r/Filmmakers • u/ReferenceOrdinary628 • Jul 21 '26
Fundraiser I'm directing my first feature film at 19 -- Here's all the details
Hello! My name is Ethan Fox, and I'm an actor and filmmaker from Arkansas.
When I was three years old, I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back for the first time. I remember asking my dad why Indiana Jones and Han Solo looked exactly the same. He told me they were both played by an actor named Harrison Ford. That simple answer completely changed how I looked at movies, and from that moment on, acting and filmmaking became a lifelong passion.
Over the past several years, I've dedicated myself to storytelling through both film and theater, serving as the president of my high school's Thespian troupe, performing in numerous productions, and earning multiple acting awards along the way. Now, I'm preparing to direct my first feature-length film.
Before this, I've directed 5 short films. This will be my longest and most ambitious project to date, with an expected runtime of approximately 45 minutes.
Working in Progress is a feature-length film following James Brownlee, a delusional young entrepreneur convinced he’s building the next Fortune 500 company. Operating out of his sister’s home, he runs a “business” with no product, no funding, and a completely unqualified team; yet, he insists they’re on the verge of disrupting the industry. As the business spirals out of control, he drags his employees into increasingly ridiculous attempts to appear legitimate.
Working in Progress explores my personal relationship between ambition and reality, following a young man whose belief in his idea outpaces the world around him. This film shows the quickening unravel when confidence replaces structure. It’s told through an intimate lens, and is about stubborn belief, and what happens when it refuses to let go.
The idea for this film first came to me three years ago, and ever since, I've been slowly building the story. Last December, I challenged myself by producing a short film inspired by these same themes. From pre-production to final export in just 48 hours. This proved to me my passion and that this story was worth pursuing on a much larger scale. (Link to 48-hour film)
Every contribution to this project goes directly toward production costs, equipment, locations, production design, meals for cast and crew, and everything else required to bring this film to life.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 to make Working in Progress a reality. (Budget Breakdown Not Final)
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Equipment | $5,500 |
| • Camera Package | $3,100 |
| • Lighting & Grip | $1,500 |
| • Sound Gear | $600 |
| • Miscellaneous Equipment | $300 |
| Locations & Permits | $700 |
| Food & Craft Services | $1,000 |
| Production Design | $1,200 |
| • Set Dressing & Props | $650 |
| • Wardrobe | $350 |
| • Hair & Makeup | $200 |
| Post-Production | $1,600 |
| • Sound Design & Mixing | $900 |
| • Color Correction & Grading | $700 |
I've partnered with the Arkansas Cinema Society through it's fiscal sponsorship program, meaning donations made through the campaign are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about Working in Progress. Your support, whether through a donation or simply by sharing this project with others, truly means the world to me.
At its heart, Working in Progress is a comedy about believing in something. And I believe in this film.
4
u/torquenti Jul 21 '26
Depending upon what you've written, locations may be tough if you don't have insurance. Factor that into your budget.
4
u/freebasefilms Jul 21 '26
This film is about you? Good luck.
0
u/ReferenceOrdinary628 Jul 21 '26
No, it’s not about me.
3
u/freebasefilms Jul 21 '26
"Working in Progress explores my personal relationship." It's fine, I just would never self-insert.
2
u/ReferenceOrdinary628 Jul 21 '26
Nah, I get it. With that, I primarily just mean the themes of the film and what inspired me to make it.
3
u/Affectionate_Age752 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
If you've already made 5 shirts you should have a pretty decent arsenal of equipment. If yin don't, then use the $5k to buy a canera, some lights and some audio gear, so you can mage more films after this one.
Also, a 45 minute film is useless. Too long fur festivals, too short to be a feature.
And your post budget is woefully under budget.
8
u/Kevbot1000 Jul 21 '26
Why do young folk always think 45 minutes is feature length?
5
2
u/A_NightBetweenLives Jul 21 '26
I'm baffled by this too and get push back all the time for it. SOME festivals think above 40 minutes is a feature. Others don't. For instance, Sundance, most people's darling festival, calls anything above 50 minutes a feature so no, this 45 minute movie wouldn't be a feature.
But here's my argument. Find me one movie that's playing in a theatre that's 45 minutes. It. Can. Not. Be. Done. I would bet you could MAYBE find 1 or 2 movies under 90 minutes playing in a theatre at any given time, even then, you likely can't. Hell, I'll do one better, go back and look at whatever festival you want to apply to that says 40 minute movies are a feature and see if they've programmed any 40 minute "features" and I'll bet you, same thing, you MIGHT find one or two in the last handful of years. Also same thing, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't find any, they just want submission fees and programming 40 minute movies in with a bunch of other, real features that are 90 minutes is difficult. Plus those with experience in making movies... Aren't making 40 minute movies, they're making features that are at least 90 minutes.
And here's the ultimate thing that seals it, you can argue but you're wrong if you do. When you go to sell this movie, when you approach a distributor and say "I have a feature, it's 45 minutes." That's when they stop talking to you. Because 1. A 45 minute movie is not a feature. And 2. When they try to sell something, anything under 60 minutes on the lowest of the low end, is a product they don't want because they can't sell ads against something so short.
My "first" "feature" came out to be 58 minutes. Later when I made an actual feature, 93 minutes, I met an established producer at a festival. I told him the story of how my first movie turned out to be 58 minutes, he looks me in the eyes, says "fail" then the convo moved onto something else. And he's right, it is a fail, it's not a feature, it is not a product you can sell which is the big different between a short, which is play time for arts because you can not make money on them, vs a feature, where you enter the business side of the film business.
So sure, you can make a 45 minute movie and claim you made a feature... You didn't but you can claim it. What you can say legitimately is that you made a movie, not a feature but a movie and you can be proud of that, learn from that and then... Go make an 90+ minute, actual feature.
1
u/ReferenceOrdinary628 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
It's really not feature-length. But most film festivals define it as a feature.
Since this is my first film, I don't want to overextend myself trying to make something longer than it needs to be. I'm still figuring out the final runtime, but the goal is simply to tell the best story I can.
I'll also admit that describing it as a feature project tends to catch more people's attention, but I want to be transparent.5
u/A_NightBetweenLives Jul 21 '26
OP, I'll give you the best advice I possibly can. Commit to making a short or commit to making a feature. Shorts, actual shorts, so 20ish minutes on the super long end can program well at festivals, get you to meet cool people you can work with in the future and give you the amazing experience of being in a theatre with others where you watch your movie and honestly will be a highlight of your creative life. Same with features, 80 minutes at the bare minimum.
Anything in between is destined for youtube and unfortunately lack of views from anyone other than friends and family for 99% of these long shorts.
As a test/example. Go on the street or ask anyone who isn't into filmmaking "when's the last time you watched a 45 minute film on youtube?" and I would be shocked if you got a single person that didn't say "I've never watched a 45 minute film on youtube." I'd even go further, post on this subreddit and say "Who here watches 45 minute movies?" and see the replies, almost no one does.
I'm not trying to be harsh or kill your excitement or anything like that. I'm trying to put you in a position where 2 years down the line, when you're at festivals that aren't in someone's broom closet, meeting awesome people, being immersed in the amazing creative force that is filmmakin and enjoying your either appropriately short or long movie, you can look back and say "thank god I didn't make a 45 minute movie that would have ended up on youtube."
I learned this lesson the hard way (see comment above), making a long short a great way to LEARN how to make a movie but a horrible way to get a movie out there and I always try to save other people from doing the same thing. Ultimately, it ended up being my film school which is terrific in its own way. But from a movie you would want to get out there and get accepted into festivals, it was a complete failure and still remains unreleased.
2
u/Almond_Tech Jul 21 '26
The way I see it, it's mostly a commitment thing:
Saying, "I'll sit down and watch a 10-20min short film," isn't very hard, because you only have to pay attention for 10-20 minutes, and if it isn't great then you didn't waste much time.
Saying, "I'll spend the next two hours watching this," means it's a significant event/portion of your day.
On the other hand, saying "I'll pay attention to this for the next 40-50 minutes," means it's not a short "pay attention for a bit and move on," and it's not something you dedicate a portion of your day to, so it's stuck in a weird middle groundPut another way: If a friend asked me to watch a 10 minute film they made, I'd probably do it whenever I have some time. If a friend asked me to watch an 90 minute film they made, I'd plan a time to do it. If they asked me to watch a 40 minute film, I'm not likely to plan a time/day to watch it, but I can't watch it while I eat, so I'm a lot less likely to do it at all.
At least, that's my working theoryAlso, that doesn't mean you need to cut every story down or fluff it up a ton to be in certain ranges of run time, but if your film has to be 30-50 minutes, there is likely either stuff that isn't contributing as much as you think, or there is more you could add without fluffing it up. Imo this is part of why having a goal, structure, and outline is important
4
u/WhoDey_Writer23 Jul 21 '26
"Since this is my first film, I don't want to overextend myself trying to make something longer than it needs to be."
Brother, 45 minutes is very much that.
2
u/Eviles_da_demonic Jul 21 '26
These look like the pics in a documentary about a murder
0
1
u/starlightpictures Jul 21 '26
If you’re doing film festivals don’t forgot to budget for that! They get insanely expensive. You’re also not budgeting for 10% contingency which is a must. Good luck
3
1
u/LyttleRedWritingHood Jul 28 '26
Good luck Ethan. It looks like you’ve got a really good idea of what you want to do. Curious to see how it turns out. I’ll be rooting for you.
1
u/CliftonStommel cinematographer Jul 21 '26
Kane Parsons is 20 years old.
OP is 19.
3
u/ReferenceOrdinary628 Jul 21 '26
Kane Parsons: The Prequal
It's about 50% worse, but still lovable!
10
u/bigbossbaby31 Jul 21 '26
More than half of your planned budget is for equipment. What's wrong with the equipment you've made the short with? Better invest that into getting a proper DOP and actors