I recently got invited to a bar mixer/fundraiser that two of my filmmaking friends, Sonya Goddy and Laurence Vannicelli, were throwing to fund their upcoming projects. Through the invite I learned they had come up with some pretty smart ideas for getting their TWO films "Blood Magic" and "Open Air" produced, and funded. It's priceless information, if you ask me. Below is the wisdom of Sonya, answering my questions!
Tell me about your decision to shoot two films at once. What drove you to this madness?!
This was Laurence's idea, and originally we wanted to shoot two films using the same cast and crew, as a sort of film school esque exercise. We both wanted to direct a film, for the experience and credit to our names, and we wanted to help each other and work together; so one is his film, and one is mine. Writing credit was really important to me, because it looks like I may pursue writing more than anything else; I helped write the screenplay for Laurence's film. He is a (
supremely talented!) photographer, cinematographer and editor, and he is the Director of Photography on both films.
It seemed like a challenging and fun idea that would allow us to get two films done very quickly, the idea being as long as we're renting lights, setting everything up, etc, why not do as much as possible at once? Then as we worked on our scripts, we realized we probably wouldn't use the same actors. And as we put together our crew, which is made up entirely of friends who have other jobs on the side, we realized we'd have different crew on different days. So scheduling-wise, it ended up being super insane. I guess you could say what drove us is our appetite for production!
How is shooting two films at once a smart move?
In terms of equipment and generally getting your act together, it makes sense. As long as you're getting lights, sound, and camera, and organizing, why not do as much as possible? In terms of scheduling and having a lot on your plate at once, it's absolutely nuts. But it's also an awesome move in terms of creative energy and momentum. Once you get going, and have all your equipment together, and actors, and people involved, why not try to get the most out of it? I also really enjoy doing two different stories, two different styles at once. I find it very inspiring creatively.
Do you see it as a risky one as well?
These films are shorts, and our total budget for both is about 5 or 6k, which we raised entirely through donations and a fundraising party (and putting our own money into them). The scale is small enough that I don't feel like it's some huge risk. I suppose putting yourself out there and trying to make something is always a "risk," but in a way making two films at once feels comforting, because you're not putting all the expectations on just one film. There are bound to be successful elements in both, probably different ones-- so not only will we learn a lot, which is worth it to us as emerging filmmakers, but we may simply have more to show for our hard work.
You have an amazing ability to create films at a super low cost. Can you share some of your secrets?
Friends, family, community. That's the secret. Laurence or I personally know all the actors or we have a close mutual friend who recommended them; all our shoot locations are either directly in the community I live in, or in friends' houses; our crew is made up entirely of friends and family. Plus, of course, digital technology, and more specifically, friends who work in film and have access to certain equipment at a discount.
We're really interested in your smarty pants fundraising ideas. Can you tell us about how you raised money? What tools you used?
Laurence made a website for us that we could send out
http://laurencevannicelli.com/filmsinmay to let all our personal circles know about what we were doing and how they could help, and that was great. We had synopses of the films, bios of us, and a call to get involved and help us make these films happen. It seems to me that people really want to support creative ambitions, especially if it's someone they know or a member of their community. And everyone likes to feel involved-- or at least like their money is going toward something concrete and tangible, so we also mentioned that the funds we were raising would go to feeding or trying to compensate our very hardworking crew. I had my mom send out an email to all of her friends letting her know what I was doing, and Laurence's parents did the same I think. Multi-generational help and support is essential! We also had a very fun bar "mixer" event at a neighborhood bar, which raised about a fifth of our budget.
How did you approach the venue?
I approached a bunch of bars with the idea of a bar mixer party on an "off" night for the bar, so that it would be mutually favorable. A lot of people turned me down or wanted to charge at the door, which I didn't think would work. The owners at
Pacific Standard, where we had the event, were awesome and very into it. The owners and staff are very familial and friendly. We chose to have it on a Monday night, and therefore worked out pretty favorable percentages of sales, since their Mondays are normally slow. Then we did our best to promote it and pack the place. We also got an organic beverage company,
Steaz, to donate some drinks to the party, which we both used in mixed drinks and handed out for free at the bar.
How did you approach the brand/drink and get them to sign on?
Again, I approached lots of different brands and drinks-- cold calling or emailing didn't work at all. A friend and crew member's father knew someone at Steaz, so we dropped a name and that made all the difference. We described the event as a Brooklyn community-oriented fun bar fundraising event with mostly 20-30s demographics, and about 150 people, and they were happy to drop off a case or two.
How did you utilize social media?
Facebook-- it's so easy to hate on it, but it's been tremendously helpful. We had access to so many more people that way, and such a large network of acquaintances. We used Facebook to promote the bar event and link to our website.
Briefly describe the event and the outcome.
We had a great turnout. I had temporary tattoos made with a design and our website, and my little brother and his friend sold them at a "tattoo parlor" at the back of the bar. We also had a small bake sale, which sold out (drink people get hungry for brownies). It lent a nice family feel to the event, also. A friend of mine dressed up as a fortune teller and sold "Fake Tarot Card Readings" for $3, which we originally thought would just be a hilarious joke-- but 30 people ended up getting fake fortunes!
Do you think that the fundraising event will act as good promotion for your films as well?
Yes, definitely. Laurence especially felt that even if we didn't make money with the event, it could be a great way to promote and get everyone we know involved-- not only that, but it could be a great mixer thing for other young artists, filmmakers, writers, and other people doing all sorts of interesting things. It seems that often lots of people are doing similar things all around you, but for whatever reason you just don't meet them or find out about it. Events and gatherings bring people together, which is awesome and powerful. I had a lot of people come up to me at the bar event and talk about what projects they were engaged in, and tell me that it was very inspiring to see us pursuing our goals and just basically "going for it," and trying to make what we want to. That felt amazing, and I loved finding out about what other people were up to.
Lastly, tell us a bit about your films, the plans for them and when we can see them!
In "Blood Magic," a woman's desire for conventional romance takes unexpected turns.
starring Clare McNulty, Alex Brown and Lisa Chess
Screenplay by Sonya Goddy
Director: Sonya Goddy
Director of Photography: Laurence Vannicelli
In "Open Air", a boy fantasizes about his older brother's girlfriend on a hot, tense summer day.
starring Mark Greenfield, Will O'Brien, Dave Cash and Erin Levendorf
Screenplay by Laurence Vannicelli and Sonya Goddy
Director: Laurence Vannicelli
Director of Photography: Laurence Vannicelli
We will be submitting our films to festivals and will plan a NYC screening, details to come... you can check our website periodically and at the end of the summer to follow our progress! Thank you!
Comments
Very scrappy!
Nice work raising the funds. Good ideas with the bar and product company.
Great ideas - very creative!
Great ideas - very creative! I love the tarot card reading idea :-)
Congrats
Post your project on FiveSprockets so we can learn more about its story!
I love the tarot card reading
I love the tarot card reading and also the "Tattoo Parlour"!
Classic, adorable and FUN! This is the spirit of indie movie making!
I'll ask Sonya and Laurence to give us more scoop on the films! They are knee deep in shooting all weekend, but SUPER excited to be featured on FiveSprockets!
Very good ideas! I have also
Very good ideas! I have also found it VERY easy during a few productions to approach local business to see if they'd donate various supplied or food during production in exchange for placement or credits. I've never had to worry about feeding a crew & cast as a result!
Creative!
Smart indeed. Good questions and great answers. This is quite the resource! I'm going to bookmark this for sure. Love the question, "What drove you to this madess?" haha! Could be asked of us all...
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