Short Films
Here's the first of 4 videos featuring the cast of both films. Hear what Lauren has to say about "We Had Plans" and her character Liz.
Tweet of the day: Meet @LaurenSleigh, playing Liz in 1 of the @CongestedCat Shorts #crowdfunding on@seedandspark: http://bit.ly/1pJxGPs #SupportIndieFilm
Thank you for all the support! We're 33% funded & aiming for 40% today!
Christina, Kelsey & the team
P.S. We released more personalized thank you songs this week, like this one:
Good morning amazing Supporters,
Big news today, we've cast the other sister, Diana, in "We Had Plans." Her name is Gwen Albers. I first met Gwen at our IndieWorks screening last August. Or actually, my mom met her (because my mom's awesome and comes to every single IndieWorks) and apparently talked me up because Gwen felt compelled to send me an email the following day about how much she enjoyed the event (and talking with my mom) and would like to get together sometime to chat film. She and I stayed in touch after that and, back in November, the CongestedCat team & I screened a film that she starred in at IndieWorks. Over the next few months, I was sure I wanted to work with her but was just waiting for the right opportunity to do so. I ended up writing a script, that I plan to shoot later this year, with her in mind for one of the three lead roles. (Lauren is going to be in that film as well. In case you haven't picked up on it yet, when I find a talented actor I enjoy working with, I make it a point to keep casting them.)
However, when we started casting for Diana in "We Had Plans," I had not considered Gwen for the role until I met up with her again and it occurred to me that she & Lauren could pass for sisters, especially with Lauren's hair being redder (i.e. in "Kelsey"). I asked Gwen to read for the role, really only out of concern for her ability to pull off an American accent (she's from Holland) because I already knew she's an incredible actor & would fully embody the character. So, long story short(ish), she was brilliant, we offered her the role & she excitedly accepted and is now joining our cast. Want to know more about her? Visit her site: http://www.gwenalbers.com/
Here's a super short sneak peek of Gwen reading with Lauren from "We Had Plans."
Just a reminder, we are still auditioning for Chris in "Not Our Living Room." If you know anyone who might be the right fit, please do send him our way. Character info is on our Cast & Crew page here on Seed&Spark.
We're so close to 25% funded & it's amazing! We could not be here if it weren't for all of you, so truly thank you! We hope to keep the ball rolling and hit 30% today.
Tweet of the day: From the creators of @KelseyTheSeries comes 2 thought provoking films with relatable characters & themes: http://goo.gl/prReoi.#indiefilm
Best,
Christina
I shared Lauren A. Kennedy's, so of course I'm sharing Rob Ceriello's too! His talent definitely shines through. He's playing Jake in "Not Our Living Room." No Summit footage has made it into his reel yet, but it will soon :)
Also, edited by Lauren.
Tweet of the day: Support @CongestedCat Shorts: 2 character-driven films about siblings & loss. They feature #LGBTQ & break stereotypes http://goo.gl/prReoi
We're less than $50 shy of 20%! Aiming for 30% by Monday. Please keep helping us spread the word. Thank you all for supporting & believing in us!
Christina
P.S. Our NY Cine Radio interview I mentioned in my 3rd update has been moved up a week, so we'll be sharing that on Wednesday along with the Us vs. Film interview!
Good afternoon wonderful supporters,
We're 16% funded and aiming to hit 20% today! 2pm started off day 11, so the clock is ticking. Statistically, projects that reach 30% somewhat early will succeed; at least that was the case when I crowdfunded for my feature film Summit 2 years ago on Kickstarter. I'm not sure how much that still holds true or especially here on Seed&Spark, with the loan feature being an innovative & invaluable new tool. But I suppose at the end of the day, what the 30% rule says is that there are people who believe in you and want you to succeed from the get go of your campaign. So for newbies coming on our page, seeing that we've hit 30% establishes faith in us and our project before they even watch our pitch or read our story. This is why, the sooner we get to $6,000 of our goal, the better it'll be for us in making that goal. So please keep spreading the word & sharing because we couldn't do it without you!
Tweet of the day: Support @CongestedCat Shorts. 2 character-driven films about siblings & loss from the creators of @KelseyTheSeries: http://goo.gl/prReoi
Honestly, I'd love to get to 50 by 50: 50% by halfway through the campaign (day 15). However, I know with Summit, while I did hit 30% somewhat quickly, I didn't hit 50% until 3/4 of the way through the campaign. It was a scary run at the end there because I wasn't positive I'd make it, but knew I wouldn't accept not making it. Then a bunch of miracles happened in the last few days in the way of incredible people coming in and contributing rapidly and enthusiastically to take us to the finish line. So it's hard to predict how quickly we'll get to our goal with this campaign. All I know is that we will get there because we're working hard, we believe in what we're doing and we have amazing people like you behind us.
We released some more of our thank you cat memes & personalized thank you songs today. Be sure to check out our Facebook Page & Twitter to see them all. Here's the latest example:
Also, NY Cine Radio mentioned us in their latest episode Tuesday night. Kelsey & I will be guest starring on the show on Tuesday, July 1st. I was first on their show 2 years ago when I was funding Summit. Then again about a year ago to talk about what production for the film was like & to plug IndieWorks, our monthly film screening series, and "Kelsey," which we had only just started shooting at the time. I always have a ton of fun on the show with Ken, Tom & Dave . I'm very excited to be invited back & to get to bring Kelsey with me this time.
Lastly, Kelsey and I will be guests on Monday's episode of Us Vs. Film Podcast. We'll share the episode after it's released, but feel free to tune in Monday once it goes live.
Thanks again for supporting us!
Christina
Hello wonderful Supporters,
We just started day 9 and we're 11% funded. Kelsey and I would like to thank all of you for stepping up and joining us in making these films. We cannot wait to share them with you! But, of course, we have to make them first. So we're going to keep on hustling, and pushing this campaign. We believe people want to see these films and see more from us; we just have to keep reaching people and spreading awareness. So, if you'd like to help us even further, we'd love for you to share our campaign with your network.
Here's a suggested tweet:
Support @CongestedCat Shorts: 2 character-driven films about siblings & loss, featuring #LGBT & #WomenInFilm http://bit.ly/TAGTha
Also, Turnabout Media featured our campaign, which was mighty cool of them.
And in other news, today we were made a Staff Pick on Seed&Spark! We're grateful to the staff for the honor and to all of you for getting us to a worthy percentage!
In my last update, I included some of the thank you memes from my cats that you'll all be getting/have gotten. If you haven't received yours yet, you will tomorrow :)
This past weekend, we started releasing our personalized thank you songs for supporters that have given $50 or more. Kelsey's an amazing singer/songwriter, and I'm sure you'll love the song she writes and performs for you if haven't gotten yours yet. Each one is unique and made with love for that specific person, so they take a little bit longer to release. But we'll try to get them all out by Friday. Below is one example. You can watch/listen to all 4 we've put out so far on our Facebook page & Youtube channel.
Thank you again for your support,
Christina (on behalf of myself, Kelsey & the CongestedCat Productions team)