What’s it about?
A hacker-for-hire discovers that the government monitors everything we do. He and his friends fights back!
ALGORITHM is a story with the message. And, the message is that we are not powerless, that we can fight back... that, more than money or guns or nuclear weapons, computers have leveled the playing field.
If you want to know more, you can read the the screenplay!
Why Crowdfunding?
As I mentioned in The Pitch, we’re not doing a standard crowdfunding campaign. Instead, we’re pre-selling the DVD/Blu-ray combo pack to you before the movie exists. This is a very common model of fundraising in Hollywood, but it’s mostly done by regions, like France, Germany, China, etc.
Where’s the money going?
My goal with ALGORITHM is full-disclosure because the hacker ethic is, “Information should be free.” So, let’s talk about the money:
- $9,000 goes to getting me to San Francisco and feeding the cast/crew/me while we’re making ALGORITHM. But, it goes further than that. It will also cover permits, production insurance, and even forming an LLC, so if I get sued, they can’t take my stuff. In short, this is the money with which I’m going to make the movie!
- $18,000 to make and send out the DVD/Blu-ray combo packs. I found a place that charges about $4 for every DVD/Blu-ray combo pack I make. $5 of that goes to shipping each of them just about anywhere in the world. I’m hoping that I’ve got to send out at least 2k DVD/Blu-ray combo packs!
- $3,000 will pay for me to get to and stay at a film festival. It will also allow me to print postcards and posters to promote ALGORITHM while I’m there.
What if you raise more?
One of my friends suggested that $30k is the upper-limit of what could reasonably be raised on Indiegogo by a largely unknown doing an independent movie. But, part of being a filmmaker means being (hazardously) hopeful.
- $35,000 we will start thinking about theatrical distribution.
- $40,000 we will definitely have a theatrical run, probably LA/New York. This isn’t locked in stone, so…
- $50,000 We will also have a festival run. This means we can go to more than one film festival. I guess I should have mentioned this earlier, but movie industry people go to festivals. So, we’ll be able to make industry contacts. Because, I don’t want this to be my only movie.
- $100,000 Everybody gets paid! In the $30,000 model, no one gets paid. Not me. Not the producers. Not the actors or crew. No one. At this level, we all get money. I like this because it means we’re getting close to being able to make a living as a filmmaker.
- $1,000,000+ If this happens we’ll have made news. Our lives, everyone involved, will forever be different. This has never been done by someone who is neither branded nor famous. We will have redefined what’s possible. Oh, and we will definitely have a theatrical run, if that’s what people actually want.
Why ALGORITHM?
ALGORITHM is about computer hackers. It’s a world that Hollywood has yet to do anywhere close to right since SNEAKERS. Before that, it was WARGAMES. It’s about time for another good hacker movie.
ALGORITHM is also about something very relevant to society today. It’s about governments spying on the people. It’s about the place of technology in our lives today. It’s about what place, if any, privacy has in our lives. It’s about the revolution that’s happening around us right now.
Other Ways You Can Help
First and foremost, spread the awesome. Tell everyone you know about ALGORITHM, even if you just like them a little.
We’re not just crowdfunding this. We’re also crowdsourcing it. We don’t have any of the locations (we can’t pay for locations on $9k). We are going to do all of the casting in San Francisco.
- ACTORS: We haven’t cast anyone yet, for certain. So, if you live in or near the bay area and are or know an actor, have them contact us. For more information, check out our Official ALGORITHM Cast Page.
- LOCATIONS: We also don’t have any locations because with only $9k, we can’t afford to pay for them. So, again, if you or anyone you know lives in San Francisco and want to help make an amazing movie about hackers, and have one-on-one interaction with Jonathan Schiefer, the writer director, let us know. For more information, check out our Official ALGORITHM Locations Page.
- CREW: Second verse, same as the first. Yep. You guessed it. We don’t have any crew either. We’ve got to keep the number of people on set below 10 to make us quick and maneuverable (and to keep the city happy). But, we’re definitely crewing up. So, if you live in or near the bay area and are or know any good crew, have them contact us. For more information, check out our Official ALGORITHM Crew Page.
- WHO DO YOU HAVE? We have Jonathan Schiefer, who is very motivated to make this happen. And, we’ve got as many as three excited producers. I’ve also got two actors who are also very interested. Also, the City of San Francisco is excited.
ALGORITHM is awesome. It’s gonna be an amazing movie and you’ll definitely want to be as big a part of it as you possibly can. And, I know we want as many partners as we can get!