About
Donner Party: The Musical!
$16,586
171
As a senior in Film at Rhode Island School of Design, I’ll be spending the entire year making this film, managing every aspect of the project from casting through final editing, and raising the necessary funds to produce it.
The Project
This hilarious musical comedy tells the true story of ill-fated settlers, how they became snowbound and resorted to cannibalism.
The Origin
The music was written and composed by two very talented Brown University students, Jonah Kagan and Isaac Goldberg. At its heart, the film is a love story. As the hardships mount, the young lovers grow closer until they hunger for each other.
The Team
Local legend David J. Tessier brings his expertise as Music Director for the film, and the female lead will be performed by the accomplished and comical singer/actor Kendra White. Final casting will be completed by the end of the month. Paul Bertolino is our cinematographer extraordinaire. The gorgeous storyboards in the video above are by fellow student Karen Sung.
The Kickstarter
I need to raise $16,500 in 45 days, and although that’s a lot of money, it is a modest budget for a project of this scope. Your contributions will go directly towards the film’s expenses, among them 16mm film and processing, costumes and props (including a full-scale covered wagon), special effects, recording studio time, and much more.
Every donation, in any amount, will be appreciated and put to good use.
This project is incredibly important to me. I have worked tirelessly to become a filmmaker and it has long been my goal to entertain the public—what better way than with a musical comedy? Your donation will help me realize this dream, and I guarantee you will not be disappointed!
UPDATE: Wanna hear some previews of the music? The following selections are performed by composer Isaac Goldberg and by original stage production actress Alexis Shusterman:
Getting Closer: http://kiwi6.com/file/86ota04e3z
Frontier of Love (excerpt): http://kiwi6.com/file/927lop57lg
Risks and challenges
Luckily for me I have a deadline for school so THERE WILL ABSOLUTELY BE A FILM in May 2013.
A potential challenge lies in getting the final cut that I like versus what I have by the time it's due. There are often times that one plays with a certain sequence of shot for literally days and days until it resembles something of the original intention. That would in turn delay the shipping of the digital downloads of the film and the DVDs which will affect almost every reward level. Also, I've had good and bad experiences with DVD mass-duplication services, so that any trouble there would cause unfortunate delays.
Still, I have full confidence that everything will come out in time. In my editing experience, I have been a very decisive editor, so I don't expect to be struggling with the final cut. I'm also a great people person, so dealing with a DVD duplication company should be no trouble!
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Funding period
- (45 days)