TALES of JOVIA| PHASE I

Want to support the local film industry (actors, crew, artist) and become a producer of a sci-fi universe? Check out our Indiegogo Campaign below! Catch perks at a discount for being an early bird!!! Chirp Chirp!

Welcome to the Tales of Jovia! We are the Inwood Park Productions Team, a group of Houston-based Indie Film Producers in Texas that are seeking investors and producers for our next project. This campaign directly supports local Houston actors, film production crew, and local Houston businesses, as each short film described will be filmed, cast, and created in Houston and other locations in Texas. The short films feature characters in the Texas wilderness including forests, marshes, creeks, hillcountry, and desert canyons. Want to learn more about Inwood Park's work? Go visit our YouTube!

We are seeking $10,000 for our upcoming short film series, which will be used to fund the cast, crew, and production resources to make this short film series comes to life. We have an abundance of benefits in this Indiegogo campaign, including becoming a named producer on the films, merchandise, and a chance to experience the Inwood Park filming in production.  Come join the ride!

What is the Tales of Jovia?

An astonishing sci-fi short film series! Set within a dynamic and diverse fictional universe that takes place hundreds of thousands of years into humanity’s future. This thrilling epic bridges the gap between the scientific and fantastical elements of the genre. It is an ambitious series designed to embody and innovate what it means to be a sci-fi universe. The first phase of which consists of four short films that will be posted to our YouTube channel over the remainder of 2023. We are seeking contributions for the development, production, and post-production of all four of these films, in exchange for early access to your own digital copies of each film, VHS/DVD copies, signed scripts, producer credit, admission to a raffle for props/costumes that were used on each film, and more! We will be the rocket, and we hope you will be the fuel that sends us soaring to the stars!

The Tales of Jovia debuted with our short film, LIV, featuring a young bounty hunter scrambling to recover his lost bounty - a cunning cyborg - on a desolate planet, filmed around Little Cypress Creek and Spring Creek, Texas. Check out LIV, our proof-of-concept here: https://youtu.be/AUQeNYanDro. 

The Short Film Phases of Tales of Jovia

Phase I of our sci-fi short film series focuses on a range of stories from across our universe and time. From explorers on distant worlds discovering mysterious and hostile new species to the tragic romance of two scientists separated by their divergent ideologies, the Tales of Jovia span the sci-fi genre. Below are short summaries of the four films that comprise our first phase.

PIECE OF MIND

After colliding with debris on a prog-speed lane, John, a time-traveling scientist, and his robot companion, Orb, crash land on the deserted planet of Ganymede-003. John knows the only way to escape is to disassemble Orb and build a communication device, and while he refuses to do this, Orb insists he does. After a fatal wound, the question of whether to save himself, or let his friend live on becomes pressing, but who's life is more important, and is Orb even alive?

NEON COMET

On the small planet of Hub B a Gaian scientist named Bon awaits a data transfer officer, but is met by his former partner, Lex, who unbeknownst to him is there to steal his life's work for the scientific cult organization, REM. While their love once again blossoms, when the truth about her motives is revealed, the situation becomes fatal.

THE FACELESS

Two scouts from the Tellux Federation, an early Gaian society, search for their missing friend on the desolate planet of Re-103. Soon, a faceless figure, who appears to be the missing scout, is spotted by the rescuers. But, this is not their friend, and it sure as hell is not human. As they search for answers they are haunted by this creature and its frightening shape-shifting abilities.

RECONTACT ON BLUME

After 10 years without contact, Dez, a Tellux Federation pilot goes to make contact with the missing colony on Blume. Upon her arrival, she finds herself in the land of the Kokugami. An ape-like alien creature with bone claws that is responsible for the brutal annihilation of the colonists. It is up to Dez, and the last remaining colonist, Maroon, to reach the ship and escape with their lives.

What We Need & What You Get

We are seeking producers to invest in our short film series, the Tales of Jovia that will gain the traction of a large audience. We are seeking a following of people who are curious about the development of sci-fi universes, and are interested in being involved - a group of people who want to contribute to seeing the Jovian universe start off with a bang! Thus, we are hoping to raise $10,000 to help create the four films in the first phase of Tales of Jovia. We are seeking producers to obtain the funds the jumpstart our short film series into the entertainment market, including digital streaming distribution on a national scale with merchandise from clothes to costumes.

The $10,000 will not only contribute to the production of the film, but will also give our team the leverage to put our resources toward gaining a national audience - a market share of science fiction cinema in a way that will fundamentally change the genre. Immediately, we are seeking producers to help us fund these science-fiction short films that feature local actors and crew. The genres range from action, adventure, romance, comedy, and even horror, interloped into the science fiction universe of the Tales of Jovia. 

In order to sweeten the deal, we offer a variety of benefits and opportunities for free merchandise, sneak peeks, and even producer credit.  Specifically, we offer everything from email updates on the project to VHS/DVD copies of the films to a private theater event where you, the crew, and the actors, watch a new sci-fi/action movie of your choice, to producer credits, and many other opportunities. 

All money received for this campaign goes to paying the writers, crew, and actors, insurance and certifications for filming, prop and costume design, and other production-related expenses both pre and post.  Every dime that we receive will go into making this series the best it can be and getting as many people as possible to see it. With more money, we are able to pay for better equipment, better editing software, and better set/costume designs, all of which increase the quality of these films. This series is a labor of love for the actors and crew and we hope you will join us on this journey.

GENRE

Tales of Jovia is a science fiction short film series that combines multiple genres to create a compelling set of shorts with something for everyone. From the comedic relationship of John and Orb, to the tragic love between Bon and Lex, to the Horror, mystery, and action that plague our Tellux Federation scouts, The Tales of Jovia are a genre-bending group of sci-fi films. The genres range from action, adventure, romance, comedy, and even horror, interloped into the science fiction universe. Zoom!

STYLE

The approach to the visual and auditory styles of each film is dependent on the film itself. For some, like Piece of Mind, the style simulates a stage play with standard camera placements to showcase the movement around the singular set, while for films like Neon Comet, the visual style is akin to the romance movies of Richard Linklater. Overall, we take strong influence from the directorial work of George Lucas, David Lynch, and Sam Raimi. As well as the artistic styles of pop artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, and surrealist artists like Salvador Dali. But you’re probably asking yourself why that at all matters. Well, our influences shape how we write the script, frame shots, design costumes/sets, edit, color grade, and ultimately what the final product will look like. Through the use of diverse compositions and coordinated color design, mixed with organic, yet stylistic, dialogue we try to create a unique style where every frame is its own picture worth a thousand words. We believe that the utilization of divergent styles across our films allows us to engage with the diverse interests of audience members. 

PEOPLE

Chance Smith (Writer, Director, and Executive Producer)

“I am a Sociologist by training, but a filmmaker by passion. I first became interested in film as an artist during early high school. While I spent most of my early years as a mixed-media visual artist, and a musician, my love for film took over in early high school and became something I pursued at full force. This primarily took the form of short comedic skits with my friends, and while they were not good I learned the basics of filmmaking through that process, something that I have built on for years since.

During my undergraduate years at the University of Houston, I wrote a self-published book titled “Dawn” with our Executive Producer Harold R. Jackson. This eventually converged with my passion for film to create the five-season sci-fi television series “Jovian Archives.” This project has been submitted to many scriptwriting and pitch competitions, winning a semi-finalist award in ScreenCraft Virtual Pitch 2021, and is currently in the top 16% of all projects on Coverfly. This project led me further down the path toward filmmaking, while I learned the trials of its process.

My first real attempt at filmmaking was a coming of age feature film titled "Happiness" that I kickstarted for last year and which is currently on the film festival circuit. This project was my first real attempt as a writer/director, a process that allowed me to relearn and build on my previous skills. Now, I believe it is time to take this decade worth of work making films and use it to finally create the short films series I have been waiting to see. With the help of my friends, family, and hopefully all of you we can bring the Jovian Universe to life!”

Harold Jackson (Writer, Director, and Executive Producer)

“I am a Customs and International Trade attorney based in Houston, Texas, with a vast interest in cinema, photography, music, and art. During my undergraduate years at the University of Houston, I wrote a self-published book titled “Dawn” with our producer Chance Smith. This eventually converged with my passion for film to create the five-season sci-fi television series “Jovian Archives.” We recently brought this vision to the live screen with our Short Film titled “LIV” that features a character from the main book and series through his youthful pursuits for meaning in the galaxy. I’m now a forerunning director and writer for the Tales of Jovia and can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on for so long!"

Zach Jones (Executive Producer)

"Coming from Swansea, Wales, I bring a unique perspective to the Tales of Jovia in design and production. My eye and admiration for cinema and stadium entertainment brings a creative and innovative element to Inwood Park’s movies. I’ve known Chance since they were a small lad, and they've always been trying to make movies with their friends. While I’m not producing movies, I’m a graphic novel author - having created and written the short series “Finding Frank” which inspired Inwood Park’s first web-series “Finding Frank.” The story features a painter in-between work who is on a journey to find the meaning of his work and his life, finding love and anguish along the way.  A jolly good show. This slice-of-life show brought together all of the people and resources necessary for Inwood Park to jumpstart Tales of Jovia. I hope you enjoy what we have in store! Cheers! Swanky!"

Eli Fischer (Director of Photography)

"I was born to make movies like Tales of Jovia. My comfortable place is behind the camera, watching the movies come to life. I’ve spent most of my life studying the art of cinema, tracking most North American, European, and Asia based movie awards, always learning and thinking of ways to apply the craft. My favorite genre to both watch and produce are movies of romance and independent cinema. With any luck, Tales of Jovia will take off and I can continue to do what I love - which is creating and filming movies. I hope you can become an audience member, or even producer, and join us along for the ride!" 

Risks & Challenges

There are many risks to this campaign. The primary one is that we are unable to reach our audience, but we hope that with your help and our compelling ideas, we are able to bring together those across the world looking for a new sci-fi universe. The secondary risks, which go along with any film, are risks of production. Delays, scheduling conflicts, editing slowdowns, etc. are all risks of any production, but we believe that the crew we have will be able to make these projects a reality on time and for a low budget. We are seeking producers and investors to help meet these budgetary goals to produce these short science fiction films. 

Below is a non-exclusive list of our risks and challenges:

1. Support and funding for local actors

2. Support and funding for local filming crew

3. Resources for extra support in emergency production - such as inclement weather

4. Filming equipment and updating/maintaining camera, sound, and lighting

5. Post-production effects, scores and sounds, and editing personnel and software 

6. Distribution and getting the word out about Tales of Jovia - Seeking 'The Audience'

Other Ways You Can Help

If you are unable to financially support, or just want to be that much nicer, sharing our fundraising campaign on social media is a huge way to help us spread the word about the project. Check out our science fiction films below! <3

Inwood Park Productions Youtube

Inwood Park Productions TikTok

Inwood Park Productions Facebook

Inwood Park Productions Instagram

Website

If you are an influencer or local business that wants to participate, please email us at inwoodparkproductions@gmail.com!

Thank you for your support!!! :)

Want to know what we've done before? Check out the behind-the-scenes from the filming of our short film, LIV, early 2023-