The release of episode 1 went well. We've received a lot of positive feedback. And we're hoping take that momentum and keep pushing forward. If you haven't seen the episode yet, check it out.
The next step is to find funding for our next episode. Seeing as how that first episode broke me, I am hoping to raise enough money to be able to pay the actors this time around. That was part of the deal. The overall picture of what we want to do is establish Austin as a premiere spot for film makers. This is just the start. We are building toward providing consistent jobs for both talent and crew in the Austin area.
I worked in LA for a few years mostly in the sound department. Both on location and in post. But I missed Texas. The problem with LA is that there are jobs everywhere, they just don't pay much. The problem with Texas is that there are no jobs anywhere and when there are, they don't pay much if at all. I want to change that.
Making movies is expensive. There are a lot of people involved. Lots of crew and talent. This last episode we didn't have near the crew we should have. Our 1st AD was also our sound recordist and boom op. Our PA was also our 1st and 2nd AC and took on grip duties at times. We had our cinematographer and me, and that was our crew. 4 crew, 8 talent. And the main reason our crew was so small is because I could not afford to pay anyone. Which isn't right. After all, would you ask a construction worker to lay brick for free? Because it's going to be such a fun project? I wouldn't think so. And crew is very much a blue collar job don't let anyone tell you different.
I promised we wouldn't do another episode unless we could afford to pay everyone. Granted I am not expecting to be able to pay them well, but at least something for their troubles. This is just a stepping stone. And with every episode I am hoping to be able to pay a little more each time. So, really, the success of this series is gonna depend largely on our viewers and supporters of the growing film industry in Austin.
Enough rambling. Our next step is to get a kickstarter going and to film a little video for our kickstarter page. We will be shooting that this coming weekend. And should have a kickstarter up and running in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, Harry and I will be working toward getting the second episode written.
Remember to leave comments! Let us know what you think of the first episode. Who are your favorite characters? Which do you relate to the most? Let us know if this reminds you of any of your own LARPing experiences. Or if you know anybody just as dorky as our cast. Anything really, I get bored when there's no comments to read :P
