Indiegogo: An International Crowdfunding Platform to Raise Money

20120815093456-304519_10150997925228218_907830934_n

Synchronicity - A short film

An Anglo-American love story about a writer from London who meets a singer from New York and then tells his therapist the whole story.

Film – London, United Kingdom

Synchronicity (sɪŋ.krəˈnɪs.ɪ.ti) noun

1 -The simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.

2 - A short film that needs your help to get finished. 

WHAT'S THE STORY?   

Synchronicity follows Louis, a heart broken English writer, when he goes for a walk in Hyde Park on the first day of Spring. There, in the Italian Garden, he meets Ella, a beautiful American singer, who persuades him, first to roll her a cigarette, and then to make her portrait. It is during this intimate exchange that they discover how much they have in common, and they begin to fall in love. 

When they are interrupted by photographer Frank, who assumes that they are an existing couple, they pose for a photograph and are encouraged to share their first kiss. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and then when Ella's ex-fiance arrives, and virtually drags her away with him, Louis is left wondering if he will ever see the gorgeous Ella again.   

This romantic tale is presented through the prism of Louis' therapy sessions with Jonathan - his wise and patient counselor. Here the story is related, analysed and deconstructed, and together, they make connections between what happened with Ella, the death of Louis' mother and the meaning of dreams. 

HANG ON, IS THIS A SHORT FILM OR A FEATURE?

Synchronicity is a long-form short film - which will run at thirty minutes. This is (not coincidentally) a good length for a TV pilot, and there is potential that - if it does well at festivals - it could be developed further - either into a full length feature film or a series for television.

INTERESTING. TELL ME MORE...

Sources of inspiration include, amongst other things, Woody Allen's Annie Hall and Manhattan, Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes, Howl, Withnail and I, The Sopranos, In Treatment, the films of Richard Curtis, the plays of Anton Chekhov, the writings of Carl Jung, The Catcher in the Rye - and the duets of Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong.

For more information on the project - and to keep up to date with it's progress - you can like the facebook page here: 

https://www.facebook.com/synchronicity.film

WHO IS ALREADY ON THE TEAM?

Cast:

Ben Aldridge - Fred - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3198781/

Gary Condes - Frank - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1212698/

Ty Glaser - Ella - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1617640/

Fraser Kelly - Jim - http://www.redhotentertainment.biz/home/?cat=14

Alex Marx - Louis  - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3554781/

Anthony Strong - Himself - http://www.anthonystrong.co.uk/

Jonathan (the therapist) - still to be cast... Details coming soon!

Crew:

Gareth Munden - Director of Photography - www.garethmunden.co.uk

James Hills - 1st Assistant Camera - http://jameshills.co.uk

Asteriks - Sound recordist - https://vimeo.com/32520967

Camille Gaultier - 1st Assistant Director 

Joe Henderson - 2nd Assistant Camera 

Simon Mills - Gaffer

Sonya Hallet - Spark

Pauline Sampeur - Script Supervisor - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4043407/

Vicki Stevenson - Art Director - http://www.vickistevenson.co.uk/

Hayley Campbell - Make Up - http://hayleycampbell.co.uk

Susan Kulkarni - Costume Supervisor - http://www.susankulkarni.co.uk/

Flo Reekie - Production Assistant

Grace Viccary - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4909109/

Sylvain Cruiziat - Runner - https://vimeo.com/sylvaincruiziat

Hassan Alsekafi - BTS photographer - http://www.odysseystudios.co.uk

Gary Latham - BTS photographer - http://www.garylatham.co.uk/

Katie Piesnarski - Post Production Supervisor

Troy Mercury  - Editor - http://www.troymercury.com/

WANT TO JOIN THE TEAM?

We have a cast and crew of 25 people and over 80 contributors - meaning that our team already numbers well over 100 people! Which is amazing! Want to help but can't afford to contribute? Maybe you want to join the crew? Have you always wanted to be a runner? Or to be a supporting artist in a film? Want to design the movie poster? Or the website? Can you code? Are you a social media guru? Do you want to cater the shoot? If you think you might be able to help in any way and you want to join the team then please get in touch via Indiegogo or Facebook! The more the merrier! 

SOME FAQ:

WHY IS THE SYNCHRONICITY TEAM FUNDING ON INDIEGOGO?

We need money to finish our film. We need small amounts of money for coffee and biscuits for the crew, and we need large amounts of money to pay for equipment hire and insurance. But we aren't just on here for the cash. We also want to find and build our audience, and to engage them with the process of what we hope will be an entertaining and meaningful film. So far, the film has been funded by the director, Alex, waiting tables full-time, sleeping on coaches and eating less food! He also borrowed money from his brother - which he needs to pay back... Film making is not cheap and we can't do it without your help!

WHEN I CONTRIBUTE DOES IT HAVE TO BE PUBLIC?

No. You can choose whether to make your identity and pledge size visible. If you prefer you can make a pledge anonymously - or just hide the amount that you have pledged. 

CAN I GIVE MY PERK AS A GIFT?

Sure. If you want to make a contribution on someone else's behalf then we will contact YOU to get the details of where to send THEIR information - so that THEY can claim their perk!

CAN I CHANGE MY PLEDGE ONCE I HAVE MADE IT?

Certainly. Once you have contributed to the campaign you might want to change your perk - or increase your contribution. All you have to do is sign in to Indiegogo and click on the red "Contribute Now" button to change your perk or your pledge size. 

I'M NOT IN THE USA. CAN I STILL PLEDGE? 

Absolutely. You can make a pledge from anywhere in the world and IGG will do the conversion into whatever the equivalent amount is in your currency. Synchronicity has already received contributions from the USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Poland, Australia, India, China and Japan!

WHERE DOES THE FUNDING GO? 

We are looking to raise $15,000 (we will get just under £9,000) in order to complete the film and get it seen. This will go towards:

Camera hire - We are shooting the film on the Arri Alexa (the best digital camera in the world) so this is by far the most expensive part of the process. 

Other equipment hire - Lenses, lights, dollies, monitors, gels, stands, microphones, sandbags (yes really) - as well as a van to truck them all around in. 

Comprehensive insurance for all of the above - http://www.essexinsurancebrokers.com/film-and-arts-insurance

Cast and crew payment / Expenses - At the very least I want to be able to pay everyone back for their travel expenses and coffee costs. I have worked on too many projects where I have lost money - and it isn't fair. 

Catering - Enough nice food to feed 20 people WELL for three days.

Post production - Delivery of the film for editing, grading and sound design - which will all take place at Jump - http://www.nycjump.com/

Studio time - for recording the soundtrack with Anthony Strong - http://www.anthonystrong.co.uk/

Venue Hire - for screenings.

Film Festival Submissions - We would like to submit to at least twenty major international film festivals. If the film does well at the festivals then it has the potential to be picked up by a distributor and exhibited at cinemas and on the television.   

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE EXCEED OUR TARGET? 

If we raise more than our target then the extra money will go towards increasing the production value of the film with additional shoot days - giving us more time to shoot pick ups, cut aways, and city scenes. It will also allow us to have richer orchestration in the soundtrack. And enable us to build a website for the project. If we raise lots more than our target we can afford to pay our cast and crew more - and throw them (and you) an amazing party! 

Team on This Campaign: