MIRL
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy, Reality-TV
MIRL is the never before told story of young, ultra-privileged millennials traversing the New York social scene in the new age. as a group of young millennials, we feel this demographic has, like, totally never been represented on screen before. Just kidding... we're being ironic or whatever.
MIRL
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy, Reality-TV
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $15,300 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
86 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
MIRL is the never before told story of young, ultra-privileged millennials traversing the New York social scene in the new age. as a group of young millennials, we feel this demographic has, like, totally never been represented on screen before. Just kidding... we're being ironic or whatever.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Initially inspired by the reality series “My Summer Break,” which follows LA youth as they show off their extravagant lifestyles, we’re creating a mockumentary reality TV show that examines white privilege, gender privilege, American privilege, and all forms of privilege you find on an NYC college campus. Our intention here is simple: raw, real, scripted reality TV. MIRL stands for “Millennials: in real life” and as the name implies, our series is a peek into our generation and who we are in real life (as opposed to our extremely well-curated social media personas). We follow 6 characters, each a different millennial trope such as “The Wannabe DJ,” “The Instafamous Girl,” “The College Activist,” “The Ivy League Reject,” “The Brocialist,” and “The Frat Star,” as they traverse the NYC party scene, the climate of social activism, and the accepted notion that college is a time to “find yourself or whatever.”
The series is broken up into essentially 10 episodes. These episodes are about ten minutes in length and each cover a different topic from the perspectives of our millennials, from app creation to politics. Our core team members on the series are all currently attending NYU, so the situations our characters get into are all too familiar to us. The characters are meant to represent the worst parts of ourselves, the parts that we, and our audience, are often too afraid or embarrassed to point out. Diversity and the complex representation of all our characters is extremely important to us in the creation of what we consider an honest reflection of the culture of privilege at large universities.
It takes roughly $2,300 to produce each episode, which is why we need $23,000. On seed and spark, we are crowdfunding $15,300 as the rest of the series will be funded by individual donors and grants.
The audience we’ve reached so far with our campaign have overwhelmingly expressed a desire to see themselves represented on screen. This is something we know our scripts do extremely well and although there is an inherent niche quality to characters born into wealth who are hyperfocused on social status, the diversity in the characters we’re choosing to represent is truly something we don’t feel has been popularized in this format. We want you to join us in creating something that gives us a chance to see how the worst parts of ourselves manifest in a millennial culture and to laugh them off because at the end of the day each of these characters is so transparently just trying to be accepted in whatever way they know how. The current political climate has brought attention to the existence of a “bubble” of privilege across the liberal coasts. We’ve made it our job to represent that bubble so well that maybe, just maybe, it pops. Also, it's a really funny show.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Music & Copyright Licenses
Costs $600
we need to use killer music and to do so legally.
Post Production VFX & Editing
Costs $600
you see those graphics in our vid for free? imagine the things we can do w/ money.
Catering & Craft Services
Costs $3,600
we're starving artists, but we still need honey dew melon on set
Camera & Sound Rentals
Costs $3,100
what? are we supposed to do this on an iphone 7?
Production Design, Hair & Make Up
Costs $1,500
we gotta make our actors look good (not that they really need help w/ that)
Transportation, Ubers & Lyfts
Costs $1,300
we said uber and lyft b/c our director got kicked off the uber app...she doesn't want to talk about it.
Seed & Spark Distribution
Costs $1,000
these people want to get us on a cool streaming platform, help them!
Locations & Permits
Costs $2,600
nyc shooting rules are super whack. help us do this legally.
Contingency, Expendables, MISC.
Costs $1,000
because you never know what might go wrong, guys
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
audrey elizabeth thomas - creator / producer
audrey is a storyteller and producer who enjoys the unconventional and strives to give viewers a new perspective. she has been recognized for her work by film festivals in los angeles, seattle, new york, chicago, florida and internationally in ireland & wales. most recently she worked for siff (seattle international film festival) as a part of the marketing & pr team. audrey is constantly working towards learning and teaching new ways to express oneself through 21st century media. she is incredibly proud of the hype that mirl has already created and cannot wait to collaborate with those we continue to sign on board. see more of her work while you wait for mirl @ www.audreyelizabethproductions.com
erin mckeon - creator / director
erin was born on a snowy day in kansas city missouri under the capricorn sun. she spent much of her time in the midwest watching movies about small town girls with big city dreams and now she's an aspiring showrunner attending nyu tisch school of the arts for film & tv. mirl is a dream come true for erin, and a chance to finally receive the worldwide media acclaim she's always felt she deserves.
dylan gee - head writer / concept creator
born and raised in los angeles, currently attends new york university’s undergraduate film and television program at tisch school of the arts. she strives to tell stories with political and social commentary in an unconventional and shocking way. her favorite filmmakers both happen to be old white jewish men– larry david and woody allen. that being said one of her main goals as a screenwriter is to empower female filmmakers and actively fight the gender disparities in the film industry. she’s excited to do so by bringing female perspectives to mirl.
julia kupiec - cinematographer
julia is an nyc based cinematographer currently studying undergraduate film and television production at new york university's tisch school of the arts. originally from santa barbara, california, julia focuses on commercial and narrative productions. she has shot a wide spectrum of projects, from high end fashion campaigns to documentaries, and everything in-between. recently, her work as a director and cinematographer was awarded in the santa barbara international film festival. julia hopes to continue her career as a collaborative film maker, creating content with individuals, musicians, companies and organizations.
juan hurtado – cinematographer
juan was born in peru and moved to new york city 2 years ago. he is studying film production and business at new york university, and works as a freelance photographer and cinematographer. he has shot for artists, fashion houses, commercials and narrative projects. he is currently working for cinematic music group shooting marketing campaigns and a new web series next year. check out his work @ www.studiovic.com
ellie dworkin - co-producer
ellie dworkin is a film and television student at new york university's tisch school of the arts. she is an aspiring executive producer, applying to the stern-tisch bs/bfa program in hopes of refining her expertise. amongst her latest work, she casted a music video, low-budget feature film and is a part time content strategy & video intern for freshdirect. she's excited to kick off her producing career with mirl.
will frank - associate producer
will is a director and producer from southborough, massachusetts. mirl has given him the newfound opportunity to be a part of a diverse cast and crew seeking to create wide-ranging and accessible stories. he hopes to continue producing the work of young and original voices, helping to preserve their visions while also learning about different perspectives. will is currently enrolled in new york university’s maurice kanbar institute of film & television.
michael bukur – crowdfunding specialist
michael is a student currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in media, culture, and communications at new york university's steinhardt school of culture, education, and human development. originally from crown point, indiana, michael has interests in the entertainment industry as well as the non-profit sector. he spent this past summer as an intern for the borgen project, advocating for global poverty reducing legislature. recently, he formed and is the head director of an improvisation and sketch comedy troupe called freestyle dysfunction. additionally, he acquired a position working for new york road runner's on their runner services team. michael hopes to continue to pursue his diverse passions through an engagement with people and media across all fields of interest.
justin fargiano – social media guru
justin fargiano is a storyteller at heart. choosing to experiment through any form of visual content, film, photo, sculpture and even t-shirt design, he hopes to brighten at least one persons day through art. social media allows him to share his work, as well as be a a focus for his work to revolve around. he is excited to be on the mirl team, and be surrounded by talented, fresh creators each day at nyu
zoë smith - co-writer
zoë smith is a sophomore in the nyu tisch undergraduate film and tv program. she grew up outside of san francisco and currently lives in austin, texas. she's an aspiring tv comedy writer and a member of nyu's sketch comedy group hammerkatz. zoë’s been a video intern at the fader magazine since june 2016, allotting her experience in production & editing short form content. she also hates honeydew melon.
bia costa – graphic design supervisor
bia costa is a sophomore in the nyu tisch undergraduate film and tv program. she’s from brazil but grew up in london. she started her artistic pursuits with visual art and is now an aspiring documentary filmmaker, with an interested in graphic design and dramatic writing.
matt o’connor – co-writer
a philadelphia native, matt’s favorite cheesesteak place is dalessandro's off ridge avenue, and they didn't pay him to say that. dalessandro's is open from 11am-12am, and feature a special: a steak and a beer for $10, quite the deal. matt is currently a sophomore at nyu tisch school of the arts where he studies film. matt writes comedy and music so he can convince his parents he is busy while he waits to "make it big". he's still waiting. any day now.
and many more extremely impressive and very cool people.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Initially inspired by the reality series “My Summer Break,” which follows LA youth as they show off their extravagant lifestyles, we’re creating a mockumentary reality TV show that examines white privilege, gender privilege, American privilege, and all forms of privilege you find on an NYC college campus. Our intention here is simple: raw, real, scripted reality TV. MIRL stands for “Millennials: in real life” and as the name implies, our series is a peek into our generation and who we are in real life (as opposed to our extremely well-curated social media personas). We follow 6 characters, each a different millennial trope such as “The Wannabe DJ,” “The Instafamous Girl,” “The College Activist,” “The Ivy League Reject,” “The Brocialist,” and “The Frat Star,” as they traverse the NYC party scene, the climate of social activism, and the accepted notion that college is a time to “find yourself or whatever.”
The series is broken up into essentially 10 episodes. These episodes are about ten minutes in length and each cover a different topic from the perspectives of our millennials, from app creation to politics. Our core team members on the series are all currently attending NYU, so the situations our characters get into are all too familiar to us. The characters are meant to represent the worst parts of ourselves, the parts that we, and our audience, are often too afraid or embarrassed to point out. Diversity and the complex representation of all our characters is extremely important to us in the creation of what we consider an honest reflection of the culture of privilege at large universities.
It takes roughly $2,300 to produce each episode, which is why we need $23,000. On seed and spark, we are crowdfunding $15,300 as the rest of the series will be funded by individual donors and grants.
The audience we’ve reached so far with our campaign have overwhelmingly expressed a desire to see themselves represented on screen. This is something we know our scripts do extremely well and although there is an inherent niche quality to characters born into wealth who are hyperfocused on social status, the diversity in the characters we’re choosing to represent is truly something we don’t feel has been popularized in this format. We want you to join us in creating something that gives us a chance to see how the worst parts of ourselves manifest in a millennial culture and to laugh them off because at the end of the day each of these characters is so transparently just trying to be accepted in whatever way they know how. The current political climate has brought attention to the existence of a “bubble” of privilege across the liberal coasts. We’ve made it our job to represent that bubble so well that maybe, just maybe, it pops. Also, it's a really funny show.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Music & Copyright Licenses
Costs $600
we need to use killer music and to do so legally.
Post Production VFX & Editing
Costs $600
you see those graphics in our vid for free? imagine the things we can do w/ money.
Catering & Craft Services
Costs $3,600
we're starving artists, but we still need honey dew melon on set
Camera & Sound Rentals
Costs $3,100
what? are we supposed to do this on an iphone 7?
Production Design, Hair & Make Up
Costs $1,500
we gotta make our actors look good (not that they really need help w/ that)
Transportation, Ubers & Lyfts
Costs $1,300
we said uber and lyft b/c our director got kicked off the uber app...she doesn't want to talk about it.
Seed & Spark Distribution
Costs $1,000
these people want to get us on a cool streaming platform, help them!
Locations & Permits
Costs $2,600
nyc shooting rules are super whack. help us do this legally.
Contingency, Expendables, MISC.
Costs $1,000
because you never know what might go wrong, guys
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
audrey elizabeth thomas - creator / producer
audrey is a storyteller and producer who enjoys the unconventional and strives to give viewers a new perspective. she has been recognized for her work by film festivals in los angeles, seattle, new york, chicago, florida and internationally in ireland & wales. most recently she worked for siff (seattle international film festival) as a part of the marketing & pr team. audrey is constantly working towards learning and teaching new ways to express oneself through 21st century media. she is incredibly proud of the hype that mirl has already created and cannot wait to collaborate with those we continue to sign on board. see more of her work while you wait for mirl @ www.audreyelizabethproductions.com
erin mckeon - creator / director
erin was born on a snowy day in kansas city missouri under the capricorn sun. she spent much of her time in the midwest watching movies about small town girls with big city dreams and now she's an aspiring showrunner attending nyu tisch school of the arts for film & tv. mirl is a dream come true for erin, and a chance to finally receive the worldwide media acclaim she's always felt she deserves.
dylan gee - head writer / concept creator
born and raised in los angeles, currently attends new york university’s undergraduate film and television program at tisch school of the arts. she strives to tell stories with political and social commentary in an unconventional and shocking way. her favorite filmmakers both happen to be old white jewish men– larry david and woody allen. that being said one of her main goals as a screenwriter is to empower female filmmakers and actively fight the gender disparities in the film industry. she’s excited to do so by bringing female perspectives to mirl.
julia kupiec - cinematographer
julia is an nyc based cinematographer currently studying undergraduate film and television production at new york university's tisch school of the arts. originally from santa barbara, california, julia focuses on commercial and narrative productions. she has shot a wide spectrum of projects, from high end fashion campaigns to documentaries, and everything in-between. recently, her work as a director and cinematographer was awarded in the santa barbara international film festival. julia hopes to continue her career as a collaborative film maker, creating content with individuals, musicians, companies and organizations.
juan hurtado – cinematographer
juan was born in peru and moved to new york city 2 years ago. he is studying film production and business at new york university, and works as a freelance photographer and cinematographer. he has shot for artists, fashion houses, commercials and narrative projects. he is currently working for cinematic music group shooting marketing campaigns and a new web series next year. check out his work @ www.studiovic.com
ellie dworkin - co-producer
ellie dworkin is a film and television student at new york university's tisch school of the arts. she is an aspiring executive producer, applying to the stern-tisch bs/bfa program in hopes of refining her expertise. amongst her latest work, she casted a music video, low-budget feature film and is a part time content strategy & video intern for freshdirect. she's excited to kick off her producing career with mirl.
will frank - associate producer
will is a director and producer from southborough, massachusetts. mirl has given him the newfound opportunity to be a part of a diverse cast and crew seeking to create wide-ranging and accessible stories. he hopes to continue producing the work of young and original voices, helping to preserve their visions while also learning about different perspectives. will is currently enrolled in new york university’s maurice kanbar institute of film & television.
michael bukur – crowdfunding specialist
michael is a student currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in media, culture, and communications at new york university's steinhardt school of culture, education, and human development. originally from crown point, indiana, michael has interests in the entertainment industry as well as the non-profit sector. he spent this past summer as an intern for the borgen project, advocating for global poverty reducing legislature. recently, he formed and is the head director of an improvisation and sketch comedy troupe called freestyle dysfunction. additionally, he acquired a position working for new york road runner's on their runner services team. michael hopes to continue to pursue his diverse passions through an engagement with people and media across all fields of interest.
justin fargiano – social media guru
justin fargiano is a storyteller at heart. choosing to experiment through any form of visual content, film, photo, sculpture and even t-shirt design, he hopes to brighten at least one persons day through art. social media allows him to share his work, as well as be a a focus for his work to revolve around. he is excited to be on the mirl team, and be surrounded by talented, fresh creators each day at nyu
zoë smith - co-writer
zoë smith is a sophomore in the nyu tisch undergraduate film and tv program. she grew up outside of san francisco and currently lives in austin, texas. she's an aspiring tv comedy writer and a member of nyu's sketch comedy group hammerkatz. zoë’s been a video intern at the fader magazine since june 2016, allotting her experience in production & editing short form content. she also hates honeydew melon.
bia costa – graphic design supervisor
bia costa is a sophomore in the nyu tisch undergraduate film and tv program. she’s from brazil but grew up in london. she started her artistic pursuits with visual art and is now an aspiring documentary filmmaker, with an interested in graphic design and dramatic writing.
matt o’connor – co-writer
a philadelphia native, matt’s favorite cheesesteak place is dalessandro's off ridge avenue, and they didn't pay him to say that. dalessandro's is open from 11am-12am, and feature a special: a steak and a beer for $10, quite the deal. matt is currently a sophomore at nyu tisch school of the arts where he studies film. matt writes comedy and music so he can convince his parents he is busy while he waits to "make it big". he's still waiting. any day now.
and many more extremely impressive and very cool people.