Here it is, at long last: my first feature, Man-child (Editor's note: since retitled Amateur). I've spent the past year writing it and many more years dreaming about it. I've just launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign to try to turn the dream into reality, and I'm hoping and praying that, if you've found No Film School to be a valuable resource, you'll consider helping me. I hope to share everything I learn during the production of the film here on this site, going beyond DSLRs and technology, and getting into more content about financing, directing, producing, the film festival circuit, distribution... absolutely everything I learn along the way. But of course, to do that I have to make the movie first, and I need your help to do so!
Head on over to the Kickstarter page to back the project and sponsor a unique portion of the film ($1 per frame), or read on for a few more details. For those of you who don't know, Kickstarter is a great web site that... wait, what am I saying? Watch the video above, I explain it as part of my pitch!
I shot this video on my 5D Mark II in my back yard here in Brooklyn, late on Friday night. I actually meant to launch the campaign Monday, but it took me an extra all-nighter to cut down my way-too-long pitch (I'm a lot more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, and found this to be a harrowing experience at times). I edited the video in Adobe Premiere Pro and did the titling and compositing in After Effects (to add some helpful information to this post so it's not all about me, both of those programs are 50% off as part of Production Premium for a limited time).
One of the reasons I'm launching the campaign now is this: I'm ecstatic to report that last week the script was accepted into IFP's Emerging Narrative program, which felt like a great confirmation of a long time spent toiling on the screenplay behind-the-scenes (several months ago I detailed my hour-tracking strategy, which keeps me motivated and honest with myself, here on No Film School). There's also a new program at the Film Society of Lincoln Center called Emerging Visions, and I'm doubly excited to be part of that as well. As I say on the Kickstarter page, "with the help of those programs I hope to be able to bring the right personnel on board to make this film as good as it can possibly be." However, everyone knows indie film is in rough shape so I'm hoping to raise enough money from small donations to be able to make it as a "microbudget" film. $115,000 is very ambitious for a Kickstarter campaign -- much more on that in the days to come -- but at the same time it's very ambitious to even think a sports film can be made for this amount!
You'll be hearing a lot more about the project from me in the future. Thanks so much for watching and I look forward to hearing your thoughts, as well as any support you can give. Finally, please Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, or share the campaign in any way you can!
I've been working on this so long that I don't even know if I'm making sense anymore. Be back soon with more No Film School posts! In the meantime, thanks for your support and thanks as always for reading.
