So you are at least in your 50’s and struggling to pay rent? You must really have not got this whole life thing sorted out. Ever thought about turning to a life of crime?
…GuanoLad: I’ve been a fan of your posts for the many years I’ve been on these boards. I’ve been where you’ve been and its happened while I’ve been on the boards.
Back in 2002/2003 I left my well paying job at Parliament to start my own catering business. For a year and a bit it went quite well. But I needed to expand: so I got another business partner in, got additional investment and went at it with all I had. But it was about then that everything went tits up.
Ten years on I will never forget a particular moment where I could have escaped this whole mess with the shirt on my back and money in my pocket. All I had to do was sign a release on the lease and the landlord would have forgiven my debt, moved in a new tenant and I could have walked away relatively okay. But I didn’t.
I waited a week. Seven days. My decision making was hindered by the levels of stress I was going through. I had a payroll to pay. Suppliers to pay. Taxes to pay. I went into a bubble. How was I to pay my debts if I wan’t earning any money?
Seven days later I did quit. I didn’t have any option. Cashflow was negative and no new money was going to come in. I owed ten thousand dollars the landlord. I owed fifty thousand dollars to many many other people. But if I had have walked away seven days earlier I could have walked out with half that debt.
Here’s the truth: you are not doomed. You can’t see that right now, but its the truth. Your rent can’t be more than a few hundred bucks. Go and find it. Borrow it if you need to. Throw your pride out the window, but live to fight another week.
Once you’ve sorted your rent for this week you’ve got some decisions to make. I walked away seven days too late and about thirty thousand dollars poorer for it. You’ve got plenty of time to sort things out now if you move now. You need to shift the way you are thinking about things. You need to make the decision to stop working on your project. I know walking away is hard. Quitting my catering business was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But its something you can’t delay. You can come back to the project. It isn’t going anywhere. But the longer you leave the decision the further down the rabbit hole you will find yourself.
Can Kiwi’s get the dole over there? Can you get in a flat mate? Have you got some gear you can sell? Can you freelance? Who owes you favours? What can you do to start cash coming into your household in the next seven days?
Things won’t get easier. You are going to have to work your arse off over the next year to earn less money than you are used to. Get used to it. This is your life: for now. Your movie will get made. Just not right now.
My life has turned around completely since my first business failed. I spent a year, literally curled up in a ball hiding from the world at my parents house. Then through networks I got a job at the Museum, which led to a job in recruitment, which led to me getting made redundant which forced me to seek out my “calling”, and now I’m a fellow creative (which i didn’t expect!) and I own and operate my own photography business now.
This isn’t the end. You are not doomed. This is only the beginning. But it starts with making decisions. There is light at the end of the tunnel. You won’t be able to see it right now. But you will. As soon as you start to act. Best of luck, I wish you all the best, Kia Kaha.
Listen to Banquet Bear.
Maybe it’s just me, but if I were on the verge of being homeless the last thing on my mind would be “working on my film”.
Your entire focus right now should be finding a (real) job or 3.
Good luck.
mmm
I am sorry for your troubles and do wish I was in a position to help. You are talented and I wish you success.
It was just meant to be an MPSIMS post, really, but then it got complicated very quickly. And very very depressing.
But you’re right.
BanquetBear wrote the post I needed.
I’ve been in this position before, and I got out of it. What’s annoying is I’m here again. Life’s not feeling like a tunnel, but a roundabout.
BanquetBear is wise and I’m glad his words spoke to you. You used the crowdfunding money the way I would expect an artist to use funds when he spends his time creating – instead of working a menial task to make a menial wage and doing other things in his “spare” time, like there’s any time for much more when you have to work several jobs to survive. It might that this isn’t the time to concentrate on artistic endeavors alone, but I don’t know. I wish you luck.
Good luck GuanoLad, I hope once you sort things out you’re able to come back and finish this project off.
FWIW, I have seen and even donated to crowdfunding appeals that amount to “give me enough money to quit my day job so I can work full time on [project]”. However, those people had already been making some fairly popular (video game/webcomic/art installation/etc) in their spare time. They had ambition with plenty of determination, talent, and skill to back it up, and it was apparent.
So you can be honest and say up front that the funding is really just to pay your living expenses while you make a really cool thingy. Don’t expect many people to pay until you have a more substantial track record however. Otherwise, it’s not very different from handing you money so you can play at your hobbies all day.
What if you phrased it like this…
I’m broke and behind on my rent. I have a dream of making a short Steam Punk video and want to continue this dream even while I’m out of work. I’m doing this all on my own… editing, VFX Artist, sound design, DVD Media and website design. There really isn’t a company or crew you are investing in, so, I’ll use 80% of your contribution to pay my rent and buy food… But, I’ll take 20 cents from every dollar you send and use it toward the perk that I’m promising you (if it actually succeeds someday).
In other words, give me $1.00 and I’ll give you $0.20 back in perks.
That isn’t quit the same spiel as an investment opportunity in a film venture.
I do wish you the best in getting yourself out of your current situation, and I hope you can eventually fulfill your dream. It just seems a little different than what you pitched.
So, GuanoLad, I went back and looked at your project. It really does look interesting and you are clearly talented.
Your OP was a misstep and, as a result, poorly received.
Alas, I have nothing to offer but good wishes. I really do hope this happens for you some day, some way.
mmm
Thank you. I’m glad I’m not completely alone in my point of view.
No: the “My furnace is broke and it’s a zillion degrees in my house and I can’t get air conditioning and my baby and wife will die from the heat and I’m totally flat broke and I need money. And by “a zillion degrees” I mean “It’s warm” and by “my babies and wife” I mean “my bunny-wunnies” (by which I mean literally my pet rabbits) and by “flat broke” I mean except for my investments and retirement money and savings and stuff.”* one was far, FAR worse.
But other than that, yeah, this is the worst.
*Note: some details changed for kicks and grins
Sam Raimi’s experience making The Evil Dead is a good lesson for any aspiring filmmaker. It started as several high school small projects where the concept was developed. They got some investors and shot most of the film at the cabin location. Ran out of money. More investments. They shot scenes in his grandparents farmhouse basement, a garage etc. The making of documentary with the film’s dvd is fascinating.
It took quite a few years to get it done. But it turned out great and launched Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s careers.
Don’t worry too much if you have to put your project on hold for awhile. Get a job, any job and get your bills sorted out. Then go back to your project with fresh ideas and energy when you’re ready.
Meh. I’ve donated to all sorts of Kickstarters - it never occurred to me to expect that every last dime would only be spent on itemized, physical, materials used solely in a specific feature. Art doesn’t work that way. Whether it’s a big team (like Double Fine) or a small team (Pyrodactyl) or a one man operation (Abby Howard) - I’ve always understood that the “money for making the project” included “money for keeping a roof over people’s heads”, and “money for coffee and cigarettes,” “money for emergency car troubles”, “money for emergency cat troubles”, and “money for paying all the other bills so I can focus on this one damn thing for a while”.
The only thing I, as an art patron, deserve for all this, is the finished work or a reasonable explanation (And since we’re talking about artists, the reasonable explanation might very well be, “Shit, I don’t know. My writer got pregnant and my roommate pawned my drums.” These things happen.)
Kickstarter backers should get what’s promised on the page. The details of how it comes to exist are besides the point.
GuanoLad - sorry this didn’t work out. Better luck down the road. My only advice would be to say upfront that part of the funds will include paying your salary for a month or so while you make your film. Just so everyone understands. Also: don’t over promise on the perks. That stuff can add up surprisingly quick.
People donated money to pay a guy to make a movie. This guy pays himself a wage, out of which he pays his rent.
GuanoLand - I’m sorry things aren’t working out. Your movie looks good and I’m impressed with what you have produced so far.
I think the issue some people have with the money ties back to the Dot Com era where executives paid themselves large bonuses out of IPO’s that didn’t translate to a viable product. But the fact remains, the purpose of raising money for a project like yours is to pay the salaries of those who are making the movie. If you are doing the majority of the work then by all means, you deserve a salary. It doesn’t sound like you were bilking the system. You’re definitely not taking a cut to do nothing.
I hope that after things settle out that you can continue this project. Will be fun when it’s all done in the end
Yes, but he’s asked for money so he could pay his rent, not so he could make his movie. As someone who looks carefully when contributing money this just smells bad. I don’t donate money to pay people’s rent and I’d be upset if that wasn’t stated clearly up front.
For a film project I’d expect money to be spent on other tangible supplies, necessary services for the film, and salaries for techs/staff. I woundn’t expect the artist to take a salary or pay rent from that money. IMO it’s a dishonest way to raise funds.
I am the staff. I am doing approximately 500% of the work an average crewmember does, even on their own films. Instead of giving it to people who specialise in editing or VFX, I am doing all of that myself. Not because I need to, but because it’s what I love to do. I am making the film precisely so I can create all this cool stuff to see. It’s been nothing but fun for me, but I ran out of money to get it complete.
Also, if I had earned in excess of my goal I would’ve not only paid the crew I had back on the shoot day (most volunteered, as we all do on each others projects), but if it was a very large amount I would’ve funded a second film and sent that finished product to all the same contributors as well. As for tangible supplies, I already own all the hardware and software, and I shot the film a year ago, there’s no more stuff to spend the money on except a place to do the work. My home.
You seem to have a fantasy idea of how films are made.
That money’s already been spent on the film and the staff. He fronted that money. He could have done the Kickstarter campaign, raised $X, spent $Y perks and $Z on the film and then started making the film.
Instead he started making the film first and has spent $Z. Now he needs to raise $X to cover $Y and pay back $Z.
If you break down $Z, it covers the time spent by the staff and the physical materials purchased to make the film. If he happens to be all of the staff and the initial investor out of who’s pocket the materials have been paid, then all of the money should go to him.
$Z is money for all of the staff, no matter if he spent that money before or after the campaign and no matter if the staff is just him or 10 other people.
However, GuanoLad, the way you went about this is pretty dang tacky. You should have either kept your mouth shut about your rent struggles or gone to the opposite end of the Internet to find solace. Come on, man.