Clay Pigeons
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Thriller
Boys are fascinated by guns - from NERF to super soakers to cowboy costumes on Halloween. It isn't until you hold one in your hand that you understand their real potential to harm. We want to tell a story about liberal, anti-gun type folks who are suddenly faced with the temptation to use one.
Clay Pigeons
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Thriller
1 Campaigns |
Green Light
This campaign raised $17,605 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
181 supporters | followers
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Boys are fascinated by guns - from NERF to super soakers to cowboy costumes on Halloween. It isn't until you hold one in your hand that you understand their real potential to harm. We want to tell a story about liberal, anti-gun type folks who are suddenly faced with the temptation to use one.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Louis, Nick, and Tyler share a three-bedroom apartment in New York City. Unemployed and bored, Louis becomes paranoid and buys a black-market pistol. Though they appear to be outraged at first, it isn’t long before temptation sets in and Nick and Tyler want guns of their own. They invite Mo, a strange and enigmatic gun dealer, into their apartment immediately regretting their decision as the situation escalates.
Clay Pigeons is about temptation and human nature. It springs from the dispiriting number of mass shootings in our country and my feeling that all young men are obsessed with guns. As a boy I was fascinated by guns - from super soakers to carrying a toy pistol to school when I was Indiana Jones for Halloween. It wasn't until I held one in my hand and operated one that the full impact of its potential to harm fully dawned on me. I wanted to write a story where liberal, anti-gun types were faced with the opportunity to experience one. It was important to me that the film take place entirely in one apartment and that the room changes as the stakes change for the characters in it.
In conceiving of the look and feel of the film I took inspiration from a number of different sources. I was interested in films where the character's circumstances spiral out of their control. I was also interested in a combination of high drama and broad comedy. In many cases similar cinematic vocabulary would be used to evoke both. And, of course, "chamber" films that took mainly in one location were of particular interest.
The artists and technicians who make up our creative team and crew are all experienced professionals contributing their skills and sensibilities to this passion project. It has been a value of our production that everyone on our team be paid for their work, their time and their craft. A large portion of our budget is allocated to the fees of the more than 20 members of our team from the actors to the director of photography to the gaffer, the grip, the production and costume designers and our production assistants. It is an extraordinary pledge of commitment from all involved considering these amounts are by no means a living wage. Still, to achieve this is a strain on our limited resources. We are turning to you for assistance because this aspect of our production is of the utmost importance to us.
Thank you so much!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast and Crew
Costs $6,800
Fair and equitable pay for every member of our team is a core value of our production.
Location, Insurance, Meals & Transportation
Costs $4,250
With these tools we can best support our artistic vision and execution.
Equipment Rental & Design Budgets
Costs $3,400
With these tools we can best support our artistic vision and execution.
Post Production
Costs $2,550
This assistance will allow us to ensure the sound and color quality meets its fullest potential.
Share this update!
About This Team
Our Team
Gabriel Vega Weissman
Writer & Director
Gabriel is an award-winning director and playwright. He has directed pieces for New York Theatre Workshop; Atlantic Theater Company; Primary Stages; A.R.T.; Williamstown Theatre Festival and New Dramatists as well as concert events for Emmy-nominated actor and musician Tituss Burgess at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. He has served as associate director on seven Broadway productions. Gabriel is an alum of the Drama League Director’s Project; Lincoln Center Directors Lab; Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellowship; Williamstown Theatre Festival Professional Training Program and New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship. In 2015, he was the finalist for the inaugural Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Directors Fellowship. His plays are licensed and published by Broadway Licensing. This is his first film. gabrielvegaweissman.com
Logan Reed
Executive Producer
Logan Reed (he/him) is a producer and director of theater, opera, and film. He is an Associate Producer at the Perelman Performing Arts Center with select credits including: Cats: The Jellicle Ball and An American Soldier. Select theater directing credits include: Marta Nesspek Presents… (23.5° Tilt); Twelfth Night (Classical Theatre of Harlem); It’s Only a Play (Hawaii Theatre); 26 Seconds (Open Studio at Park Avenue Armory); Pullman Car Hiawatha (Lenfest Center for the Arts); Some Men (Pride Plays at Rattlestick) and Brian Reno & Gabriel Vega Weissman’s Loose Canon (Scranton Shakespeare Festival, NYC Fringe Encore Series). www.loganreeddirector.com
Jack Davis
Director of Photography
Jack Davis is a cinematographer from Wisconsin who is currently based in New York. He believes that openness and transparency are key to creating a shared vision on set, and has been honored to work closely with filmmakers to help tell deeply personal stories. His work has reached audiences in theaters and festivals across the world, including the Berlinale, Rotterdam International Film Festival, and Newfest. Jack is a graduate of Carleton College and Brooklyn College’s graduate cinematography program, where he learned how satisfying it is to put the camera in the right spot.
Kelsey Ettman
Costume Designer
Film and TV credits include: Animals (Oscilloscope Laboratories); The School for Good and Evil; Stranger Things S2 (Netflix); Jackpot (Amazon); Patriot's Day (CBS Films) and upcoming releases Salem's Lot (Max) and Simple Favor 2 ( Lionsgate). Theatrical costume design credits include: 26 Seconds (Park Avenue Armory); The King and I; The Secret Garden (Arizona Broadway Theatre); The Awake (First Floor Theatre); The Beautiful Dark; The Glass Menagerie (Redtwist Theatre); Sugarward (the side project) and South of Settling (Steppenwolf Garage). You can see more at www.KelseyEttman.com
Lillian Pachter
Editor
Lillian Pachter is a narrative Film and TV Editor based in New York City where she lives with her 2 cats and mostly alive plants. For the past decade, she’s worked on projects with directors such as Doug Liman; Greta Gerwig; and Steven Zaillian. Most recently she cut on the Netflix limited series Ripley. With a B.A in Dramatic Literature and Cinema, she’s trained in the craft of storytelling. Pachter is a member of The Motion Picture Editors Guild, I.A.T.S.E Local 700. IMDb
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Louis, Nick, and Tyler share a three-bedroom apartment in New York City. Unemployed and bored, Louis becomes paranoid and buys a black-market pistol. Though they appear to be outraged at first, it isn’t long before temptation sets in and Nick and Tyler want guns of their own. They invite Mo, a strange and enigmatic gun dealer, into their apartment immediately regretting their decision as the situation escalates.
Clay Pigeons is about temptation and human nature. It springs from the dispiriting number of mass shootings in our country and my feeling that all young men are obsessed with guns. As a boy I was fascinated by guns - from super soakers to carrying a toy pistol to school when I was Indiana Jones for Halloween. It wasn't until I held one in my hand and operated one that the full impact of its potential to harm fully dawned on me. I wanted to write a story where liberal, anti-gun types were faced with the opportunity to experience one. It was important to me that the film take place entirely in one apartment and that the room changes as the stakes change for the characters in it.
In conceiving of the look and feel of the film I took inspiration from a number of different sources. I was interested in films where the character's circumstances spiral out of their control. I was also interested in a combination of high drama and broad comedy. In many cases similar cinematic vocabulary would be used to evoke both. And, of course, "chamber" films that took mainly in one location were of particular interest.
The artists and technicians who make up our creative team and crew are all experienced professionals contributing their skills and sensibilities to this passion project. It has been a value of our production that everyone on our team be paid for their work, their time and their craft. A large portion of our budget is allocated to the fees of the more than 20 members of our team from the actors to the director of photography to the gaffer, the grip, the production and costume designers and our production assistants. It is an extraordinary pledge of commitment from all involved considering these amounts are by no means a living wage. Still, to achieve this is a strain on our limited resources. We are turning to you for assistance because this aspect of our production is of the utmost importance to us.
Thank you so much!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast and Crew
Costs $6,800
Fair and equitable pay for every member of our team is a core value of our production.
Location, Insurance, Meals & Transportation
Costs $4,250
With these tools we can best support our artistic vision and execution.
Equipment Rental & Design Budgets
Costs $3,400
With these tools we can best support our artistic vision and execution.
Post Production
Costs $2,550
This assistance will allow us to ensure the sound and color quality meets its fullest potential.
Share this update!
About This Team
Our Team
Gabriel Vega Weissman
Writer & Director
Gabriel is an award-winning director and playwright. He has directed pieces for New York Theatre Workshop; Atlantic Theater Company; Primary Stages; A.R.T.; Williamstown Theatre Festival and New Dramatists as well as concert events for Emmy-nominated actor and musician Tituss Burgess at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. He has served as associate director on seven Broadway productions. Gabriel is an alum of the Drama League Director’s Project; Lincoln Center Directors Lab; Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellowship; Williamstown Theatre Festival Professional Training Program and New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship. In 2015, he was the finalist for the inaugural Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Directors Fellowship. His plays are licensed and published by Broadway Licensing. This is his first film. gabrielvegaweissman.com
Logan Reed
Executive Producer
Logan Reed (he/him) is a producer and director of theater, opera, and film. He is an Associate Producer at the Perelman Performing Arts Center with select credits including: Cats: The Jellicle Ball and An American Soldier. Select theater directing credits include: Marta Nesspek Presents… (23.5° Tilt); Twelfth Night (Classical Theatre of Harlem); It’s Only a Play (Hawaii Theatre); 26 Seconds (Open Studio at Park Avenue Armory); Pullman Car Hiawatha (Lenfest Center for the Arts); Some Men (Pride Plays at Rattlestick) and Brian Reno & Gabriel Vega Weissman’s Loose Canon (Scranton Shakespeare Festival, NYC Fringe Encore Series). www.loganreeddirector.com
Jack Davis
Director of Photography
Jack Davis is a cinematographer from Wisconsin who is currently based in New York. He believes that openness and transparency are key to creating a shared vision on set, and has been honored to work closely with filmmakers to help tell deeply personal stories. His work has reached audiences in theaters and festivals across the world, including the Berlinale, Rotterdam International Film Festival, and Newfest. Jack is a graduate of Carleton College and Brooklyn College’s graduate cinematography program, where he learned how satisfying it is to put the camera in the right spot.
Kelsey Ettman
Costume Designer
Film and TV credits include: Animals (Oscilloscope Laboratories); The School for Good and Evil; Stranger Things S2 (Netflix); Jackpot (Amazon); Patriot's Day (CBS Films) and upcoming releases Salem's Lot (Max) and Simple Favor 2 ( Lionsgate). Theatrical costume design credits include: 26 Seconds (Park Avenue Armory); The King and I; The Secret Garden (Arizona Broadway Theatre); The Awake (First Floor Theatre); The Beautiful Dark; The Glass Menagerie (Redtwist Theatre); Sugarward (the side project) and South of Settling (Steppenwolf Garage). You can see more at www.KelseyEttman.com
Lillian Pachter
Editor
Lillian Pachter is a narrative Film and TV Editor based in New York City where she lives with her 2 cats and mostly alive plants. For the past decade, she’s worked on projects with directors such as Doug Liman; Greta Gerwig; and Steven Zaillian. Most recently she cut on the Netflix limited series Ripley. With a B.A in Dramatic Literature and Cinema, she’s trained in the craft of storytelling. Pachter is a member of The Motion Picture Editors Guild, I.A.T.S.E Local 700. IMDb