Amy Hawes is a lovely film and TV Runner based in Glasgow. She’s using the new system of crowd funding to raise funding for her short film, Falling For Fitzgerald. I managed to spend a few moments with her and blast her with questions.
So, tell me about Falling For Fitzgerald. What’s it all about? It’s a short film about Melanie who is going through a slightly miserable time in her life. Nearly thirty, she’s broke and had the most rubbish of romantic experiences. Ever-so-slightly self-delusional, she harbours an undying love for her best friend Fitzgerald, who never in a million years would be interested in Melanie even if he wasn’t gay. When Fitzy needs to persuade his reclusive and narrow-minded aristocratic parents that he really isn’t interested in sleeping with other men, honest, Melanie agrees to a ridiculous deal whereby she pretends to be his fiance in exchange for a big wad of cash. However, during the upper-class incarceration, Melanie’s imagination starts to get the better of her.
How/where did you get the idea? I originally wrote this story for a 2,000 word women’s literature competition. It’s amazing what the mind can come up with if it’s got 24 hours to do it in and some rather stringent competition boundaries.
Is there any of Melanie in you, or vice versa? Yes, unfortunately – I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t. When I was younger I was ever so slightly more Fatal Attraction then I care to remember, and I know what it’s like to pin all your hopes on something unobtainable that you reckon is going to solve all your problems. However, I hope that these days I can recognise when I’m being ridiculous, which is all a bit too self-aware for Melanie.
Why have you gone the crowd funding route? I discovered the concept of crowd-funding recently and think it’s absolutely fantastic. It means I have the potential to reach literally hundreds if not thousands of funders. The difficulty of course is making sure my message reaches them, which is where fantastic sites where I can discuss my cause like this come in!
Has twitter/facebook helped you? Oh yes, 100%. Probably about 60% of my funding so far has come from friends on facebook that can see what I’m doing on my status updates, and they’re intrigued and want to help. Of course, you know you’re doing really well when absolute strangers donate and that’s generally happened through referrals on twitter. I think the difficulty is the balance of knowing when it’s ok to blab on about your project, and knowing when you’re just being repetitive and boring. Just because I’ve posted my funding page link up 20 times on twitter today, doesn’t mean anyone’s going to click on it anymore than had I just done it a couple of times, and it’s going to put people off donating if you’re not interesting with your updates.
What do we get for our money? Here is a detailed breakdown of the “perks” you will get if you donate money to “Falling for Fitzgerald”:
| Email List ($1 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project. |
| Thank you credit ($5 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project. Plus you’ll get a thank you in the credits! |
| Signed photo ($10 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, and a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK). |
| DVD ($15 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK) and a copy of the film on DVD (digital download if outside of the UK). |
| Glasgow Premiere ($20 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK) and a copy of the film on DVD (digital download if outside of the UK), plus invitation to the private premiere screening of the “Falling for Fitzgerald” (Glasgow). |
| Extra part ($25 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK) and a copy of the film on DVD (digital download if outside of the UK), plus invitation to the private premiere screening of the “Falling for Fitzgerald” (Glasgow), as well as an extra part in the film. |
| Executive Producer credit ($45 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK) and a copy of the film on DVD (digital download if outside of the UK), plus invitation to the private premiere screening of the “Falling for Fitzgerald” (Glasgow). You will also receive an Executive Producer credit in the film. |
| Professional 1hr Violin Lesson ($60 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK) and a copy of the film on DVD (digital download if outside of the UK), plus invitation to the private premiere screening of the “Falling for Fitzgerald” (Glasgow). You will also receive a free professional violin lesson in Glasgow (1 hour). |
| Advertising space in credits ($100 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK) and a copy of the film on DVD (digital download if outside of the UK), plus invitation to the private premiere screening of the “Falling for Fitzgerald” (Glasgow). You will also receive “Sponsored By” advertising space in the end credits of the film. |
| Unique website video ($350 minimum) |
| You get on the email list, where you will receive photos and constant updates about the project, a thank you in the credits, a signed still from the film (emailed if outside of the UK) and a copy of the film on DVD (digital download if outside of the UK), plus invitation to the private premiere screening of the “Falling for Fitzgerald” (Glasgow). You will also receive a unique, personalised video (max 3 minutes) for your website, and our eternal gratitude. |
How are you finding time to fit this in, with your day job and all? The reason I’m making “Falling for Fitzgerald” right now is for it to be a spring-board into finding myself some more work. I only graduated from uni a year ago, and the first job I had I was made redundant from seven months later because of job cuts at the company. Therefore the answer to this is that I’ve got a lot of spare time on my hands at the moment, and I’m putting all my energies into making this film the best it can be, with as big a budget as I can find. I feel like I’ve got a lot at stake over how well the whole process turns out.
What are you hoping for when it’s out? I hope that I’ll be able to come away with a really high quality-looking short film that everyone involved will be proud to say they worked on. I want to be able to submit it to prestigious film festivals and make myself noticed with a view to furthering my career in the film and television industries.
Any films you have seen that have left a lasting impression with you? All films should leave an impression with you, whether for good reasons or bad. The Swimming Pool, Closer, Amelie, Donnie Darko, Goodbye Lenin, The Hours and Run Lola Run are some of my all-time favorites, possibly because they all have amazing soundtracks. For me, the right soundtrack is as important as the right actors.
Anything you want to get off your chest right now ?! I just want to say, if anybody’s reading this who is trying to find work in the TV and Film industry (particularly in Scotland) and you’re feeling depressed and disheartened because it’s HARD, then I feel your pain. Don’t give up, try throwing yourself into something crazy and who knows what might happen?
Thanks Amy!
© BRWC 2010.
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