Hey gang:

It looks like we're not going to reach our fundraising goal, so nothing will be deducted from your pledge.

Thanks for the faith, and we'll keep you posted on the future of the project.

Let us be the first to wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Cheers,
Craig, Jeff and Mike

We picked up four new backers this past week, but we need much more. Please help us out by spreading the word about this amazing project to your friends.

Any outside-the-box ideas you have that would help our visibility, please let us know!

We still want to see this project Spotlighted on the Kickstarter front page as a "Project of the Day", or better, a "Project of the Week" If you would like to see this happen (and why wouldn't you?), please click on "FAQ/Help" at the upper right side of the Kickstarter page, then click on "Contact", on the right side of the screen, then send them a message. Tell them how much you love this project!

And, of course, THANK YOU to all who have pledged so far!

Craig & Jeff

http://bit.ly/c3HeYf

Thanx and a tip 'o the hat to Mike Campbell for writing and blasting out a press release over the weekend. As a result we had a record high of 43 hits on Sunday, surpassing the previous high of 39 on 3/27, the day after launch.

NOW, we need to turn those page hits to $$

Here is the link to the Press Release, so you can spread it around:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/sandy/becker/prweb3758634.htm

Again, don't forget we want to see this project Spotlighted on the Kickstarter front page as a "Project of the Day", or better, a "Project of the Week" If you would like to see this happen (and why wouldn't you?), please click on "FAQ/Help" at the upper right side of the Kickstarter page, then click on "Contact", on the right side of the screen, then send them a message. Tell them how much you love this project!

And, of course, THANK YOU to all who have pledged so far!

Craig & Jeff

http://bit.ly/c3HeYf

I am happy to announce THREE new Becker Backers signed on yesterday. Welcome, and please spread the word!

Remember, we want to see this project Spotlighted on the Kickstarter front page as a "Project of the Day". If you would like to see this happen (and why wouldn't you?), please click on "FAQ/Help" at the upper right side of the Kickstarter page, then click on "Contact", on the right side of the screen, then send them a message.

Tell them how much you love this project, and want to see it happen!

Thanks again to all!

Craig and Jeff

This week, we had five - count 'em - five new backers, and our total has surpassed the $1,000 mark.

As you can see from the photo, hits to this site have grown steadily over the past week, with 25 on Friday and 9 already this Saturday morning, 11:00am EDT.

We are trying to get this project spotlighted on the front page as a "Project of the Day". If you would like to see this happen (and why wouldn't you?), please click on "FAQ/Help" at the upper right side of the Kickstarter page, then click on "Contact", on the right side of the screen.

Tell them how much you love this project, and want to see it happen!

THANK YOU again for your support, and please tell all your friends about this amazing project!

Craig & Jeff

http://bit.ly/c3HeYf

Some progress, but still a long way to go. We picked up three new Becker Backers this past week, and have now raised $927.

We have also lowered the minimum bid from $50 to $10, with some new rewards.

AND, we have added a promotional video to the project page, which we are sure you will enjoy.

THANK YOU to all who have contributed so far. Please tell your friends, Geeba Geeba wants YOU to be a Becker Backer!

http://bit.ly/c3HeYf

In the hopes of attracting more backers, we have lowered the minimum pledge on this project from $50 to $10.

A MESSAGE FROM CRAIG MARIN, PUPPETEER

This is a very exciting moment: the coming together of time and of talent to bring to life a Memory. But as the Wicked Witch of the West once warned "it must be done delicately, or you hurt the spell".

Sandy Becker, whom I had the pleasure to call mentor and friend, created characters that live in our collective recollections. Sandy and I often talked about reviving his Christmas Carol, and his mantra was always "It must be done fresh and modern, because I don't want to disturb those memories."

That is our mandate, and the reason why this re-imagining of "SANDY BECKER'S CHRISTMAS CAROL" can't be made with a home camera in a garage. It has to be brought to life as a world-class-production. This includes a modern script, great puppeteers, sparkling voices, imaginative direction, dimensional sets, magical lighting, high-def cinematography, and state-of-the-art editing.

With this as our mandate - - and calling in favors and concessions from the artists and technicians involved - - we have figured out a production budget and schedule. Here's what the budget buys:

* PUPPET WORKSHOP AND STUDIO FOR SHOOT
* CREATION OF EXTRA PUPPET CHARACTERS
* DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTING COSTUMES
* WRITING THE SCRIPT
* DRAWING STORYBOARDS
* RECORDING AND MASTERING THE SOUND TRACK
* DESIGNING AND BUILDING SETS
* DESIGNING POSTER, DVD LABEL AND BOX

TOTAL: 3 WEEKS

* SET & LIGHT
* 3 DAY SHOOT IN HIGH-DEF WITH PUPPETEERS, DIRECTOR, CINEMATOGRAPHER, LIGHTING DESIGNER and CREW
* 2 DAY PICK-UP AND SPECIAL EFFECTS SHOTS

TOTAL: 6 DAYS

* EDITING
* SWEETENING
* FINAL MASTER

TOTAL: 5 DAYS

DUPLICATION = 300 - 500 DVD's.
MAILING DVD'S AND PREMIUM PRIZES TO BACKERS

Wow that's a lot! But you know what? That's what a labor of love is.

CLICK HERE: http://bit.ly/c3HeYf

Flexitoon Presents Sandy Becker's Christmas Carol

It's been a week since we launched this project on Friday, 2/26/10. Let me start with a huge THANK YOU to those of you who have already pledged to back this project. Although I am encouraged by the initial response - seven backers good for $500 in pledges over the weekend - it's been five days since we've had a single pledge. What this means is, with 56 days to go, we need to bring in a total of $530 PER DAY in order to meet our funding goal.

Now, this may seem like a very tall order, but look at it this way: when we first dreamed up this project, Craig proposed a budget of $30,000. He needs this amount in order to create a quality production - in a studio, with skilled puppeteers, and special effects. We thought if we could find 300 backers to put in $100 apiece, or 600 backers at $50 apiece, or some combination thereof, we could make this happen.

Consider this: according to the 1960 US Census, there were approximately 17,000,000 people living in the greater NYC metropolitan area, the nation's largest media market. Out of those 17 million, surely there are somewhere between 300 and 600 nostalgic BOOMER$ who remember Sandy Becker's Christmas Carol and would like to see this new version, and would like to help back it.

Our challenge is to find these people

We have been mildly successful in drumming up interest using social networking, primarily Facebook. There have been 174 hits on this site over the past week, and 105 fans have joined the Facebook fan page. However, we still have only 7 backers so far.

We're asking all of you, anyone reading this, please spread the word, reach out to people you know. If each of you tells two people, and they tell two people, and...you know where I'm going with this. If you know anyone in the media, especially the NYC media, please reach out.

Here's the link, in short form: http://bit.ly/c3HeYf

Again, our sincere thanks to all who are backing this project!

Craig and Jeff

Just 24 hours since we launched, we already have six backers and raised $450. THANK YOU to all, and please tell your friends about this project.