Well it’s Super Bowl Sunday and I’m hard at work writing a proposal for the Good Pitch. I really think we have a chance at this and it would be the most interesting and perfect avenue to get the support we need to finish this film. I wanted to share my proposal with y’all so you will know exactly the direction we are going and what we are needing. I really hope that all of this information helps you understand why your donations are so helpful.
Please let me know if you have any questions and feel free to share with friends, family, co-workers, any potential viewer or sponsor. We really appreciate your much needed support! Thank you!
And enjoy the new re-cut trailer, too (watch it all the way through – there is a blank spot around mid-way)!!
Go Saints, Erin
My Proposal:
Name: Erin Levin
Gender: female
Date of birth: 1985-09-13
Mobile Number: +1 (404) 555-2879
Region: North America
PROPOSAL NAME:
Upbeat: The story of the African Children’s Choir and Music for Life
ABOUT YOU AND YOUR TEAM Director Name Erin Levin Director filmography (up to 5 credits – film title, length and year of completion)
- CNN Producer: Songs of Hope, 30 minutes, 2010
- CNN Associate Producer: Autumn of Change, 2 hours, 2009
- CNN Production Assistant: Black in America II, 2 hours, 2009
- CNN Production Assistant: Latino in America, 1 hour, 2009
- CNN Production Assistant: Muslim Youth, 30 minutes, 2008
What is the nationality of the director? American
What is your role on the team? Director Co-Director Co-Producer Producer Exec-Producer Scriptwriter Editor
Tell us about any other key members in your team and their relevant experience – 100 words max please:
Thus far, I have shot all 60 hours of footage. I have had friends from CNN, who hope to get into the film industry, help me with editing. I have also written and produced everything so far. My passion is field producing and producing. I’m hoping this will help me score a second camera on location as well as an Executive Producer and editor. The African Children’s Choir™ has been incredibly supportive.
Company Name (if there is one): PeaceTree Productions LLC
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT Tell us about your project in 50 words or less:
Ecclesiastes tells us there’s a time for everything under the sun. Many children across Africa only have time for suffering. The African Children’s Choir™ is changing that. Their music is healing the world, uplifting their communities. There’s a time to dance and a time to sing… Upbeat is their story.
Now tell us more about the project and what/who would be in it – 800 words max please
UPBEAT: A documentary feature film about the African Children’s Choir™ and Music for Life
STORYLINE: Music for Life brings education, basic needs, culture and hope to thousands of children and their communities across Africa. At eight years old, Bheki cooks his one meal a day by himself. The food provided by Music for Life. At school, he laughs and sings. The internationally acclaimed African Children’s Choir™ is Music for Life’s largest program. Their mission is to help Africa’s most vulnerable children today so they can help Africa tomorrow.
Mbenya grew up in a clustered tin hut with fæces – filled paper landing on her roof. Because of the Choir, Mbenya is a lawyer today and a voice for human rights for women of the developing world. For over 25 years, they have been lifting children up from poverty and strife, giving them the opportunity of a lifetime. Robert walked across Uganda with his little siblings dying by his side. Through the support of the Choir, Robert qualified as a medical doctor, and he is treating orphans with malaria and HIV/AIDS. Robert is also the Director of Education at the Makerere University/Yale University collaborative in Kampala. These children represent a new Africa. No time for school in the slum. Stella’s smile lights up dark places and her song carries worries away. Her world tour with the Choir starts now. The sky is Stella’s new limit.
Background
The internationally acclaimed African Children’s Choir™ has hundreds of thousands of fans across the world, but is lacking an up-to-date 360° view of their story to share. These precious recording artists are incredibly gifted and their energetic live performances have been life changing. The closest thing to their live music is this up close and personal HD concert footage. This documentary will empower Music for Life and the African Children’s Choir™ to continue their rich tradition of sustainable development work and success in uplifting children through sharing the tools to become positive and effective leaders. INVOLVEMENT: Share – Give funds needed to finish filming and begin post-production for the documentary. Use your skills to help edit. Volunteer your time to get involved with Music for Life and the African Children’s Choir. Shoot – Filmmaker Erin Levin has shot over 60 hours of amazing HD footage of Music for Life and the Choir in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa and on tour in Northern Ireland and Vancouver. This material has been used to create the attached trailer. It was also used for a 30-minute special edition news documentary she produced for CNN’s “Inside Africa”. We also have 25 years of archive footage. The current need is to collect and film more stories, scenes and interviews across Africa, on tour and with the team and to develop a character-driven film which shares their story. Send – Social networking has become a magical medium for development. Please pass this on to garner more support. Sell – The film will be widely distributed through the African Children’s Choir vast fan base, a network of outlets, as well as through film festivals around the world. Your investment in this project will come back financially through DVD sales and personally through seeing the difference made in thousands of lives.
What is the anticipated length of your film? 0-10 mins 10-40 mins 40-60 mins 60+ mins
PROJECT STAGE: if you have selected a, b, c or d, please give more information about your production schedule and completion – 150 words max please
I have shot 60 hours of footage on the ground in Africa and on tour with the children. I have also logged 25 years of the Choir’s archives. Next, I am hoping to find the sponsorship and support to film more in Africa and on tour, to dig deeper into the stories of the successful former members and the transformations in the newest group of young choristers. I already know exactly who to follow and the beginning of their sequences written out. We are also getting these main characters flipcams in order to further personalize their experiences. Then I will script the whole hour feature-documentary and will need to get it in with a great editor. I am hoping to accomplish all of this by the end of 2010 and have the film out for distribution in time for this year’s Christmas. If you have selected e, please give more information about any festivals your film has applied to, or been accepted by – 150 words max please NA OUTREACH Do you have any plans for outreach or audience engagement for your film? Please outline these plans – 150 words max please Yes! Outreach and our awareness campaign are crucial to this film. There is great entertainment – the joyful singing and dancing of Grammy-nominated African children. There is also great need – the kids in the Choir represent their family and neighbors in poverty across Africa. They are ambassadors of hope. This film will give them the opportunity to further spread their love, music and important stories across the globe. I am extremely passionate about activating my generation. Young professionals around the world crave an outlet, a chance to make a difference. This film brings that. We will engage the audience to get more involved with the Choir, to host them, chaperon them, get muddy playing with them. I also have a dream of using this activation to allow our fans to share their stories on the website, interact with each other and show how they’re giving back. Have you spoken to any potential partner organizations (e.g. NGOs, foundations or potential brand and corporate partners) about your film? If so, who, when and what happened? 150 words max please Yes, the African Children’s Choir and their Music for Life Institute is extremely involved given that the film is about the participants in their organization. They have been wonderful and are open to other partnerships as well. Do you have any prior experience working on outreach for documentary? 150 words max please Yes, I worked as the Outreach Coordinator for the Dispatch:Zimbabwe shows at Madison Square Garden in 2007. Through the Dispatch Foundation, I served as the liaison between the band, projects in Zimbabwe and the fans. Very similar to this current initiative of mine, we used music and the show’s film to connect fans and the audience with opportunities to act and learn more. It was extremely successful and gives me the confidence that this Upbeat project will be as well. Why do you want to make this film and what would you like it to achieve? 100 words max please The world needs to know this story. These children come from nothing, the Choir gives them the skills to sustain themselves, then they go back and give their communities everything. It’s the most inspiring group I’ve ever experienced. Their outreach is exponential. Their music’s incredible. Their smiles are contagious. These people bring tears, chuckles, awe, suspense and hope to the screen. I believe this film will encourage people around the world. It will raise funds for the Choir to expand into more countries. I know this film will make the world’s relationships more effective, real and exciting. FINANCIALS Please explain to us what funding you have already secured from the following sources: Production funding from broadcasters CNN paid a small amount for the 30-minute piece done for them. But it was made for CNN, not as an entertaining feature-documentary. Therefore, zero. Pre-sale from broadcaster(s) Zero. Production or development funding from Foundations, individuals, nonprofits or NGOs We have raised $3,000 from private gifts to the African Children’s Choir specifically for them film. Deal with sales agent or distributor None. Other investment (including your own) I bought a camera and some good gear for this. I also had to buy Final Cut and a faster Mac that could handle all of this HD footage. I’ve also had to buy numerous hard drives and I and the Choir have spent funds on shipping archives. We’ve also paid for flights to tour shows and Africa. Grand total already invested by me and the Choir is around $20,000. Have you pitched your film to anyone else who is not listed above? Please give details, including who you have pitched to and when. No. What is your total budget for your project? NB: If your project is selected for the Good Pitch, you will be asked for a budget. The minimum needed to complete to film on a shoestring with no one making any money and will me and the Choir not making any investments back: $20,000. The goal is for me and the Choir to make our investments back and at least to break even. I would also like to get a great editor involved and a second photographer with me. Ideally, we will receive at least $60,000 for this to happen. Even better, would be to get around $100,000 in cash or an equivalent deal with a company so we could not only finish the film well but also promote and distribute widely. Please confirm the amount of money you are still looking to raise Min need to finish = $20,000 Goal to finish well = $60,000 Goal to finish and distribute = $100,000 Are you seeking outreach funding? Yes No If yes, how much? Since the African Children’s Choir is already popular, we are good to go with their fans. Personally, I would love to get this film more widely distributed and known on social networks, college campuses etc. To do this, we would need around 20-40 thousand dollars.
SELLING YOUR FILM Contact for sales/rights in this film Erin Levin – Director/Producer/Photographer African Children’s Choir™ – Subject This person is Me Another member of our team Our sales agent Our distributor DECLARATIONS I understand that I must submit any supporting materials (e.g. trailer) by Monday 8 February in order to be eligible for the Tribeca Good Pitch (instructions on how to upload trailers will be given in Step 2) That’s the end of the proposal form – you can now either Save it for later or Submit it: Save for later Any changes will be lost unless you save them Submit proposal to the Foundation Once submitted you cannot change or edit this proposal