“Another” School Shooting
We shot the trailer for Gratuitous Violence one week after the shooting at UCSB. Four days later, another shooting occurred at Seattle Pacific University. On that same day, a shooting at a middle school graduation happened near Silver Lake, 20 minutes from our homes. It’s pretty clear that something is wrong in our country, but we all have different opinions as to how to address (or not address) the issue. This film does not attempt to answer that question.
We are not lobbyists, we are not activists, we are not wise. But what we do want is to stimulate conversation. We’ve decided to tell our story of gun violence at schools through the lens of media responsibility. How many times have we seen repetitive news on a loop? News reported before facts are verified? Fast-paced graphics and video designed to capture our attention? Buzz words like “tragedy” and “gunman” emphasized? When does reporting the news go too far?
The storyline of our film: When 15-year-old Kyle Chambers kills himself, his older brother, Vince, and best friend, Toby, vow to make the bullies at school pay. Vince calls the local TV station because he wants the world to know why they are going to commit the violence they have planned. TV reporter, June, is desperate for the ratings she needs to keep her job, and rather than report the call to the police, she offers to help make Vince and Toby famous, making a name for herself as well. But lines are crossed between reporting news and creating news, and although all 3 people get what they ultimately want, they pay for it with their lives.
The Film-Makers
Too many people want something for nothing, especially when it comes to money. Here are some reasons why we hope that you will trust that we know how to spend your money properly and will have an amazing product to show for it. We call this our “Sundance” film because that’s where we aim to go with it. Might as well aim high, right?!
Sean (Writer/Producer/Director) is a natural leader, and owns LA's premiere event entertainment company with over 40 employees that can produce up to 8 parties a night. When it comes to directing and performing at the highest of levels, Sean knows his stuff. He was married wearing a traditional Irish kilt.
Elaine (Writer/Producer/Star) produced a short film last year with 19 different locations and 44 actors, all for under $5000 - partially funded by you, the Indie Go Go donors! She knows how to schedule efficiently and get locations and equipment for less. She has walked on the Great Wall of China.
Pamela (Associate Producer) produced a film that was sold at the Cannes Short Film Corner. It is almost unheard of for a short film to get distribution, but Pamela did it! She knows how to persevere and to hustle. She watched the sun rise over the ruins of Machu Picchu.
Now you know a little about our business savvy and a random cultural/geographical fact about us. What else do you need? How about an idea of where the money will go.
Your Funding Impact
Our total projected budget is roughly $15,000. We are trying to raise $5,000 because we would like to pay the professional actors and crew members who will work on our film. Too often, artists are supposed to feel grateful that they have a chance to work at all. As you can see from the beautiful pie chart (created by the technically un-savvy Elaine, so she is very proud of it), about a third of our budget would go to paying our cast and crew. We know that we could find people to do it for free because that is the way the entertainment industry works, but we would like to pay our lead actors, Director of Photography, Sound Mixer, and Editor (at least). The more money we raise, the more people who get paid!
Elaine and Sean are financing the rest of the project ($10,000) with their own money, which is a scary but necessary investment. That’s a lot of tutoring (Elaine’s day job) and event planning (Sean’s day job).
Thank You
If you’ve read this far and enjoyed the pie chart, we owe you some thanks already. If you believe in us, in the need for a conversation about media responsibility, or in the beauty of creating a project from scratch and seeing it come to life, we would appreciate your donation in any amount. But, if you can’t donate and still believe, please share this campaign with your friends. It really is amazing what just one share can do.