A 20-day interactive road trip event, where social media voting determines each stop, activity, and major decision along the way. Read more
A 20-day interactive road trip event, where social media voting determines each stop, activity, and major decision along the way.
About this project
6/19 NOW ANNOUNCING - Get Your Parents to Donate Weekend!
(more information in FAQ below)
Summary
Wayfaring is a first-of-its-kind docuseries event that follows host Malcolm Freberg and a film crew on a road trip around the United States. Our team is set to leave LA on July 1st and will complete a twenty-day loop of the country, ending back in southern California on July 20th.
During the trip, we’ll be producing a short episode every day -- meaning 20 episodes in 20 days this July, each available on the official Wayfaring site the day after it’s shot.
Herein lies the rub:
Our team doesn’t choose where we drive or what we do each day of the road trip; YOU do. Every major decision – what city to visit, what crazy stunt to attempt – is decided by a public vote via social media. For nearly three weeks this July, all Malcolm’s life choices will be dictated by you, the audience.
Wayfaring isn’t a show, it’s an event. Like a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ book, for twenty days YOU get to choose how this story progresses. Malcolm will fill in the gaps with his own special brand of nonsense, but never before has an audience had complete control over a living, breathing protagonist before.
This adventure isn’t just Malcolm’s – it’s yours as well.
How Voting Works
We’ve partnered with Zoomph, a Social Media Engagement Platform, to host all our polls throughout the trip. Each morning, in conjunction with the episode, we’ll announce the choices for that day’s travel. These locations will be assigned hashtags, and you’ll post your vote to your social media account.
For example, say one day we’re deciding between riding bulls at a dude ranch in Texas, or playing alien-related games in Roswell, New Mexico (these will not necessarily be choices on the trip). The options will be announced at the end of the previous day’s episode, as well as on the Wayfaring website and Twitter account. They’ll be accompanied by unique hashtags, in this case #WFCowboys and #WFAliens (‘WF’ = Wayfaring), which you’ll use to make your choice. Simply post the designated hashtags to your social media account, and you’ve voted!
There will also be links to the Zoomph poll, so you can track the results in real time:
Each poll will have a limited run time. The #WFCowboys vs #WFAliens poll may be open when you wake up and end at 12:30 PM EST/9:30AM PST, but we’ll also be announcing quick, impromptu decisions throughout the day.
Say our crew has to stop for fuel at a gas station in Podunktown, USA -- Wayfaring may poll, "What should Malcolm start a conversation about with the clerk: #WFRoadkillRecipes, #WFCommunism, or #WFFlirt?" You will be dictating every step of this journey.
This is a 20-day live event. These decisions are happening in real time, so you’ve got to stay on your toes and keep your eyes open. Is one of our trip’s travel options your hometown? Get all of your friends to tweet nonstop. Desperate to see Malcolm do something abysmally disgusting? Vote a dozen times, then get your parents to do it another twenty from their accounts. The more you post, the more control you have over Wayfaring (see FAQ for more information on voting).
Why We're Making Wayfaring
Why Wayfaring is on Kickstarter
We’ve got our vehicles and most of our equipment lined up and ready to go. We’ve got a professional 13-person crew committed to making Wayfaring this July. But we need this last chunk to fund the backend. This $9,000 is the bare minimum we need to complete the trip.
While Malcolm continues to claim he can survive on nothing but whiskey and positive thinking for twenty days, the rest of us are going to need to be able to feed ourselves occasionally. We did some crude math, and it turns out fueling two recreational vehicles for a 5,000 mile road trip is no cheap feat. Lodging, permits, final equipment rentals, insurance, legal fees – all these things add up, and we simply cannot make Wayfaring a reality without your help.
Now, if we get our $9,000 (knock on wood), don't be afraid to donate over the mark. Every cent we gain above that goal will be used to make Wayfaring as big and fun as possible. Fireworks, Bourbon Street, Space Camp, Harry Potter wands; those cost money too. The more we have to spend, the more we get to show you. Remember: this money is not just for us, it's for upgrading the awesomesauceness of your options each day.
Reward Tiers
The rewards below $15 are self-explanatory – see the FAQ and video below for a more thorough explanation of how the Toast will work. Every dollar is appreciated, so thank you.
But at $15 and above, you officially become part the Rumpus -- welcome to the party. After the Kickstarter period closes, you will be sent access codes to be used on the Wayfaring website in order to create registered accounts, which will give you even more access and control over the event.
Clown Level donors ($15) get access to an exclusive section of our site, regularly updated with behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and extended cuts of events. Acrobats ($25) will be emailed links to private polls once a day, not available to the public, giving them even more control over the adventure. Fire Dancers ($75, with limited early buy-ins available for $10 off) will gain access to private, live video Q&A's with Malcolm every third day of the event, where he'll answer all your questions he can get to in an hour.
And there's even cooler rewards above that, exclusively available for our Kickstarter backers. Want a one-on-one phone call with Malcolm from the road? Want to make an executive decision all by yourself for Malcolm and the Wayfaring team? Want to meet us on the road for a day and take part in our shenanigans? All this and more is available to our high-level donors.
Watch your emails on June 26th, and don’t delay in responding. You’ll have less than a week before Wayfaring officially begins on July 1st, and only 48 hours to give us your information and message if you’ve bought into the Toast. See FAQ for more info.
Risks and challenges
"That I'll die doing something stupid."
-Malcolm
"That Malcolm will die doing something stupid."
-Rest of the Wayfaring Team
Aside from that moderately likely scenario, this is an extremely challenging project. It's not an exaggeration when we say no one has ever made a show in this format before -- it's that daunting.
We're going to produce 20 short-form, professionally shot and edited episodes over the course of 20 day event; one per day of the trip, completed at the end of each day of the trip. Most TV shows take months after shooting to edit and piece together their episodes in lavishly comfortable studios; we're going to do all our editing while we're shooting on the road, working each night in dingy motels and stinky campsites. Big studios take their time, go through weeks of debating and re-cutting and re-shooting to get every moment perfect; we're shooting from the hip, and have to work with whatever film we produce that very day. We don't have months to haggle over creative choices, we've got minutes. No one has ever tried anything like this before.
And thats why we're going for it -- because everyone's been saying we're crazy. Because the people who allegedly know what they're talking about have become conditioned to only attempt the simple and safe, the same old formulaic shows you see season after season. But the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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Because the meanies at Groupon own Wayfaring.com, and Wayfaringneverbeforeattemptedshowformat.com seemed a touch wordy.
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The Toast Video is available for $5 – if you donate just $5 and select that level reward, you’re in. We’ll contact you in the days following the end of the Kickstarter period to get your name and message.
The distinction is that, unlike the WF coozie, you don’t automatically get into the Toast video for buying in at a level above $5. Say you donate $25 for Acrobat Level (thanks!); that package includes all the items below it – exclusive content access, WF coozie, and Street High Five – but it DOES NOT include the Toast. You have to add another $5 to your donation, for a total of $30. Then you’ll select the Acrobat package from the Rewards page, and after the payment is processed we’ll contact you to get your name and message.
Long story short (too late), if you intend to donate more than $5 total, just add $5 to your preferred Reward package amount, and you’re in the Toast.
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The easiest way to do be delivered poll updates is to follow the Wayfaring Twitter account (@Wayfaringlive) – all votes will be announced there. If you don’t have a twitter account, it takes less than 3 minutes to sign up. In addition, you can configure your settings through twitter to send alerts to your phone whenever we tweet. You can also check our website, www.wayfaringlive.com, which will also have poll results available in real time.
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Using the same hashtag multiple times in one social media post only counts as one vote. That being said, you’re not limited to how many times you can post/vote – if you post ten separate times with the same hashtag, that will count as 10 votes. Go nuts.
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The private polls will be hosted outside of our hashtag voting system. You will be emailed a link to a private poll once a day, and follow the instructions therein. It will be simple, just keep an eye on your email.
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Similar to the private polls, you’ll be emailed a private link, as well as a time. Keep in mind that, per our travel and production schedule, these will last exactly one hour from the start time – we just won’t have time to go longer. Also per our schedule, all of these will be scheduled for late evening, the lateness affected by whatever time zone we’re in that day.
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We cannot anticipate how many people will buy access to the Q&A’s, nor how many people will be in the chat for each, so while we will absolutely do our best to address as many different people and questions as possible, we simply cannot promise that you’ll get your question answered during these sessions. The only way to guarantee getting a response is to buy in at Strongman Level (the one-on-one thank you phone call) or higher.
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Unfortunately, no. Because our entire team is going to be on the road, we won’t be able coordinate a la carte orders for limited access to a certain Q&A, therefore these must be done on a subscription basis.
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After the Kickstarter period ends, you’ll be able to buy access through the Wayfaring site, but ONLY for Clown, Acrobat, and Fire Dancer Levels. All our top level rewards are only available during our two week Kickstarter period
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Due to our schedule, cozies and signed posters can only be shipped before the event starts if we have your information in hand by the 28th; otherwise, they’ll be shipped at the end of July, after the event. That gives you 48 hours to get your info in, so stay on it.
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First, get someone besides yourself (it could be anyone, not just a parent) to donate $25 or more; select whatever reward you (or they) want.
Then, have the person who made the donation leave a message in the comments section, saying 'I made my donation on behalf of 'your name'.
Finally, after the Kickstarter closes, the person who donated for you will be asked to provide your phone number, and you'll get a two-minute call on June 29th from Malcolm!
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Just go to the comments section and post who the phone call is for, and we'll count it.
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The 'Get Your Parents to Donate' program requires that you designate the call go to someone OTHER than yourself. That being said, we will not fault creative trickery...
Rewards
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Pledge $2 or more
3 backers
You will be added to an exclusive list, written in magic ink upon ancient scrolls, that entitles you to exactly one (1) high five from a member of the Wayfaring team, should you ever run into them on the street. Thank you so much for supporting Wayfaring
Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $5 or more
48 backers
---The Toast--- *NOT INCLUDED AT HIGHER PACKAGE LEVELS (see FAQ + video for more info)* Two nights after the Kickstarter period ends, we'll have Malcolm sit down with a camera and several bottles of wine (we don't think he'll mind) and toast each of you individually, by name, with whatever personalized message you want (within our low standards of good taste), and he will drink in your honor. This video will be uploaded before the trip leaves on July 1st.
Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $7 or more
10 backers
-The Official Wayfaring Koozie-
Forged in the fires of Mount Doom, the WF koozie (see left) is the preferred method for keeping your (potentially) adult beverage a chilled mystery on a hot summer's day. Also receive the Street High Five.Estimated delivery:Ships anywhere in the world -
Pledge $15 or more
21 backers
==Clown Level==
In addition to the 20 daily episodes this July, we'll also have a ton of behind-the-scenes goodies, plus extended and deleted scenes. These will only available through the Wayfaring website for donors at $15 and above. Also receive the WF koozie and the Street High Five.Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $25 or more
53 backers
==Acrobat Level==
Once a day during the event (total of 20), you will be emailed a link to a private poll, available only to Acrobats and above. These limited-admission votes give you even more control over the action. Also receive access to the exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $65 or more
7 backers Limited (33 left of 40)
*EARLY BIRD*
==Fire Dancer Level==
Every third evening (total of 6), we'll host a live Q&A via Google Chat, where you can ask Malcolm any and all questions we can get to in one hour. Also receive access to the private votes, exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $75 or more
0 backers
==Fire Dancer Level==
Every third evening (total of 6), we'll host a live Q&A via Google Chat, where you can ask Malcolm any and all questions we can get to in one hour. Also receive access to the private votes, exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $100 or more
15 backers Limited (35 left of 50)
==Fire Dancer Level== and -SIGNED POSTER-
You'll receive a 17x11 hand-numbered, limited edition print of Wayfaring concept art by Jamie Lee Reardin (see left), signed by Malcolm. Also receive Fire Dancer Level, meaning access to the live Q&A's, the private votes, exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.Estimated delivery:Ships anywhere in the world -
Pledge $250 or more
2 backers
==Strong Man Level== ((EXCLUSIVELY for Kickstarter Backers))
You'll get a 10 minute, one-on-one phone call from the road with Malcolm. We'll force him to talk about whatever you want, within the confines of the US legal system. Also receive access to the live Q&A's, the private votes, exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $500 or more
1 backer
==Lion Tamer Level== ((EXCLUSIVELY for Kickstarter Backers))
Our producers will coordinate a time for you to make one Executive Decision for the Wayfaring team. No voting, no public influence, just you getting to make a decision for Malcolm with complete autonomy -- whatever you say, he does. In addition, your phone call will be featured on the next day's episode. Also receive access to the live Q&A's, the private votes, exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $1,000 or more
2 backers
==Ringleader Level== ((EXCLUSIVELY for Kickstarter Backers)) You and a guest will be invited to attend the Day 20 wrap party in the Los Angeles area (afternoon + night of July 20th; travel not included). Malcolm and the crew will be filming the end of the last episode, so you'll be on camera for the final scene of Wayfaring. Then you'll get to hang out and party all night with the team, celebrating the end of our journey with us. Also receive access to the live Q&A's, the private votes, exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.
Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $2,500 or more
0 backers Limited (3 left of 3)
==Circus King Level== ((EXCLUSIVELY for Kickstarter Backers)) You and up to 3 guests will come out for one day of cavalier riotness with the Wayfaring team, meeting us at our day's activity, and you will be featured in the subsequent episode (travel and lodging not included, but you can choose the WF stop of your choice; details coordinated with our production team, contact us for more info). Also receive access to the live Q&A's, the private votes, exclusive content, as well as the WF koozie and the Street High Five.
Estimated delivery: -
Pledge $5,000 or more
0 backers Limited (1 left of 1)
-Guaranteed City Visit- We will spend one day of the trip in your town or city, and feature it in that day's episode. Whatever you want us to do or show, we'll do or show. There are opportunities to pool funds here -- city council wanting to drive tourism, private business owners looking for publicity, etc. Our producers will work with you to show what you want. Not available in New England and several other northern states; contact us to discuss location feasibility and dates. Only 1 guaranteed city visit will be sold.
Estimated delivery:
Funding period
- (14 days)
