Posted in: Movies | Tagged: entertainment, film, kickstarter

The Terrible Old Micro-Budget

Published Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:30:12 -0500

Last updated Mon, 21 Jul 2014 07:45:08 -0500

H.P. Lovecraft's "The Terrible Old Man" Short Film
Short Story by H.P. Lovecraft
Screenplay/Director/Producer Ryan Smith
Kickstarter End Date: August 13, 2014
Publishing date: July 14, 2014

Ryan Smith writes,

I'm Ryan Smith, the producer that has taken HP Lovecraft's short story, The Terrible Old Man and turned it into a modernized short film of the same name. Principle photography and initial editing are complete, and the only thing that stands in our way is funding the remaining post production work and recovering the costs incurred so far in making Lovecraft's tale come alive on screen.

Creating a micro-budget indie film is challenging. Depending on the size of the budget and the commitments from the various actors and crew, a director can find himself not only having to juggle the off-time schedules of a dozen people committed to their full-time jobs, but also having to re-think the angles and methods behind certain shots while trying to captured the scene in a 40 minute window before the sun sets.

Given these challenges, one might ask, "Is it worth it? Is it worth the headache of trying to capture an entire movie before winter sets in, since you started filming in the fall? Is it worth doing initial editing, Foley work, and compositing …at midnight… in a tiny hotel room…in Vietnam where you happen to be on business for your "day job"? Is it worth telling your actors to remain perfectly still while they are covered in prosthetics and fake blood, freezing in the cold night air, and being stung over and over by yellow jackets?

The short answer is, "Yes!" That is, at least if you love films. Particularly horror films.

Working with material that originated from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft has been both challenging and rewarding. It's hard to accept that Lovecraft died in poverty almost a century ago, his creative and horrifying genius unappreciated by his generation but his eerie, disturbing writings becoming so influential in today's horror genre. Even in the process of modernizing The Terrible Old Man, there was very little that needed to be changed to make the horror themes relevant. Three criminals up to no good in a locale they know nothing about? Check. Creepy old man with a strong legacy that keeps the locals away from him? Check. Dark, twisted idols and bottles that contain the lost souls of poor sailors? Check. Even an exceedingly short story (less than 1200 words) can contain several layers of intrigue when they are crafted by a master.

So, with all the work we've put in so far, we'd hate to see it die in the post-production phase. That's where you can help. Being on a micro-budget means that catering (read: frozen pizza for 12), software subscriptions, film equipment, artwork, stock footage, and music compositions are placed on credit cards. Actors, actresses, crew, and locations donate their time and money with no promise, only a small hope, that they will be recompensed. And then there are the costs of getting this out to the various film festivals so that this work can be seen and Lovecraft's storytelling appreciated.

In an effort to encourage the readers of Bleeding Cool to lend their support to this project, we will post a video tour of the Terrible Old Man's house during the week if half of the goal is reached by Monday at midnight EST. This house is incredibly creepy and going out there can be dodgy, as the house has been abandoned for quite some time and there is evidence that squatters have been in and out of there on a regular basis. A video tour of the house would be a true look into the experience of filming The Terrible Old Man. I look forward to sharing it with you!

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/TheTerribleOldMan

Kickstarter Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1470117221/hp-lovecrafts-the-terrible-old-man-short-film

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