Hello! Thanks so much for your patience and support. I've been working hard to get the film ready for the next steps. From here on out, I'll be adding updates to this private investors' blog and will notify you via email.
This post will briefly cover six topics: 1. the sizzle reel, 2. how the investment was spent, 3. our current status, 4. next steps along with a rough timeline, 5. our new poster artist and 6. clips from the film.
1. THE SIZZLE REEL - This 2-minute sizzle reel is not a trailer but was created to give you, the investors, a taste of the film. It will also be used as a tool to raise finishing funds. We have not done any post-sound work so the production audio won't sound polished.
2. THE INVESTMENT - By May 31st, 2019, a total of $75,000 was invested into the NEMESIS, LLC bank account for principal photography. We shot the film in 11 days- June 9th to the 20th. In broad strokes, this is how it was spent:
$27,650.00: Production Crew Salaries
$11,000.00: On-Screen Talent Salaries
$16,584.20: Location Fees, Transportation, Trucks, Accommodations & Insurance
$4,500.00: Art Department, Props, Special Effects Purchases & Rentals
$12,000.00: Equipment Rentals including Camera, Lighting, Grip & Radios
$3,200.00: Craft Services & Catering
Total Spent: $74,934.20
Investors are welcome to inspect the details of the budget as every penny is accounted for.
3. CURRENT STATUS - From August until December 2019, the film was synchronized and five cuts were completed. I've stepped away from editing the film for a couple of weeks so I can put fresh eyes on it next week.
4. NEXT STEPS - Currently, I am auditioning actors for the off-screen roles (the people Winters listens to) and the poster is being designed (more on this in a bit). Here is a rough timeline but dates are fluid and will probably shift:
February: Add off-camera temp tracks to the cut and submit film for musical score and sound design
February thru March: Raise finishing funds
April 1 - 15: Pickup shots for the film & visual effects
April thru May: Post-sound, color grading & final master plus deliverables
Aiming for completion by or before June.
This is what finishing funds will be used for. The " ~ " indicates an approximate quote based on conversations with vendors while the others are exact quotes.
~ $10,000 to $15,000: Post Sound Mixing, ADR & Final Deliverables
$3,200: Musical Score & Sound Design
~ $2,000: Visual Effects
$3,500: Color Grading
~ $2,000: Pick Up Shots
5. POSTER ARTIST - This is exciting news! Poster art for films are so crucial because of the role it plays convincing audiences to buy tickets / rent / buy. We managed to score Christopher Shy, who created the poster for Nicolas Cage's hit movie, Mandy, as well as many others, to create our poster. His clients include AMC, Marvel, Paramount among others and his work often goes viral (that's how I found him) and popular high-traffic niche websites, such as BloodyDisgusting.com, write about his new art whenever it's released. His website is studioronin.com if you'd like to learn more about him.
6. CLIPS - Finally, here are some clips from the film. Remember, the sound is raw and unsweetened. In some cases, we'll need to re-record with the actors in the studio. This is very common. Also, with the exception of the piano player, all the music and sound effects are temp tracks.
At the start of the film, a mysterious little boy is found wandering the desert clutching a seashell. Here's a portion of this scene and a bit of what follows....
Winters, now an adult, is a shut-in and suffers from intense fear of leaving his apartment. He copes by having his neighbors' apartments wiretapped (by Leonard, the maintenance man) and spies on someone in the house next to his building. (*note: we haven't added the voice to the speaker which also serves an alarm yet).
Winters' next door neighbor is abusive towards his girlfriend so Winters listens to a piano player, whose apartment he has tapped, to drown out the noise. One night, he awakens from a nightmare to a mysterious sound....
Alan, Winters' adopted dad, is resentful toward him and decides to cut ties but Winters needs a favor first...
Winters uses Ella, his voice controlled speaker, to communicate to the outside world (Ella's voice will be added later). Here, he interrogates a mysterious client who has hired him to record a sound which unexpectedly induces an altered state of consciousness.
In a flashback, we see how Winters came to be adopted into Alan's household.
After severing ties with Winters, Alan receives a phone call informing him that he may be in trouble. Now he is "far away" during an important meeting.
Winters best friend in the building is Leonard, the building maintenance man. Leonard is special needs, incredibly gifted and may be hiding a secret.
Alan begins to suspect that Winters may not be crazy after all but wants to verify this by visiting someone from Winters' past inside an asylum.
In Act 3, Winters is finally able to leave his apartment, under severe emotional strain, to go where he is being led- the killing house where he was held captive as a boy.
THANKS SO MUCH for everything and I'll notify you via email when there are more updates. And, please, feel free to check in if you're curious about anything.
-Adrian