#docuhorror

Published on https://blazingminds.co.uk/horror-on-sea-interview-sam-mason-bell/ by Philip Rogers

Horror-on-Sea interview with Lonely Hearts co-writer and director Sam Mason-Bell

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What is the film about?

In an effort to move on with their lives, a group of friends lock themselves in an abandoned insane asylum, the location of their friend, Patrick's, disappearance ten years earlier. Starting as a documentary about the local legend of Patrick, the truth becomes too real and transforms into a document of unrestrained neurosis. The bizarre events of that evening are upstaged by the bizarre behavior of the characters' during their downward spiral into madness fueled by their own anxiety.

Why is this film worth making and different from other films in the genre?

The "Found Footage" or Docuhorror genre is still developing, and we feel has potential for expanding the cinematic narrative. While many films have used this structure for its eerie qualities, we want to take it further and flesh out a stronger story and characters, as opposed to simply displaying a frightening situation. As many horror films focus simply on the events or the scare factor, we would like to think of our film as more of a dramatic horror picture where the audience can connect with the movie beyond their nerves. This essentially comes down to re-watchability, this is not a film simply for Halloween screenings (although it will be appropriate for that as well) but also a celebration of its characters and resonation with certain life truths that give other types of movies their power.

Now you might say "all this artie stuff is great but why would I actually want to see this movie?" Well that is our point exactly for making this movie, music seems to easily embrace the ability to entertain while also nurturing something more profound, and we want to do the same with this film. We want to make something that is entertaining and that is definitely a defining reason for this movie, we also feel that artistic value is complimentary to entertainment and wish to give it the same level of attention.

What is the money going to be used for?

Low budget filmmaking is kind of a deceptive term. Although the budget is far lower than any Hollywood studio picture everything still costs money because we don't have the contacts of the big players. Every penny will be efficiently used to give higher quality to the film, but essentially the funds will be used to rent equipment, get an abandoned building, feed the crew (which you really have to do when their working for free), insurance (which is necessary and expensive), as well as other odds and ends such as props and transportation.

Our minimum budget is $25,000. $20,000 for pre-production and production, and $5,000 for post-production (editing, post-sound, etc.) and perhaps a little bit of marketing.

How far along are we?

We already have our entire cast and most of our crew. The next stage is getting the money we need to fund the film so that we can make sure we are able to film in march as we have it set up now.

What do you plan on doing with the film?

The "Found Footage" or DocuHorror genre (Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Quarantine, Rec) is an emerging genre with a lot of attention and success. Part of our reason for choosing this genre is because of its potential for being made on a very small budget and having incredible theatrical success. We intend to send the film to several festivals and hope to gain a distribution deal for a theatrical release and worldwide distribution. While this may seem incredibly ambitious, we are daring to dream big. We have a back up plan as well. Another reason for choosing the horror genre is the large demand for horror films, even if we don't get a theatrical release there are still many possible avenues because of this demand.

When does my card get charged for my pledge? If Americanitis is successfully funded, your card will be charged when we reach our funding deadline, Feb. 16, 2011. If we do not reach our funding goal, your card is never charged. Kickstarter is all or nothing fund raising, thats why it is so important that word of our project reaches beyond our network. So please tell others, and help us.

Is my pledge amount made public? No. Only you and the project creator will be able to see your pledge amount.

If I donate, when can I redeem the incentive? All levels of rewards will only be sent out if our goal is met. When we do meet our goal, after we cross our deadline we will immediately begin processing and completing the rewards for everyone involved. You will get a message from us requesting information from you, like your address, etc. At that time, please reply to us as soon as possible so that we can complete your pledge reward. Some rewards, like the screenings, parties, movie credits, and dvds of the movie can only happen after the film is completed and released so this will take a bit of time.

What if I want to pledge but want to decline the reward? There is a button that you can select if you don’t want the reward.

Can we exceed the goal? YES! That would be wonderful! There is no limit to the money we can raise as long as it is pledged before the deadline. We have set our goal at the low end, so if we can exceed it, we can make a better film.

Can I increase my pledge once it’s been made? YES! Once you donate to our campaign, you may want to change your reward to a different one, or increase your pledge amount. To do so, go to Kickstarter and sign in. If you go to our campaign page, the green “Back This Project” button has been replaced with a blue “Manage Your Donation” button. Click on it and you can enter a new amount.

Can I Gift A Reward? YES! What a unique idea. If you would like to donate to the film but give the reward to someone as a gift, go through all the normal process of making a donation in your own name. For billing purposes, this action must be in your own name. After our deadline, we will send a message to you on Kickstarter. (It will be forwarded to the email address you provided) We will request things like your address from you at that time. Please reply with all the information for the person who is to receive the reward and we will make sure that they are the person who actually receives it.

What happens if the money isn’t raised in time? Unfortunately nothing happens. The whole thing is as if it didn't happen. If our goal isn’t met before the deadline, Feb. 16, 2011, no money changes hands and we are back to square one for fundraising. Kickstarter will notify you either way if the project is successful or not, but lets not think that way because this project will be successful.

Who does the money go to? Every penny (minus the fees for Kickstarter’s involvement + Amazon's processing fee) will go directly to the “Americanitis” movie budget! Your money goes directly to the funding of this film, and your generosity straight to our hearts.

I'm not in the US. Can I still pledge to projects? Yes. You can pledge from anywhere.

How do I contact you? Please email us: [email protected]. We will quickly get back to you!

Project location: Chicago, IL