A Film and Theatre project Barnstaple, Devon
Have YOUR say in the production of this exciting animated family sci-fi short film!
Have you noticed how good dads in movies and TV are a rare thing? They’re mostly shown as either restrictive, foolish or absent altogether, and frequently, even when they are portrayed in a good light (like Hiccup’s dad Stoick in “How to Train Your Dragon”), they’re still wrong about something important, and it’s the children who have to put them right.
I want to tell a story with a great dad in it, who loves his children, will go to extraordinary lengths for them – and gets it right.
Here’s a short clip from the opening of a feature film I’m developing called “TyHa’an”.
It’s the story of a young space pilot who is so desperate to be the “Twin Planets” racing champion that he talks his father into giving him his inheritance early so that he can buy the best space racer around. He finds out the hard way that fame and fortune are fleeting things, but his father’s love, acceptance and forgiveness last for a lifetime.
I want this feature film to celebrate good dads, inspire them to be the best parents they can, and help kids to respect their parents who, so often, sacrifice an awful lot more for their kids than they realise.
To get potential investors in this movie as excited about it as I am, I’m crowdfunding a short film, based on the same characters.
It’s a prequel to the feature film, filling in some of the back story of Gil, the son, and his best friend Slab.
If you pledge for any of the rewards opposite (starting at a tiny £10) you will be invited to participate in an exclusive behind-the-scenes Forum to view, review and provide feedback on the making of the film at every stage. I will send out e-mails to the members of the Forum and collect your votes about what you think works, or which idea seems the best. The idea with the most votes will be the one I use in the film.
Want more than one vote? You can have it! £10 gets you 1 vote; for £50 you get 2 votes; £100 entitles you to 4 votes and so on. See the rewards list for full details.
If we do get to make the full feature film afterwards, I would like to ask the Forum to give feedback on that film too – and possibly other films after that (at which point I could be paying you for your input!). So if you’d like to have your say in making some great animated movies, pledge just £10 and you’re in!
Naturally there are other incentives on offer to the right. There’ll be digital downloads, DVDs and BluRays of the finished short, of course. You can have a Skype call, or two with me to help you with your own animation projects.
Or how about the chance to sit in on the actual voice recording session with one of the stars? If you’d like to meet and see how Russell Tovey (Being Human, Him and Her), Joe McGann (Moving On, Doctors) and Sophie Aldred (Dr. Who, Tree Fu Tom, Peter Rabbit) do their stuff, here’s your chance! (Please not that you will have to be available on the day set for the recording and make your own transport arrangements)
If anyone fancies a unique, inscribed, 100mm solid bronze statuette of Gil, or any of the other characters, there’s one on offer for pledges of £1,000 along with a Producer credit on the film and an entry in the International Movie Data Base (imdb.com), as long as I can get the film registered there; and anyone offering £5,000 will get an Executive Producer credit on the film together with a 40mm solid gold statuette!
It’s going to take me at least 18 months of very full-time work to make this film. Top quality animation takes a long time: animators for feature films may turn out just 2 seconds in a day! For this 7-minute short, that’s nearly 9 months just for the animation. Then there’s all the preparation before the animation can begin, plus the rendering (making the finished film frames), editing, music and sound.
If you have 10 minutes to spare, this little video will explain it in more entertaining detail:
I could make the short film in my rather limited spare time, but it would take me about 20 years, at which point I shall be in my 70s. Which is why I’m asking for your help now.
Just under half of the money is going to prevent me from getting into trouble with the banks for the 18 months I shall be working flat-out on this film.
My script writer has agreed to work for the minimum suggested by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain for animation screenplays.
As you’ve seen above, I shall also be employing some top British acting talent for the voices.
A full list of the proposed expenditure is below.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the budget:
Or, to show it another way:
Please pledge what you can, and pass the word to everyone you know! Even if you can’t pledge anything, please tell your friends and spread the word far and wide. This is an “all or nothing” campaign, which means that if we don’t reach our target, no money will change hands and there will be no film. If you want to see this go, please get your friends and family involved.