Greetings Horror Fans!
Womp Stomp Films is excited to welcome you to the Never Hike in the Snow: A Friday the 13th Fan film crowdfunding campaign!
Never Hike in the Snow is a prequel set 3 months prior to the events of Never Hike Alone that follows the strange disappearance of Mark Hill, a Crystal Lake resident who went for a hike in the dead of winter and never came home.
(photo credit: Ashly Covington)
The first of four new entries to the Never Hike Alone web series, Never Hike in the Snow will feature the return of Friday the 13th alumni Thom Mathews in the role of Tommy Jarvis as well as introduce Vinny Guastaferro (Jason Lives) as Sheriff Rick Cologne and Douglas Tait (Freddy vs Jason) as Ghost Jason.
In 2017, our team at Womp Stomp Films successfully crowdfunded and created the Friday the 13th Fan Film, Never Hike Alone. The film made its debut on October 13, 2017 as an opening night selection of the Telluride Horror Show and simultaneously began streaming for free on the Womp Stomp Films YouTube Channel where it has amassed roughly 1,000,000 views and counting.
After receiving several fan requests to continue the series, our team went back to the drawing board and researched the various ways we could complete the story. As the cost of completing a feature film started to add up, we eventually decided to break the story up into 20-35 minute webisodes in order to control our fundraising and production costs.
Never Hike in the Snow is the first of four new entires that will complete "The Never Hike Alone Web Series" and bring the story of Kyle Mcleod, Tommy Jarvis, Rick Cologne, and Jason Voorhees to an epic final conclusion.
The next installment, Never Hike Alone II: Never Hike Again, will begin crowdfunding for production after the release of Never Hike in the Snow in March of 2020. (see: Reach Goals below)
Our goal for this campaign is to raise $50,000 in order to fund the overall production cost of Never Hike in the Snow and begin pre-production on Never Hike Alone II: Never Hike Again.
Funds designated for production will go towards film permits, insurance, gear and vehicle rentals, stunts, special FX & make up, post-production services and other items that are essential in running a safe and productive film set.
Funds raised by this campaign are designated for unavoidable production costs and no long term profit will be made.
We have estimated that The Never Hike Alone Wed Series will take $350,000+ to produce in its entirety. Rather than attempt to raise that hefty sum all at once, we have chosen to break each act of the story into individual episodes, each with their own budgets and campaigns.
Excess funds raise we raise for Never Hike in the Snow will go directly towards the production budget of the remaining entires of The Never Hike Alone Web Series:
Never Hike Alone II: Never Hike Again ($50,000 Budget)
20 years after the last sighting of Jason Voorhees, Crystal Lake resident and former victim Tommy Jarvis still lives with the haunting notion that Jason will one day return.
Never Hike Alone III: Jason Takes Crystal Lake ($100,000+ Budget)
Jason returns to Crystal Lake in pursuit of his long time nemesis, Tommy Jarvis, and adventure blogger, Kyle McLeod, who have retreated to Wessex County Medical to recover from being attacked.
Never Hike Alone IV: The Final Hike. ($150,000+ Budget)
Armed with the answer to finally destroy Jason, the survivors of the attack on Crystal Lake return to Camp Blood to put an end to the death curse once and for all.
Our campaign features a variety of limited edition Never Hike Alone memorabilia such as Digital Downloads, Pins, Shirts, Beanies, Sweatshirts, Blu Rays, Screen Used Props and more.
Each Friday during the campaign will also mark the debut of limited edition add on perks to be named later.
Higher backer tiers offer your chance to join our team as a Producer that will allow you exclusive access to behind the scenes material and insight into to the project along with YOUR NAME appearing in the opening credits of the film.
Not only will Producers also have a direct communication with our filmmakers, they will also be extended an open invitation to visit set during production or volunteer their time as a part of our crew.
Founded in 2016, WOMP STOMP FILMS was created by Vincente DiSanti as an avenue to pursue live-action genre entertainment. This group was drawn together by a common passion for Friday the 13th and turning great stories into visually engaging films.
Since our founding, our group has helped filmmakers raise over $125,000 in crowdfunding for various projects and delivered on our promises for every one of them. This campaign culminates everything we have learned about the process of crowdfunding independent fan films and allows us an opportunity to tell the completion to our story in a financially responsible way.
The Never Hike Alone project has always been one of passion and never about making a profit. After all, profiting off of fan fiction is illegal and something to be taken very seriously, especially when crowdfunding.
To remain non-profit for this campaign, Womp Stomp Films will be donating an initial 13% of our proceeds to the Penny Pines Reforestation Project and JD Martz Recovery Fund. Any funding left over after the completion of the web series will also be donated.
PENNY PINES
The national forests in California cover some 20 million acres, or about 1/5 of the state. That is equal to an area just slightly larger than the state of South Carolina . Stretching from the Mexican border to Oregon , these forests include a variety of terrain and vegetation types. These areas of great beauty and majestic stature are plagued by divesting problems, such as natural and man-caused fire, pests and disease. These cause vast depletion and destruction of the national forests in California .
It takes thousands of firefighters and hundreds of pieces of specialized equipment working long hours to control these blazing infernos. Fires like these leave total destruction in their wake. As destructive as fires are, disease and insect infestation destroy seven times more forest vegetation annually than fires because forests pests are scattered and not easily detected, so are harder to control. In time some land may recover naturally. Penny Pines provides a helping hand. It is a conservation program in which everyone can participate.
If you would like to make a direct donation to Penny Pines, you can do so at their website.
JD MARTZ RECOVER FUND
Shortly after the completion of principle photography In August 2017, the course of JD Martz’s life changed forever. As he dove into a wave at Manhattan Beach in California, he injured his C3 and C4 vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down.
After spending one month fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit, JD defied the odds by regaining the ability to breathe without a ventilator and to speak on his own again. Subsequently, the 29-year-old left his successful career behind in California and moved into his parent’s home in Beverly, MA to recover. With a tireless approach and positive attitude, he has taken on an extensive rehab regimen to begin his quest toward recovery.
JD is not only a great friend, but served an important role as Co-Director of Photography on Never Hike Alone specializing in action / go pro photography, camera operation, and being an all around bad ass on set. Without him, there is no way Never Hike Alone could have been completed and our team can think of no better way to repay his efforts than to support him in his journey to a full recovery.
If you would like to make a direct donation to JD, you can do so at his website.
Thank you for taking the time to look over our campaign and know that we are greatly appreciative for any support you can give. After making your contribution, we simply ask that you please share this campaign with friends or family you believe will enjoy this film.
Thank you again for your continued support of independent films.
See you in the snow!
Womp Stomp Films love engaging with our fans. Reach out to us on our website or any of the various social media platforms listed below.
e-mail: contact@wompstompfilms.com
website / twitter / facebook / instagram / youtube
"But wait how can they get away with this? How is this legal!?!??"
On the subject of the rights to Friday the 13th, we would again like to formally acknowledge that Womp Stomp Films is in no way affiliated with Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, or anyone one else associated with the Friday the 13th Franchise. If anyone from those entities takes issue with what we are trying to accomplish, we will happily comply with whatever is asked of us by those parties.
That being said, we know that studios love fan films and most often support them. That is why there are so many Friday the 13th, Star Wars, Halloween, Star Trek, Nightmare on Elm Street, Batman, and countless other property fan films currently floating around the web. As long as one does not try to profit or compete, studios usually see them as a free marketing tool.
However, in a case like with Axanar: A Star Trek Fan Film, which you may have read about, it was only when the filmmakers raised 1.13 million dollars on Kickstarter before Paramount stepped in and shut the production down.
The budget for this campaign is much lower and is only meant to cover the unavoidable expenses of production costs. Every dollar we receive from our campaigns is spent directly on the film along with the production, packaging, and shipping of the campaign perks.
If our budgets goals seem like a large sum, it is actually considered very small in terms of filmmaking production. The process of crowdfunding and producing an independent film is not a cheap endeavor, especially if you want the job done correctly and safely.
We believe the budgets we've calculated will allow us to accomplish what we've set out to do, while remaining within respectable cost limitations.
When it comes to excess funds, we will be donating an initial 13% of our profits to charity and make additional contributions as costs balance out on our future productions. We are extremely proud to be able to use our film's popularity for a good cause and make a difference in the ongoing effort to protect our environment from wild fires and assist with JD's recovery.
We hope this clears up any questions in regards to this campaign. If you have any other questions, please contact us at contact@wompstompfilms.com
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