Campaign Summary - Thought & Memory
About the filmmaker:
Braeden Meyer is a documentary filmmaker and candidate for the Montana State University MFA in Science & Natural History Filmmaking. He earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a Honors Baccalaureate and desires to merge his passions for the arts, sciences, and communicating prevalent issues in the natural world through compelling storytelling and films.
The goal of his work is to inform the public about the unique realms of science, natural history, and everyday life that can be observed through a scientific, cinematic, and ultimately approachable experience to bridge the gap between these often separated worlds.
About the campaign:
At the biological level, the common raven (Corvus corax) is one of the most intelligent species of birds on the planet and has demonstrated its capacity for thought and memory on the scientific stage as well as being recognized by a variety of cultures, beliefs, and myths as a significant creature around the globe throughout millennia.
The film Thought & Memory will highlight the importance of the raven and its value to the sciences and within cultures and traditions from around the world. By consulting and interviewing experts on the raven through science, oral tradition, and myth, the film will highlight access to ravens within Yellowstone National Park and with surrounding lands to capture the diversity of interpretation of the raven as a being capable of both cognitive thought and memory.
What you can help the production achieve:
By contributing to the production of this film, you will provide the funds necessary to accommodate travel, lodging, and gear costs for the production crew to help dig deeper into the modern interpretation of this species on the world stage!
What We Need & What You Get
To accommodate the cost of the film (travel, lodging, and production costs), we are looking for a sum of approximately $2,500. As a 5th generation Montana native and Master's student at Montana State University, Braeden can provide local connections with ties to Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding regions to create a cohesive story pairing science, myth, oral tradition, and folklore about the raven.
Funds will directly cover costs of travel to and from Yellowstone National Park, towns in surrounding regions and states, as well as to interview experts on the topics mentioned above. If the entire funding goal is not met, the production crew will use what funds have been raised and will use other funding to meet this goal. Your contribution will help make this project a reality!
By contributing to this project, you will earn a credit in the film and help educate others on the complexity of the raven in our modern world.
The Impact
For millennia, the raven has been revered and scorned around the world. Modern scientific studies support a more positive view of the bird and its cognitive ability, and many cultures have long shared this view: labeling the raven as a creator figure, aid to humanity, and a messenger of the gods. While just as many interpretations present the raven as a trickster, omen of death, and harbinger of doom, this film aims to educate on the diverse understanding of the raven. It will provide an avenue for a variety of interpretations of the species for audiences around the world. Your contribution will help make this mission possible.
The director of the film, Braeden Meyer, has created films wrestling with contrasting opinions and understanding of scientific topics and provides an unbiased lens to navigate these often convoluted topics. Through science, art, folklore, and oral tradition, the film Thought & Memory will paint a cohesive picture of what the raven can be in the modern world.
Risks & Challenges
As an independent filmmaker, Braeden is limited to allocating funding for the film production. Despite hosting connections locally in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and abroad, your support can help propel the production of Thought & Memory onto the world stage.
To solve this challenge, he will also be sourcing from this campaign, grants, and other funding opportunities to produce this film.
Other Ways You Can Help
Make some noise!
If you are unable to contribute to the production of the film, please consider sharing the campaign and raising awareness of the diverse understanding of the raven as not only a highly intelligent species, but also a being recognized by a variety of cultures, myths, and oral tradition around the world.
You can share the campaign directly using the IndieGoGo share tools! Thank you for your support.
