The Story

With only 15 days of the semester left, a romantically clueless boy with strong feelings for a girl must win her over before the school year ends. Tim is an analytical guy with a plan for everything: acing chemistry, world domination, and even getting the girl of his dreams. But you can't make someone fall in love with you, and time flies when things are going wrong. Tim must learn to work with his feelings rather than detailed strategy.

Introductions

Hi, we're Dylan Herring and Mireille Rhodes, two junior film production majors at Huntington University, and "15 Days" is our Junior Thesis Film. Dylan wrote 15 Days throughout the fall semester, and Mireille joined as the producer to see this film come to fruition in the spring semester.

We strive for professionalism in our work by respecting the art, the community, and individuals. This means working toward the best end product while caring for our surroundings and listening to everyone on the crew and cast. By supporting this campaign, you are helping us practice the creative process of making a short film and cultivating a professional workspace as students so we can enter the industry prepared for success.

We are also working with 4 other juniors: Cameron Worsham, our Director of Photography; Carlos Perez, our Gaffer; Ashley Harman, our Production Designer; and Jared Weber, our Editor.

What We Need & What You Get

Our goal is to raise $1050, which would double our budget! The funds raised on Indiegogo will help us pay for lodging, gas, and food for our actors, food for the crew, set design, costumes, props, entrance fees into festivals to promote the film, and contingency funds to ensure that set runs smoothly!

When you donate, we have perks to offer! These include things like a special thanks in the credits, a digital copy of the film, access to behind-the-scenes materials, a signed script, a 15 Days poster, an exclusive comedic scene where Dylan plays all three main characters, and an Associate Producer credit for the highest donations.

If we aren't able to reach our goal, the quality of the film will be impacted and set back. We want "15 Days" to stand out from the typical guy-likes girl story, and serve as a reflective story that everyone can identify with--emotions are difficult. Even if we don't reach our goal, every little bit of support helps to make this film a success!

The Impact

This film is about trusting your heart and taking risks, even if it goes against a "perfect" plan. By supporting this campaign, you are investing in the next generation of filmmakers who strive to tell meaningful stories in a unique and creative way. Members of this team have been part of successful films in previous years that have nurtured their creativity. Dylan has provided a creative vision on multiple projects, including winning an award for Best Non-Fiction short story. Mireille has been a producer on various projects, including a scene recreation, a talk show, and the freshman short film iHeart (2019), where she won an award for Best Visual Effects. The entire crew looks forward to another opportunity to gain experience and hone their skills as they prepare to enter the film industry in the coming years.

Risks & Challenges

As we move through the creative process of making a film, we face challenges with securing locations and casting actors. These are challenges faced by every production, but especially during a pandemic, they are tough obstacles as we try to minimize interactions and touchpoints. We understand the gravity of the pandemic and have set in place protocols that protect all individuals involved in the creative process. Everyone on set wears masks at all times, except actors while the camera is rolling. Departments are socially distanced, equipment and touchpoints are sanitized before and after set, and temperatures and symptom checks are taken every day before set begins.

The film students at Huntington University have already been through a semester practicing protocols for filming during COVID, and we successfully produced four senior films in the fall with ZERO COVID infections. We are prepared to do it again.

As juniors, we are drawing on 2.5 years of storytelling practice and guidance from the upperclassmen before us as well as our professors, and we are excited to take the helm for a major project that will impact audiences everywhere. We are also excited to work with the underclassmen and help them grow, the same way that our predecessors helped us.

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand that some people aren't able to contribute. You can still help us reach our goal by sharing our campaign! The more people that this campaign reaches, the more likely we are to reach our funding goal! You can spread the word by using the Indiegogo share tools, or by sending the link to friends and family through social media and email!