Scooch Down
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy
A routine doctor’s visit becomes anything but, when a young woman with a few questions meets her eccentric doctor. In a time that feels like bodily autonomy is only a moment from being stripped away, hearing women's voices feels more important than ever.
Scooch Down
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $16,542 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
133 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
A routine doctor’s visit becomes anything but, when a young woman with a few questions meets her eccentric doctor. In a time that feels like bodily autonomy is only a moment from being stripped away, hearing women's voices feels more important than ever.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story
Scooch Down is a character-driven comedy about a woman trying to have a routine doctor's visit and a doctor going above and beyond to make sure it's anything but.
This film is relatable, at times uncomfortable, and most of all funny.
Scooch Down is for you if you've ever felt not listened to, rushed, and fed up while visiting the doctor.
The Back Story
 (1).jpg)
Writers Briana Haynie and Laura Manasewich have been friends and comedy partners since 2012. They found themselves living in Los Angeles and eventually thought, "hey why don't we write a short film?" This may or may not have been influenced by Briana's husband Brenton (and oh by the way Scooch Down's Director of Photography) who said, "Please write something so I can film it." We love a subtle hint.
When thinking up ideas of what to write about, Briana thoughtfully mentioned that the two of them both had plenty of experience with uncomfortable and frustrating doctor's appointments. They say "write what you know" and hooo boy, do we know the doctor's office.
By sharing our stories with friends, we learned how common these feelings are. In a time that feels like bodily autonomy is only a moment from being stripped away, hearing women's voices feels more important than me.
The Plan
To be completely honest, we cannot make this production without the help of generous campaign supporters and followers. Our plan is to take this film from an idea in Briana and Laura's minds, through pre-production planning and creating, through production filming, into post-production editing and movie magic, and from there to submit Scooch Down into film festivals both in the US and internationally. We believe in ourselves and our film, and we hope our followers do too.
We will first and foremost use the money raised to pay our cast and crew a fair and equitable rate. Additionally the funds will be used for production-related costs like renting a location to bring our film to life, renting camera and lighting equipment to create engaging and true-to-life visuals, and for post-production related expenses such as color correcting, scoring, and more to ensure a polished and professional final product. If we are lucky enough to surpass our fundraising goals, this will allow us to pay our talented cast and crew even more, and also allow for more expansive post-production improvements to generate and even better final product.
We also plan to keep our Seed & Spark followers up to date throughout our production and post production processes with filming and editing updates. This will ensure that the folks who've helped us create Scooch Down are included every step of the way. Below we've shared some behind-the-scenes photo from our campaign video shoot!
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Craft Services
Costs $500
We need to feed our crew!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Festival Submissions
Costs $1,800
When the film is done we'd like to submit it to festivals and get it in front of people's faces!
Color Correction
Costs $1,000
Color correction will make the film look the best it can.
Audio Mixer
Costs $800
We need a fantastic audio mixer that can make the film sound superb!
Composer
Costs $1,000
No movie is complete without a fantastic score.
Editor
Costs $1,000
The person that stitches the whole movie together!
Insurance
Costs $500
It's always a good idea to be covered.
Hard Drives
Costs $800
We need some good, quality hard drives to store our footage.
Production Supplies
Costs $200
Misc. supplies that will help us make this film.
Sound Rental
Costs $400
Good sound equipment means we can make a movie that not only looks good but sounds good too.
Camera Equipment
Costs $2,000
Great camera equipment will help us make a movie that beautiful to look at.
Actors
Costs $1,200
The people that bring the script to life on screen.
Director
Costs $800
The leader of the whole team. We need someone with a vision to make this whole project come to life.
2nd AC
Costs $500
Support for the 1st AC and DP.
Hair and Makeup
Costs $500
Hair and Makeup means our actors can do their job looking their best.
Production Assistant
Costs $800
The person who keeps the set running smoothly.
Swing
Costs $200
Assistant to the key grip
Sound Mixer
Costs $800
We're not making a silent film here, this is a talkie.
Lighting Package
Costs $1,000
An amazing lighting package will make our characters pop, our set feel real, and will improve your viewing experience!
Key Grip
Costs $500
the Gaffer's right hand person.
Gaffer
Costs $600
The light master.
Production Designer/ Art Dept
Costs $500
The prop master.
1st AC
Costs $800
A camera technician who supports the DP
Location
Costs $1,000
Scooch Down takes place in a doctor's office , and none of our apartments have one of those. So we've gotta find someplace great!
Director of Photography
Costs $800
The person who brings the visuals to life!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Laura Manasewich, Writer, Director
Laura Manasewich is a New England comedy transplant who's brought her quick with and chaotic charm to Los Angeles. She arrived in November 2019, proving once and for all, her comedic timing is perfection.
Laura loves to light up her audiences with unpredictable, joyful silliness. She has produced numerous shows on both FAST and network television (she is most proud of Always Funny's Tales From the Clip't, a Halloween clip show she co-wrote, co-produced, and co-starred in.) Laura was proud to serve as producer on the award-winning short film Dumb Rich Sluts, (Amanda Hunt, Cara Norris), and Fighting Words (Sarah Mae, Carey Adkins). She was a PA on the award-winning short Wheel (Thea Lux, Honora Talbott )
Laura is a writer and performer on the house sketch team Party Line at the Pack Theater, and co-producer of the Green Tea stand up comedy show.
Briana Haynie, Writer, Executive Producer, Editor
Briana Haynie is a black/biracial comedy writer who enjoys writing satirical takes on family dynamics within larger societal institutions as well as characters with extreme points of view.
Briana’s original comedy pilot, O, FATHER, was a finalist in ScreenCraft’s TV Pilot Script Competition and was chosen for the Top 10 in the Launch Pad Pilot Competition.
In addition to Briana’s screenwriting, she is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and McSweeney’s, The Belladonna. She has been a featured contributor to The Onion and her writing can be found in the satirical news publication Reductress. Her work was included in The New Yorkers best of Shouts and Murmurs in 2020. In 2021 she was the managing editor for the humor publication The Belladonna.
Briana is an alum of the satire program at The Second City in Chicago as well as the Improv and Sketch Comedy courses at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York, City.
Brenton Ayers, Director of Photography
Brenton Ayers is an experienced Camera Operator with over 14 years of industry experience. A skilled technician with experience as a videographer and photographer.
Margarita Brighton, Sound Mixer
Margarita Brighton wears many hats. She works in Canadian television for programs such as Family Feud Canada and Dragon’s Den. Her BTS work includes credits as Producer, Production Coordinator, Editor and for Scooch as a sound mixer!
Margarita is a Level 10 Royal Conservatory of Music classically-trained pianist with advanced music theory and harmony knowledge and a multi-instrumentalist of guitar, bass and violin.
She is an actor and improviser of Second City Toronto, Upright Citizens Brigade and The Assembly. She writes and performs sketch comedy monthly at the Pack Theater in Los Angeles with her sketch group, Party Line. In 2021 she won the Toronto Sketchfest "Producer's Pick Award" for her comedy video "Gen Z, Hire Me".
LaGina Hill, "Sydney"
LaGina Hill is a Los Angeles based writer and actor. She is a staff writer on Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur at Disney Television Animation, and performed with Characters Welcome at UCB.
Maria Timonina, "Whitney"
Maria Timonina is a rising American actress, known for her grounded intensity and magnetic presence onscreen. Maria graduated with a BFA in acting from Boston University. Her work spans both drama and comedy, and she is quickly emerging as a fresh yet compelling voice in film and television. Follow her on Instagram at @maria_timonina
Thea Lux, "Dr. Maura Roberts"
.jpg)
Thea Lux is an LA-based actor, writer, and filmmaker, creatively raised in Chicago’s comedy and theater scene. She’s a founding member of the collaborative theater company The New Coordinates and helped create the cult hit 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, which ran Off-Broadway and is published by Samuel French.
She co-wrote, starred in, and produced the short awkward comedy WHEEL, which screened at festivals nationwide in 2023, including Oscar-qualifying fests deadCenter and Cinequest, as well as the world-renowned comedy festival Just for Laughs. Her newest cringe comedy, DONOR, is currently making the rounds at film festivals after premiering at the Oscar-qualifying festival HollyShorts in August.
She appeared in Craig Benzine's (Wheezy Waiter) Above Average/go90 series AlgoRhythm and can be seen on a wagon yelling at her son in the Coen Brothers’ film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story
Scooch Down is a character-driven comedy about a woman trying to have a routine doctor's visit and a doctor going above and beyond to make sure it's anything but.
This film is relatable, at times uncomfortable, and most of all funny.
Scooch Down is for you if you've ever felt not listened to, rushed, and fed up while visiting the doctor.
The Back Story
Writers Briana Haynie and Laura Manasewich have been friends and comedy partners since 2012. They found themselves living in Los Angeles and eventually thought, "hey why don't we write a short film?" This may or may not have been influenced by Briana's husband Brenton (and oh by the way Scooch Down's Director of Photography) who said, "Please write something so I can film it." We love a subtle hint.
When thinking up ideas of what to write about, Briana thoughtfully mentioned that the two of them both had plenty of experience with uncomfortable and frustrating doctor's appointments. They say "write what you know" and hooo boy, do we know the doctor's office.
By sharing our stories with friends, we learned how common these feelings are. In a time that feels like bodily autonomy is only a moment from being stripped away, hearing women's voices feels more important than me.
The Plan
To be completely honest, we cannot make this production without the help of generous campaign supporters and followers. Our plan is to take this film from an idea in Briana and Laura's minds, through pre-production planning and creating, through production filming, into post-production editing and movie magic, and from there to submit Scooch Down into film festivals both in the US and internationally. We believe in ourselves and our film, and we hope our followers do too.
We will first and foremost use the money raised to pay our cast and crew a fair and equitable rate. Additionally the funds will be used for production-related costs like renting a location to bring our film to life, renting camera and lighting equipment to create engaging and true-to-life visuals, and for post-production related expenses such as color correcting, scoring, and more to ensure a polished and professional final product. If we are lucky enough to surpass our fundraising goals, this will allow us to pay our talented cast and crew even more, and also allow for more expansive post-production improvements to generate and even better final product.
We also plan to keep our Seed & Spark followers up to date throughout our production and post production processes with filming and editing updates. This will ensure that the folks who've helped us create Scooch Down are included every step of the way. Below we've shared some behind-the-scenes photo from our campaign video shoot!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Craft Services
Costs $500
We need to feed our crew!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Festival Submissions
Costs $1,800
When the film is done we'd like to submit it to festivals and get it in front of people's faces!
Color Correction
Costs $1,000
Color correction will make the film look the best it can.
Audio Mixer
Costs $800
We need a fantastic audio mixer that can make the film sound superb!
Composer
Costs $1,000
No movie is complete without a fantastic score.
Editor
Costs $1,000
The person that stitches the whole movie together!
Insurance
Costs $500
It's always a good idea to be covered.
Hard Drives
Costs $800
We need some good, quality hard drives to store our footage.
Production Supplies
Costs $200
Misc. supplies that will help us make this film.
Sound Rental
Costs $400
Good sound equipment means we can make a movie that not only looks good but sounds good too.
Camera Equipment
Costs $2,000
Great camera equipment will help us make a movie that beautiful to look at.
Actors
Costs $1,200
The people that bring the script to life on screen.
Director
Costs $800
The leader of the whole team. We need someone with a vision to make this whole project come to life.
2nd AC
Costs $500
Support for the 1st AC and DP.
Hair and Makeup
Costs $500
Hair and Makeup means our actors can do their job looking their best.
Production Assistant
Costs $800
The person who keeps the set running smoothly.
Swing
Costs $200
Assistant to the key grip
Sound Mixer
Costs $800
We're not making a silent film here, this is a talkie.
Lighting Package
Costs $1,000
An amazing lighting package will make our characters pop, our set feel real, and will improve your viewing experience!
Key Grip
Costs $500
the Gaffer's right hand person.
Gaffer
Costs $600
The light master.
Production Designer/ Art Dept
Costs $500
The prop master.
1st AC
Costs $800
A camera technician who supports the DP
Location
Costs $1,000
Scooch Down takes place in a doctor's office , and none of our apartments have one of those. So we've gotta find someplace great!
Director of Photography
Costs $800
The person who brings the visuals to life!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Laura Manasewich, Writer, Director
Laura Manasewich is a New England comedy transplant who's brought her quick with and chaotic charm to Los Angeles. She arrived in November 2019, proving once and for all, her comedic timing is perfection.
Laura loves to light up her audiences with unpredictable, joyful silliness. She has produced numerous shows on both FAST and network television (she is most proud of Always Funny's Tales From the Clip't, a Halloween clip show she co-wrote, co-produced, and co-starred in.) Laura was proud to serve as producer on the award-winning short film Dumb Rich Sluts, (Amanda Hunt, Cara Norris), and Fighting Words (Sarah Mae, Carey Adkins). She was a PA on the award-winning short Wheel (Thea Lux, Honora Talbott )
Laura is a writer and performer on the house sketch team Party Line at the Pack Theater, and co-producer of the Green Tea stand up comedy show.
Briana Haynie, Writer, Executive Producer, Editor
Briana Haynie is a black/biracial comedy writer who enjoys writing satirical takes on family dynamics within larger societal institutions as well as characters with extreme points of view.
Briana’s original comedy pilot, O, FATHER, was a finalist in ScreenCraft’s TV Pilot Script Competition and was chosen for the Top 10 in the Launch Pad Pilot Competition.
In addition to Briana’s screenwriting, she is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and McSweeney’s, The Belladonna. She has been a featured contributor to The Onion and her writing can be found in the satirical news publication Reductress. Her work was included in The New Yorkers best of Shouts and Murmurs in 2020. In 2021 she was the managing editor for the humor publication The Belladonna.
Briana is an alum of the satire program at The Second City in Chicago as well as the Improv and Sketch Comedy courses at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York, City.
Brenton Ayers, Director of Photography
Brenton Ayers is an experienced Camera Operator with over 14 years of industry experience. A skilled technician with experience as a videographer and photographer.
Margarita Brighton, Sound Mixer
Margarita Brighton wears many hats. She works in Canadian television for programs such as Family Feud Canada and Dragon’s Den. Her BTS work includes credits as Producer, Production Coordinator, Editor and for Scooch as a sound mixer!
Margarita is a Level 10 Royal Conservatory of Music classically-trained pianist with advanced music theory and harmony knowledge and a multi-instrumentalist of guitar, bass and violin.
She is an actor and improviser of Second City Toronto, Upright Citizens Brigade and The Assembly. She writes and performs sketch comedy monthly at the Pack Theater in Los Angeles with her sketch group, Party Line. In 2021 she won the Toronto Sketchfest "Producer's Pick Award" for her comedy video "Gen Z, Hire Me".
LaGina Hill, "Sydney"
LaGina Hill is a Los Angeles based writer and actor. She is a staff writer on Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur at Disney Television Animation, and performed with Characters Welcome at UCB.
Maria Timonina, "Whitney"
Maria Timonina is a rising American actress, known for her grounded intensity and magnetic presence onscreen. Maria graduated with a BFA in acting from Boston University. Her work spans both drama and comedy, and she is quickly emerging as a fresh yet compelling voice in film and television. Follow her on Instagram at @maria_timonina
Thea Lux, "Dr. Maura Roberts"
Thea Lux is an LA-based actor, writer, and filmmaker, creatively raised in Chicago’s comedy and theater scene. She’s a founding member of the collaborative theater company The New Coordinates and helped create the cult hit 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, which ran Off-Broadway and is published by Samuel French.
She co-wrote, starred in, and produced the short awkward comedy WHEEL, which screened at festivals nationwide in 2023, including Oscar-qualifying fests deadCenter and Cinequest, as well as the world-renowned comedy festival Just for Laughs. Her newest cringe comedy, DONOR, is currently making the rounds at film festivals after premiering at the Oscar-qualifying festival HollyShorts in August.
She appeared in Craig Benzine's (Wheezy Waiter) Above Average/go90 series AlgoRhythm and can be seen on a wagon yelling at her son in the Coen Brothers’ film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.