Tears of a Tiger
$TIGER is a crowdfunding campaign to create and produce a short film based on the book Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M Draper. The book is about a High School student who, in a drunk driving accident, kills his best friend and must navigate mental health obstacles on his road to recovering, physically and emotionally.
The creation of this short film will serve multiple purposes, described below, but will also mark the start of a journey. A new path for the independent filmmaker, by the independent audience and for the independent audience.
Join us over on Discord.
WHY CRYPTO AND NOT KICKSTARTER?
The saddest journey in the world is the one that follows a precise itinerary. Then you're not a traveler. You're a f$#king tourist.
- Guillermo del Toro
But first, it must prove a few things:
- Can a crowdfunded movie exist in the NFT crypto space?
- As of right now, there are a handful of examples of movies that have even attempted this. For the most part, they are still expensive endeavors that primarily have been shot already and are being sold post creation. Kevin Smith sold a movie as an NFT post creation, meaning he still had to fund his film using older independent models.
- What will the relationship be with a largely tech-based crypto audience and artists?
- I think the beauty of tech is, in itself, it is very artful. Art is simply something that stimulates one’s emotions or beliefs. It inspires them. Crypto is an art, an idea that this tech can change the world and its financial industries. But there will also be a concentrated effort to get more filmmakers into the crypto space. Having the two groups mix, validates, both the tech side of this campaign and the artistic side.
Lastly,
- Is this, funding model, sustainable?
- I believe so. It’s that belief that has driven me to open this campaign. We’ve seen new independents come through many avenues thorough out the years. So much so the term indie darling is industry standard. Issa Rae was breaking new grounds coming from YouTube, Donald Glover too. These artists used new spaces and fostered new paths for themselves, taking a chance on the tech to elevate not just them but their audience.
BIG MAN, BIG POWER.
Indie, independent, self-financed. However, you choose to label it, making a film is hard. Getting a film done, let alone making a good film, means that hours upon hours of prep need to go into the process, and even then, anything can happen. Above all else, the kryptonite in the process can be, funds run out or aren’t there. That’s where financiers come in. They help fund your movie in hopes that there is a return. At what cost? Well, that’s something that varies from project to project. Indie films are under a microscope today because of incidents that have cost the lives of our fellow artists. Before Halyna Hutchins, there was Sarah Jones; before Sarah Jones, there was Brandon Lee. These are the high-profile shoots, too. Financiers penny-pinching on producers causes environments that aren’t always conducive. We wish to take the BIG MAN (the financier with all the money) from this campaign and divide that amongst a dedicated community. This connection will allow us to make the film with you, in-step and carefully, without the financial knife lingering over our head.
The above edition and other variants like it are available to all contributors of this crowdfund.
WHERE ARE WE NOW, AND WHY US?
Until this point, we’ve told you why we think this campaign is good, now here’s why we believe we are the ones to try it. My name is DC, a Director from NYC who has 10+ years of industry experience and has the artistic and financial expertise to execute. From Logistics to artistic merit, I have made content for brands across the globe and created films that have premiered across the world. Issa Rae distributed my last short, and the last project I produced over the summer, a digital show, Quest for Craft, is currently on Youtube starring Questlove was created with a $500K budget which I managed.
This project, this book, has deep ties to my roots in the film industry. It was the book I based my creative essay on to get into film school. I vowed that if I ever reached the platform needed to make this into a movie, I’d try my hardest to make that happen. After being selected by Issa, I was elated; it budded a relationship with her company that has seen me take steps forward in my career that I never knew was possible.
The above photo gave me the artistic validation that the path I was on was working. Months later, through talks with people on here team, I was presented with the contact information for the Agent of Sharon M Draper, the book's author. We negotiated for months, and finally, in June, we agreed on a selling rights contract. I have the right to sell the movie idea and the legal formalities to make this happen. So why us? We have the experience, the ties, the formalities to make this happen, and together, will attempt to be at the forefront of this new wave of tech. Blend it with art and create new and unique stories together.
STORYBOARDS
So what’s the story of the concept? In prepping for this short, I’ve worked with a storyboard artist as we started to visualize the scene to feed the audience’s appetite for more. The feature expands beyond this, but the most significant way to capture the audience's attention is to show the accident’s aftermath. See Storyboards below for a better sense of the sequence.
THE FINANCES
As you see above, when you first open the campaign, it says, “The creator retains 30% of $TIGER token supply.” True and not actually. All raised funds for the short will go directly back into the short, every dollar seen on screen. Because we have a fire, the proper safety measurements need to be taken into account to ensure everyone involved in the filming of this is safe and protected. Once created, this concept will go into your hands. We will then go for the extensive feature campaign, in hand with the proof of concept. Together, growing this movie from the ground up. All contributors will receive an NFT on this concept campaign. The level of contribution will determine which NFT you recieve. The top 3 contributors will be gifted 5% of the retained token each, 5% will be raffled off in our discord server and the remaining 10% will be retained for cast and crew who will have worked long hours to make this project come to life. I, DC (the director) will hold no $TIGER.
BUDGET BREAKDOWN -
CAST - 16.25%
CREW - 12.5%
EDITING - 4.375%
COLORING - 3.125%
EQUIPMENT - 31.25%
VFX - 12.5%
SFX - 10%
OTPS - 10%
THE COMMUNITY
A Big part of this community and the person who deserves a HUGE shoutout is the artist of the NFTs, Leslie Castañeda. She has worked brilliantly and diligently on these custom emblems that represent the school-based in the story. Thank you Leslie for all your hard work!
The 3 Diamond contributors will be given a special Diamond NFT that they get to show off within the discord, which also grants them extra $TIGER in the feature campaign.
In the discord, we will post BTS videos that allow you all to see the process of making the short, from concept to tech used to get the shots. We will hold stages with special filmmaking guests and discussions about the future of crypto and film.
We, Will, have giveaways of $Tiger token in the discord as well as ways the community can interact with the production, no matter your level of contribution.
The Short community is an important piece to this relationship. The Mix of filmmakers and experienced crypto enthusiasts brings validity to this process. The Filmmakers can talk about the process of the production, talking about the process of making a movie as we lean into the feature. The crypto enthusiast brings knowledge of the blockchain and how it operates to the filmmaking process. The combination of the two is in sync with the other.