Hi! My name is Ryan Gross and I'm the writer/director/composer for this project, DRIVE.

Overview

I'm a senior film major at Messiah University who's looking to fund what can best be described as my current passion project. Over the last year, I've been developing this story for my senior film practicum, a class where you spend the whole year developing, filming, then finishing a short film.

What is DRIVE?

DRIVE is a psychological thriller about Leah, a young woman in the midst of running away when she gets caught up in a scheme involving her cab driver. This film draws inspiration from The Twilight Zone and its foreboding sense of mystery and tension. Over the course of a year, this story has been refined and polished into something I'm so excited to put to film. It's my most ambitious project yet. If all goes well, it will be released sometime in late spring of 2024.

Finances

In order to make this film possible, it will require a minimum budget of $2000. My assistant director and I settled on this number after looking into the props, new equipment, filming locations, gas, and numerous other miscellaneous expenses necessary to complete this project. Without these funds, DRIVE will simply not be able to be produced at this time.

Why now?

Right now is the perfect window of opportunity to make this film. Making this project while still in school means having access to prime film equipment, actors, crew, and more which immediately go away once I graduate. It would also look impressive to potential future employers to have this film on my resume and to have made it while I was still a student in college.

Benefits for donors

Any person who contributes any money to this project will have their name featured under a "special thanks" section in the end credits! (unless preferred otherwise).

Previous work

If you are curious to see any of my previous work, below are links to some projects I worked on in school (for class or recreation) in order from oldest to most recent works.

Brandy Music Video (Directed)- https://youtu.be/Vtdb1kwXofI

SIXER Project (Directed & Composed)- https://youtu.be/9361LXYxFGc

Banana (Wrote/Directed/Composed)- https://youtu.be/3dYIwuIy40Q

Bananas (Wrote/Directed/Composed)- https://youtu.be/Yg3PLTO5i18

Banana 3: The Final Stem (Wrote/Directed/Composed)- https://youtu.be/tYmeGeIhTuU

Alex Was Driving (Composed)- https://youtu.be/i3z5ZpLBggs

Stagnant (Wrote/Directed/Composed)- https://youtu.be/bkmaGzPIGe0

Closing

All my life, I have loved and deeply appreciated the art of storytelling. Every film I have made before this has prepared me to tackle this project which I never would have been able to make a couple of years ago. I trust in my ability to execute this idea aptly as long as I have the resources needed to make it happen. I hope you'll consider donating some funds to this project so that you can watch it come to life; any amount is so greatly appreciated!