Manifest
Welcome to the fundraising efforts of an indie art-pop siren. I'm Virginia Marcs and I've put together an important story. Five powerful songs and their accompanying videos will comprise my next EP, Reckoning:
- Reckoning: A self-reflective operatic-in-scope, Portishead-style dreamscape about realizing the gaslighting that has happened in my life and learning to trust my instincts again (demo featured in the video above)
- Strung: An acceptance of the rage that comes from being a trauma survivor
- This Time: An anthemic battle cry against misogyny and all of its trappings
- Good Enough: An anxiety-ridden ode to an ever-plaguing impostor syndrome that turns on its head and ends with hope
- Dark: "You can sit in the dark my friend, I will hold your hand. I have known darkness too, so I will sit by you." (demo featured at the end of the video above)
I believe these stories will help people heal, connect them to the collective and pull them out of the isolation they may feel, even if for only a moment.
I'm teaming up again with badass, whiskey-drinking, indie-pop producer Katie Buchanan for the recording and production. Then I will work with MTV VMA award-winning editor and director Alexander Hammer to create videos for you to experience each piece of this story.
In order for this project to move forward now, instead of taking 2-3 years longer, I need you. Consider yourselves: The Recording Contract of the People. <3
Quid pro quo
The price of production, recording and mixing for 5 songs (at a negotiated discount to the industry standard) is $7500. Add in the $750 for mastering, $992 for CDs, and additional administrative fees of $475 and we're at a total of $9717 before Indiegogo processing fees and your perks! And THERE ARE PERKS! For example:
- voice lesson packages
- CDs
- access to the demos for the five original songs on Reckoning
- access to the full demo cover videos that I'll be sharing during the campaign (Brandi Carlile and Billie Eilish are just two of the several artists I'll be covering)
- songwriting hangs
- house shows
- MORE
The additional cost of perks, the marketing materials, PR fees, photography and other miscellaneous costs will come out of my pocket.
On October 1, I applied for the NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre and intend to use any additional funds awarded toward music videos. There's no guarantee that I'll receive anything but I'll find out in March of 2020. A lot of time is being donated for the videos, but one person we don't have on my team is a cinematographer (approximately $2.5k per video x 5 videos=$12.5k). Videos also incur costs like: venue rental, props, hair and makeup, post-production effects and color correction. Alex and I (okay, mostly Alex) produced our previous videos out-of-pocket, fitting them into rigorous work schedules - hence why "Wild" took a year from when we started the project to the release this December.
Once the $10k goal is reached, I am shooting for $12.5k to pay for a cinematographer for the first music video. If we make this goal, everyone who has contributed to the campaign will get their name in the credits.
Destiny
Making my second large recording effort at the (super young) age of 37 and working on video projects like this is a dream. Unfortunately, doing this on my own without industry support means taking many years to finish a project like this. Preorders and crowdfunding from colleagues, neighbors, friends, family, fans in Sarasota, Orlando, Mount Dora, Saint Petersburg, London, New York, Jersey City, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, California, Boston, Australia, Chile, and elsewhere, will make this project possible and provide a springboard for my career so that I can share my music with the whole world.
Why this project needs to be made:
- This project is unapologetically feminist and addresses the issues of gaslighting, trauma, misogyny, cultural stigmas and more.
- I'm bringing these powerful songs to life with the help of my badass female producer, Katie Buchanan - collaborating two strong female visions to get this story told in a world of primarily male producers.
- I've learned the power of adding visual storytelling to the mix and am blessed with the friendships/relationships to make this a reality. There is a reason that Alexander Hammer has made a name for himself in the industry. The work he does is unparalleled. It would be remiss of us to leave this opportunity on the floor.
Risks & Challenges
There's a chance I won't receive any funding from the grant. In that case, the video-making process will take much longer and I need to start releasing videos when the actual song comes out in order to garner proper press and gain capital in the industry. If I do not receive the grant, there are a few ways I will handle it.
- To prepare for this possibility, I am creating flex goals during the campaign, so that once we've secured funding for recording, production, mixing, mastering and distribution, I will open it up for funding for a cinematographer for the first video.
- I'll then open up a second goal to add funds for effects and color-correction.
- If we don't come up with that funding and I am not awarded the grant, Alex and I will take the long road and create 2-3 videos. The story will not be shown in full, but something will be better than nothing. We have discussed some storytelling alternatives as backup plans
- I have released one record, one single and two videos (well, the second is coming your way in a couple weeks!!) and have the experience to get this done. I learned an invaluable amount from running my first crowdfunding campaign in 2017 and know how to better manage reward delivery, I know what fees are coming that I didn't foresee previously and I have backup plans for my backup plans.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't preorder or contribute financially - I still love you. I promise. Here are some things that can help that cost nothing:
- Please share this campaign with at least one person, individually, who you think would be interested.
- Please manifest success for this project in your thoughts over the next 30 days.
- Let me know if you know an incredible cinematographer who'd like to be a part of this.
- Are you a makeup artist, photographer, hair stylist? Let's trade some skills! Or if you are really moved to do so, I accept donations in the form of help, for sure. Wanna provide the hair dying, cut and/or styling for a video shoot? Want to come take behind-the-scenes photos? Please contact me: ginya at virginiamarcs dot com.
