Short Summary
We are a team of student filmmakers within the Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University! This is our capstone film, which means a huge deal to us as we film and prep for production for Cliffside Cupcake.
Cliffside Cupcake, in sum, is a coming-of-age road trip story, following Miles and his best friend, Tyler. After losing his brother Brooks, Miles takes a day trip to hike Brooks' favorite mountain marking their brotherly birthday tradition. This film highlights the tone of comfort and relatability even with such a heavy topic. The stakes are high but as an audience, we feel connected to these characters and the setting because they feel so familiar.
It would mean so much to the cast and crew for any kind of help to create this film and tell a once in a lifetime story. With your help, we would be able to feed the cast and crew, transport them to our desired locations, and use the best technology available to us.
What We Need & What You Get
We want to be as transparent as possible as we ask for your assistance to help make our dreams become reality! Our goal for this project is $8,000. There are a lot of moving parts to this number but our biggest areas of focus are location, the safety and well-being of our crew and cast and production design and equipment.
Our road trip, coming of age story, requires scenic areas during the road trip and what better place than the beautiful city of Flagstaff, Arizona. As our team is based in Tempe, Arizona this will require company moves, equipment transportation and permit fees equating around $1,000 to show off the beautiful places we can't wait to share with you!
We also want to keep our cast and crew safe and comfortable! With a team of around 30 people we want to safely transport everyone to Flagstaff, have a comfortable place to sleep and rest when off-set and be well fed to fuel the team and the production! With all these factors in mind we are estimating another $3,500.
Finally we want to create your cinematic experience during this road trip. This includes finding the best prop vehicle comfortable for our cast and crew to film in. For a weekend of rental a truck would be about $900. To join the characters along their ride this will require certain necessities including a rented car mount and a wide variety of lenses totaling around $2,600.
We can’t thank you enough for any help and support from you and are so excited to start our road trip to the shoot! Based on donations we want to give back to you to show our appreciation! Some of these will include a cupcake recipe, personalized shout outs and possibly sneak peaks on set!
A Note from Our Director :)
Hi! I’m Dejah Coe, the writer and director of Cliffside Cupcake, and being able to share this story with the world is a blessing. This story is very near and dear to my heart and very personal for myself. I recently lost a close friend of mine and writing a story like this has helped me heal and gain closure and build this film from that viewpoint. It’s such a good feeling to find an audience who can resonate with my emotional storytelling and connect with me on so many different levels. I wanted to put a spin on this story and not be directly related to what I was going through, so I shifted the focus to a male standpoint of grief. I grew up in an environment with many male friends, so it made sense to bring a story like this to life having been a part of major emotional moments with my friends. Being a shoulder to cry on and hearing a side of men that isn’t shown in film and the real world. I wanted to make something that showcases emotion and vulnerability in men. I hope this story can stay with you long after viewing. It truly is one of a kind and I personally can’t wait to be able to share it!
Risks & Challenges
This production poses many challenges for our cast and crew. Majority of this film is being shot outside which requires us to be very aware of weather. Using open roads and trails causes us to have the utmost safety precautions to ensure our cast and crew is as safe as possible.
- Production hurdles are an aspect of every film, ours doesn’t escape it, however we are prepared for these hurdles. Our team is knowledgeable about risks and what it takes to bring a film of this scale to life.
- Being aware of our challenges and knowing how to overcome them is a strength of this team. Weekly production meetings, technical scouts, and secure locations allows us to be prepared for what is to come and excited for these challenges! Big risks, big rewards!
Other Ways You Can Help
Spread the word!!!
- The more notices we can get, the more it helps us out!
- Following us on social media (@/Cliffsidecupcake.film) and checking out our website (https://dejahcoeportfolio.my.canva.site/cliffsi...) helps us immensely!
- Sharing, liking, and even leaving a comment on our indiegogo page helps us achieve our dream goals in making this film.
Telling everyone you know about this film helps us in ways you can’t even imagine, so go tell Miles, Brooks, a friend, or even a parent.
