About L.E. Coleman
Hi. My name is L.E. Coleman and let me first thank you for supporting my short film, EBO. I'm a screenwriter and playwright from the great State of Indiana. I've placed in over seventy screenwriting competitions including placements in the Nicholl Fellowship, the Final Draft Big Break Contest and the Austin Film Festival. I love writing sci-fi and character-driven dramas and comedies. Also, I have accumulated numerous awards in horror as well. I was a Roadmap Writers Diversity Initiative Recipient in 2018, and was selected as one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2021 by the International Screenwriters Association. I've consulted with many executives and assistants in New York and Los Angeles, but felt it was time to take matters into my own hand by putting on the producer hat and getting my work out in the public eyes. My sci-fi drama, EBO, is only the first of many award winning scripts I intend on bringing to the screen.
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The Back Story of EBO
No matter what side of the aisle you are on in regard to vaccines, the long-term effects of COVID-19, both physically and psychologically, are real. Like many, I am a COVID-19 survivor, and perhaps my own battle with it trigger a dream which resulted in the creation of EBO.
I had a dream one night, not a terrifying one, but one that left an imprint on me. I woke up and wrote the dream fragment down. It goes like this: A young woman was running through a junkyard in her slip. It was dark, and it was raining. She had no shoes on and she was soaked from head to toe. She was stealing small pieces of aluminum scraps from junked cars.
After she got what she wanted, she took off and later showed up inside an old shack-like house where an old man was sitting behind a counter. She set her aluminum on the counter and the clerk gave her the go-ahead sign to enter a back room where others were injecting melted aluminum into their veins.
I built a story around this tiny sliver of a dream, and came up with a 15-minute short-script call, EBO, a dystopian sci-fi story about a pandemic cased by an astronomical event. I wanted to explore the idea how people and the government would respond to the crises when they knew for certain that the pandemic was not the result of man. I eliminated all conspiracy.
Script Awards and Placements
WINNER: BEST SHORT SCRIPT: International World Film Awards 2022
WINNER: BEST SHORT SCRIPT Sunday Shorts Film Festival 2022
FINALIST: International Screenwriting Competition 2022
FINALIST: International Horror and Sci-Fi Short Screenplay contest 2021
FINALIST: Imaginarium Independent Film Festival 2021 OFFICIAL SELECTION: FESTIVAL ANGAELICA 2023
TOP 100: Shoot Your Short Screenplay Competition (2021)
SEMIFIANLIST Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards (Fall 2020)
SEMIFINALIST: SWN Screenplay Competition (Goldman Award)
SEMIFINALIST Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition (2021) S
SEMIFINALIST: Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Awards (Season 6)
QUARTERFINALIST: PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Competition (2021)
QUARTERFINALIST: TSL Free Screenplay Contest (2021)
QUARTERFINALIST: WeScreenplay Shorts Lab (2021)
What I Need and What You Get
A total of $15,000 is needed to give this film the cinematic look and feel I want for it. I need a skilled production crew, and the movie must be shot on a camera approved by Netflix. This will increase the possibility that the movie will also meet the standards of top-rated film festivals. I want this short film to be something you can be proud of adding your name to. If I’m asking you for your money in lean times such as these, then, I must give you back something of quality and, as a basic perk for your contribution, that means a great digital copy of the film.
I stay with simple budgeting estimation for making this short film; meaning $1000 per minute on a 15-minute script.
Why this amount and how will the money be spent?
- There are two locations
- Two days to shoot
- Three actors
- One Director of Photography
- One on location sound recordist
- One make-up artist
- One Director
- Camera and lighting equipment
- food cost
- small payment to actors
- Insurance and location fees
- a grip and gaffer
- enough money to cover the perks
Is there unforeseen cost? Of course, there usually are, and I have tried to provide myself a minimal cushion. If the going rate for shooting a great cinematic short was--according to some sources--between $500-$1000 per minute of filming back in 2017, then $15,000 should be sufficient.
Also, to honor your time and contribution to this project, if the funding goals are not reached by the end of the campaign, it will simply be used for another award-winning short script and the same or similar perks will be applied and given to you.
The Impact
The impact on movie goers is something I look forward to, and the impact of shooting in Indianapolis holds great benefit for all local film producers, actors and actresses who call this home. We have non profits here who support local filmmakers and artists, and I will also ask for their help. I have a situation now, even before shooting and finishing the film, of it being shown in a cinema once it is completed. I will keep you updated on this opportunity.
Risks & Challenges
Unforeseen costs is always a challenge which is why it's better to ask for a tad bit more in funding rather than underestimating and having the wind kick you in the backside. As stated above, I will also be asking other organizations for their help.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can’t contribute, simply tell others who might be able to give. Word of mouth, that’s it. Word of mouth. It can go a long way.
