Journey Across America: Independent Film Project

50 States: One Vision – Join this cinematic journey for just $5!

Welcome to a project unlike any other. I’m embarking on an ambitious solo film series production, traveling to all 50 U.S. states over multiple years, and creating stunning, artful films that capture the essence of each state, in a way you've never seen before. Imagine if Terrence Malick (Badlands, Tree of Life), Stanley Kubrick (2001, The Shining), Godfrey Reggio (Koyaanisqatsi), or Christopher Nolan (Interstellar, Oppenheimer) had a hand in making David Attenborough's Planet Earth. Imagine if Ansel Adams had made motion pictures of America's beauty instead of still photography. Imagine a man, alone on the long roads of America, following years of research and his instincts, with his cutting-edge filmmaking equipment (and his newly formed LLC to boot) capturing everything that makes these lands unique and special on this planet. That is what this project will be and I invite you (and your friends) to join me on it... All for the price of a good cup of coffee...

This project is currently 100% independent - with no major sponsors or corporate backing - just pure, uncompromised filmmaking by me, on roads across our beautiful country, capturing everything I can that I find beauty in. Think if each state had its own IMAX film, showing off countless wonderful and nuanced aspects that make every state unique with the consistency and continuity of a sole, experienced experimental film director and cinematographer. They will be meditative and staggeringly detailed compositions, rivaling fine art photography. Some moments may be experimental, but all of it will be captivating. This level of scale and independence means I need your help to make this happen at the ambitious cinematic presence required. And the more that join in the funding, the bigger, deeper, and grander the whole project will become!

Why Fund This?

️A True Film Experience - Funded by many, made for all - These will not be vlogs or travel documentaries, and they certainly won't be about me: They will be carefully crafted cinematic films created by a seasoned professional, award-winning* storyteller, filmmaker, and photographer - shot for the big screen. The beautiful environments of each state will be the star of the show! (*2020 Emmy Award for Director - "The New North Pole of the Winds")

️High-Quality Home Viewing for Funders - This project will take many years and films will be released as production continues on others. After each film is complete, I will submit them to film festivals around the world. At the same time it premieres at a festival, everyone who helped fund this project will get to watch the film in stunning 4k+ quality from home (via a link provided to you at that time). You could watch them on your phone, but they will look spectacular on the largest screens (and speakers) you can get your hands on. If you live close to one of the theater screenings, I'll pay your way into it, and if the scale of this goes completely bonkers, I will take the films on the road for screenings, screening a few states at a time, but that's getting ahead of myself! Now, this is where this gets wild: This premiere/release process will happen fifty times - one for each state. I am expecting to have a few released per year after production is going for a while.

State-of-the-Art Equipment - This journey will take years, and to ensure the films are as breathtaking at the start as they are at the finish, I need to invest in high-quality camera systems and amazing lenses from day one, and rentals won't do. You have to own the equipment to make this work. This isn’t just about documenting a trip - this is about creating timeless cinema that our country and environments deserve. This futureproofing is also required as each state will be visited multiple times and everything needs to be very consistent. I have done what I can in terms of selling gear and saving but this is where crowdfunding is required to make this happen. Funding will directly go to the required necessities for this mission: 8K+ cameras, large format lenses, equipment, a hearty production van, gas, insurance, film festival fees, etc... (For the camera/cine nerds, I will be sharing so much technical info about the production as it happens. You will absolutely learn something!)

A Fully Solo & Pro Production - I’ll be driving to every location myself, immersing myself in each community and environment along the way. No crew, no distractions - just me, my vehicle, and my cameras; capturing the raw essence of America in a way no traditional production ever could. This will take a lot of time, energy, and resources but driving is a required tenet of the project. I need to see the place, feel it... And I will have to visit each state a few times to capture the reality of a place. Sometimes it will be passing through on my way somewhere else, sometimes it will be staying for a week or more, just exploring and filming. (I have done the math though: each long-form faraway trip will cost at minimum around $5,000 and my hope is to do at least two big ones and three small ones per year) There is no such thing as a flyover state here. Your state will be as important and as represented as beautifully as possible, just like all 49 others. I have even started an LLC to legitimize this production. It is called Avocet Films and will act as the production company and distributor of this multi-year, fifty-film project. (more about Avocet at the very bottom)

A Community-Funded Dream – The more people who join us, the less each person has to contribute to make this amazing production possible. If thousands (or tens of thousands! or hundreds of thousands!) chip in a small amount, this project becomes astoundingly profound, rivaling what massively funded productions could attain and changing the direction of my career in a very major way. (The overall GoFundMe goal will slide upwards over time to reflect the growth of the project and this GFM will essentially act as a savings account for the LLC over the production.)

More Support = Higher Quality – The bigger this scales, the bigger the films become. More funding enhances every single aspect of it - from Oscar-worthy cameras and lenses to much more time spent in each location, allowing me to craft something truly extraordinary.

Why I’m Doing This Alone

This is my dream and vision - no compromises, no design-by-committee, no one else deciding what gets shot or included in the final films. This is about seeing and documenting America through my eyes, body, and soul. Not only will the films be fully created by me, but also the field recording and sound design, and each film will have a soundtrack written for it. I am also a musician but have also had fun collaborating with fantastic, award-winning musicians in my previous documentaries. I will be doing something like that again too! You will be able to follow along in the production through updates via a Substack page, which by donating here, you will get into that for free for the duration of the entire project.

Outcomes and Final Products

All fifty states will each have a film that is at least 30 minutes long (with no maximum length set) that will be shared with all funders when complete. I am hopeful that some of the films/states will be able to be shown on network TV / PBS / or a streaming service. Those conversations are long ones though, and I have to have some done to get that going. Each state and/or region will also have a book of photography created that will be available for purchase and will include behind-the-scenes shots, notes, fine art level photography, and hopefully a physical media version of the final film in the back sleeve. Those books will assist in funding future portions of the production. (Exclusive high-level donors of $10,000 or more will receive signed copies of all of the books plus gallery-quality photo prints, etc)

How You Can Help

✅ Donate any amount you can, especially if it's the minimum of $5 on GoFundMe (just get your friends to as well). Literally every single dollar counts and will make this vision turn into reality! Every person who donates to this GoFundMe will receive access to that paywalled production site, downloads to all of the finished films, and also a download to an exclusive EP of my music that will be released in late spring 2025. It will only be available here.

✅ Share this campaign far and wide with as many people as you can. The more people who see it, the bigger this becomes. Even if you can’t donate, please consider sharing it with a few (or a lot) of friends. The wider the reach, the easier this becomes to fund well. Each share spreads the word further and further and increases the chances of fully crowdfunding this project to a really grand level.

✅ Be part of something rare - and for a bit more - be a Producer. Funding at $500 or more will include your name in the credits of all 50 films. Imagine that though; by donating $500, your name across silver screens all over the world, annually, in 50 different films. That's only $10 a film!

Donating $1,000 will count you as a “Producer” in the credits. $5,000 or more will get you a limited “Executive Producer” status and will get you early access to material and an exclusive license to use all of the raw material in your productions (the shots, the soundtracks, field recordings - everything. A contract will be sent to make this legally binding.)

This is an ambitious project but with a high level of funding, is completely attainable to me. My past work speaks for itself in terms of scope, scale, and execution. It will be an enjoyable and life-changing production that will keep me busy for many years and with your help, you will be along for the ride in multiple ways. It's important to me for you to get to see as much as you want to see in this process. I’m setting out to create something timeless, cinematic, and completely original and funded by all of us together!

Please donate and share widely today to help make this vision a reality! Thank you for considering (and reading all the way to the end!)

((Bio & About Me))

Sean Curtis Patrick (b.1984) is an Emmy Award-winning experimental and documentary filmmaker, photographer, composer, explorer, and artist. He began photography at the age of six at a summer camp and has never looked back. He is formally trained with a Bachelor of Science from Northern Michigan University and has had an illustrious career at academic institutions ever since. He has worked at the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, The University of Michigan, and is currently at Western Washington University. He has also worked for private ad agencies and had Fortune 500 clients through that work. His music has been released on multiple international record labels, and he has collaborated with many influential electronic artists for the last twenty years. Sean’s music tends to be instrumental, textural, and emotive, recalling some of the barren landscapes he has explored. Sean published his first photography book in September of 2024. He lives in Bellingham, WA with his fiancée and their numerous pets.

((About Avocet Films))

Avocet Films LLC is an independent film production company founded by Sean Curtis Patrick and was created solely for this multi-year production. Avocet will create compelling cinematic works that challenge the status quo and push creative boundaries in environmental visuals and storytelling, using cutting-edge technology and techniques. This newly formed LLC is driven by a commitment to artistic integrity, the highest possible quality imagery, and forging new paths in landscape and environmental filmmaking.