What are we doing?
- The idea for "Hustle Street", the musical web series, was originally developed by Chrissy Mae Valentine and Rhyss Lee. Chrissy then took to the idea to personal friend and now, co-writer, Ian Escandor and the script developed beyond their original dreams, of just an idea, but to a short web series, with the intention to pitch the idea to several film production companies.
- Chrissy Mae Valentine, Rhyss Lee and Ian Escandor, all of Filipino backgrounds, having grown up in Sydney's western suburbs, have a goal to challenge stereotypes surrounding the area and create a web series to promote the talent secretly hidden in Sydney's western suburb of Mount Druitt.
- It has always been one of Chrissy Mae’s aspirations to create a body of work that reflected her life growing up in Mount Druitt. With her extensive experience on the screen and on stage, it seemed evident that taking the approach of a musical would be the most viable way of expression. Ian is also personally invested in the project. As a resident and youth worker of the area, Ian believes that a project like this has the opportunity to excite and engage other local Blacktown artists, tell a unique story in an original way, and challenge the artists involved to be experimental all whilst developing their screenwriting, song writing, production skills - thus boosting the cultural value of Blacktown.
- The idea has been in the works since November 2016 and has expanded greatly. Hustle Street currently has a crew of over 17 and a cast greater than 30 people (including professional dancers and actors), all of which are unpaid. Hustle Street has the potential to become something bigger than a web series - a break away from the stigma of an area handed a bad name.
What we need from our donators and what we're giving back!
- Because our team consists of young local artists and students, a lot of the current funds that have been getting us by have been as an input out of cast and crew's pockets ($2,400 generously input by some crew members). We are passionate about this project and see it, not as a way to make money, but as a means to create a positive vibe around Sydney's western suburbs and showcase the talent that can sometimes get overlooked in this area - therefore, the money, isn't what is important, although unfortunately, it is essential for us to continue to be able to go ahead and make this a bigger project with a greater production value behind it. We believe in this project, which is why we've tried to input as much of our money as possible, but we need help!
- The most costly "items" have been obtaining filming licenses for public areas:
- Applying for permission is the easy part, but as each location has a fee, sometimes of $200-$300, and currently there are 10 areas (approximately $2,000 needed just for locations alone), where our team is looking to film, that requires this fee paid up front, this can prove challenging for a group of young people trying to make something that appears, on screen, to it's highest potential.
- We have some actors (currently 2 in Melbourne and one in the United Kingdom), that are playing some lead roles in this web series. This proves difficult in terms of, not only writing together and rehearsing, but more so in obtaining assistance for payment of flights. Our pre-production team is trying to cover as much costs for our actors as possible, but your donations will help to not only assist us in paying our actors, even something small, but potentially housing them and help us to get them here, ahead of time and ready for filming!
- Let's talk about equipment hire! Right now, we have been working with the equipment we have (mainly just cameras borrowed from friends and family), but for the most part, we need to consider hiring out equipment, which means, equipment fees:
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Jib: $70 p/day
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Cineslider motor kit: $100 p/day
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Audio equipment (lapels, recorders, zooms, boom mics, XLR cables, Wind shield): All of these total to $160 p/day, and that's just one of each item. Realistically, we would need 2-3 each, bringing the total needed to at least $480 and that's just for one day of filming.
- In terms of set design and costume, this is another area where your funds will help greatly! For a great production, we need better looking costume and set design than we currently have. Realistically, a goal of $1,000 just for set design and costume is our current goal as we will try to source as much as we can from our own homes/borrow from friends and family so that with the excess of what we save, we can input this into things like equipment hire and potential wages for talent. We are young students, so we're thrifty and we try to be as cost effective as possible, which is great, but with any great production, the more funds we have to pay for better costume, makeup/hair artists, then the better a chance we have of making something that is a cut above the rest!
All donations will be used wisely. The most important areas for funds to go into will be everything mentioned above (mainly location fees first as these need to be up front before we can film).
- Because we believe that a team needs a uniform, we have created shirts for our cast and crew to wear on our filming days! Which brings us to our next point:
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PERKS! We have been fortunate enough to work with a Graphic Designer who has developed a unique logo for us! Our designer has done a fantastic job at giving us our own individual look, which means:
- When you donate $1000.00 or more, you will receive a customised Hustle Street t-shirt as a thank you! You will also receive an Executive producer mention in our credits, a live streaming of rehearsals, a Hustle street lanyard AND footage of our promo video we'll be filming on the 21st of July 2017, that nobody else will get to see until it's actual release date!
- When you donate $100 or more, you will receive a Hustle Street t-shirt and lanyard!
- When you donate $50 or more, you will receive a Hustle Street lanyard and personal thank you from our cast and crew
- When you donate, anything, because anything helps, we will provide you with access to exclusive Behind The Scenes footage, separate to what is available on our social media platforms. Great right?!
The Impact
Why does this matter to us? Why should it matter to you?
To put this bluntly, we really give a damn about this project. Not just because we've been working on it for so long, not just because we have a team of over 8 writers currently working on ways to make the script better, not just because we like to sing and dance, but because Sydney's western suburbs have always been hit hard with hurtful, and most of the time, untrue and unfair labels. We're not going to name names, but films and documentaries made about this area have often depicted us all in a bad light and the fact of the matter is, a lot of it was created on stereotypes, because unfortunately, stereotypes sell. We're here to change stereotypes. More than half of our cast and crew grew up in Mount Druitt and we don't feel that it has hindered us in any way and we don't think it makes us less important than the next suburb.
There's a hugely gifted community in this area and it's time for everyone to see it.
Our personal challenges
This industry is not only difficult to make a dent in, but it is fickle. The hardest part for us has been finding people as committed to us because the fact of the matter is, we don't have the funds to really pay people so a lot of the work has come from a genuine desire to make something great. So our biggest challenge has been solidifying a team and trying to wrangle budgets for locations, equipment hire, costume, set design and air fares. We've been combating this by investing out of our own pockets, which has been working well, but as our project expands, this means we can't do it alone anymore.
This means we need your help. Hustle Street is currently in the works to creating a promo video for our audiences. We've managed to get all this way through team work, some serious commitment and lots of man-hours. We're keen to release this promo video so that we can prove our worth and start showing everyone where their funds will be going. Any donation helps, big or small, it doesn't matter, any helping hand is appreciated.
Can't donate? Don't sweat it!
We understand that not everyone who wants to donate, can do this. And that is absolutely fine, because theres other ways you can help!
Share this page with anyone and everyone that will listen! Share it on your Facebook, your Instagram, your twitter, anything!
- Follow us on instagram: @hustle.street
- Follow us on Facebook: @HustleStreetTeam
Give us a like, a thumbs up and share this over and over because that helps us just as much as any dollar does. Thank you for taking time to read this. Keep an eye on us, we've got big plans!