![]()
The Forest is the first of many short films to be produced by us at Cabbage Patch Productions, which is made up of a small and dedicated crew, we are Chrisie Wood-Hopps, Adamski Fleetwood and Sasha Wood-Hopps.
The Forest means a lot to us as it is a story in which a lot of people have experience with. I'm not talking about the plane crash, desert island, cannibalistic mutants or any of that stuff.
I'm talking about the choice between career and family, trying the best you can to be the parent your child deserves. I'm talking about doing whatever it takes to keep your child safe. About the uphill struggle to survive in a dog-eat-dog world.
![]()
![]()
![]()
For the character design I took vague inspiration from the game character for Eric LeBlanc but adapted the looks of the character for my own purposes. The only real inspiration I took from the original character design was hair colour and body type, the rest was what I imagine would look best for our character, Eric, within the film. I used Fuse CC to design the characters of Eric & Lisa LeBlanc as I found this was the most effective tool to use for having a visual 3D model of our characters to work with. There will be further costume design to come in the following weeks done by Sasha Wood-Hopps and they will accompany these designs so that we can find the best costume for these characters as well as character design and costume designs for Timmy, Matthew Cross and Skinny Cannibal.
![]()
![]()
Introducing our cast (so far)!
![]()
![]()
YOU can make an impact by backing our film and/or sharing our campaign with your friends/family!
WE aim to make an impact through several different methods.
- Encouraging women in film, especially in head of department roles.
- Supporting equality in film, not every disability is visible!
- Opening up opportunities, some of our crew are young artists learning their trade.
-
Community is important to us and we want you to be a part of it!
![]()
Raising the budget is crucial for making this film the way it deserves to be made. We intend to use the budget for many things but something which means a lot to us is looking after our actors! We are also going to have a portion of the budget reserved for extra measures needed to ensure the safety of our crew members with disabilities, this is something which is extremely important to us.
We have a budget which is inclusive of all of the essentials in making The Forest and we value transparency and trust which is why we have provided you with the budget chart below:
![]()
NOTE: This budget has been calculated based on projected crowdfunding goal and is subject to change accordingly to finalised budget.
Something which we have taken care to ensure we have in the budget is funds to employ SFX artists for practical effects within our film. We want to employ as many independent artists as possible throughout this film to support and promote smaller businesses.
![]()
What do you get out of this? Well, let me tell you...
We have designed loads of great and exciting perks for you to choose from! Our perks range from a thank you credit in the film right through to having your own small role in the film itself!
If you look to the right-hand side of your screen you will see the perks listed, though I will also list them below for your convenience:
- Thank You Credit
- Still Frame
- Digital Download
- Timmy Drawing
- Passenger Manifest
- T-Shirt
- Associate Producer
- Executive Producer
- Cast Member
- Sponsorship
![]()
After surviving a traumatic plane crash, Eric LeBlanc must battle against the elements and a tribe of cannibalistic mutants in an effort to find his son. On a journey across a mysterious peninsula, Eric must use his wits and limited survival skills from his time working on his hit TV show whilst discovering the true nature of The Forest.
Set on a mysterious and heavily forested island peninsula in the aftermath of a traumatic plane crash, The Forest follows the journey of lone survivor Eric LeBlanc to find his son and survive the horrors native to the island. Beginning shortly after the plane crash, Eric awakens to find his unconscious son being carried away into the trees by a mysterious figure. At first too weak to stand, Eric soon comes to and sets out to track down the kidnapper and get his son back.
Eric is a moderately famous and successful TV star, being presenter and creator of his own survival show, similar to Bear Grylls. Eric is a conflicted man, torn between his instinctual love for his son Timmy and his reluctance to accept parental responsibility. In order to give his relationship with his son the reboot that it needs, he is persuaded to take Timmy along on his latest press tour. Lisa is mother and primary carer to Timmy, and ex-wife to Eric. Though not expressly stated, it is strongly implied that Eric’s reluctance towards fatherhood was the cause of their split.
During their flight the passenger plane breaks apart and crashes down onto an unknown peninsula. Eric soon begins to make strange and gruesome discoveries. Coming across an abandoned campsite he finds the tents torn open… from the outside. Inside the tents are nothing but bloodied sleeping bags and blankets. At night, strange howls echo through the trees around him. Eric follows the trail of a dark figure to a cave entrance and this is where he realises the full horror of his situation.
The Forest is an exploration of fatherhood and desperation in a survival situation, and an examination of what could be lurking out in the unexplored reaches of the world.
![]()
![]()
The Forest is an exploration of fatherhood and desperation in a survival situation, and an examination of what could be lurking out in the unexplored reaches of the world. In the vein of films such as The Descent and The Ritual, the story focuses on only a handful of characters and maximises our ability to sympathise with them. Going a step further and taking influence from 127 Hours, the majority of the film’s events focus solely on Eric and the story of his survival. Using varied and dynamic cinematography to amp up suspense and influence mood, The Forest aims to be visually interesting without becoming showy.
With The Forest we aim to tell a story of horror but also one of fatherhood. Not long after becoming stranded on the island and losing his son, Eric comes to realise that he can’t live without the person he’s never been comfortable to live with. He realises how important it is that he keeps his promise to keep Timmy safe, and sets out to get him back at any cost. In this, he becomes a better and stronger man than he was before, and finds redemption on an island infested with horrors.
We plan on shooting the film using a Canon C100 Mark II along with a GoPro Hero5 for any underwater shots or to get shots in hard to access areas. We also plan on using a drone to get some beautiful forest imagery to show the vastness of the wilderness in a way that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
