com).
Check out the Facebook Page for future updates and I'll announce when it's finished. You all are amazing!
-Ryan
Update! (1/13/12)
We made it in 3.5 days! That's incredible! A NEW REWARD has been added: A screener copy of Greyscale on DVD at the $40 backer level, and it's thrown in to every level above that!
There have been so many people be a part of this project that have either given money or their time that I would love to see be repaid sooner rather than later.
Mission A: Get funding for the 5.1 surround mix to finish the film - ACCOMPLISHED!
Mission B: Help the 160+ people that were a part of Greyscale!
The Basics
Hi there! My name is Ryan Dunlap and I tell stories and I'm looking to Kickstart a novel in order to fund the last piece of a 4 year feature film project so it can get in front of distributor.
So what is The Wind Merchant?
The Wind Merchant is a steampunk fantasy adventure novel where giant mechanical cities fly above the long forgotten dangerous world beneath the cloud cover, the world's natural energy source is found on the wind, and intrepid airship pilots fly to dangerous places to collect it.
It's the story of Erasmus "Ras" Veir, who runs the family trade of being one of the last of a dying breed of Wind Merchants after his father died ten years prior on a mysterious mission given to him by someone who should have been dead long ago. However, his father's piloting abilities were not passed down through the gene pool and Ras has both an absolutely horrid sense of direction and a total lack of sensitivity to the energy on the wind to know where to go to collect it.
When Ras happens upon a potent source of energy, he inadvertently wrecks the delicate balance of fuel on the wind that keeps his hometown, the flying city of Verdant, aloft. Ras has little choice but to set out to save the city with the help of Calista Tourbillon, the girl next door, who has spent most of her young life sequestered in a basement reading books, writing stories, and dreaming of a chance to finally leave Verdant and see the world.
Leaving Verdant behind before it's too late to return to it, the pair set out on an adventure filled with dread sky pirates, clockwork automatons, and the remnants that still live in the long forgotten world beneath the clouds on a quest to fly to a place only known as The Wild (which may have been the same mission that claimed the life of Ras' father) to retrieve a rare element on the wind.
Why did you write this?
As an only child I've been telling stories in my backyard since I can remember, and once we got a computer, I spent countless hours writing stories that featured Ras Veir (a blog post about that), and after having the wonderful opportunity to make a feature film, I found myself wanting to continue to write even when my responsibility was to finish Greyscale. Since I couldn't exactly start out on a new narrative feature, I remembered my childhood years where I didn't need casting calls and location scoutings to figure out what sort of story I could tell... I could have a working airship in my story and not have to worry about how to pull it off convincingly in post production, so writing The Wind Merchant has been a return to my love of storytelling in a realm where telling stories was financially feasible.
As pictured above, the first draft of the book is being handwritten in a Turkish leather-bound book given to me by my sister-in-law, and having the analog experience has been wonderful for the writing process.
Where does the money go?
First off, Kickstarter and Amazon take about 8-10% off the top.
After that, the printing and shipping cost of the physical books/prints account for a sizeable chunk since I'm doing short run printing. (RAISED!)
After that, the money will cover the self-publishing costs (licensing the cover art, acquiring ISBNs for the 3 different formats of the book, paying the set-up costs with the different printers of the paperback and hardback, and paying for the software that organizes and digitizes the book into the Kindle, Nook, and PDF formats). (RAISED!)
Then the final step until completion: $1,500 that will pay for 3 days of studio time to give Greyscale the 5.1 surround sound mix that it needs before it can be finished and shown to distributors before they will consider buying it. (RAISED!)
(NOW) Finally, any extra money that comes in will go to pay back the cast, crew, and investors that have given their time and money toward this project over the last 4 years, and I very much look forward to being able to not have to wait for a distribution deal to start giving some back.
What if I want to help, but I can’t pledge financially?
I completely understand. You can help me just by posting this Kickstarter page on the social network of your choosing to raise the general awareness of this project. This will help me incredibly!
I noticed your hair is considerably longer than it was in the clips of Greyscale. What's with that?
As soon as I began post production I began to let it grow out to A) not let myself be tempted to do reshoots, and B) remind myself daily that I have a responsibility to a lot of people to finish something big, so every time I look in the mirror I'm reminded of what I have to do.
So any help in letting me not wind up with Sampson-esque socially awkward hair is much appreciated.
Anybody you'd like to thank?
Always. First off, I'd like to thank God for putting me on this path and giving me the experiences that have shaped me to be able to tell stories that I tell. I'd like to thank my beautiful and supportive wife Sarah for encouraging me to write a book and to never give up. My parents, for instilling in me the hope that I could do anything if I put my mind to it, and helping me achieve my dreams (and buying a VHS camcorder to plug into the TV so I could 'make movies' by dancing around as a little boy); and my friends that have put their blood, sweat, tears, and sometimes money to be able to tell stories like Leave Me, Greyscale, and The Wind Merchant.
I couldn't do any of this without these people, and I won't let myself forget it... especially in the morning when I have to comb my hair.
FAQ
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At the time of the beginning of the Kickstarter campaign, no, it's not. So far I've handwritten 60,000 words (daily typed up) for a first draft and expect the finished result to be around 100,000 words (250-300 pages). The reason it's listed for delivery in July is because I want to make sure the story is as good as possible and will go through several drafts, vetted and edited by friends and writers (some are both!) before it makes it to you. If the book reaches completion before July, I'll send it out as soon as I possibly can and will let you know along the way as I progress with the process.
I've spent months working on the outline of the story before I put pen to paper so I know where the story is going and I'm incredibly excited about where it ends, and I hope you have as much fun reading it as I have had writing it.
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Yes, you can! Once you donate to the campaign, you may want to change your incentive reward to a different one, or increase your pledge amount. To do so, go to Kickstarter and sign in. If you go to our campaign page, the green “Back This Project” button has been replaced with a blue “Manage Your Donation” button. Click it and you can enter a new amount, or choose a new incentive.
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The scene below is still an early draft that is likely to look a little different in the final version due to eventual rewrites and polishes, but I wanted to share a little bit of the flavor of the characters of Ras and Calista (often referred to as Callie).
Without too many spoilers, the scene is set with Ras having been slipped a narcotic painkiller for his recently dislocated shoulder.
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Callie produced a brass sphere about the size of a snowglobe from beneath the book. She placed her thumb and first two fingers into three appropriately sized holes, activating the device in a high pitched whine of gears inside. From the top, an arrow lifted attached to a metal rod. The arrow clicked into place and turned slightly to the left and upward, pointing East.
“Ras, it’s a compass that follows the trail to the mountain pass to The Wild,” Callie said.
“It reads the trace amounts of the element on the wind that comes from there,” Hal added.
Ras stared wide eyed at it the way a drunken toddler would. “Wow,” he over-enunciated. “Can I try?”
“That would be unwise. The device attenuates itself to a user and once someone else touches it, it might not work properly for Calista any longer,” Hal said.
Ras nodded. “Don’t touch the shiny. Got it.”
“Precisely. Don’t touch the shiny,” Hal said, agreeing as though Ras had just divulged a great secret.
“How long will he be like this?” Callie asked.
“Days, months, thirty minutes… these things are hard to say.” Hal winked at her. “Dayus is preparing breakfast as we speak. Can’t send you off on an empty stomach, now can we?”
“No we cannot,” Ras agreed, looking up at the ceiling as though Hal were standing on it.
Hal stood. “If you excuse me, I’ll have Dayus fetch you both when breakfast is ready.” With that, he exited the room.
“Ras, are you all right?” Callie asked.
“Aside from my arm repeatedly attempting to exit my body, never better.” He slumped on the fainting couch, looking at Callie upside down. “How youdoin’?” He frowned. “That came out wrong.”
She looked a bit flustered. “It’s just a lot to take in. Hal told me so many stories last night. It's just a little overwhelming.”
Ras righted himself. “Hey, hey… hey. It’s OK. What kinda stories?”
“About The Wild. I think we might have gotten ourselves in over our heads.”
“We’ll be fine,” he said as he slumped. “When I have two working arms I can make entire fleets retreat,” Ras said. “Then again I can accidentally sink cities. I’m… dangerous," he said more to his hands than to Calista. "But I promised to save Verdant, protect you, and bring you with me. We’re in this thick as… thick as… butter.”
“Thieves, Ras. Thick as thieves,” Callie corrected.
“Or butter. Look it up. It’s a thing.” He inspected his fingernails, biting one. “I’m sure of it.” Not caring for the taste of it, he made a face. “So what’s in The Wild?”
“Pockets of frozen time, for one. That’s what he wants us to collect, Ras.”
“That would make a great birthday present,” he said matter-of-factly.
“How so?”
“Surprise, little Timmy, now you get an extra long birthday!” Kids will go nuts over it.”
“More like, Surprise, little Timmy, now you’re stuck in time as the rest of the world ages until the sun explodes,” Callie countered.
“That sounds considerably less marketable,” said Ras. -
For most it's 19th century alternative history based in the Victorian era and generally centers around the excitement and possibility of steam technology where there are mad inventors and airship pilots abounding. It's brass, wood, and leather; things with craftsmanship that last and juxtapose themselves with today's disposable society of silicone and plastic. For more on Steampunk, check out Wikipedia's entry.
The Wind Merchant takes it's tone from Steampunk, but is set in a different world so it's more a mix of fantasy and science fiction.
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For the Leave Me music/notation and Daros Films shorts: as soon as the Kickstarter concludes I'll send a link to the digital download of the files.
For books: I'll send that along as soon as I get the copies to send out with the thank you notes that I'll be hand writing. The audiobook will probably take a month longer to record so as soon as that is finished the digital download will be available.
For the prints: those should go out shortly after the completion of the Kickstarter campaign since it would need to be packaged differently than the books anyway.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on February 3.
Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more
{THE LEAVE ME THEME PACKAGE} You have my absolute gratitude as well as all updates on both The Wind Merchant and Greyscale, as well an mp3 of the Leave Me theme, released for the first time.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
{THE DIGITAL MERCHANT} The eBook of The Wind Merchant sent to you in your choice of format (.mobi for Kindle, ePub for Nook, or .pdf), plus the Leave Me credits music as well as the main theme.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
{THE DAROS SHORTS PACKAGE} All of the above, plus as soon as the Kickstarter concludes, HD digital downloads of the Daros Films shorts: Leave Me, Dear Shane (exclusively on Hulu.com at the moment), and 12:01, and the piano notation of the Leave Me theme.
Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more
{THE DIXIE PACKAGE} Who is Dixie? Well, she's a fireball of a character in The Wind Merchant who won't shut up. All of the above (for July '12), plus the AUDIOBOOK, professionally recorded and personally read by me as a digital download.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
{THE BRASS FOX PACKAGE} All of the above, plus a signed paperback copy of The Wind Merchant and a personal handwritten note of thanks written with the pen that wrote the book, shipped from me to you. NOTE: If you want more than 1 copy, select this option and add $25 per copy you'd like.
Pledge $40 or more Pledge $40 or more
{THE MONOCHROME PACKAGE} NEW REWARD LEVEL! The Brass Fox Package PLUS a screener copy of a certain neo-noir film that I've been working on for the last 4 years as soon as it is completed. Yes, this is the limited time window to see GREYSCALE before it gets distribution. Once this campaign is up, then you'll have to wait until it goes through the distribution process. // NOTE: Every package above this level ($50/$100/$150/$250) AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE this reward.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
{THE SILVER FOX PACKAGE} Want something more substantial? How about we upgrade THE BRASS FOX PACKAGE with the paperback to a limited edition signed dust jacketed HARDCOVER. This Kickstarter campaign is the only time to get a hardcover. Also, your name will go on the Thank You page in the book. // NOTE: If you want more than 1 copy, select this option and add $50 per copy you'd like. If you'd like to add any paperback copies, add $25 per copy and we can work out the details of how many of each copy you'd like.
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{THE HALCYON PACKAGE} The Silver Fox Package plus a 8.5"x11" print of Grant Cooley's The Getaway (customized for The Wind Merchant), signed by the artist. // NOTE: If you want more than 1 hardback copy, select this option and add $50 per copy you'd like. If you'd like to add any paperback copies, add $25 per copy and we can work out the details of how many of each copy you'd like.
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{THE VERDANT PACKAGE} The Silver Fox Package plus a 12"x19" print of Grant Cooley's The Getaway (customized for The Wind Merchant), signed by the artist. // NOTE: If you want more than 1 hardback copy, select this option and add $50 per copy you'd like. If you'd like to add any paperback copies, add $25 per copy and we can work out the details of how many of each copy you'd like.
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{THE KINGFISHER PACKAGE} The Verdant Package plus one of three handwritten copies of the Kickstarter exclusive short story. // NOTE: If you want more than 1 hardback copy, select this option and add $50 per copy you'd like. If you'd like to add any paperback copies, add $25 per copy and we can work out the details of how many of each copy you'd like.
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Connected as Ryan Dunlap (1473 friends)
From the early days of fighting childhood boredom by making up stories in my backyard, I never learned to stop playing pretend.
The backyard paved the way to spending too much time in the pre-AOL days on Prodigy's phone-line-tying-up service, writing Star Wars fan-fiction before I even knew what fan-fiction was... but I did know I loved to write.
Fan-fiction turned to telling silly stories with a borrowed video camera during college, which turned to seriously pursuing filmmaking.
I'm a full-time film director from Tulsa, OK living in Nashville, TN that has worked on short films, feature documentaries, and one very ambitious indie narrative feature that I'm hoping to finish after 4 years in the very near future by once again returning to one of my first loves... fiction writing.
