Overture Short Film - UC Santa Barbara

Hi! My name is Isabella Leonard and I am the producer of a UC Santa Barbara short film titled Overture. In our course titled Crew Production, four films are chosen by a panel of industry professionals from over thirty submissions. We have 20 weeks to complete our film, and as we are learning what is needed, we have discovered additional costs and hidden fees.

Over the last month on IndieGoGo, we were able to raise 100% of our preliminary goal! Now, we need your help to push us over the edge and make this film a reality.

STORY:

This non dialogue short centers around a young boy who is both blind and deaf and has a passion for music. Each night before bed his parents host, what they call, "the concert hour" for him in the living room. So for a few moments their child believes he is conducting an orchestra and he guides himself through the vibrations that surround him. As the show goes on, we will realize not everything we see is what it seems, not even what we hear or feel. The story explores themes of innocence and unconditional love.

BUDGET:

Here are our new goals...

To cover the rest of our costs, we have a final goal of $7,774. To properly explain what is needed, we have broken down our budget into what we NEED to complete production, and OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUPPORT, to reach absolute production quality and properly compensate our cast and crew for their work.

Need: $4,268

These expenses are what we need by the end of December, 2023 to film in January.

Equipment: With some movement in our crew, and new discoveries made when creating our shot list, we need an additional $2,460 for equipment. This added cost will help us rent equipment for the 4 day shoot, as well as for a test day.

Insurance and Permits: An additional $536 cost in our Insurance.

Post-Production: A total cost of $884 cost for the following items: $250 for DCP files for our University premiere and festivals, $400 for composing, $150 for a hard drive, and $84 for sound design software.

Taxes and Fees: $388

Other Considerations for Support: $3,506

These expenses will heighten our production quality, protect us against further hidden costs or accidents, and allow us to compensate those who generously volunteered their time an expertise.

Transportation: If we meet this new goal, a total cost of $562 will allow us to reimburse transportation for our cast and crew members who are driving from Los Angeles to be with us for shooting days, which we had not previously accounted for.

Location: $1,500 will provide collateral in case we need to rent a house last minute, hire a new actor, or repair damage on location.

Volunteered Talent: A total cost of $1125 will allow us to pay our cast and crew who are volunteering their talent. The actors will get a standard minimum SAG-AFTRA rate of $125/day of filming, and our two expert crew will be given $100 each as appreciation.

Taxes and Fees: $319

Total: $7,774

DONOR PERKS:

To show our appreciation, large donors and organizations will get credits on our film.

Individuals:

Associate Producer: $500 and above.

Executive Producer: $1,500 and above.

Organizations and Businesses:

Logo in Credits: $500 and above.

Logo in Credits and Executive Producer Credit for Owner: $1,500 and above.

THEMES

Notes from the writer:

Innocence

This story is not an isolated case, it is a reflection of humanity. We are all vulnerable to falling into ignorance. We can find ourselves manipulated by people, situations, backgrounds, or even by ourselves, leading to a completely distorted reality.

I made Noah a deaf and blind child to compel you not to judge him. His reality is distorted, and while this could be a cruel situation, we don't pass judgment.

I genuinely believe this is something that happens to people of all ages. We judge people without context. We don't know if their reality is distorted, we don't know them well enough, we don't know their circumstances, their ignorance, or their knowledge. Yet we judge.

Unconditional Love

A mother's love for her child. The unconditional need to protect them.

Her child is her life's purpose, she keeps him in a bubble to shield him from suffering. She understands that Noah’s ignorance is what brings him happiness, and that is everything to her. She's hurting but she is capable of smiling through tears and dancing with Noah. Even for a moment, as they dance, everything fades away, and she manages to enter in Noah’s reality to rest, to remember the purpose of her life, to watch Noah go to sleep with a smile.

These situations of domestic violence are a reality. Many women experience them and endure pain for their children, sacrificing their own happiness and lives for their children's sake. Years later, when the children discover the truth, they blame themselves because once again, they judge without considering the limitations they had at that moment.

Innocence:

And this brings us to the theme of innocence. It's only to remind us how fragile we are. Even if we're very intelligent, even if we're very educated. We are human, and we are fragile. I used a child to magnify this, but the truth is, regardless of age, we are innocent.

CAST AND CREW:

This film is a collaboration between students from University of California Santa Barbara and students from Carlos III University, Madrid.

Crew:

Director/Writer Iris Ortega Quevedo

Director of Photography Brian Sol

Producer Isabella Leonard

Production Manager Allen Schultz

Assistant Producer Abby Weinstein

Assistant Producer Jackie Beran

Assistant Producer Maria Viana

Assistant Production Manager Maddie Miller

Assistant Director Lucia Seriñan

Script Supervisor Sandhya Ganesh

First AC Junhao Tuo

Second AC Irie Aburto

Editor Dillon McEvoy

VFX Artist Manuel De Colsa

Colorist David Olivares

Production Designer Keira Barhoum

Art Department Gabby Vile

Art Department MJ Macias

Hair/Makeup/Wardrobe Eva Lindholm

Gaffer Raziel España

Gaffer Colin Kelly

Key Grip Akaysha Brunker

Grip Caroline Guzman

Grip Joonha Chung

Grip Cat Hernandez

Sound Mixer Nick Thomas

Sound Assistant Flavio Florez

Sound Assistant Keanu Kawakami

Composer Finn Christensen

BTS Photographer Iara Watanabe

Social Media Manager Thalia Rakosky

Graphic Design Anna-Liis Schertz

BTS Editor Wenya Froling

Cast

Noah Tristan Wilder Hallet

Father Sean Smith

Mother Felicia Williams

HOW YOU ARE HELPING:

Taking a film from script to screen is an inherently collaborative process. We have brought together a strong team of eager creatives, all we need are some people who believe in us! We are so grateful for any contribution that can help us bring our vision to life. All of the money raised in this campaign will go towards all necessary facets of our production.

Your contribution will not just be a donation, but an investment in the careers of the bright students behind this film.