Brady Kesling, an EMT and boudoir photographer, wants to direct a feature film. High hopes, but they make sense: Kesling's held many other jobs. "I've been a limo driver, a magic store clerk, so many different things, but the one thing that's always held my attention is filmmaking." His skill as a photographer and his experience entertaining through magic give him some of the required skills. With some help from Toledo and the internet, he can get his movie, Market Correction, made.
So how to make a movie? Step one, secure a script; Kesling has one, courtesy of Ann Arbor crime author Jonathan Watkins, who has written a critically acclaimed series of murder mystery ebooks entitled Bright and Fletcher, about two crime-solving public defenders. Watkins is used to writing heroes, but the main characters of Market Correction have a more nefarious line of work.
The plot to Market Correction roughly goes as follows: in the near future, super-corporations (think Enron or Monsanto) protect their profit margins by hiring assassins to kill young innovators before they can become threats. "If they see anything that might be a threat twenty years down the line, they strangle it in the crib," Watkins said.
One assassin grows a conscience when his firm starts stopping people's hearts with satellites instead of killing the old fashioned way. "It's not science fiction in the sense of people running around in shiny jumpsuits," Watkins assures. In the light of recent developments, like drone strike technology, and government-led wire-tapping, Market Correction’s conceit sounds all-too plausible.
"It's timely, but the characters really draw you into the story," Kesling said about the script.
Step two: Establish a budget. "I knew Brady wanted to make a film and I've always wanted to do a screenplay, so I made something to be as low-budget as possible," Watkins said. That budget is $100 thousand, chump change by Hollywood standards.
To achieve their budgetary goal, Kesling and Watkins turned to Kickstarter, a website where project hopefuls can solicit internet users to pledge funding to pay for creative endeavors, such as films or inventions. If the Kickstarter goal is met, the pledged funds are charged to the individual web contributors, Kickstarter takes a fee, and the balance goes to the project. If the goal is not met, no charges are made. Kickstarter projects offer creative rewards in exchange for the pledges. The most interesting reward for contributing to Market Correction? Being assassinated on screen in the final cut of the film. “I think the internet and crowd-sourcing lets people who would otherwise never succeed in the industry find success,” Watkins said.
Kickstarter is a double-edged sword. The website imposes time limits, and Kesling's is running out—Market Correction’s fundraising period ends Saturday, June 29, and he has a ways to go to meet the goal.
Kickstarter also comes with a stigma. Recently, celebrities—people who have the means and connections to make their own projects by raising money the old fashioned way—have taken the website by storm and roused controversy. This April, Zach Braff, who starred in the television series Scrubs and directed the movie Garden State, raised millions through Kickstarter, even though he's a successful director in his own right. Which raises the question: does he really need to be using Kickstarter while Watkins and Kesling struggle?
Some people might call Kickstarter a platform for organized begging. "If you can afford that ethical stance more power to you,” said Kesling. “All forms of art relied upon patrons, even Michelangelo."
Independent filmmaking frees Kesling and Watkins from studios having power over their films. "In the end I would rather be beholden to fans of film than to the Hollywood establishment," Kesling said.
They would also rather be beholden to the people of Toledo: Kesling plans to shoot here, with a local cast and crew—the teaser trailer, visible on their Kickstarter page, was shot close to Manhattan's on Adams Street. "People aren't used to seeing a movie shot in Toledo, which makes it exciting," Kesling said. More practically, Watkins explained, “There is an untapped group of people here involved in theater and the arts who could very easily make the transition to film."
You can contribute to the Market Correction Kickstarter, and view the promotional trailer for the film, at: www.kickstarter.com/projects/lowfidelity/market-correction-a-feature-film
