Month: November 2009

Categories
Truly Free Film

Ten* Filmmakers I Would Crowd Fund*

In celebration of Arin Crumley & Keiran Masterton‘s success using Kickstarter to fund development of OpenIndie.com, I thought I would launch my annual grants. Or rather my annual promise of grants. Money! $ For Films! Free!*

If any of the following filmmakers had a crowd funding page for their next film (provided the film was $300K neg.cost or less), I would donate some money to get it made. And I would encourage others to do so.

Who would you fund?
I know there are more than ten* I could have listed, but I thought this was a good start, and you have to draw the line somewhere. Plus, being an indie film producer in a land that does not demonstrate that it values what I do, I don’t have enough cash to go beyond this list! And even still, my contribution would not be significant financially; it would be more of a vote of support in hopes that others would be encourage to support the culture they want. I would give in order to become part of their team, to hear what they are up to, to get updates.
I listed artists who have are all early in their careers — but have already directed a feature. I listed filmmakers whom I was confident could deliver a whole lot for a little. I listed filmmakers whom I am not already involved with.
Yet before I gave to any of these filmmakers, I would want to see a commitment to building audiences PRIOR to filming — say a pledge to not commence until they had collected 5000 unique fans. I would want to know that they had a plan to market and release their film that went beyond bringing it to festivals and hoping for the best. I would want to know that they would set up an e-commerce site on their websites — and that they had a website (which they refreshed with regular content). And of course I wouldn’t transfer the money until they had reached their goal in pledges. Then I would gladly give money to them to get that next film made (and not ask for anything in return other than the satisfaction of having helped).
Categories
Bowl Of Noses

The Amazing Adventures of Madebonne and Henry

The Amazing Adventures of Madebonne and Henry, written by Linda Perkins with the help of her friend Madeleine (who is now 8 years old) is a story told in chapters.


At the end of each chapter Madeleine answers a question which determines the direction of the story. This adventure will be posted chapter by chapter as it was written. And perhaps the story will continue with your help. So far they have posted 8 chapters. Chapter One begins…
Once upon a time there was a girl named Maddy who lived in Brooklyn with her mom, her dad and her cat Henry. Their apartment was on the twelfth floor of a tall, skinny building and when Maddy went to bed she felt like she was sleeping in the clouds.

Maddy’s mom was an Olympic swimmer. She loved the water and could swim faster than a cat chasing his tail.Their apartment had a giant tub so that her mom could practice swimming every day. When she wasn’t swimming, Maddy’s mom was drinking water or juggling ice cubes or doing a rain dance or playing in puddles.

Maddy’s dad was a circus acrobat. He could bend himself into a pretzel, stretch from the couch all the way to the television to change the channel without having to use the remote. One time when the building elevator was broken, he dove out the living room window and swung from branch to branch until he landed on Cortelyou street and hopped on the bus to work.

One day after her dad left for work, Maddy’s mom put on her bathing suit and her cap and her goggles and hopped in the tub. Maddy was feeling particularly fast that day, so she decided to race her mom as she did her laps. She and Henry went to her room to get ready. She put on her red sneakers, the fastest shoes she owned, and her favorite racing dress and Henry put on his green racing collar and they headed back to the bathroom. Maddy and Henry crouched by the edge of the tub and looked down into the water. As her mom pushed off under water, Maddy sprinted as fast as her red shoes could carry her to the other side of the giant tub and Henry started chasing his tail. When she looked up, panting, her mom was already back at the other side. Maddy took a deep breath and tried again. But try as she might, Maddy just couldn’t run as fast as her mom could swim. She and Henry decided to take a break. Maddy curled up on the bath mat and using Henry as a pillow they fell fast asleep.

Continue it here. Have fun on this adventure on the other side of the drain. Join the blog and become an Adventurer!