JourneyQuest Season Two is the continuation of a fantasy comedy webseries, begun in 2010 and released under Creative Commons.
“[I] am thoroughly hooked and impressed! Great production values, acting, and writing!”
— Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.net
“With JourneyQuest, the Dead Gentlemen once again set the bar for independent comedy: smart, silly, wholly original, and, above all, genuinely fun.”
— Rachel Edidin, Dark Horse Comics
FUNDING UPDATE:
Thanks to the support of over eight-hundred of you, plus a matching funds promotion from Beth, Brad, and Steve, we've reached $100,000, which means that our contributors have unlocked a feature-length season!
We're also adding in some exciting new prizes and bonuses for new contributors to help unlock with their pledges:
- Unlocked: $105,000 -- Every contributor receives an exclusive backer's-only embroidered Season Two Supporter patch.
- Unlocked: $110,000 -- We commission a full-color map of Fartherall, the world of JourneyQuest
- Next Goal: $115,000 -- We greenlight development of the JourneyQuest Role-playing Game
- $120,000 -- We produce the official Orcs of JourneyQuest beefcake calendar
- $200,000 -- We shoot seasons two and three concurrently.
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What is JourneyQuest?
JourneyQuest is a fantasy comedy webseries that premiered on Hulu and YouTube in 2010. It has gone on to find an international fan base, and has screened at festivals and conventions worldwide, including PAX, GenCon, and Comic Con San Diego. It is released for free under a Creative Commons license.
And who are you?
We are Zombie Orpheus Entertainment—composed of longtime friends and filmmakers Matt Vancil and Ben Dobyns—and our buddies at Dead Gentlemen Productions. We created the first season of JourneyQuest with an all-volunteer cast and crew because we wanted to show you what we were capable of before asking you for money.
Where can I watch JourneyQuest: Season 1?
The first season of JourneyQuest can be seen in its entirety on YouTube or Hulu. Give it two episodes, and you’ll be hooked.
What are you trying to do?
Thanks to generous fan contributions, we have entirely paid off our first season’s budget of $30,000. Our new goal is to raise $100,000 to produce a second season of JourneyQuest.
Who else is involved?
We are thrilled to have new actors joining our cast in upcoming seasons!
- MMA superstar Bob Sapp will be playing our barbarian king Karn the Unpleasant, appearing first in Season Two.
- TV star Fran Kranz, who played Topher Brink on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, will be playing the dashing, honey-tongued bard Silver Tom.
- Genre actress Jen Page (The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, Project London) will appear as Queen Starling, ruling conquered kingdoms by the side of her husband, Karn the Unpleasant.
- Scott C. Brown (or his clone) is slated to play the orcish professor Strong Like Bull.
We also have internationally renowned fantasy artist Wayne Reynolds producing the cover artwork for our DVDs and poster!
Where does the money go?
Every penny goes directly towards production and contributor rewards. Our budget covers everything from production insurance to location fees, from cast and crew wages to equipment rentals, from the props and costumes and makeup of preproduction to the VFX, sound design, and music of post—everything. With their quick and efficient micro-crew, Matt and Ben have learned how to stretch a dollar to get the maximum amount of production value without sacrificing a drop of story or characterization. Nothing goes to waste.
I previously contributed to JQ2 elsewhere. Will I also get the Kickstarter incentives?
Yes! We’ve already received over 1,000 contributions for our first season, and the folks who contributed (if this campaign is successful) will receive matching Kickstarter rewards based on the levels at which they pledged. If you pledged on another site but would like to increase your level here, you can do so, but be sure to let us know—Kickstarter isn’t set up to handle that, and we wouldn’t want to lose track of the level at which you contributed!
I want to help, but I can’t pledge financially.
That’s okay! You can help us just by letting anyone who might like our show that we’re out here. Tweet us, share us, like us on Facebook—any extra exposure we get helps people who can contribute find our project.
Where can I learn more?
You can find us and ask us questions at the sites listed below. Additionally, you can ask us a question with the “Ask A Question” button at the bottom of the FAQ; we’ll be sure to get you an answer!
www.journey-quest.com
www.facebook.com/journeyquest
www.facebook.com/zombieorpheus
www.facebook.com/deadgentlemen
“JourneyQuest restores our faith in the Internet as the medium that will transform the creation and delivery of entertainment … It’s an absolutely hilarious romp, with wry wit, outstanding cast, tremendous production quality, and most importantly, it made us laugh out loud with every episode. We want more! Or someone’s going to get a smiting.”
— Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Star Trek: Enterprise
FAQ
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It’s pretty simple.
1) Choose a word that you want. It can be a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.
2) Decide who or what you want that word named after (the subject).
3) Send that information to Orcish.JQ@gmail.comIf the word you want is available, Matt will take your subject, adjust it so it fits Orcish spelling and syntax, and then send it back to you for approval. If you approve, that word and its meaning will officially enter the Orcish language, and will be part of the Orcish/English dictionary!
Example: Strick Strickland (not a real person) wants to name “to audit” after his favorite accountant, Throckmorton. Matt takes the subject (“Throckmorton”), adjusts it to fit Orcish and comes up with throkkmorta. Strick approves. His word becomes an official part of the Orcish language, and is attributed to him in the Orcish/English dictionary.
Words are first come, first serve. We will not coin words that insult any group or organization. There is no guarantee that a word you coin will be used in the season; however, the more common the word, the more likely it is to be used.
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Yes! Once you’ve already contributed, the “Back This Project” button will have changed to a “Manage My Pledge” button. You can click on that to change the amount you want to pledge, or to switch to a parallel incentive at the same level.
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Absolutely. Kickstarter can accept pledges from anywhere.
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We will be shooting in the spring of 2012 in Washington State.
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Right here: http://creativecommons.org/
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You'll have to watch the show.
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At the end of the Kickstarter campaign we'll calculate out your contributions from every source to date and award you based on that total sum. Ongoing contributions past that date will count toward the next campaign.
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The INITIATE Package. Get access to exclusive content and behind-the-scenes videos in our Kickstarter "Backers Only" updates -- please promise to tell 10 friends about our project! Also comes with our undying love.
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The WHITE ROBE Package. Lifetime access to the JourneyQuest Supporters group at www.zombieorpheus.com—which includes regular updates from the set, BTS exclusives, live streaming events, interaction with our cast and crew during production, merchandise exclusives, and more—and your name will be inscribed on the Wall of Heroes on the JQ site.
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The YELLOW ROBE Package. You will receive the White Robe Package, Special Thanks in the end credits, a DVD of JourneyQuest: Season 1, an HD download of JourneyQuest: Season 2 Uncut, and you may coin one (1) word in Orcish—yes, you will get to create an official word in the Orcish language (see FAQ for details).
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The ORANGE ROBE Package. You will receive the Yellow Robe Package, you may coin a total of two (2) words in Orcish, and you will receive a signed, limited edition of the JourneyQuest: Season 2 DVD, featuring a supporters-exclusive cover by Wayne Reynolds.
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The GREEN ROBE Package. You will receive the Orange Robe Package, you may coin a total of three (3) words in Orcish, plus you will receive an annotated PDF of the JourneyQuest: Season 2 screenplay with the director’s notes (and doodles) and a signed, limited edition JourneyQuest: Season 2 full-size poster featuring Wayne Reynolds’ artwork.
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The PURPLE ROBE Package. You will receive the Green Robe Package, you may coin a total of five (5) words in Orcish, and you will receive a signed, limited edition paperback copy of “The Orcish/English Dictionary”, which includes: a pronunciation guide; rules for conjugating verbs and declining nouns; a handy dandy mini phrase book; and every single new Orcish work created as a part of this campaign, with each word attributed to the person who coined it. Additionally, you will receive a digital pass to an online advance screening of JourneyQuest Season 2, so you can see every season two episode early!
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The BLUE ROBE Package. You will receive the Purple Robe Package, two tickets to the premiere screening of the movie version in Seattle (transportation and lodging not included), and you may, unannounced, hit Matt Vancil with an official ZOE Red Card and Whistle. During a screening, panel, or interview, you may, if a member of ZOE or Dead Gentlemen performs an egregious infraction (such as saying something especially lewd or offensive, telling a stupid joke, making a painful pun, or committing an offense that denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity) blow the whistle and present said person with your Red Card. The offending player then must leave the screening, panel, or interview, having been sent off for foul play.
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The RED ROBE Package. You will receive the Blue Robe Package. You also will be cast in a walk-on role in JourneyQuest: Season 2. Your day on set will be photographed and chronicled. You will also receive an invitation to the wrap party in Seattle, because hey, you’re a member of the cast! (Transportation and lodging not included.)
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The BROWN ROBE Package B: Game with Perf! You will receive the $500 Blue Robe Package. Additionally, you will receive an invitation to join the cast of JourneyQuest and director/gamemaster Matt Vancil for an all-day gaming session set in the JourneyQuest universe. We'll record the session as a memento for you to keep, plus Matt Vancil will write up your adventures with the JourneyQuest heroes as a short story. You will also receive your own limited edition Perf hat. (Transportation and lodging not included, but the food and drinks are on us!)
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The BROWN ROBE Package. You will receive the $500 Blue Robe Package. You will also play a speaking role in JourneyQuest: Season 2. You will be on screen—in costume, forevermore a member of the JourneyQuest cast—and will be credited as such on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). Your day on set, including lunch with the cast and crew, will be photographed and chronicled. (Transportation from Seattle and lodging will be included if we are on an overnight location.) You will also receive an invitation to the wrap party in Seattle (transportation and lodging not included), and your own limited edition Perf hat.
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BLACK ROBE Package A. You will receive the $500 Blue Robe Package, your own limited edition Perf hat, and an Associate Producer credit. You will be listed as an Associate Producer in the end credits of every episode, and on IMDB. You are welcome to visit the set and hang out during filming. You will receive four tickets to the premiere screening in Seattle, an invitation to the wrap party, and you have a standing invitation to appear at any and all future screenings and festival events (lodging/transportation not included).
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BLACK ROBE Package B. You will receive the $500 Blue Robe Package, your own limited edition Perf hat, and a matted and framed, limited edition, archival quality print of the original Wayne Reynolds artwork featured on the JourneyQuest: Season 2 Supporters DVD and poster.
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ARCHMAGE Package B. You will receive the $500 Blue Robe Package, your own limited edition Perf hat, and an Executive Producer credit. You will be listed as an Executive Producer in the end credits of each episode, and on IMDB. You will receive four tickets to the premiere screening in Seattle, an invitation to the wrap party, and you have a standing invitation to appear at any and all screenings and festival events. You are welcome to visit the set during filming, attend rehearsals, hang out with the cast and crew, and review cuts of the film as it progresses through post production. You will receive eight tickets to the premiere in Seattle, an invitation +4 to the wrap, and you have a standing invitation to attend any and all screenings and festival events, accompany the director to premieres, and participate in interviews. Whatever you want—you’re an executive producer! (Transportation not included.)
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ARCHMAGE Package A. You will receive the $500 Blue Robe Package, your own limited edition Perf hat, and a Co-Producer credit. You will be listed as a Co-Producer in the end credits of each episode, and on IMDB. You are welcome to visit the set and hang out during the filming. You will receive an invitation +4 to the wrap party in Seattle, and you have a standing invitation to appear at any and all screenings and festival events. Additionally, Matt Vancil will write and direct a 5-minute JourneyQuest tie-in short film starring you as a character you will co-create with Matt. You will be credited as this character on IMDB. The short will be available on the JourneyQuest: Season 2 DVD.
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ARCHMAGE Package C. You will receive the $500 Blue Robe Package, your own limited edition Perf hat—and the original Wayne Reynolds artwork featured on the JourneyQuest: Season 2 Supporters DVD and poster. There is only one in the world! We will send Matt Vancil or Ben Dobyns to deliver the painting to you personally, screen the completed season for you and your friends, and make terrible puns at your expense.
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Pledge above $10,000 (aggregated through all contribution channels): The GRANDMASTER Package. We will work with you to create your own unique rewards package. And yes, it will include a Perf hat.
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