Big Dog City
San Francisco, California | Film Feature
Drama, Other
BIG DOG CITY is an immediate and personal portrait of the SF Bay Area. Following two characters trying to sort out their lives in a city that is no longer livable, the film searches for an authenticity in a people and place whose main currency is an identity that they seem to have outgrown.
Big Dog City
San Francisco, California | Film Feature
Drama, Other
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $6,490 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
40 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
BIG DOG CITY is an immediate and personal portrait of the SF Bay Area. Following two characters trying to sort out their lives in a city that is no longer livable, the film searches for an authenticity in a people and place whose main currency is an identity that they seem to have outgrown.
Participating In
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Thanks for being here! PLEASE CLICK ON THAT FOLLOW BUTTON TO THE RIGHT!! We need followers to win this contest rally thing. It's free for you and it helps us A LOT! (we won't spam you, just a few more email updates until this is done.) Ok, here's some info :)
Hi, my name is Kevin Luna and I'm the director of this film, Big Dog City. We've shot the film and it's currently in edit. We're hoping to get your support for post production costs. Any money you can give will go a long way and if you're broke (like me) just following us here on this page is a huge help as we need to get 1500+ followers to be considered by the Duplass Brothers and maybe have them executive produce us.
But first, let me tell you more about the film:
The film that I'm talking about is a film about San Francisco. Or, ahem, the San Francisco Bay Area. Or rather, it's a personal film about growing up in the Bay Area. It's a film about myself and the people I've grown up with. And it's a film made by myself and the people I've grown up with. So in many ways it's a portrait. It's a kind of intimate portrait of an extremely gentrified and beautiful and problematic and always changing place and, within this landscape, a group of art/punk/hipster/slacker/fuckups who have grown up around there and are encountering/avoiding/assisting/resisting these changes every day while living their lives or trying to figure out how to live their lives anyways. That's all. No heros or villians. No moral compass. A little mystery perhaps, a little less romance, some awkward conversations, but mostly just a long, close look in the mirror.
Conceptually, you could try to think of the film as a meta fiction, an auto-biographical narrative dreamt out of this group's particular collective unconscious. Or you could think of it as a fictitious documentary, where the narrative is only a silky artifice, and that the making of the film in itself lends towards some kind of "real" document underneath that silk. It's staged but it's improvised. It's improvised but based on a narrative outline. What's real? What's fake? The lines get fuzzy. Things start to fall apart. In this way, the film is kind of like a knot that eventually comes loose and drifts slowly to the ground.
What happens is, we follow these two characters for about a day and a half. Mike, late 20's, unemployed, living at his parents and having problems with his medication. And Ramona a tough, lone wolf, Harrison Ford type, new to town, working in a cafe, looking for her techie boyfriend who disappeared a few days ago.
At its narrative core, the film is about these two characters who are both trying to get through the day and are confronted with certain things about themselves along the way. It's a film about growing up. About not growing up. About needing to be saved and not getting saved. It's a film about trying to figure things out but still being confused...
But I'll spare you any more soggy descriptions and try to cut to the chase. The support we're looking for right now is to finish post production in the best possible way. To pay our sound designer. To record a score. To find a colorist. To pay yours truly so that I can dive full time into finishing the edit and fixing all of the rest of these things...
And I want to be honest with you. I want your money, but I don't need your money. We're going to finish this film money or not. I'm going to put in what I have and I'm going to do my best until it's done. But, as I hope you can understand, any money you want to give is going make this film better. It's going to allow for everyone to really put in their time without thinking of all the other stresses in their lives (if only for a moment). And if we can manage to catch the attention of those Duplass bros, it's going to really help us to get it out there into the world.
So again, if you're interested in this film and have some bucks to throw our way, thank you!! Thank you again!!! And if you can't give any money but are still interested and want to help, following us on this Seed & Spark page, really really helps our chances of being able to pitch to those Duplass guys.
Thanks!
/Kevin Luna
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Design
Costs $1,500
Sound is 51% of a film. This money ensures that our sound designer can complete the mix of the film.
Score
Costs $1,500
To pay our composer to make the score.
Edit
Costs $1,500
So I can take the time to finish the edit.
Color Correction
Costs $1,500
Reveal the colors.
Deliverables
Costs $1,000
For a DCP and other ways to watch the film.
Promotional & Rewards
Costs $1,000
Shipping and material costs for rewards and posters, etc.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
KEVIN LUNA writer/director/producer
Kevin is a writer and filmmaker from the Bay Area and intermittently based in Stockholm, Sweden. He recieved a media arts BFA from CCA in 2009 and more recently completed a project year at Stockholm's Royal Academy of Art where he assembled and began the edit on this film. Kevin has been writing, producing and directing any number of music videos and short films. This is his first feature.
MOLLY LEHMANN producer
Molly is an artist and set designer based in New York and from San Francisco. She graduated from RISD with a BFA in printmaking. As a producer, Molly cowrote the outline for this film and helped to secure specific actors and locations key to bringing an authenticity to the film in the funnest possible way.
MICHAEL RAMOS actor/producer & PENNY cat/gray/hero
Mike is an artist, musician and record label owner born and raised in the Sunset district of San Francisco. In addition to playing one of the lead roles, Mike collaborated on the outline of the film. Since its early development, he has helped to produce the film in every practical way, from finding locations and casting other actors, to driving the car around while we shoot B-roll. He is the engine behind this film that ensures we keep going even when we have run out of gas. Penny is small, gray and the toughest cat in the world.
(actual photo)
JONATHAN DAKERS sound design
Jonathan is a sound designer originally from New Zealand and now based in Stockholm, Sweden. He has been working with Kevin on most of his narrative films. He is currently in his 3rd and final year at the prestigous Stockholms Dramatiska Hogskola for film sound.
FRANZ EDVARD CEDRINS composer
Franz is a composer, artist, filmmaker and brutal tennis player (from what I hear from multiple sources) based in Stockholm Sweden. Since studying at Stockholms Dramatiska Hogskola he has presented work at institutions such as Norrlands Opera, The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm and Swedish Television.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Thanks for being here! PLEASE CLICK ON THAT FOLLOW BUTTON TO THE RIGHT!! We need followers to win this contest rally thing. It's free for you and it helps us A LOT! (we won't spam you, just a few more email updates until this is done.) Ok, here's some info :)
Hi, my name is Kevin Luna and I'm the director of this film, Big Dog City. We've shot the film and it's currently in edit. We're hoping to get your support for post production costs. Any money you can give will go a long way and if you're broke (like me) just following us here on this page is a huge help as we need to get 1500+ followers to be considered by the Duplass Brothers and maybe have them executive produce us.
But first, let me tell you more about the film:
The film that I'm talking about is a film about San Francisco. Or, ahem, the San Francisco Bay Area. Or rather, it's a personal film about growing up in the Bay Area. It's a film about myself and the people I've grown up with. And it's a film made by myself and the people I've grown up with. So in many ways it's a portrait. It's a kind of intimate portrait of an extremely gentrified and beautiful and problematic and always changing place and, within this landscape, a group of art/punk/hipster/slacker/fuckups who have grown up around there and are encountering/avoiding/assisting/resisting these changes every day while living their lives or trying to figure out how to live their lives anyways. That's all. No heros or villians. No moral compass. A little mystery perhaps, a little less romance, some awkward conversations, but mostly just a long, close look in the mirror.
Conceptually, you could try to think of the film as a meta fiction, an auto-biographical narrative dreamt out of this group's particular collective unconscious. Or you could think of it as a fictitious documentary, where the narrative is only a silky artifice, and that the making of the film in itself lends towards some kind of "real" document underneath that silk. It's staged but it's improvised. It's improvised but based on a narrative outline. What's real? What's fake? The lines get fuzzy. Things start to fall apart. In this way, the film is kind of like a knot that eventually comes loose and drifts slowly to the ground.
What happens is, we follow these two characters for about a day and a half. Mike, late 20's, unemployed, living at his parents and having problems with his medication. And Ramona a tough, lone wolf, Harrison Ford type, new to town, working in a cafe, looking for her techie boyfriend who disappeared a few days ago.
At its narrative core, the film is about these two characters who are both trying to get through the day and are confronted with certain things about themselves along the way. It's a film about growing up. About not growing up. About needing to be saved and not getting saved. It's a film about trying to figure things out but still being confused...
But I'll spare you any more soggy descriptions and try to cut to the chase. The support we're looking for right now is to finish post production in the best possible way. To pay our sound designer. To record a score. To find a colorist. To pay yours truly so that I can dive full time into finishing the edit and fixing all of the rest of these things...
And I want to be honest with you. I want your money, but I don't need your money. We're going to finish this film money or not. I'm going to put in what I have and I'm going to do my best until it's done. But, as I hope you can understand, any money you want to give is going make this film better. It's going to allow for everyone to really put in their time without thinking of all the other stresses in their lives (if only for a moment). And if we can manage to catch the attention of those Duplass bros, it's going to really help us to get it out there into the world.
So again, if you're interested in this film and have some bucks to throw our way, thank you!! Thank you again!!! And if you can't give any money but are still interested and want to help, following us on this Seed & Spark page, really really helps our chances of being able to pitch to those Duplass guys.
Thanks!
/Kevin Luna
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Design
Costs $1,500
Sound is 51% of a film. This money ensures that our sound designer can complete the mix of the film.
Score
Costs $1,500
To pay our composer to make the score.
Edit
Costs $1,500
So I can take the time to finish the edit.
Color Correction
Costs $1,500
Reveal the colors.
Deliverables
Costs $1,000
For a DCP and other ways to watch the film.
Promotional & Rewards
Costs $1,000
Shipping and material costs for rewards and posters, etc.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
KEVIN LUNA writer/director/producer
Kevin is a writer and filmmaker from the Bay Area and intermittently based in Stockholm, Sweden. He recieved a media arts BFA from CCA in 2009 and more recently completed a project year at Stockholm's Royal Academy of Art where he assembled and began the edit on this film. Kevin has been writing, producing and directing any number of music videos and short films. This is his first feature.
MOLLY LEHMANN producer
Molly is an artist and set designer based in New York and from San Francisco. She graduated from RISD with a BFA in printmaking. As a producer, Molly cowrote the outline for this film and helped to secure specific actors and locations key to bringing an authenticity to the film in the funnest possible way.
MICHAEL RAMOS actor/producer & PENNY cat/gray/hero
Mike is an artist, musician and record label owner born and raised in the Sunset district of San Francisco. In addition to playing one of the lead roles, Mike collaborated on the outline of the film. Since its early development, he has helped to produce the film in every practical way, from finding locations and casting other actors, to driving the car around while we shoot B-roll. He is the engine behind this film that ensures we keep going even when we have run out of gas. Penny is small, gray and the toughest cat in the world.
(actual photo)
JONATHAN DAKERS sound design
Jonathan is a sound designer originally from New Zealand and now based in Stockholm, Sweden. He has been working with Kevin on most of his narrative films. He is currently in his 3rd and final year at the prestigous Stockholms Dramatiska Hogskola for film sound.
FRANZ EDVARD CEDRINS composer
Franz is a composer, artist, filmmaker and brutal tennis player (from what I hear from multiple sources) based in Stockholm Sweden. Since studying at Stockholms Dramatiska Hogskola he has presented work at institutions such as Norrlands Opera, The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm and Swedish Television.