Everyday Goddess

Five Long Weeks: The "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter Campaign

So the "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter Campaign didn't fund. It was an amazing experience and about a million times harder than I thought it would be even having done tons of research and prep work going in.

And it's interesting to me how when it was over, thinking about blogging it felt so similar to coming home from BlogHer, which I missed for the first time ever during the Kickstarter campaign. (Already planned to miss it, but the timing was challenging.) There's so much to say, and at the same time, I feel more motivated to move forward than to write up a recap.

In terms of "Missing Miranda," the team is getting together next week for a powwow. And I'm sure you'll hear from us again.

In terms of Kickstarter, I've got lessons and thoughts but when and if I decide to put that down, I don't know. Now when I read Kickstarter articles, I often feel like it's half a story. And I'm reminded of the saying that no one really knows anything in entertainment, really.

In terms of my directing, I have been wholly blessed this month. I was on set the day after the Kickstarter campaign ended shooting some scenes with the beautiful and talented Sasha Compère. I saw some of the cuts this past weekend, and I am so, so pleased with them. One of the scenes also features a radiant and hilarious Deborah Sanchez, and I can't wait to show them to you.

And the following weekend I was out with the team from an upcoming series WRNG, written by Greg Machlin and David Butler. Really enjoying working on my episode of this web series which is launching this fall. And really grateful to Greg Machlin and his whole team for all their hard work on this one. It's quite an undertaking!

So, post Kickstarter, I've been slowly but surely working through a long to do list of both personal and professional things that need to be gotten into hand. This blog post, for example. My kitchen. Is now clean. And my inbox is getting the "you're next" eye. So if I owe you something, it's coming. I'm getting there. Really looking forward to the three-day weekend, that's for sure!

And as always, I'm getting there with just a little more wisdom than I had five-ish weeks ago.

Jumping Into Crowdfunding with "Missing Miranda"

One of the things I've been working on since the beginning of the "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter Campaign was a blog post about the use of crowdfunding by female filmmakers. We created a variety of press releases with different angles, and being women, one of them was about that. But writing the actual piece, when given the opportunity, proved to be difficult for your favorite personal Bloggy McBloggerston blogger, and so here I am in my own space again.

To research women’s use of crowdfunding to fund narrative feature films is to jump into a pond of awesome. Indeed, my first exposure to feature film crowdfunding was Jocelyn Towne’s project on Kickstarter, “I Am I.” To this day, I haven’t seen a Kickstarter video that I’ve enjoyed more, and they successfully funded at an impressive $111,965.

It’s rather overwhelming, the amount of awesome, and as sat down to write a piece about women and crowdfunding I found myself wondering what else I could possibly say that hasn’t already been said in this fabulous Indiewire post by director Lydia Dean Pilcher: Trumping The Industry with Kickstarter: Women Support Women To Get Movies Made And Seen. Her Kickstarter campaign for “The Sisterhood of Night” just successfully funded at $136,342.

Narrative film projects seeking crowdfunding come in all budgets and genres. Well, all budgets under $150K anyway.

Mosquita y Mari by Aurora Guerrero funded at $82,468.

Strutter by Allison Anders funded at $19,877.

Bread and Butter The Movie by Liz Manashil funded at $36,575.

Suburban Turban by Arun Vir is at $3,159 of $100,001 in a campaign that ends on October 9. (Check this one out; their video is hilarious.)

And I found a variety of narrative feature film projects that obtained funding for various stages of production.

Preproduction:

Mickey Michelle by Bob Gilman and Susan Gilman funded at 11,875.

My Best Day by Erin Greenwell funded at $16,794.

Post Production:

Pariah by Dee Rees funded at $11,011.

Nothing Special by Angela Garcia Combs funded at $32,003.

To be honest, compiling this list of female-driven crowdfunding campaigns left me feeling incredibly uncool. So many amazing projects and such great campaigns to review (and re-review) during the middle of my own ambitious Kickstarter campaign for “Missing Miranda.” For new readers, "Missing MIranda" is a fun romantic comedy written by producer/actress Deborah Sanchez. It centers on a waitress with aspirations of becoming a fashion designer and an architect under the thumb of his demanding boss. They meet, connect, lose each other, and through the mysteries of fate, meet again, as they start on the paths they were both meant to travel. It’s a great little film, with a great cast and crew, that would be super fun to shoot. I dream about showcasing east and downtown L.A., where my heart lives, and I want to make a film where the characters and the situations make sense in our modern world. After all, so much has changed, and yet so much about finding yourself in your 20s remains the same. There's a lot of love and a lot to laugh about.

I love “Missing Miranda” so it’s been difficult to watch our campaign struggle to get traction. Our funding goal is $65K, and with 8 days to go, we’re at 1,760 likes, but only $14,806. It’s tricky, $65K. I find myself wishing our goal was in the $30K range, but I couldn’t shoot and finish “Missing Miranda” for that amount, particularly after fees and taxes. The film has a large cast and many locations. And something that would definitely be worse than a Kickstarter campaign that didn’t make its goal, would be making a goal that doesn’t cover the cost of the film and joining the ranks of people who haven’t finished their projects and haven’t delivered their rewards.

That was an unacceptable option to me, so $65K it had to be. For our campaign we shot five character vignette videos so we would have content to release each week. This has been brilliant. It gave the team a chance to work together, and I love how the vignettes came out. And we’ve been giving our backers an exclusive first look at our character vignettes throughout our campaign. You can see all of our videos on the "Missing Miranda" YouTube page. As I write this, our last vignette, "The Proposal", is available to backers-only, and a pledge of $1 or more will get you there! So please support "Missing Miranda" today.

Here's our fouth character vignette, "The Planner" starring Jlynn Johnson:

With 8 days to go, the “Missing Miranda” Kickstarter campaign is still pushing forward. We’ve reached out to companies about product placement. We’ve shot and posted a few new videos, 'Favorite Moments in "Missing Miranda"' and '"Missing Miranda" stars ask "What's Your Favorite Romantic Comedy?"'. And we’re continuing to message every one we know - something that takes an extraordinary longer time than I expected!

We’ve got a great screenplay, a fun project and a solid campaign, and since I’m a filmmaker I’m used to believing in magic. It always happens one way or another.

The amazing thing about crowdfunding is it does give an independent filmmaker of any stripe a funding platform to try that wasn’t there before. A way to take a project out and see if it floats.

It’s a totally fun adventure when it’s not kicking your ass. And the good news is, after you’ve survived the crowdfunding experience, a micro-budget feature production is definitely going to be the easy part. OK, maybe not, but you’ll be there doing it, and I don’t know about you, but for me, any day you get up to make a movie is a good day indeed.

~

"Missing Miranda" Press Roundup

BIG MONEY, LITTLE FILM - Film Courage

Cutting Room Floor EP. 213 - Casey Ryan

Independent film projects have local ties - Gainesville.com, Scene

I get a kick out of Kickstarter - KCRW, Matt's Movies

UF alumni to produce feature film in Los Angeles -UF College of Fine Arts, The Loop News

Missing Miranda – your chance to be a part of movie history - Adam Heath Avitable

Missing Miranda - Adrianne's House

Several Things - Sarah and the Goon Squad

Missing Miranda Film - Kickstarter Campaign - Create Video Notebook

Average Jane Has Some Really Cool Friends - Average Jane

"Missing Miranda" stars ask, "What's your favorite romantic comedy?"

I dusted off my Final Cut Express for The Missing Miranda Kickstarter campaign. First I cut together a video of the cast and producers talking about their favorite moments in "Missing Miranda", and then last weekend I cut together this fun video of stars Deborah Sanchez, Joey Hunt, and Sasha Compère asking people about romantic comedies. I dare you to watch it without smiling:

Two things have happened in terms of my editing skills. One, if I ever had any doubt that the editor to directing path was not an option for me, it is gone. Two, I FINALLY developed a workable work flow between the Flip HD Camera and Final Cut Express. So that only took three years.

Also, I'm kinda in love with the Good Luck Chuck guy in this video. He looks like the kinda guy who would love that you're cold when it's 71 degrees out.

What's YOUR favorite romantic comedy?

Win a $500 Spafinder gift certificate from Dove® VisibleCare™ Toning Crème Body Wash with NutriumMoisture™

Let's talk a moment to consider the absurdity of reviewing Dove body wash in the middle of the "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter campaign. Things have been very intense in my world, and very busy - It turns out that it takes an extraordinary amount of time to individually email almost everyone you know! Who knew?

Last weekend, we were determined to hit $10K. I took a day off from my day-job and sat working at my computer for most of my three-day weekend. It paid off - the "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter campaign passed $10K in pledges - but the last thing I wanted to do was stop to bathe. Yes, I'll admit it. Sans a Dove body wash review due this week, I would probably not have showered for three days. I'm not proud. But I am determined!

So the magic here is, it turned out to be completely BRILLIANT that I wanted to use my Dove® VisibleCare™ Renewing Crème Body Wash every day so I could fairly review it, because it got me not only in the shower every day, but in the shower with a luxurious body wash that I wanted to use all over my body with a pouf. (I totally just got the word "pouf" from the back of the bottle. I don't usually use mine, but being a woman I occasionally receive them as gifts. And I do know enough to know that body wash is best apply with a pouf.)

There are three different varieties of the Dove VisibleCare Body Wash. Toning, renewing, and softening. I was pleased to receive Renewing Crème Body Wash, because that's the one I would have picked. It's designed to nourish and replenish skin and has a "fruity floral fragrance" of pink mimosa and pomegranate. I very much enjoyed the texture and scent of it, which means it wasn't too perfume-y. And it's quickly become my new escape - a few extra minutes of creamy luxury in the bath. It turns the water a fabulous shade of blue-green, and it was a really nice escape that left me renewed and ready to get back at it.

So, you may have guessed that I'm not a regular body wash/shower gel kinda girl. I usually use a special cleansing bar, and I will be going back to using that on my back. My back is rather ridiculously sensitive. It's like my body has its own practical joke going. My hair requires tons of moisture, but if any of that moisture touches my back for any amount of time: break out. Such fun. So, my picky back didn't like the Dove body wash.

But the rest of me is in love. Feet and legs in particular. The Dove® VisibleCare™ Toning Crème Body Wash line has the highest concentration of NutriumMoisture technology of all the Dove products, and it's meant to give you softer, smoother skin in one week and visibly more beautiful skin within three weeks. In terms of a review, that's a tough one. My skin's normally pretty soft and smooth, and I'm not sure if there's a visible difference after one week. But, I will say that I've been wearing a lot of skirts and open-toed shoes lately, and I've found myself feeling better about my legs. So, I do think there's something subtle going on with that. My feet, in particular, sometimes get dry, and they are fabulous right now. Visibly more beautiful skin from a body wash? It would seem that my legs and feet agree.

I'm definitely going to continue my new body wash ritual, and I'm looking forward to more summer, and more skirts and open-toed shoes. What's your favorite way to prep for summer looks? Personally, I am a HUGE pedicure lover. Give me foot pampering over a massage any day. What about you?

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What's so special about "Missing Miranda"?

You make a film to distract people, to interest them, perhaps to make them think, perhaps to help them be a little less naive, a little better than they were." - Claude Chabrol

I'm supposed to be an auteur. At the very least, a writer/director.

Or maybe I should direct more commercials and music videos. I'm working on that one.

But what I mean to say is, if I want to be a director in this town, as someone not from here with few connections and no money, I really should be a writer/director. I should be creating incredible content that I can't be removed from, meaning pieces that I wrote myself.

Except, I hate screenwriting. And I love funny, shiny films. Sure, "Hollywood" puts out a lot of crap, but they put out a lot of fun, shiny films, too. I've got no problem with "Hollywood." I just can't write it.

Or much of anything in terms of screenplay, really. I adore adaptation, but with a full-time job, if I spent my second job time writing adapation I'd be a writer, not a director. I know, because I've spent years trying to write something. And I didn't do much directing in those years.

So as a director, I read a lot of screenplays. You know why "Hollywood" makes so much crap? Because almost every screenplay you read isn't very good. It took a LONG time, but I'm finally getting to a place where I'm attracting good writers and great projects. And one of those projects is "Missing Miranda." (Did you hear? "Missing Miranda" has a little Kickstarter campaign going on.)

My passion, as a director, is jumping into other people's words and working with actors and this project has that in spades. Check out our third "Missing Miranda" character vignette video that we shot for our Kickstarter campaign, starring writer/producer/actress Deborah Sanchez:

"Missing Miranda" is smart and funny. And it has a lot of room for creativity in the shooting. I want to showcase downtown L.A. and East L.A., where my heart lives. I want to have a sense of motion, of young people living fast lives that are connected by technology. I want to make a funny, shiny little film where the characters and the situations make sense in our modern world.

This weekend, the "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter team is pushing hard to break $10K. And what I want you to know - besides the fact that even a $1 pledge helps us TREMENDOUSLY - is that this is a great, little film that we are going to make a pure delight.

I took Friday off from work last week to dust off my Final Cut Express skills. I wanted our cast and producers to share with you their favorite scenes in "Missing Miranda" (spoiler alert!). Check it out, and please pledge today if you can. Thank you.

Can Kickstarter Save The Romantic Comedy?

The gateway drug was John Hughes, and "When Harry Met Sally..." was the hard stuff. When I fell for romantic comedy, I fell hard. To this day, my favorite film is "L.A. Story." And anything British starring Hugh Grant. No film open will ever top "Four Weddings and A Funeral" for me.

OK, maybe The Matrix, but that's a whole 'nother post.

But in recent years, many romantic comedies have lacked a sense of the zeitgeist, I think. They often don't seem to be about people and situations today. They often aren't smart enough or real enough to hit my sweet spot. Sometimes it feels like it's still 1980, except it's not and I don't know those people anymore.

Maybe it's that the films got too big. Big stars. Big hook concepts.

Romantic comedies are like the personal blogs of the movies. They shine when they say something authentic and real about love, and about us. A great romantic comedy is less about concept and more about story. And when it's funny, it's 'cause it's true.

The jury is still out, I think, on whether Kickstarter is a viable way on a wider scale for feature film funding at the micro level (under $100K). In a field that's getting ever more crowded, it's hard to get attention and rise to the top without the old standbys of named talent and a concept hook. So we're just where we ever were.

But to the extent that Kickstarter does allow an indie filmmaker to give it a go, and get a project out there, I think that hope prevails. And for me personally, that hope manifests in a dream of romantic comedies that show the diversity and intelligence of today's people and the world they live in.

Recent interesting romantic comedy projects I've spotted include "The Adventures of Paul and Marian" and "E Ticket Ride." These were projects seeking funding under $20K, but more recently Bread and Butter The Movie launched a fun and impressive Kickstarter campaign with a $35K goal. That campaign still needs about $15,000 more to fund in the next 10 days, so if you're a lover of romantic comedy, go check it out. If you know of any other romantic comedy feature film projects on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, please link them up in the comments. I would love to hear about them.

And then, of course, there's my project, "Missing Miranda." We've launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign for Missing Miranda with a funding goal of $65K. And to help sell our project and sustain our campaign through its five-week duration, we're releasing a new character vignette video every week.

I love romantic comedy. If you do, too, supporting romantic comedy Kickstarter campaigns is a great way to encourage growth and diversity in the genre. And to get to see some fun, fresh rom coms! Because they make you happy, and they make your heart sing.

If you have a few minutes, I'd love it if you could check out our character vignettes below (two so far!) and maybe even our Missing Miranda Kickstarter campaign if it grabs your fancy.

Our first two spots feature music by Brendan McGeehan.

"The Pep Talk" stars Jodie Grundin as "Brooke" and Alex Dean as "Josh."

"The Prejudice" stars Brandon Valley Jones as "Andrew" and Sasha Compère as "Claire."

~

Linky Goodness:

Death & Resurrection: A Rom-Com Memoir of the 2000s and Death & Resurrection #2 - Billy Mernit, author of Writing The Romantic Comedy on Living the Romantic Comedy  A thoughtful, ongoing look at the state of the modern romantic comedy.

Oscar Flashback: Nora Ephron - Sasha Stone on Awards Daily  This post is dear to my heart because I proudly worked on the Julie & Julia awards campaign, and because reading Sasha Stone kept me sane during the awards campaign for The Social Network. The high point of which was that I feel like I basically attended a David Fincher film intensive for five months.

Guest Post: Pondering Nora Ephron, You’ve Got Mail: The Film That Made Me Love Film - Charlotte Hauser on Women and Hollywood  Honestly, what made me love film was growing up watching Siskel & Ebert. That said, the film that made me first think that *I* could direct movies was a film short called "An Exercise in Discipline - Peel" by Jane Campion.

'Twas the Night Before the "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter Launch

Friday afternoon I got a Facebook message. "I'm searching on Kickstarter, and I can't find your project!"

I'd started updating pictures and posting about the project early. "No worries, we launch tomorrow. I'll send you a direct link in the morning!"

I hit send, and then it hit me. Our Kickstarter campaign for our romantic comedy feature film "Missing Miranda" was launching the next day. The producer triggering the launch is a night owl to my morning person (a fabulous combination btw, we take turns sending each other a million emails), so the campaign would be up when I woke up in the morning.

I felt a little panic. How was I ever going to get to sleep? It was like Christmas. If Christmas was terrifying.

Lucky me, I'd gotten up that day at 3:30am, so I crashed pretty easy and slept like a rock.

And then this morning. I woke up.

Usually when I wake up, I immediately grab my phone to see what time it is and start reading emails. I pretty much bounce out of bed most days. There's nothing frenzied about this; it's just my routine. I rather enjoy it.

And you'd certainly think I'd be at that today.

But I woke up. And it was Christmas.

I found myself simply lying in bed. Happy.

I knew the campaign was up, and there was much to do and share. But I felt no panic. Just joy.

And I laid there in bed for quite a little while, blissful. Completely relaxed.

Because this project, "Missing Miranda," and all the people involved just feel so right. The script makes me happy, the campaign makes me happy, the people make me happy, and I'm so proud of our Kickstarter campaign before it's even really started. We bring a lot to the table, and we're learning so much as we go, and I am just so damned pleased to be in this place, with these people, right now.

I am learning things that I will take forward with me for the rest of my life into all my next projects.

It's amazing to me.

And then I got up and got to it. I'm having so much fun. I'm sure that over the next five weeks I'll run the gamut of emotions, but for today, I'm having a blast.

So visit our "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter page, would you? It's going to be a wonderful project, and we'd love to have you on board.

Support My First Feature! The "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter campaign runs through midnight 8/11/12.

Please visit the Kickstarter for my first feature film, "Missing Miranda"! "Missing Miranda" is a romantic comedy centered on a waitress with aspirations of becoming a fashion designer and an architect under the thumb of his demanding boss. They meet, connect, lose each other, and through the mysteries of fate, meet again, as they start on the paths they were both meant to travel.

Our team aims to raise $65K in five weeks. Each week the "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter page will release a new vignette featuring a character from the film and events that occur before the film opens. As they release, all the vignette videos will be available on YouTube as well. These were so fun to shoot and gave our team a great opportunity to work together before principle production.

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing crowdfunding platform. Projects must fund at 100% or more of their goal to receive funding. Please visit our "Missing Miranda" Kickstarter page to make a contribution and to get a behind the scenes look at "Missing Miranda." The campaign runs through midnight, Saturday August 11th.