We're now in 2015, and boy, do I feel stupid. My previous update, written way back in July, stated rather confidently that I'd make a new short film – specifically, a creepy little story called 20 Matches – in 2014. Obviously that did not happen. Let me explain.
This short has been on the back burner for years. I wrote it for an actress friend of mine who lives in Vienna. (The story is about a Vienna-based serial killer.) At the time, it seemed likely that she'd be able to fly out to Los Angeles and shoot it. But she's now an in-demand actress throughout Europe. Great for her, not so great for me. Simply put, she won't have time to come out here for the foreseeable future. So we decided that the project should go on without her.
The script is done, barring some fine-tuning of the dialogue, and the photo of me at left is more or less what 20 Matches will look like – only with an actress. The entire short will be match-lit.
I am now forcing myself to rise above the apathy of the world – and my own laziness – and make this film. To this end, I'll be launching an IndieGogo campaign to raise $1,000 for it next month. That's a bold statement, since I haven't even started putting the campaign together, but I can do it. I just have to shoot an intro video and design some of the perks, which should turn out cool. (I'll be hand-sculpting tiny matchbox figures in the likeness of certain backers, or of whomever they wish.)
Why not use Kickstarter again, like I did last year for Dial 9 to Get Out? Because for a micro-budgeted short that will eventually get made anyway, IndieGogo's "flexible funding" option is the better way to fundraise. In other words, if I fail to raise the entire $1,000, I'll still be able to use what I do raise to make a better looking and sounding short. I would never have used IndieGogo to fund Dial 9 because there was no way I'd have been able to pay for the balance of the film's $100,000 budget out of my pocket. (The Kickstarter campaign only raised about $42,000.) In contrast, even if I come up $500 short for 20 Matches, I can handle the rest. The film will get made.
Until then...