Director's Vision

Even though it is hard to do, Sean Lee, the director, feels it is important to show his perspective on PTSD. One of the ways he learned to heal was by seeing mental illness on screen. TV shows like Bojack Horseman or video games like The Last of Us inspired him to continue the conversation on mental illness. The way the stories were depicted helped normalize disorders and made them less taboo. His hope with Birthday is that this vision will help others, as it did with him. There is something about seeing yourself on screen that makes you feel less alone. He hopes that he can do that for someone else, even if it is just one person.

Our team has done incredible work to make this vision a reality. Through the filmmaking process, Sean's initial vision has grown into a collaboration of all of the team's experiences. His story has become our story in the scriptwriting process. Camera and lighting tests revealed new ways to shoot scenes that he originally had not visualized. With that, this project has become a representation of our team's true passions as storytellers.

Stretch Goals

$6,000

Reaching our budget doesn’t mean it’s over! The goal for our budget is the bare minimum we will need to make this project a reality! With extra support, we can ensure that we will run into fewer issues during production. It’s always good to have an extra blanket of security in case we run into problems on set. This will also help us hire additional team members to make our project shine!

Behind-the-scenes of our campaign video (1).

$7,000

This is where we can get serious. With this extra support, more effort can be put into the set design. We can also cover transportation costs for the crew as well. We only have enough to reimburse the cast with our initial budget. The extra help can also cover the costs it would take to send the wonderful incentives made for each of our supporters. We can also recruit even more people onto the team to make this film a masterpiece!

Behind-the-scenes of our campaign video (2).

$8000+

This is the ultimate goal! With this much help and support, we can cover reshoots. This will guarantee us the best shots and performances. We can also reimburse the whole crew for any expenses they may have had throughout the whole project. Hundreds of hours will be spent on this film and it would be great if we can compensate everyone evenly. This will also cover any distribution hiccups that we may run into in the future. 

Developing the Story

This film is a work of fiction, but the passion, emotion, and mental state of the main character are nearly identical to Sean Lee's past experiences. However, this isn’t just his story. He has talked to others who suffer from mental illness and tried to incorporate as many of their experiences into the story as well.

One of the most important lessons they learned was to forgive themselves. Without forgiving ourselves, we hold onto a lot of guilt that ends up poisoning every aspect of our lives. By showing the effects of this poison on screen, we can show the destructive path that many people can go through when self-isolating and pushing away love. Through forgiveness, we can see how the main character starts his path of healing. It’s not just a magical cure, but it’s a start that can snowball into something great if he chooses to continue.

Themes

Self-forgiveness and letting go of guilt lead to a path of healing.

Bottling up emotions can lead to unhealthy habits and mental destruction.

Sharing your feelings and opening up can help minimize your struggles.

Why Now?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects people in different ways. Ultimately, it is when a person relives a traumatic event they experienced or witnessed. This can happen through flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and more.

It is normal to feel these symptoms after trauma. However, those who suffer from PTSD continue having symptoms months or even years after their traumatic event. As a result, this can lead to other mental illnesses and increased chances of substance abuse, self-isolation, etc.

If you think you have PTSD, it is important to reach out to a professional and start your path of healing. Everyone has their way of getting there. Starting is the hardest part. But it can get better.

Currently, there is no cure for PTSD. However, various forms of therapy have been shown to improve lives greatly. More research is being done on new possible treatments as well. Treatment through professional help can be effective enough to where PTSD is nearly eliminated. There is still hope. Healing is difficult, but it gives people a chance to live freely.

PTSD continues to be a taboo subject in many films and TV. Although the subject matter is difficult to discuss, it can ultimately help others struggling with the illness. We feel it is important to add our voice to the growing conversation. Mental illness needs to be an open talking point in society, our film will help open that conversation for everyone.

Visualizing Our Film

Contrast is important. We want to show the mood of the characters through color. Below are a collection of images that demonstrate the mood of our film and how it will look.

The colors we use will be very different depending on the scene. We will use deep blues to represent depression and blood red to represent guilt and fear. 

Who We Are

Our crew is students from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. For many of us, this is our first time crowdfunding and making a film from scratch. This whole process has a learning curve; however, our goal to make an authentic and impactful film remains constant. We come from diverse backgrounds and all have our own unique life experiences. This is great for storytelling purposes since we truly get new perspectives on our ideas every time. It makes this project an impactful collaborative effort.

Image of the College of DuPage Arts Center.

That being said, there is a sense of passion and creativity amongst our group that pushes past our limitations. As artists, we are always more impressed with those who could create art with fewer tools compared to those who had the most expensive equipment. This is where creativity shines.

Our production will be following all SAG COVID-19 protocols. This includes bi-daily COVID testing, mask-wearing at all times, and the presence of a COVID-Coordinator.

What's Coming

After our campaign, we will be shooting in the following weeks. We will then begin the editing process. After May, some of the crew will be graduating. We may lose some members of our crew due to life moving us in different directions. However, our core crew will stick together to support this project!

Sean Lee, Director of Birthday.

This may take over a year to finalize everything, but we plan to get this into festivals as soon as it is done. Films take a long time to create. It is important for us to continue the conversation on mental illness and share our story. We truly believe that we have an important story to share and we hope you can see the value in it too!