**UPDATE** - WE ARE IN-DEMAND!
Post-Production Fundraising Still Underway!
The campaign has officially ended, but thanks to all of your amazing contributions, our project qualified to be a part of Indiegogo's "InDemand" program, where you can still contribute to the project even after the campaign has ended! This is absolutely incredible, as now we can continue to fundraise for our Post-Production costs, and believe me, we still need the help! So you can still claim premiere tickets, a signed poster, a set-visit, become a producer*, and more!
*NOTE: Anyone who chooses the "Become A Producer" perk during this time, will not only get "Associate Producer" credit, but will also be listed as a "Post-Production Producer"!
Perk Update: Due to delays in post-production (see our Post-Production Update), the estimated deliveries of the perks is extended. Any perks involving the premiere, such as tickets & screen credit, will be delayed until the premiere itself (TBA 2022-2023). Other perks may be delayed as well, such as the signed copy of the script perk, as that was scheduled to be delivered following the premiere (to avoid spoilers). We will continue to keep you updated in the "updates" section, and thank you all so much for the support! We can't wait to share this film with all of you!
Stretch Goals
We're still hoping to hit our first Stretch Goal of $15,000, which will help pay for a proper POST-PRODUCTION BUDGET (otherwise Cris and I are doing most of it ourselves, which will delay the premiere), - which will make THE SKY IS FALLING better! Thank you all so much for your support, and for helping us spread the word!
*PERK UPDATE* - We will officially be adding Las Vegas to the list of locations to premiere the film!!
About Us
I'm Jared Belt, the filmmaker behind The Sky Is Falling. The journey from the original idea to today has been long and challenging. I first wrote the idea for this film in 2017, but many of the concepts and imagery behind it have been on my mind since childhood. Since writing the script, I have endeavored to do as much for the film on my own as humanly possible. I learned new skills, and saved money where I could. I built two miniature environments, a miniature spaceship, and even half of the spaceship interior set that we will be shooting on (all of which can be seen in the video above). I also spent many months learning new visual effects skills in areas I had never done before, like photogrammetry and 3D modeling. All to bring down costs, doing as much as possible in the most truly DIY way. But now, I've reached my limit on what I can achieve on my own, and I need your help to see this through to the end.
Cris Cockrell is co-producer on the project, as well as the lead actor! He came on board in 2019, and has brought a lot of great support and enthusiasm for the project, and has been an excellent collaborator.
About The Film
THE SKY IS FALLING is a 30min short film that follows George, a disgraced physicist who is convinced that the planet's atmosphere is going to destabilize from government tampering in weather control. He has the ability to stop the end of the world, but his obsession causes him to lose his family in the process. He also has a secret elevator in a port-a-potty that leads down to a secret underground hangar beneath his ranch, where his obsession has led him to construct a spaceship that he will use to save the world. Cool right?
This film is in the genre of Sci-Fi/Drama with a bit of an experimental side as well. The experimental nature of the movie comes in with the unique way we tell George's story. The film will actually show two totally different versions of his life. In one version, he chooses to follow his obsession to save the world, but loses his family in the process, and the other he chooses to ignore what he knows is coming in order to keep his family close. Both versions are very different, but the real story is in the similarities for George, and the way he deals with regret.
What We Need
In order to make this film happen, we have an initial minimum goal of $8,000, with a "stretch goal" of $15,000. The idea there is that with $8,000 we would have the minimum funds to make the film happen, though with certain concessions made and some creative solutions to cut costs down. For example, one of those creative solutions was to eliminate a fairly complicated, but totally awesome stunt sequence involving a car chase.
Now, in order to do the film exactly how we envisioned it (including the awesome car chase), with the most ideal circumstances, we've calculated $15,000 is what we would need to make it the best it can be. For example, with the $8,000 budget, we would need to rely more on volunteers for certain cast & crew positions, and Cris and I would be doing most of the post-production ourselves. Whereas with the $15,000 budget, we will be able to have a fully paid cast & crew, and a proper post-production team. The larger budget would also allow us to set aside funds for festival entries (some of which can be quite costly), and the creation of hard copies (DVDs and BluRays).
What About The Perks!
We have some really great perks as well! You can get tickets to the premiere, signed posters, a visit to the set, even be in the movie! And for my personal favorite perk, you can get a handcrafted replica of the spaceship miniature that I designed and built for the film! I would love to personally build another one just for you!
In addition to the main perks, we will also have some really cool "group perks" for everyone who contributes, if we reach our initial goal of $8,000. Most of them will be announced after the goal is reached, as we work towards our stretch goal. However, I can announce the first perk everyone will receive is a copy of the script! More great announcements to come!
The Impact
Not only is this a passion project for me personally, but over the years, I have had so many conversations with people who have read the script, who have told me "You NEED to make this movie!" They tell me about how the story impacted them, and I honestly couldn't believe it. I thought, it's just a little short film, what will it matter to anyone? But for the first time in my filmmaking pursuits, I finally had something that mattered to people almost as much as it mattered to me. They were getting it, the message, the approach, the real-life struggles it deals with while existing in this larger-than-life sci-fi setting. I know that if I could connect with people like that over just the script, then it's true, I really DO need to make this movie! And your contributions are an essential part of bringing this impactful story to the screen.
Risks & Challenges
Filmmaking itself is a risk and comes with so many challenges. This film is no exception. One of the largest hurdles to overcome was with one of the key locations in the script; a massive, 180-foot deep, 300-foot wide underground hangar, where George has been building a specially designed spaceship to re-terraform earth from orbit. Both the underground hangar and the spaceship itself represented enormous challenges, so much so that I almost rewrote the script to make it easier. However, I ultimately knew these items needed to stay for the magnitude of the film's setting. It just wasn't the same without it. Plus, how freaking cool is it to have the ground open up and see a spaceship emerge in a thunderous moment of personal triumph?! Too freaking cool.
Ultimately, I decided the only way to achieve this would be to implement the use of miniatures. I have always been a huge fan of miniatures, and also had experience building a miniature set-piece for an earlier film, The Legend of Gurthang (a short Middle-Earth based fan film). But, this miniature would be much more complex, and capturing it would be even more challenging. How do you get big dynamic camera movements with your actor moving around in a miniature environment? Well there's traditionally only one option: Motion Control Camera Rigs. Unfortunately these rigs are very costly (our entire fundraising goal would be spent just on renting one).
However, after lots of research and experimentation, I have come upon another way to achieve the effect: Photogrammetry, It sounds complicated, but essentially it is a process of taking hundreds of photos of the miniature from every angle, and turning that into a computer-generated 3D model. Then I can take that model and match it to whatever camera movements I do with the actor. When I heard about this technique, I knew I had to learn it. So I spent the better part of a year experimenting and learning how to do this. Now I'm ready. Challenge overcome. This is just one of many challenges I have faced and will face on this project. But come hell or high water, I will overcome them and see this film through to the end.
Other Ways You Can Help
And that's just about it! If you've read this far, seriously THANK YOU! It means the world to me that you would take the time to read about our story and this film I want to make. If you have decided to make a contribution, I can't begin to express how deeply grateful I am. Thank you for your help in making this dream a reality. I have never felt stronger about a story I've written, and I am so excited to usher it onto the screen for all to see.
If you can't contribute (actually, if you can too), please do me a HUGE favor, and SHARE this campaign with your friends and family! Share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email, Snail Mail, any way you want! Be sure to use the Indiegogo Share Tools to get the word out!
Thank you all so much!
-Jared
