Stage 1 - Getting Our Face On

Hey folks!

Michael back this week...

As V mentioned in her previous blog, we're somewhere between the developmental and pre-production phases of Burp's Christmas. I like to call this first phase we're in "Stage 1 - Getting Our Face On".



We're not really ready to go public with our ideas yet to try and raise money. Indeed, it seems as if we've metaphorically just gotten out of bed. Our breath stinks, our hair is a mess. We haven't put our contacts in yet. We need to shower, have some breakfast. Comb our hair, light a cigarette.



Then we can start our day. Or, we can start knocking on investor's doors.

Before that, though, we need to be prepared. We need to look respectable, have something to show for ourselves. We need to:

-Re-build our website. burpschristmas.com is looking pretty rough right now.
-Create a good amount of conceptual artwork. So far I've been working on designs for our main characters. By the end of this phase, I'll have made digital puppet sets in at least 2 different viewpoints for 5 different characters (Odds, Charles, Norma and Elijah are all in the can already), made single illustrations for 9 members of the supporting cast, done a small handful of paintings illustrating key visual moments in the film, and organized the remainder of my sketches to be presented professionally.
-Use above artwork to make postcards to hand out to interested folks we meet and potential investors.
-Create some test animation of the digital puppets I've already made.
-Write synopsis and log lines.
-Write brief character bios.
-Get our bank account and paypal account set up.
-Put together an introductory investors budget.

Finally, we will assemble most of the above items together with a copy of the script and an introductory letter from me into an investors portfolio - a hard copy analogue compendium of our project's vision to send to people interested in financially backing our effort. We'll probably put a lot of this stuff online as well, for those that prefer to peruse such things digitally.

Then we can raise that BIG MONEY.


Or die trying. Literally, this film will not get made if we can't raise $200,000. That's a lot of scratch. You don't happen to have a rich uncle looking to work in the ol film business, do you? Eh? Ehhhh?

We began this phase a couple of months ago, and we plan to end it September 10th with the launch of our investor's portfolio and website. Most of the blogs between now and then will detail our efforts in completing this stage.

During this time I'll also be researching, exploring, and experimenting in the aesthetic of the film. Getting as much done as possible before we actually open the studio and start work.

So yeah, bare with us while our site is down and we seem a bit shabby around the edges. We just woke up, we'll be with you in a minute.

peace,
MPH