Food for Fools - Our Thesis Film
My name is Zaque and my great friend Chris and I are now in the production term, of a three-part Thesis Film class. This crowd-fundraiser is urgent as we begin filming on Friday June 11th!!!
Many of you met me through my work on the YouTube adventure series, The Rolling Bard. Chris has been making films for years before deciding to formalize and expand his film education. He’s a very talented cinematographer and I enjoy writing, directing, and editing!
Chris and I decided to partner up and co-own our final thesis project and we are fiercely proud of what we are about to make.
Here’s a snapshot of what the film is about.
An 18-year-old girl named Iris reveals to her parents that she’s been secretly learning to cook and wants to be a chef. Adjusting their hopes of Iris becoming a doctor and going to Northwestern, her parents decide to give her a test. That very night, Iris must impress a couple of mystery judges by cooking them the meal of her life. If she is deemed worthy, she may avoid the drudgery of a traditional college track for a shot at her dream, attending Le Cordon Bleu in Paris! However, these nightmarish judges will not make things easy. I think of this film as a bit of a modern foodie fairy tale.
Our film, “Food for Fools” will cost $2,340 to pay and feed the actors. The promised rate is $150 per day, which is very much on the low end. Feeding the crew will cost about $700. As some crew members are spending huge amounts of time on this film, traveling far from their homes, and taking time off from their paying jobs, we would like to compensate them somewhat according to the level of their investment as well. That’s another $700. We still need to buy the food to be used in the film (it’s a foodie film), props, some wardrobe items, pay for everyone’s gas/transportation, and a couple hard drives (we’re filming this in 4k and will need LOTS of storage space). Our crowdfunding goal is $5,000. It probably should be higher, but I’ve got skin in the game too and I’m okay with that!
Making movies at this level can get to be expensive. We are doing everything in our power to achieve excellence at a low cost. Once the post process is complete, we have every intention of taking our film to film festivals around the country and even around the world. The final film will be an estimated 15-20 minutes and pulling this off for under 10k is considered a SUPER-low budget film. I’m approaching $2,000 of my own funds invested in this film and for weeks now, I’ve been maxed out on energy and time to pull this off.
As I’m doing everything in my power to make this film great, I feel comfortable asking for your help to make this film. It’s an insanely rich learning opportunity for Chris and me to take our skills to the next level. Once the film is in the film festival circuit, we will get the attention of other filmmakers, which will open the door for us to collaborate on other projects at even higher levels. This is what it’s all about!