53 VIEWS PER DAY NEEDED!

Jade and I have worked out that we need an average of 53 views a day to reach our goal of 2000 views on the pilot rough cut! So, far we seem to be averaging that..... JUST! I am hoping that it will keep this momentum up and not lose it. Meanwhile, Jade and I are putting together the final edit of the proposal (which I should hopefully have the writing completed for by the end of the weekend)! Fingers crossed that our plan comes together nicely. If you haven't already checked out the rough cut episode, please click the link below and share, share share it absolutely everywhere!

Episode 1 Pilot - Rough Cut: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLPjLJjwZJg

THE TALE ENDERS!

A big shout out to our friend and mentor Rachel Mann and her animated web series, The Tale Enders! The talented Rachel Mann is the creator of the awesome series that is currently in production! The series follows the trials and tribulations of six teenagers living in Invercargill, New Zealand. Check out the Facebook page and Rachel's blog detailing her experiences as she creates this series!

The Tale Enders Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/talenders/

VIEW, VIEW, VIEW & SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!!!

In order to be eligible for funding, we need approximately 52 views per day to reach the 2000 views that we require. So far, we have had over a hundred views on the pilot rough cut and it has only been live on YouTube for two days! If it keeps up this momentum then we will be well on our way to reaching our target! I will continue to promote the pilot rough cut for episode one and cross my fingers that we reach our goal quickly! If you are reading this,then please click the link below and pop over and see it!

Episode 1 Pilot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLPjLJjwZJg 

EPISODE ONE PILOT - ROUGH CUT!

EXCITING NEWS: So, here is what everybody has been waiting for!The rough cut pilot for the first episode is finally up on YouTube!!!!! Please everybody, click the link below and take a peek, share and comment on this pilot!!!!! We need to get 2000 views in the next 30 days!!!!! Share, share, share and view, view, view!!!!!

Pilot Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLPjLJjwZJg

SOUND IS DONE!

The sound is done! I have just picked the sound files up from the sound designer and all that is left to do is for me to take the files over to Jade and for her to do the final render and credits. The video will be live on YouTube tomorrow some time (as long as YouTube doesn't take ages to process the video in whopping 4K!) and I will post on this blog tomorrow confirming the link for everybody to view the first Episode of Mother!

SOUUUNNNNNDDDDD!!!!

I have written in previous posts about how I have had difficulty in finding somebody to do the sound for us and also yesterday Jade asked me if I could do the sound for the first episode rough cut but today I managed to find a friend to help us out! I am stoked that we have found somebody because I do not have the most confidence in my sound ability. Our friend is going to spend tomorrow sorting out the sound for us! I am getting excited for the release of our rough cut and can not wait to share it with everybody!

ANIMATION DONE!

The animation has been completed on the first episode. There are some place holders for some of the sequences but there is enough animation that will show the story and the stylistic intent. The next thing that needs done is the sound, so I will be visiting Jade tomorrow to discuss this and to try and sort it out. Jade has asked me to do the sound on the episode because she has been staring at it for hundreds of hours and thinks that somebody else needs to do it in order for it to be good. I do not really want to do the sound because it is not really one of my strengths. Hopefully, we can find somebody who will be keen to do it! Then we will be able to make the episode live on YouTube to try and start collecting some views!

TWITTER TWEETING

Over the past few days we seem to have had a bit of activity on Twitter. We have gained some new followers and have had quite a few likes on some of our tweets. I am hoping this is the kind of support that will help us to reach our goal of getting 2000 views on our first episode. We will continue to work away on everything and will stay positive while trying to reach our goals!

FIRST EPISODE DEADLINE

The deadline for the first episode to be live is coming up quickly. I am hoping that we will reach our goal so that we are eligible for the funding application. Jade's work is always at a high standard, so I don't doubt that it will look amazing but I am hoping other people will get behind it and help support the web series. I can not wait to see it and share it with everybody! In the mean time, everybody should check out the YouTube channel and Patreon campaign that we have up and running. The next few days, I will spend collecting more sound effects and trying to cold e-mail people to rally up support for this project!

BACK AT IT AGAIN!

As I have stated in some of my previous posts, I have been away from home in Christchurch to deal with some family business. This past week,I have not posted on the blog because of those family circumstances but I have now made it home and am ready to get back into blogging again daily.

The web series is still battling on and Jade has been very hard at work with it. Our social media manager Kim has been busy tweeting and tumbling about the project to try and ramp up more support for the release of the first episode which is coming up very fast. I now need to get my head back into advertising and getting as much support as I can for the series, so keep checking the blog for more progress updates! Also, don't forget to check out the Patreon campaign and our YouTube channel!

YouTube Link: www.youtube.com/channel/UC_lwKA_4OxXRRrMX2N4VO1g
Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/noody

MORE CHALLENGES!

Trying to build an audience for a web series can be challenging at times. Unfortunately, I am unable to sit online all day every day because I have a family and am currently looking for employment to pay the bills. The small amount of time that I get to spend doing work on my computer is realistically not enough time to do as much advertising as I would like to do. I hope that we can get funding and turn this into something bigger with what we are doing already and then we can pay somebody whose sole job is to manage all the online social media. Anyways, just to finish off this post please check out our YouTube channel and Patreon page and please feel free to share them with everyone and everywhere!!!!!

Patreon: https://www.patroen.com/noody
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC_lwKA_4OxXRRrMX2N4VO1g

WRITING FUNDING PROPOSALS

Writing a funding proposal must be one of the most nerve racking things to master - do it right and you will get exactly what you are asking for BUT if you stuff it up, your pretty screwed! Jade found an interesting article from a lady who decides whether filmmakers/artists get funding or not which details what makes a good proposal. 

Carole Lee Dean reads thousands of proposals for a film grant that she is in charge of and has written an amazing article on the do's and don'ts of writing a funding proposal. The most important thing that I picked out of the advice she gives is that the first three paragraphs need to be completely compelling to the funding panel. I have sent the proposal to a couple of people that I know who are really good writers and have received some positive feedback and pointers from them. So, here's hoping after all the feedback and advice our proposal's first three paragraphs are compelling and help us get our funding! The link to this article is at the end of this post, so go and have a look at it because it is pretty helpful!

Article Link: http://filmmakeriq.com/2009/04/how-to-win-a-film-grant/

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Please check out our YouTube channel! There are VFX breakdowns and behind the scenes videos to show everybody what work has been done so far on the project! This channel is the first place that the first episode/pilot will be released! In the mean time, enjoy watching the progress videos that are on the channel so far!

YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC_lwKA_4OxXRRrMX2N4VO1g

PATREON - CROWD FUNDING

Just a quick post to remind everybody to please share our Patreon page with everyone and everywhere! We would really appreciate the support with our project and especially with the crowd funding as this will help with the costs of making this awesome web series! Click on the link below and have a look at what is on offer and make a great project reach its goal of finishing the whole first season!

Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/noody

FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

It has just occurred to me that I may not have explained about the requirements for applying for funding for the web series from NZ On Air. So, to qualify for consideration for the web series fund from NZ On Air you need to meet the following requirements:

• Links to a pilot, episode or previous season of the proposed series must be provided. The sample should convey enough of the intended style for NZ On Air to get a sense of what will be produced. This is a big one because applications that do not provide video evidence will not be considered.

• Provide evidence of an audience for the concept.The pilot or episode must have been uploaded within the last 1-12 months and have at least 2,000 views or an already existing season that has been uploaded within the last two years and have at least 10,000 views across all the episodes. 

• Co-investment of at least 5-15% of the total budget needs to come from an external source of some kind. This can be private funds, third party funding, license fees or crowd-sourcing. Confirmation of the amount of funding to be provided by a third party and proof of their intent to provide funds must also be provided. 

• Web series that have a platform for distribution will be prioritised. A letter of intent from the preferred platform will be required to accompany the application.

• Applicants must be NZ residents or a NZ-registered company.

These are all the requirements that we must meet to be considered for funding which is why we need to get the first episode done and get people to view it or we may not be able to get the funding we need. Keep checking out our YouTube channel and checking the social media (and this blog) for when the first episode/pilot is released!

YouTube Link: www.youtube.com/channel/UC_lwKA_4OxXRRrMX2N4VO1g

FINALLY.... SOME CONTACT!!!!

I have finally had some contact back from some of the people that I have cold e-mailed! There have been some good comments from people about the web series and wanting to help us to rally up support! Hopefully, this means that we can get the views we need for the first episode to be eligible for funding from NZ On Air. 

On another note, please don't forget to check out our Patreon page and YouTube channel and help support our project!

Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/noody

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC_lwKA_4OxXRRrMX2N4VO1g

BEHIND THE SCENES #3

Jade has made another behind the scenes video to share with everybody some of the stuff that is being worked on for the web series. Click the link below to check it out! Don't forget to check out our Patreon page and show us your support!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgrlUKxx0b1Y

COLLECTING SOUND EFFECTS

I have been trying to download as many sound effects as I can for the past couple of days. It is difficult to get done because I am still not at home and am still 600kms away from home. I have managed to get a little bit of work done while I have been away but it was always going to be a little difficult being around heaps of family that want to talk to you and catch up with you. Anyway, I will continue to collect sound effects for the project and hope we get something really decent out of it!

PATREON PAGE!

Jade has set up a Patreon page for the web series! Patreon is a crowd funding platform that allows creators to obtain funding from their fans on a recurring basis or per work of art. This means that patrons (the fans) can pledge some money (even a small amount) every month towards the project to help with the costs of making it and in return they receive special rewards to do with the project. This is a good way to keep your project funded. If you are interested in becoming one of our patrons, then please follow the link below and pledge our project some money!

Patron Link: https://www.patreon.com/noody 

FRIDAY!!!!

It is the end of the working week and I am still away from home! I am starting to miss my house, my family (In Invercargill) and especially my own bed! I still have had no contact from people/places about possible support or promotion for the web series! It doesn't help that I am away from home for other reasons and don't have a lot of time to focus on the project but I will hopefully be heading home in the next day or so and will be able to get re-focused and get support up and going!

STILL NO CONTACT!!!!

It is sooooo frustrating when people just do not contact you at all! Even an e-mail saying that they can not help or that they are not interested is better than nothing! I have had no correspondence back from anybody at all that I have contacted! I also don't want to come across as pushy either and send them another e-mail asking them the same thing. I also do not have much time to wait on an answer from them either, so it is kind of a catch 22 situation! I guess i will work out what to do and get things sorted! Fingers crossed!

TRAVELLING UP THE COUNTRY

Today, I have had to travel about 600kms away to Christchurch (the place in New Zealand that had the devastating earthquakes a couple of years back) from home for personal family reasons. It has been a long day and I am tired. I will be away for a few days and then will do the big journey home again. I still have not heard back from anybody that I have contacted about helping us promote and support the web series, which is frustrating to say the least. I will continue to persevere with everything and in a few days when I get home, I will get right back into rallying up support for our series!

SOUND DESIGNER

We still have not found a soundie to jump onboard and put some sound into the animation with sound effects and foley. At this stage, it is looking like we may have to do this ourselves (or that I may have to do this as Jade is already extremely busy), so I have started to collect sound effects to build up a library. Unfortunately, everybody I have asked either does not have time to do the sound or just declined because they do not feel that they are good at it. So, if I find somebody that is keen to do it, then that would be great but if not, never fear there shall still be sound! 

MONDAY!!!!

I am yet to receive any correspondence back from the people/places I have contacted. Hopefully, I hear back this week some time. Jade is steadily continuing work on the first episode and things are coming together. We will be getting some video blogs up in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled for those and keep checking into this log for more progress updates!