12 Adventures – The 12 Adventures of Incredibly Imperfect Ali Gilmore
An original, interactive web series following 12 adventures of a 50-something, Stage IV cancer fighter’s bucket list, designed to inspire others to go after their own bucket list regardless of their own challenges.
How many times have you thought about making a great escape or going after a big ticket item on your bucket list? Maybe you scratched down a few big ideas on a notepad while daydreaming at the office. Maybe, you even went so far as to elaborately plan it all out with a couple friends or family only to back out before the big day for whatever reasons we give; “The office can’t do without me.” “I can’t afford it.” “I want to wait until I’m in better shape.” How many times have you uttered the words, “Next year.” or “One day…?”
For too many, this goes on until they truly can’t physically make the trip for all the money in the world. It’s a sad realization that I nearly fell into it myself.
In September of 2010 I was blindsided by the diagnosis of Stage IV colon cancer, on my birthday of all days. It was a harsh dose of “Wake up and smell the fact that life is fleeting and seriously unpredictable.”
That woke me up alright, so since my diagnosis I have experienced the following firsts; jumped out of a plane, swam in the Mediterranean, stood on the Cliffs of Moher, floated along the canals of Amsterdam, become a sports photographer with highlights of photographing greats like; Beckham, Keller, Ronaldo, Donovan, Keane and Kaka, written and published two humorous cancer survival guides (The C Card and Me), was the subject for an original TV program (My Human Case:Cancer) and professionally recorded a full length CD of my original, Americana songs. All these were accomplished BTW, on 1/3 the income I used to have and most in between chemotherapy treatments, so ehm, what is it again you are waiting for?
My name is Ali Gilmore and I am told my actions inspire others to get up off the couch and go after their dreams. Every time I hear that it fuels my passion for life even more and my desire to reach out and inspire others with the message “Don’t wait for a daunting diagnosis to go out and live a more adventurous life.”
One of the best ways to reach a broader set of eyes and ears without a Hollywood budget (or connections) is through a web series. 12 episodes where viewers can virtually join in on exciting bucket list adventures, where they are given the tools and tips to make these adventures happen for themselves.
Our first goal is to raise enough funding to make a pilot episode. One that will entice sponsors to take notice and invest in future episodes or maybe even the entire series.
Every contributor during this campaign will receive a private link to commercial free, pre-launch viewing of the premier episode. The series itself will be made available on Amazon Instant Video for rent/purchase to the general public after the contributor pre-screenings in 2016.
In the same vein as a couple of my favorite shows, Vera and Inspector Lewis, there will be 4 episodes per year, one per season, so the project itself with span over three years; 2016-2019.
Each episode will vary in cost depending on location and dates, but the average cost of quality film/production is $1,000 per minute. That’s 40% of the budget right there. Experience in Marketing/PR tells us that a good chunk (20-30%) of the budget should go toward marketing to get the show out in front of viewers (Do you want 100 people to see your name in the rolling credits or 100,000?). About 20% of our budget goes to fees and delivery of your goods, leaving us the remainder for travel/excursion expenses. Any unused portion of one episode’s budget will roll over into the next episode.
Well, I never~ Seriously, fair question most are too polite or afraid to ask, so I figured we should just rip that band-aid off. I get a precautionary scan done every 3 months. In that scan I find out whether I’m in the clear or if there’s a new spot or two that have cropped up in my lung(s). When there is, treatment can range from a couple weeks of radiation sessions to 3-6 months of chemo/radiation plan (to date, I’ve gone through nearly 50 cycles of chemo).
Does that stop me?
In a word, “nope.” My 50th birthday trip to Italy, where I performed at the Festa del Pesche, was in the middle of a 6 month chemo plan. I was given a brief break from chemo to go on the trip. We are all very careful to make sure it’s safe and sound to travel. Believe me, I’ve got a team of dedicated pros emotionally vested in keeping me in the “beating cancer” category.
In those cases, I won’t look my best. I won’t feel my best, but after all the accomplishments I’ve had since my diagnosis, do you really think I’m going to let a little bit of chemo/radiation get in our way?
Well, after we’re done dancing around, screaming, laughing, crying and literally pinching ourselves, then, we’ll hold a contest and invite one lucky supporter and their guest to join in on their choice of episode, expenses (travel/hotel) paid, that’s what!
Reaching the goal of 28K will also unlock other very cool goods…
We will make the pilot no matter what. If we have to use my Nikon, borrow a decent tripod and a couple mics, the first episode will be filmed and air in 2016. The more we raise, the higher quality of series with our names on it and hiring Mike and Sofia Oritz of R3 Films (see promo video and others here) will ensure the filming is not just high quality, but they’ll genuinely capture the mood, the spirit of each adventure and the characters involved.
If the question is more of “Ali, I don’t know you from Adam. Why should I entrust you’ll actually follow through and not just blow the campaign money on a trip to Vegas or Belize?” Good question and thanks for the Belize suggestion~
I have built a solid reputation for following through on campaigns. My first book, The C Card and Me – How I beat stage IV cancer (to a pulp), was published thanks to crowdfunding support along with a single, By New Year’s Day and my CD, Piece of Cake. One just needs to Google ’em to see they’re for reals.
Which would you rather have, a mass produced t-shirt that everyone and their dog is wearing or one of only 12 prints in that color or style? Just as making the initial goal for the first episode will unlock the 2nd episode, selling out of one set of goods will unlock other similar, but differently awesome goods…pretty cool, eh?
Hats, t-shirts and compasses are guaranteed delivery by December 23, 2015 if ordered by December 1st!
PRODUCT PLACEMENT, ASSOCIATE/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GOODS AND MORE WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH DATE: NOVEMBER 27, 2015!
Hats, t-shirts and compasses are guaranteed delivery by December 23, 2015 if ordered by December 1st!
We polled our friends and neighbors on Facebook and asked them, “If you could go on 12 adventures, which would you choose?” Here are the results:
The 12th episode will be selected by the 12 Adventures team from the following vote-tied adventures. The remaining 3 will serve as alternates in case any of the above adventures become unfeasible to accomplish during the timeline of the series.
Episodes will be filmed in the order of seasonal availability and sponsorship obtained.