The Traveller is a short festive horror film that will be shot in January of 2023.

The film follows a salesman as he returns home on Christmas Eve to join his family. Unluckily for him, something evil decides to join him too.  

This project is being put together by multiple award-winning producer/director Carter Ferguson, whose first feature film Fast Romance was awarded the Cineworld Audience Award by Bafta Scotland in 2011. His films have won over 70 awards at international film festivals and garnered millions of views on YouTube. The Traveller is the first film Carter has both written and directed since 2007 when he created viral youtube sensation The Rage.

Making films is hard. Really hard. It's time-consuming, often frustrating, and at the lower end of the budget scale, it's a very expensive endeavor for any filmmaker. 

I threw in the towel on making films in 2019 as by then I seemed to be spending all of my time supporting other people's work and almost always at the cost of my own projects. Don't get me wrong, some of this was very high-end TV and film that I enjoyed working on but it has distracted me from my own film projects for years.

Following a further hiatus brought about by Covid, I find myself once again with the want and the opportunity to get back on my filmmaking "horse" as it were and shoot my own content once again.

This short horror film "The Traveller" is not in any sense of the word a simple film to make: It's logistically complicated, set at night in moving cars on the dark back roads of the Scottish Highlands. It requires three days of exterior filming, and for creative and safety reasons a further two days of filming the interiors of the vehicles, as if moving, in a studio. The logistical challenges of the script, however, are also what make it stand out from the crowd. It could be said that we are crazy to even consider making such a complicated film on a low budget but the complexity of the piece, combined with it being in the hugely endearing Festive Horror Genre all add up to The Traveller being a film that's crying out to be brought to an audience.

The Traveller will be my first film of 2023. It will not be the last.

Carter Ferguson

Below: Shooting with some wonderful, actors, filmmakers and other crew in Hong Kong

Low-budget filmmaking does not mean low-quality content. To ensure high quality, The Traveller will be crewed by some of the best creatives in Scotland. These people have come on board to make it a reality because of their confidence in Carter and the script.

Confirmed team members:

New crew members will be added here as they are confirmed. Cast members are confirmed and will be announced shortly.

You may be aware of the fast/ cheap/ good rule, which states that it's only possible to get two of the three but never all. This project sits in the Fast and Good category, so it does have some unavoidable costs, the largest of which, however - the fees of those that are taking part - is already in place as everyone on this project has come on board for a limited time, for expenses only. 

Expenses largely come down to food, drinks, and travel costs based on the information detailed below but this is the largest cost we face and is estimated at £857.50 for a 5-day shoot with an additional short previs day.

• Previs Test Day 0: 8 cast/ crew
• Day 1: 4 crew
• Day 2: 10 cast/ crew
• Day 3: 10 cast/ crew
• Day 4: 8 cast/ crew
• Day 5: 9 cast/ crew

Expenses are given out in the form of meals bought for cast and crew, the day-to-day provision of water, fruit, sweets, crisps, etc. and hot drinks as we shoot, and direct exchange with cast and crew of cash for receipts.

Calculating this out at roughly £25 per head comes to £1225, but as many people will be traveling together and none of the locations are particularly far away (Arrochar being the furthest) we believe that a saving of approximately 30% can be made on this. This leaves the total cost of expenses at £857.50

The second highest cost is production insurance at £600. In addition to this, the actors will have to be insured to drive the action vehicles for 2 the days of filming.  Car insurance cover extensions for actors are approximately £140. This brings the total cost for insurance on the film to £740

The third largest cost is the action vehicles. One vehicle is being provided by the DOP and a second is on offer from the director. This second vehicle is not 100% ideal for the shoot but will serve if needs be. We are trying to source an alternative - a newer estate car, something like an Octavia for example, ideally in a bright color for 4 and a half days to represent the car driven by our lead character. If anyone Glasgow-based can help with this please get in touch.

A third vehicle, the Recovery Pickup will have to be hired. The script describes this as a Ford Ranger Pickup. We are seeking one that is not too new - in that or any similar make eg Nissan Navaro would suffice - ideally but not necessarily in white - for 3 days to represent our 2nd lead's vehicle. It will be dressed with paintwork-safe magnetic panels with the words RECOVERY on them and have a magnetic orange beacon on top to represent a recovery truck.  Again, if anyone Glasgow-based can help with this please get in touch. 

Our estimated costs for hires and fuel for these vehicles is just £600. The cost of the recovery graphics and the orange beacon for the recovery truck is £100. Total cost: £700

Other sundry costs include makeup & creature effects @ £200, props and costumes @ £200, expendable camera supplies @ £100, Indiegogo costs which I estimate @ £250 & contingency @£200.

99% of the kit we are using on this film has been donated for our use by the professionals who have committed to shooting it. This is another massive saving for which we are very grateful. 

Below is a breakdown of the costs which total £3247.50.

We are seeking £2000 of this budget via crowdfunding

The other £1247.50 will come from Carter's dwindling savings, which will, we hope, show that he is willing to put his money where his mouth is!

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There is little interest from creative institutions in Scotland in supporting local filmmakers. This is primarily because the limited funds they have at their disposal are already earmarked for existing companies, and the little that is left is only available through extremely exclusive film schemes with drawn-out application processes. 

After years of rebuttals, our conclusion is that in order to gain traction as filmmakers, you really have to ignore these bodies and make films without their assistance - Films which are not just good, but are exceptional - Making any film is hard and generally quite expensive so making one that is exceptional is a task that is particularly difficult with no money.

Crowdfunding is the process of raising funds from a large number of people through the internet, local events, or other creative means. 

• It is simple, although very time-intensive to set up and run.
• It gives somewhat of a promotional boost to the project and those involved. Through this means we are not only able to get funding but build an audience for the film and for future work.
• It has built-in scalability as there is a possibility of raising more money than intended. With the extra money, we can raise the quality of the film.
• It allows us to network. The buzz around crowdfunding campaigns can help us to get you in touch with important contacts in the industry. We can also interact with other filmmakers and experts who can provide valuable insights.
• It allows us a certain freedom as we don’t have to deal with funding organisations or studios who may request changes to the work, or take it away altogether. With a crowdfunding campaign, we are able to create the project, limited only by our budget and imagination.

Above: Filming with DOP Neil MacMillan

We fully understand that not everyone has a disposable income and encourage those who would like to help financially but can't afford to, to instead SPREAD THE WORD. 

Facebook shares, Twitter tweets and re-tweets, and other social networking and word-of-mouth promotion will help us to find the sponsors we seek. If you can help by spreading the word, It would be greatly appreciated.

Nearly 40 film and television professionals have offered their assistance in the shooting of this project. These offers are hugely appreciated, but this film will be shot with a fairly small team that can operate low profile and move quickly. If specific roles require to be filled, for example, if one of our team picks up a paid gig and becomes unavailable, we will let it be known on social media. 

For regular updates about the film please look to these links.

Twitter: @fireflyfilmsltd or @fight_director

Instagram @fight_director

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireflyfilmsltd/

After the completion of filming, we will have a short but involved post-production process. This consists of editing, sound mixing, music creation, visual effects, and grading. This will be subsidised, as with the shoot, by the in-kind contribution of time and equipment of fellow film and television professionals.

The Traveller is initially destined for the international horror film festival circuit but will be released for all to see on Christmas Eve of 2023. Posting a film publicly online is against a lot of film festivals' rules of entry but many of the perks offered here will provide you with the opportunity to watch via a private link prior to this date.

Film Festival submission fees can be £20-£65 (and more) per festival so if, for example, we can save here and there on our budget, that saved money will go directly to cover submission fees for film festivals. Not one penny of the money raised will be wasted. 

We may run another small campaign in a few months, in order for us to further fund the process of applying for film festivals. Updates on this campaign will be sent out regularly to those that support it. This will include unique behind-the-scenes content.

It's my sincere hope that the film will bring a bit of a jump or two and some cheer to the world.  If we can pull this one off, then it will set the scene for future work. We have a lot to learn here and a lot to gain from making this film as good as we possibly can. The act of getting out there and doing something, rather than just talking about it as is so often the case, will create drive and excitement for future work. In short, this film is the catalyst for many more films to come.

Carter's podcast Film Pro Productivity and Success continues to be released each week but further film projects are in the works. Costumes and props are already being created for one of them but at this time we cannot say any more about that project. 

Later this year Carter will take further opportunities to make small-scale short films, and will also begin development work on a brand new feature film.