Consideration
Ann Arbor, Michigan | Film Feature
Drama
Underemployed and drowning in debt, a young woman enters into an arrangement with a wealthy older man in order to escape a financial spiral.
Consideration
Ann Arbor, Michigan | Film Feature
Drama
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $10,435 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
45 supporters | followers
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Underemployed and drowning in debt, a young woman enters into an arrangement with a wealthy older man in order to escape a financial spiral.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
The Story
I got my first feature writing credit on the independent film Ocean of Pearls. The story of a Sikh man wrestling with his cultural identity while dealing with the iniquities of the American Health Care system, the film hit theaters just as the Health Care Reform debate had reached a fever pitch.
Consideration touches on an issue that’s just starting to brew: the rising cost of education.
The idea for the movie came from the growing discussion I was hearing about young educated women dating wealthy older men, specifically to help with tuition costs and loan debt. What initially fascinated me was the question of whether these arrangements were like prostitution or whether they were not all that different from someone having a trophy wife.
As we developed the script and researched the realities of someone in the main character’s situation, the story started to touch on other issues. All the forces around Jessica, and young people like her, have created an “employer’s market.” Her debt removes any leverage she would have as a young, intelligent and hard-working woman. She’s become a beggar, not a chooser. And whatever job she does take will likely only pay her enough to pick away at her $100,000 loan tab. She’ll always be beholden.
So, what started as a story about a relationship built on money (one person has it and the other needs it), expanded to other relationships complicated by money. An employer and an employee who desperately needs her job. A father who only has a relationship with his son because he supports him financially. A roommate forced to cover the other’s share of the rent. We can all relate in some way.
Sometimes dramatic. Sometimes funny. Ultimately, Consideration is a movie that will get people talking. Some will support the decisions that Jessica makes. Some won’t. Some will sympathize with Henry. Some won’t. Some will see the ending as hopeful. Some won’t.
I see that as a good thing. And if you do too, we’d love your support.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cinematographer
Costs $400
Without our Director of Photography, we can't do reshoots!
First Camera Assistant
Costs $300
The 1st AC is the Director of Photography's right-hand person.
Gas
Costs $400
Gas allows us to meet with our editors, and hopefully travel to film festivals and screenings!
Craft Services Food
Costs $250
Our crew gets hungry when they shoot and edit - help us give them a (mildly) balanced meal!
Post-Sound Package
Costs $1,000
Someone has to mix the dialogue, Foley, music, and sound effects together, and it's not an easy job!
Picture Lock Edit
Costs $2,000
Our editors have been hard at work, but we still need to get to picture lock!
Motion Graphics
Costs $350
We have some minor compositing in the film, including building the Seeking Arrangements website.
Legal Services
Costs $500
Before we distribute the film, we have to dot our i's and cross our t's, legally speaking.
Marketing Expenses
Costs $200
Posters, Facebook ads, flyers, you name it! We are going to get the word out and need your help!
Festival Fees
Costs $750
Festivals are an important part of our distribution strategy, but they can get pricey!
Production Insurance
Costs $200
It would be unwise and unsafe to shoot without production insurance!
Backup Hard Drive
Costs $200
Our editors are moving to LA soon - help us back-up our files properly!
Colorist
Costs $2,800
We shot in all kinds of light conditions - help us give the film a nice even tone.
Share this update!
About This Team
You can make an independent film for very little money if you don’t pay anyone. There’s no shortage of talented and passionate young filmmakers looking for an exciting project to work on so they can build their resume.
But, if you’re making a movie about student loan debt, it doesn’t exactly send the right message to exploit your collaborators with the rationale that you’re giving them “valuable experience” and helping them “get their foot in the door.”
With the exception of myself and our two amazingly professional sound guys, everyone who worked on Consideration was either a student or a very recent college graduate. And, in a lot of ways, Jessica’s story is their story (except for the whole dating a “sugar daddy” part).
Screenwriter Amy Butler was the first to get involved. As a young woman with loan debt, she was a natural choice. It also helped that she’s a born writer, having written two screenplays as an undergrad and continuing that prolific output after graduation. The only thing she needed to take the next step as a writer was an opportunity to see her writing brought to life on the screen.
Producer Barbara Twist graduated from the University of Michigan in 2012 and is already starting to make a name for herself, producing her first feature film and working for the Art House Convergence, an organization of community-based, mission-driven cinemas, and working for her local art house, The Michigan Theater. This fall, she will be speaking at the Austin Film Festival on DIY film distribution and the art house market.
The camera department (DP Alan Torres and assistants Walter Lin and Joe Reed), the art department (Josh Bayer), the editors (Steven Wang and Kevin Birou) and the production team (Jacqueline Wilton, Alexa Kresojevich and James Graessle) all graduated from the University of Michigan in the past year or two.
By supporting this project, you’ll be helping them gain “valuable experience,” get their “foot in the door” and get paid for their first feature film gig.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
The Story
I got my first feature writing credit on the independent film Ocean of Pearls. The story of a Sikh man wrestling with his cultural identity while dealing with the iniquities of the American Health Care system, the film hit theaters just as the Health Care Reform debate had reached a fever pitch.
Consideration touches on an issue that’s just starting to brew: the rising cost of education.
The idea for the movie came from the growing discussion I was hearing about young educated women dating wealthy older men, specifically to help with tuition costs and loan debt. What initially fascinated me was the question of whether these arrangements were like prostitution or whether they were not all that different from someone having a trophy wife.
As we developed the script and researched the realities of someone in the main character’s situation, the story started to touch on other issues. All the forces around Jessica, and young people like her, have created an “employer’s market.” Her debt removes any leverage she would have as a young, intelligent and hard-working woman. She’s become a beggar, not a chooser. And whatever job she does take will likely only pay her enough to pick away at her $100,000 loan tab. She’ll always be beholden.
So, what started as a story about a relationship built on money (one person has it and the other needs it), expanded to other relationships complicated by money. An employer and an employee who desperately needs her job. A father who only has a relationship with his son because he supports him financially. A roommate forced to cover the other’s share of the rent. We can all relate in some way.
Sometimes dramatic. Sometimes funny. Ultimately, Consideration is a movie that will get people talking. Some will support the decisions that Jessica makes. Some won’t. Some will sympathize with Henry. Some won’t. Some will see the ending as hopeful. Some won’t.
I see that as a good thing. And if you do too, we’d love your support.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cinematographer
Costs $400
Without our Director of Photography, we can't do reshoots!
First Camera Assistant
Costs $300
The 1st AC is the Director of Photography's right-hand person.
Gas
Costs $400
Gas allows us to meet with our editors, and hopefully travel to film festivals and screenings!
Craft Services Food
Costs $250
Our crew gets hungry when they shoot and edit - help us give them a (mildly) balanced meal!
Post-Sound Package
Costs $1,000
Someone has to mix the dialogue, Foley, music, and sound effects together, and it's not an easy job!
Picture Lock Edit
Costs $2,000
Our editors have been hard at work, but we still need to get to picture lock!
Motion Graphics
Costs $350
We have some minor compositing in the film, including building the Seeking Arrangements website.
Legal Services
Costs $500
Before we distribute the film, we have to dot our i's and cross our t's, legally speaking.
Marketing Expenses
Costs $200
Posters, Facebook ads, flyers, you name it! We are going to get the word out and need your help!
Festival Fees
Costs $750
Festivals are an important part of our distribution strategy, but they can get pricey!
Production Insurance
Costs $200
It would be unwise and unsafe to shoot without production insurance!
Backup Hard Drive
Costs $200
Our editors are moving to LA soon - help us back-up our files properly!
Colorist
Costs $2,800
We shot in all kinds of light conditions - help us give the film a nice even tone.
Share this update!
About This Team
You can make an independent film for very little money if you don’t pay anyone. There’s no shortage of talented and passionate young filmmakers looking for an exciting project to work on so they can build their resume.
But, if you’re making a movie about student loan debt, it doesn’t exactly send the right message to exploit your collaborators with the rationale that you’re giving them “valuable experience” and helping them “get their foot in the door.”
With the exception of myself and our two amazingly professional sound guys, everyone who worked on Consideration was either a student or a very recent college graduate. And, in a lot of ways, Jessica’s story is their story (except for the whole dating a “sugar daddy” part).
Screenwriter Amy Butler was the first to get involved. As a young woman with loan debt, she was a natural choice. It also helped that she’s a born writer, having written two screenplays as an undergrad and continuing that prolific output after graduation. The only thing she needed to take the next step as a writer was an opportunity to see her writing brought to life on the screen.
Producer Barbara Twist graduated from the University of Michigan in 2012 and is already starting to make a name for herself, producing her first feature film and working for the Art House Convergence, an organization of community-based, mission-driven cinemas, and working for her local art house, The Michigan Theater. This fall, she will be speaking at the Austin Film Festival on DIY film distribution and the art house market.
The camera department (DP Alan Torres and assistants Walter Lin and Joe Reed), the art department (Josh Bayer), the editors (Steven Wang and Kevin Birou) and the production team (Jacqueline Wilton, Alexa Kresojevich and James Graessle) all graduated from the University of Michigan in the past year or two.
By supporting this project, you’ll be helping them gain “valuable experience,” get their “foot in the door” and get paid for their first feature film gig.