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As whisky has exploded in popularity (and price) around the world, new customers are educating themselves and are demanding more complexity and innovation from every new dram they try. They’ll spend the money but you have to knock their socks off. Distillers have huge creative opportunities and immense pressure to stand out in this robust marketplace.
Our film tells the stories of a handful of whisky masters and how each has learned to paint masterpieces using only barley, water, and yeast.
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Using a process that is nearly universal, distillers learned long ago that the magic is in the details. They coax their flavors from the barrels, the fires, the stills, even the warehouses themselves.
Some turn to the past, some invent the future, but all of them create incredible spirits and the world cannot seem to get enough.
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With hundreds of distilleries across Scotland (and more popping up almost weekly), it’s impossible to tell all of their stories. Instead, we will focus on a handful of distillers and craftspeople who are at the forefront of today’s global whisky explosion.
At the center of our story is the legendary Jim McEwan.
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Born next door to the Bowmore Distillery, Jim has spent his life in whisky and he has never stopped breaking new ground. With his latest venture Ardnahoe set to open in a matter of weeks, Jim has completed a dream of helping build a new distillery from the ground up.
He began working at Bowmore as a cooper’s apprentice as a teenager (after some unofficial work sweeping floors as a boy). He went on to hold nearly every job that a distillery has to offer, even leaving at one point to become a master blender. He returned to Bowmore as the master distiller for 12 years.
After expressing sorrow that the Bruichladdich Distillery, visible across Loch Indaal from Bowmore, was closed, destiny came calling for Jim. He was part of the team that revitalized Bruichladdich and shook the whisky world. With award after award, they signaled a bold new era in what could be done with a drink that, by law, only has three ingredients.
Jim had managed to create truly groundbreaking expressions, hiring dozens of locals who may have otherwise had to leave Islay, and he grew a once mothballed distillery into a powerhouse in less than 15 years.
But Jim is master at something else too: storytelling. His ribald and passionate tales about whisky and life on Islay are the stuff of legend and they serve as the perfect complement to the drams he makes.
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In many ways, the flip side of the same coin as Jim, is Dr. Bill Lumsden who has a PhD in Biochemistry with a focus on yeast (yes, yeast!). He has been described as “a machine built to make whisky.”
He is the current head distiller at both Glenmorangie in the Highlands and at Ardbeg on Islay, two vastly different whisky brands that share little other than Lumsden and a high standard of quality.
Dr. Bill, as he’s universally known, is a storyteller as well. His tasting sessions are as funny as they are informative.
And our stories don’t end with these two titans.
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The new Glasgow Distillery, its name as inconspicuous as its location in a suburban industrial estate, is commercially releasing its first whisky as this is being written. But it’s already creating a buzz and, in fact, sold out its entire pre-production run.
Created by transplanted Irishman Liam Hughes, the small outfit has created a large following for its Makar Gin and the whisky has started winning awards at trade shows, led by their Prometheus.
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We tell the story of the Benromach Distillery, which was brought back to life by the Urquhart family, and is one of only a few distilleries in Scotland that uses no automated machinery, relying on the distillers’ sense of touch, sight and sound to handcraft their whiskies.
We also visit family-owned Gordon & MacPhail, the Elgin grocer that, over more than 120 years, has grown to be the curators of the world’s oldest and rarest stock inventory, maturing casks from more than 100 distilleries.
The list goes on and on, but you’ll have to follow along to learn more.
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Our Unique Approach
As this is a format that doesn’t allow the viewer to taste the drink (more on that in a moment), we must use the tools of cinema to emulate one of the most complex and nuanced sensory experiences known to humankind. With immersive shots, sounds, and stories, we hope to give viewers an experience as visceral as being there in Scotland, enjoying these spirits in person.
However, to take that experience one step further, we’re planning to create an interactive experience that will instruct the viewer, should she or he choose, to taste the right whisky at the appropriate time during the film. The viewer can then enjoy the dram right along with our master distillers (via subtitles about provenance and tasting notes).
With all these elements working in concert, we hope to deliver an endearing love letter to the Blood of Scotland, its craftsmen and women, and the country itself. We hope you’ll join us on this journey!
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After walking away from a job as a newspaper reporter in his native Pennsylvania, Greg moved to Los Angeles to make films. After spending a year at Warner Bros., he moved into commercial production, eventually developing a client roster that included Kia, BMW, United Airlines, and Gray Advertising.
His directorial debut Another Harvest Moon — described by Box-office Magazine as “Powerful, poignant, honest, uncompromising, and touching — won two “Audience Choice” awards and stars Ernest Borgnine, Piper Laurie, Doris Roberts, Cybill Shepherd, Anne Meara and Richard Schiff. It’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
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Originally from Toronto, Trevor produced for the hit National Geographic documentary on Billy the Kid, which represented the third docudrama project he produced for television after Discovery Channel’s Kidnap and Rescue, and Animal Planet’s Virus Hunters.
As a commercial producer Trevor recently partnered with Kimmy Gatewood (GLOW) and Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) to produce three spots for Refinery29 on behalf of Planned Parenthood. He has also produced spots for Victoria’s Secret, Heineken, Coors, Polaris, Indian Motorcycles, and a spot for Activision that was awarded an AICP award. He has produced music videos for such musicians as Kanye West, Devendra Banhart and Gogol Bordello.
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A native of the UK, LA began working with Trevor and Greg while living in New York. She currently lives in Falkirk, Scotland, where she is the boots-on-the-ground for this film. With more than 15 years of experience, working on movies, documentaries, independent feature films, television shows and commercials.
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Brittany Curran currently splits her time between Los Angeles and Vancouver, BC, where she is a series regular on SyFy’s The Magicians.
She grew up in Cape Cod and Hingham, Mass., before moving to Burbank, Calif., at eleven years old. A few months later, Curran made her small screen debut on Mad TV and then her big screen debut in 13 Going On 30.
She went on to guest star and recur on many series, including The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Criminal Minds, Drake & Josh, Ghost Whisperer, and ABC Family’s Twisted. In 2009, Curran was cast as a series regular in the Emmy nominated series Men of a Certain Age, playing the daughter of Ray Romano. In 2011, she won a Peabody Award (ensemble) and was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Supporting Young Actress, for her work in the series.
In 2013, Curran graduated from UCLA with a degree in American Literature. She attended UCLA while simultaneously filming a recurring role on NBC’s Chicago Fire and a lead role in the indie break-out hit, Dear White People.
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Originally from Pennsylvania, Richard earned his bachelors degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Penn State University. He then spent the next 20 years in the tech sector as a UI Engineer, working on award winning websites for some of the largest entertainment, gaming and comparison shopping companies out there. He is helping to manage the digital aspects of this campaign.
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With more than 25 years of film and video production, Brad is a co-founder and managing partner of Aurora Films, a full-service production company based in Central Pennsylvania.
Brad has a B.S. degree in Broadcast Communications and is certified as an Arriflex camera operator, with experience in both aerial and underwater cinematography.
He began his professional career producing, shooting, and editing corporate media for a company owned by a National Geographic underwater cinematographer. Following this, he worked as a freelance producer, cinematographer and editor, primarily on independent films and corporate videos. Aurora was founded in August of 2000 and takes a documentary-style approach to corporate video. For a list of the most current companies that Brad has worked with, visit www.aurorafilms.com.
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Like motorcycling, Alfonse got a late start with the spirits-based lifestyle. Similarly, the learning curve for both riding a motorcycle and drinking adult beverages was rocky at first, but smoothed out over time.
Having grown into a long-distance rider and journalist in the motorcycle industry, Alfonse has been focused on the journey over the destination in the last twenty years. Through numerous careers as an artist, to programming, to photography, his path was wide and colorful.
A parallel journey through the world of libations happened during that time; grain to vodka, Irish whiskey to rum, wine to craft beer… and back again to whiskey, but without the ‘e’. The “good stuff” is now on his radar, and acting as co-producer to Water of Life, Alfonse merges his many talents into one. His mysterious blend of artistry and machinery, help to propel the WOL brand from concept to celluloid.
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Tom is a veteran Los Angeles bartender and journeyman actor - amazing how the two go hand-in-hand. He has created cocktails menus, curated beer lists, and helped patrons find their new favorite spirits in DTLA and Hollywood since 2001. He appeared opposite Annette Bening and Alfred Molina in The Cherry Orchard at the Mark Taper Forum. Television credits include Parks & Recreation, Major Crimes, Grey’s Anatomy, and NCIS. He can currently be seen in the film Searching For Fortune alongside John Heard, streaming on Amazon Prime. Occasionally referred to as “The Scottish Treat,” despite no actual Scots heritage.
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When he worked as the head projectionist at a movie theatre while attending Purdue University in his home state of Indiana, Tim made the decision to pursue his love of film out to Los Angeles. Over the past 15 years, he’s worked the red carpet at the Oscars and has been a Senior Executive Assistant to some of the biggest names in Hollywood at Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation and Warner Bros. Pictures.
It was during this period of time, working at the studios, that he discovered and joined a couple different whisky groups and has been sampling 100s of expressions ever since. He’s partial to the Islay distilleries, but has many other favorites throughout Scotland.
He and his wife also own one of Los Angeles’ only creative-focused coworking businesses, The Muse Rooms, with two locations in the San Fernando Valley.
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Whisky demands patience. So does filmmaking.
Like the whisky that inspired us, what we need most is time. Time to follow the distillers as they go through the meticulous process of distilling spirits. Time to spend talking with them and going far beyond the platitudes and simple answers. We want the time to learn how and why they make the choices that they make. Time to get the shots that show Scotland’s stark beauty and rich resources.
And the money we raise buys us that time, whether it’s in the distilleries or in the peat fields. And it allows us the time in editorial to craft a film worthy of our amazing subject.
We aim to put nearly all of our budget on the proverbial screen. This film demands the utmost production value and we have the team and the attitude to create that value.
The breakdown will look something like:
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Stretch Goal #1
$104,000
The increase of $23,000 will allow us to do three main things:
- Outsource some of the graphic treatments for the show and create some original music for it. Advanced post FX will greatly enhance the visual quality of the film itself, including an eye-catching opening credit sequence as rich and immersive as that of Chef's Table.
- Commission original custom music for the film.
- An additional one or two days of production. With these days, the producers can film footage and interviews at Springbank Distillery. As unique and revered as it is hard to reach, the distillery is now owned by the people of Campbelltown. Every aspect of the whisky’s production is completed by the people and in the town on Scotland’s west coast.
Stretch Goal #2
$129,000
The extra $25,000 allows us to do three more things:
- Adding 3-4 more days to the production schedule allows us to follow the story beyond the barley fields of Scotland and into the cooperages in Spain and Kentucky that give scotch its sherry and bourbon influences. This way we can capture the entire story, every element on its way to Scotland and ultimate glory.
- This also allows us a longer rental of a motion control and slider system that will help put the viewer right inside the glasses and the barrels.
- Commission an entire custom score for the film.
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The success of our campaign will primarily rely on word of mouth and the power of social media.
If you are not able to help fund the campaign, you can absolutely help us by spreading the word (and this page) among your friends and social media contacts. The more we can get the word out the more successful we will be.
We will be posting exclusive updates and news across our social media channels. Stay up to date by liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter and Instagram. We also have a website at wateroflifefilm.com.
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We are offering a wide variety of perks in exchange for your help (just look at the right side of this page). We think these perks are great (not many crowdfunded films can invite you to a whisky master class with the makers themselves). We hope you think they’re great as well, but the real reward for all of us, no matter the level of support, is helping to create a truly immersive look into the world of Scotch Whisky in a film crafted with the same level of passion and attention to detail as the distillers we are featuring.
For every $100 you give us, we can rent a motion-controlled slider for another day. It’s responsible for shots like these.
For every $500, we can hire a drone pilot for another day to get shots like this.
For every $2500, we can add an extra day to our shoot, allowing us to tell one more facet of the story.
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And now for the perks themselves:
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Inner Circle Bonus Perks
Any contributions at or above $2500 will earn you a spot on our Production Team and get you access to special exclusive bonus perks.*
- Invitation to set during our shoot in Scotland where we will provide unique experiences and exclusive tastings, both on set and in the distilleries themselves.**
- A invitation to a VIP party before our premiere and the chance to sample very rare and exclusive whiskies.
- An invitation to return with us to the 2019 Islay Festival.
*Excludes transportation and lodging.
**Access to some sets will be limited.
NOTE: You don't have to select a perk to donate to our campaign. You can donate any amount you would like by clicking the "Back It" button at the top of the page.
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Independent films are subject to various forms of risk. The motion picture industry is highly unpredictable. The producers recognize those risks and will take all reasonable measure to mitigate them.
Flexible Funding
Seeing Flexible Funding can be a red flag to many donors, especially those able to give larger gifts. It’s understandable, as it begs the question, “Well, what if you don’t raise enough money? Have I thrown my hard-earned cash? I could have gotten a Bruichladdich Black Art? Or a Macallan Sherry Oak 30!”
Allow us to explain.
We have a story that deserves and demands a certain production value, but we also have a kernel at the heart of that story that can be captured and stored while we work on the rest. If we reach a very modest goal, we can afford to conduct the 3-4 main interviews that we’ll need. We will then use that footage as an appeal to get more funding to shoot the rest. The producers do not anticipate that happening; however, it is a firewall against a total stoppage.
The reaction to our project in the whisky industry has been staggering in its embrace. We know that we’re on to something.
We're asking for numbers we believe we can achieve. We have budgets for more, and we really want to hit our stretch goals because we want to shoot footage of coopers toasting barrels (Google it. Trust us), but we know how to scale down as well as up.
Our production team is experienced and very focused. Check us out. We know what we’re doing. Backers donate to projects, but it's the people and ideas behind the projects that really inspire generous giving. We're fiercely loyal and honest. We set high but achievable expectations and, you know what, we have a damn good story to tell. And we know the way to tell it. We believe that our plan and our trailer speak to that. You’re in good hands. And, if you contribute enough, you can come along and watch.
Cost overruns
The cost of developing and producing motion pictures is occasionally underestimated and may be increased by reasons or factors beyond the control of the producers. Such factors may include weather conditions, illness or death of technical and artistic personnel, artistic requirements, labor disputes, governmental regulations, equipment breakdowns, and other production disruptions. Thus, the risk of a film running over budget is always significant and may have a substantial adverse impact on the schedule and budget of the picture or even its completion.
The producers will diligently attempt to control costs and expenses by engaging development and production personnel who have demonstrated an ability to complete assigned responsibilities within budget. Furthermore, the producers will adhere to a strict policy of spending funds only as required to complete the movie and will use their best efforts to complete the project on time and within budget. The producers will keep detailed records of all financial transactions.
Story alteration
There is no guarantee that the story as presented for review at the time investments are solicited will be exactly the story depicted in the completed film. Availability of the intended subjects can impact production. As production unfolds, it may be necessary to make changes to the story and script at the discretion of the filmmakers.
The producers will attempt to minimize the number of changes made during production and will make every effort to ensure that any changes to not negatively affect the quality or marketability of the film.
Development and production risks
Particularly as developed and produced by independent filmmakers, each motion picture is a separate business venture with its own management, employees and equipment, and its own budgetary requirements. There are substantial risks associated with film development and production, including death or disability of key personnel, other factors causing delays, destruction or malfunction of sets or equipment, the inability of personnel to comply with budgetary or scheduling requirements, and physical destruction or damage to the films themselves. Significant difficulties such as these may materially increase the cost of development or production or may cause the entire project to be abandoned.!
The management and creative teams are highly experienced and will follow standard procedures and implement numerous safeguards to minimize this risk, including the procurement of production insurance.
If you've made it this far, you deserve a toast on us! Come to one of our events and we'll toast in your honor.