Never Alone Again (The Proof of Concept - Short Film)
OUR AIM
Have you felt your sense of self slipping away into the phone and computer? Writing a contemporary thriller, we have asked ourselves this question with homage to the filmmaking styles of the 1970s. With a unique meld of modern concerns portrayed via a return to old school cinema, we are confident that a combination of our individual expertise and unique vision will propel this film to screen in wonderful places. For this aim, and our subject matter on the computer-effect on humans, we think it absolutely necessary to shoot on 16mm film.
THE STORY
Lydia, a recently divorced mom, is trying to bounce back financially with a side hustle as a phone sex hotline operator. As a conversation with a client becomes stranger, her ex-husband suddenly walks through the front door, convinced he had seen Lydia elsewhere. As they bicker, he reveals a mysterious package on her doorstep, and throughout the evening, Lydia is increasingly convinced that she’s being watched.
WHO WE ARE
We are a team who have had previous work experience together, sharing a vision of artistic clarity and a strong incentive to create work despite the floundering crossroads of the present American film industry.
Virginia de Witt and Marcin Szocinski, the writer/producer/actress and Director of Photography, have worked together on multiple projects. Though they have greatly enjoyed the journey bringing other people’s visions to life, they are helming this project by independently fundraise the budget to make something purely of their own.
Director David Crans has a long history in the film industry, finely tuning his skills around a set and a camera by working on multi-million dollar films and major television series. He majored in Directing at the University of Hawaii. This will be his directorial debut as a professional.
Julian Sensely and David Crans go back decades to grade school. Julian has made a name for himself as an actor on network television, and has forayed into producing in the last year. He has teamed up with producer Matthew Kuhn to form a production company, this will be their second project as a unit. Matthew Kuhn has spent the last four years working on major commercial and television productions and has worked as a first assistant director on the low budget feature Best Man Dead Man which is currently making its round in the festival circuit.
WHAT WE NEED
While the whole team has sowed relationships and favors throughout our vast collective of experience, we think it is only fair to pay our crew as much as possible given the nature of the film industry, and to honor the craftsmanship of movie-making on physical film. This process is more delicate and expensive that digital, and will require more fine-tuned equipment and lighting setups. However, our asking goal of $20,000 is still modest by industry standards.
This includes crew fees, buying and transcoding reels of film, equipment rentals, meals, location, and post-production (sound mixing, editing, color correction, and music composition.)
Not a single cent will be retained by the production team ourselves.
We are thrilled to be putting so much time and focus to a traditional return to filmmaking during these exciting times, and know that the aesthetic will be worth it.
PERKS
To express our gratitude to anyone willing to contribute to make this project a reality, we have put together the following perks:
$20 - Stickers
$50 - Script signed by writer/producer/actor Virginia de Witt
$100 - Movie Poster Signed by Crew
$250- Film Can Signed by Director of Photography - Marcin Szocinski
$500 - Exclusive behind the scenes footage and an invitation to the private screening
$1,000 - Special Thank You in the Credits
$2,000 - Producer Credit