ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXCan you help a 13 year old filmmaker?
9 years, 2 months ago - Holly Jacobson
I’m only 13, but I have already made a number of short films and I’ve acted in over 50. Over four years ago now I came up with an idea for a film that I knew I had to make and over the past four years I have been working on the script and planning to make it. I knew that it would be a very ambitious project and that is why I have waited until now to push ahead with it. Over the past four years I’ve grown up a lot and improved my skills and this summer will see it finally move from page to screen!!!!!
This is where I am going to ask a totally unreasonable thing of you - you don’t me and as filmmakers I know you will be constantly barraged with requests for support, but please read on a little more! I have decided to run a crowd funding campaign to raise more funds for this film. Please, if you can spare a few minutes, take a look and see if this is something you feel you could support. Support doesn’t have to be financial - sharing it on social media would also be amazing. This is the first time I have ever tried to do anything like this and I’m a bit nervous because I really really want it to go well.
I have been steadily working away at making films for a few years already now and I have been a member of shooting people for at least three years. Please, if you can just spare the time to take a look at what I’m up, it would mean the world to me.
I promise the video is only short and here it is: http://fancypantsfilms.co.uk/harryandgrace
More about me as a filmmaker here: www.fancypantsfilms.co.uk
Holly Jacobson
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9 years, 2 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
Hi Holly,
I've always been impressed with the maturity of your approach to this site, so I've no doubt that you'll carry that forward. Because of that, I won't patronise you, because I don't think that's what you want!
I read your indiegogo pitch, it's pretty good, it's as good as many appeals, but it's not standout yet. Something crucial (for now and future!) is to be able to show a budget. Many films stumble by running out of cash, so being able to show how you arrive at your figures helps a backer to consider if they think a film will ever get completed (and so worth backing!). The more detailed the budget, the more compelling it is. £2500-£4500 is enough money to do something decent with, if you've got favours and are organised. I think you'll do alright for favours, I think you'll probably be pretty organised, so it's just a case of showing the world that it really does add up.
I'd also add at least a treatment - you say you explore some darker themes so you can let your potential backers in on that. It won't put any real backers off, but may tilt the balance for anyone undecided if you can show your angle!
Something else that may be helpful are any sketches/calculations/plans for the set build. Mood boards too, if you've not got them yet.
Your age and maturity will generate a lot of goodwill, so this is a case of showing people not just that you want to do it, but how you are going to do it with their support. It just makes it easier for people, and hopefully get you funded :)
9 years, 2 months ago - Dan Selakovich
Holly, in your campaign you mention "buying old sheds and summer houses" and using that wood to build your cottage. From an outsider looking in, this can seem oddly expensive and inefficient. Since your campaign and video supporting it focus on this cottage, you might want to give a little more detail on who is helping you build it (a proper carpenter), sketches, etc.
Have you talked to a professional production designer for ideas that might save you a fortune? For example, if I needed a stone cottage, I know that I can carve styrofoam into the shapes of stone, paint them to look like stone, and glue them on flats. Then I have a very lightweight set that is easy to get to and build on location. By adjusting your shots, a facade could easily be 2 exterior walls, and interiors shot elsewhere.
It sounds from your crowd funding site, that you want to build a permanent set somewhere. If that's not the case, I think people might need, at least those familiar with the film industry, a little more detail about how you're going about this.
Regardless, I wish you the very best of luck!
9 years ago - Holly Jacobson
Paddy and Dan - you both gave me some very very good advice and it’s been on my mind for a long time that I haven’t been able to make you a good reply - mainly because you raised points that were valid, but difficult for me to fix quickly.
The campaign is now over and did well - but was so much more work than I could have imagined. Honestly I didn’t add any specifics about the build because I was so hazy on them myself. I went back and forth between a number of potential solutions. At the start I thought a lot about buying up old sheds and using that wood - but then I also thought about taking all the cast and crew to Pembrookshire to film in a pre-existing “hobbit hut” style house. Nothing seemed quite right and I find it hard to accept something that isn’t perfect when so much work has gone into this film.
In the end I was very inspired by a wooden frame/ straw bale structure that I went to visit. I think all along though I just really wanted to build my own cottage and so that is what I’m now doing. I actually have ended up finding a more mature woodland with a bigger clearing area and as it was on the site of an old mill I was able to dig up lots of the original stone work and lay a flag stone floor from them. The farmer whose land I am using also very kindly let me cut down weed trees to use which has saved a lot of expense. It will be a semi-permanent structure - I don’t think it will still be standing in tact five years from now.
I think you raised a very good point about having a production designer on board. As a 13 year old I am in a bit of a difficult catch 22 situation sometimes though. I need to get on with raising money and shooting some scenes of my film and give it some sense of inevitability before I have a chance of attracting an amazing production designer to work with me. This of course has the draw back of meaning I don’t have all the details worked out ahead of time and the budget is (as you knew I think) picked out of the air. It is very lucky that I raised so much more than I asked for - and also that I have been able to get some amazing deals on materials. My age is both a unique selling point and an obstacle.
I am hoping to begin filming in the cottage in a bit less than two weeks. The build is going very well and it really is going to be something very special I think. It’s a bit amazing to think that I made all of this happen. Lots of people have mucked in to help and there are people camped out there now working all hours to get this done. I think all in it will cost at least a £1000 more than I budgeted for, but it will be better than I imagined.
Paddy and Dan you have often given me advice and I’d be happy to message you some pictures of it once it’s completed if you’d like.
Holly x
9 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
Hi Holly,
I've got a lot of faith in you, so it'll be really interesting to see your results. Pretty amazing that you've got someone camping out just to make your film, so others have faith in you too!
I think the straw bale idea is an interesting one - they can make very robust dwellings to be honest - the oldest is over 100 years, kept dry there's nothing much to go wrong! Looking forward to seeing your results, absolutely.
9 years ago - Holly Jacobson
Thank you Paddy. I'll try and post a picture or link to pictures here when we have a little bit more progress.
9 years ago - Dan Selakovich
Good on you, Holly! That's amazing. Would love to see photos. Perhaps doing a blog with photos of not only the set build, but stills of the thing in production so all of your investors can follow along. Plus I think it might be a lot of fun to share your experience and even get you some promotion. Good luck on the shoot!
9 years ago - Holly Jacobson
Thank you Dan. I will take more pictures as we go along and put them all together when it's finished. I do some blog posts and vlogs too and you can see those on the campaign page - even though it's finished I put on updates there. Thank you for your advice and support.