I met filmmaker
Jacob Hensberry because I stumbled upon a music video he directed and was so impressed at how he created so much out of so little,
that I wrote him a fan e-mail. We exchanged a few e-mails, eventually met up
for a drink, and have stayed in touch.
I was happy to see his name in my inbox recently with the subject field “Help us make our next short film.” Even more thrilled when he agreed to share the details about the film and his crowdfunding effort via Kickstarter.com
Tell me about
your film and why should someone give money to help you make it?
Given the rather grim state the film industry has found itself in these days, smaller director-driven films are becoming increasingly rare. I think it's always important to get behind someone who wants nothing more then to make a film that's entertaining, that's about something important and that doesn't have cheesy dialog or multiple decapitations. Don't get me wrong, some of my favorite movies have cheesy dialog and multiple decapitations! But it's really sad that some of our favorite, most iconic filmmakers from the 70s and 80s are having a tough time getting their films made these days. While my film, Planet X, is a science fiction film, it's more in the vein of a film like Pi or Tarkovsky's Solaris where it's not really about expensive, elaborate set pieces. It's atmospheric and character driven and deals more with the human side of things, how unknown forces can control our lives, how coincidence is often overlooked and how your real calling in life can find you as opposed to the other way around. It's also kind of a comedy.
We're making Planet X as a short film first to use as a calling card to help us raise additional money for a feature-length version. The short film will stand on its own and we'll definitely be going the usual festival route with it. I've been an editor in New York City for nine years now and I have some friends who work in development. I've learned that the people responsible for saying “yes” to larger projects absolutely must have some kind of visual representation of what you're planning to do. So this seemed like a logical approach.
How did you fund your previous films and what made you decide to go the Kickstarter route this time?
All of my films were financed with my own money, unfortunately! They were all shot for under five grand each plus a lot of favors from local lighting and camera rental houses, although I always pay my crew as I don't think it's fair to ask a real professional to work that hard for free. I just saved up enough money each year, knowing I was going to make another short in late summer or fall. Fortunately, not many people shoot 16mm anymore, so it wasn't as much as you might think to rent a camera and pay for processing. For the last six years I've worked with a truly gifted cinematographer named George Su who I've really worked to develop a style with. He can take a bunch of household lights from Home Depot and make a shot look like a Renaissance painting. The last film we shot was with a HD camera George owned plus a little analog help from a 35mm lens adaptor and a digital device called an IO HD Aja box, so that really brought costs down and it looks great. The post production end is always next to free because, well, I'm an editor! I do work with a great sound designer/mixer, though. With the previous films I didn't include festival applications, travel and what have you in the budget, although this time around, I had to.
With work being a little slower than usual this year, combined with the recent birth of my son… I'm sure any of you who are parents can finish this sentence for me! I just wasn't able to get the money together this year. It's especially upsetting because I truly believe this is going to be my best film to date. Kickstarter really is a godsend in this situation. They have more or less single-handedly legitimized grass roots fundraising and made it accessible to everyone and I think that's a pretty monumental achievement. It's one of those companies that, once you discover them and see what they're all about, you have to wonder, "Where have you been all my life!"
How are you telling people about your project and Kickstarter? Does Kickstarter help with outreach at all?
Kickstarter doesn't help with outreach. They do put certain projects they favor in the "Recommended" section, which they were kind enough to do for us. On our own, it's just the usual: e-mails to all of our friends every week, Facebook posts, Linked In, a couple of chat boards here and there. Aside from hiring a PR person, which we can't afford, that's about all we can do.
Your Kickstarter page is impressive. The video is funny and the incentives are creative. Did you spend a lot of time/money/energy getting that stuff together?
Thanks! Not really! Ken (my writing partner) and I wanted the video to look as cheap and unprofessional as possible. We threw up some blue bedsheets, used a combination of daylight and tungsten lights and broke out my old Canon GL-1. That was pretty much it. The point is, obviously, we need help with the effects and making the film look like a real film.
The incentives for donating I already have on hand because I've been submitting my films to festivals via DVD's and I have digital versions of the films hidden on my website for private viewing. It did take a while to decide what someone would get for a certain level of donation.
You’re looking to raise $5,000? I’m assuming that’s not the total budget.
$5000 is the total budget of the film.
As I said, I don't need that much help with post although for this film there are a few detailed CGI sequences that I have to hire out for and that's a large cost. One of my best friends is the president of a well-known animation company, so they'll be helping out a little.
My cinematographer just purchased one of the best HD cameras available and our locations are almost entirely free. So the money we're trying to raise is going towards paying a crew for a 4-5 day shoot, special effects, a sound mix, a plane ticket for my cinematographer (he's in L.A.), two key locations and application fees for a few hundred film festivals. That's a huge part of it this time around. It's pretty simple, if you want to get a film seen, especially a film you're developing into a feature, you have to try to show it to as many folks as you can, as often as you can. The average festival submission fee is about $40 these days, plus the cost of making DVD's, etc. It's a big part of the budget. We decided on $5,000 based on what it cost to make our other shorts plus the cost of the FX and festival release. Technology really has come a long way in the last few years. I mean, they shot the season finale of House with $3,000 camera and it looked amazing! If you know what you're doing (and I think we do) and you know how to make the light look beautiful (George does) and you have a good cast and a script you believe in, there are a lot of corners you can cut and still come out with a great film.
Jake has agreed to do a follow-up interview about his Kickstarter experience once the deadline for funding is over (Sunday, July 25, 2010). Look for it here in a few weeks.
