IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Thanks to the supporters, followers, and generous contributors of Exit Music, we have reached our $5,000 goal! From the bottom of our hearts, the Exit Music team thanks you. Stay updated on our Instagram @exitmusic2006 to see BTS extras, and content from our cast and crew.

But the work isn't done...

STRETCH GOALS:

Your contributions have taken us above and beyond our original goal, and this support is the wind in our wings to make this project possible. Here's what we still need:

120% - $6,000

This money will go towards our art department, props, and wardrobe, enriching Anna's world.

150% - $7,500

With an extra $1,500, we can rent a car for integral emotional scenes between Anna and her Mother Lynn.

160% - $8,000

These extra funds will go towards an original score. Orchestral musical motifs will connect to Anna's relationship with music.

STORY:

In the short film Exit Music, we enter the world of Anna, a 17 year old violinist and outsider at her high school. Each day, Anna is surrounded by stereotypical wannabes and adults that have forgotten the whims of adolescence, leaving Anna feeling disconnected.

The opening of the film, Anna goes about the routine of her “last day” on Earth. Before the school bell even rings for first period, Anna’s suicidal plan is rudely interrupted when she learns that her extroverted best friend Clare has been in a terrible accident, rendering her comatose. Forced to put her plans on hold, Anna must step up and finally participate in a life she’s long avoided.

Anna is an extremely gifted violinist, but regards her talent with apathy. To face the music of the orchestra is to demand Anna to be fully present in reality, a task too painful in her mental state. Anna’s struggles to find her place as a musician and student are made that much more difficult without Clare present.

As new relationships begin to bloom in the wake of tragedy, Anna is faced with the choice to take on Clare’s violin solo for the rapidly approaching orchestra recital. Will she reject the opportunity in favor of her old ways, or find the strength in her passions to open up to the world?



TONE

Exit Music is a dark comedy, aiming to show the everyday absurdity of teenage-hood. Real life is often stranger than fiction; even more so when one is an emotionally developing teenager suffering under the influence of raging hormones, personal dramas, family troubles, academic pressures, and the daily struggles of growing up. Now, surround these unfortunate souls with hundreds of others dealing with the very same things, all for six to seven hours per day, five days a week. High school is a petri dish of interpersonal turmoil, complex stories, and bizarro occurrences. 

Exit Music takes full advantage of this storytelling goldmine. Preston Academy is stock full of comically trope-y characters. Jocks dominate the halls, popular cliques make snide remarks to their lower-level classmates, and the alternative “freaks” are both bullied and ignored. Through this semi-satirical, dramatic-comedy approach, Exit Music can touch on the complicated subject of teenage mental health, balanced with the surreal reality of Anna’s world. When the only other option is to cry, we can laugh. When the only other option is to give up, we can make the embodied choice to keep moving forward.

BUDGET

Your generous contributions will give this story the resources it deserves. By supporting Exit Music, you are investing in a team of dedicated student filmmakers, and uplifting the story of an often misconstrued figure in media, the teenage girl.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION 

The Santa Monica College film program has a number of generous existing partnerships which have allowed our past projects to be produced at the high level SMC is known for. These include a grant from the Golden Globes, plus relationships with Keslow and Wooden Nickel for camera and grip equipment. 

But these relationships don’t cover everything a film needs to be made to its highest potential such as

• Catering - to feed our actors and crew members
• Professional Equipment Rentals - grant our project the quality look it deserves, giving it legs through the festival circuit.
• Post Production - will be completely covered by your generous contributions. This includes essential steps like editing, color grading, addition of music, and more. 

OUR DELIVERABLES

We are currently in full pre-production mode; scouting locations, casting actors, and preparing all the equipment we need. Shooting will begin end of May, and continue into the start June. As shooting goes on, we will be working on assembly cuts to push forward the editing process of the film.

Once the film is fully finished, we plan to submit the film to film festivals. Depending on your contributions, you may receive early access to the final cut of the film. Otherwise, after the festival circuit, the film will be made available for all on the SMC film program Youtube Channel! Check out past project at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SantaMonicaCollegeFilmProgram

MOST IMPORTANTLY

If we don’t make 80% of our crowdfunding goal, your money will be fully refunded. 

Whatever your contribution may be, we thank you! Your generosity has put us that much closer to our goal, and we are forever grateful. 

Follow us on our Instagram so you don't miss updates, behind-the-scenes,

and snippets from our process!