Six Miles at Sea
Oxnard, California | Film Short
Adventure, Drama
In 1974, thirteen-year-olds Gary and Finn set off in a stolen clammer's skiff to cross Manahawkin Bay and sneak into a concert that Gary is convinced will change their lives. When Finn discovers that they'll be out after dark, he fears his father's wrath.
Six Miles at Sea
Oxnard, California | Film Short
Adventure, Drama
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $24,335 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
86 supporters | followers
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In 1974, thirteen-year-olds Gary and Finn set off in a stolen clammer's skiff to cross Manahawkin Bay and sneak into a concert that Gary is convinced will change their lives. When Finn discovers that they'll be out after dark, he fears his father's wrath.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Notice About Casting
We've received a few reports, both from parents and from casting agencies, that someone is scheduling auditions in Santa Monica, California for Six Miles at Sea.
THIS IS NOT LEGITIMATE.
The only casting call this production published was on Backstage.com. The only actors we have contacted in this process were through Backstage.
We are not auditioning actors in Santa Monica.
No one named Doug Wilkinson has anything to do with this production. If you have been contacted by this person, please report it as a scam to the casting agency involved.
THANK YOU.
The Story: It's the summer of 1974 on the Jersey Shore and two thirteen-year-olds, Finn and Gary, are looking for adventure. Gary loves rock n roll and his older brother has introduced him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, who has two albums out but is still largely unknown. When Gary learns that Springsteen is scheduled to play at a club on Long Beach Island, he schemes to borrow his brother's clam boat and set out from the mainland to cross the wide bay and sneak in to the show. Finn is stoked to see his first rock concert, convinced by Gary's claim that "it will change your life".
Halfway across the bay, the boat gets stuck. The boys face the reality that they may not make it to the island. They may miss the show. They might need a bit of magic to make it happen.
The story is an excursion into that boundary between childhood and adolescence, those youthful days when adventures could lead anywhere: maybe to a first concert, or even a first crush.
My family owned and operated a marina on the island from before I was born, but I grew up on the mainland, so the wide expanse of the bay was always a little exotic to me whenever we'd visit my dad at work. Even after I started working there full time, and took up residence in what we called our "surf shop" on the property, the water never lost its magic for me. And the sunsets! They took on the mantle of legend. When I moved to California in pursuit of love and a new life (a successful pursuit, BTW) my connection to the place remained. It's why I call my company Island Marina Productions.
A lot of people know the connection I'm talking about. It's emotional, it's visceral, it's nostalgic. And I think a lot of people would love to see a place that means so much to them captured on screen: the sound of water lapping at the side of a boat, or a laughing gull announcing its joy. The graceful pencil-sketch of the causeway arching in the distance, or the soft light of one of those spectacular sunsets settling over the pines.
I can't guarantee our film will catch all of those details, but I can promise that this story will have the distinctive feel of a special place. We'll be shooting on location, using local actors and crew, telling a local story. I'd like nothing more than for the whole project to become a community celebration, from the fundraising to the production to the premiere.
HOW WILL WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
Well, an intimate story like this can be captured on film by a small, diligent crew, even when the canvas is as wide as Barnegat Bay. Right now we have a script, some great locations lined up, and a few important positions filled. As we reach our funding goal, we'll be able to bring on more skilled technicians: sound. Assistant Camera. Script Supervisor. Water Safety Officer. We'll be able to rent our lenses, confirm our picture vehicles. Cast our actors.
We know that COVID-19 is still a concern, but since this film consists of almost exclusively exterior scenes, the risk to actors and crew should be minimal. Still, our production will take appropriate measures to ensure everyone's safety on set, including monitoring vaccination status.
Once production is wrapped, the next step is to go into post. We have editing covered, but there's more to post-production than editing. This is the time our composer will spring into action to create music that will enhance the story and engage the audience. If through the generosity of our friends this campaign surpasses 100% funding, we'll devote those resources to giving the film a professional sound mix and color correction at this stage too.
HOW CAN I SEE THE FINISHED FILM?
Once post-production is completed, it'll be time to share Six Miles at Sea with the world. We'll be submitting to festivals, but our primary focus will be on scheduling live events, and particularly a premiere that can be attended by as many of our contributors as possible. Some in our community -- Executive Producers, for instance -- may be offered online sneak peeks, and once the film's festival run has finished, online screenings will be made available to all contributors and crew.
There are a ton of great stories waiting to be told, grounded in this colorful, enticing, fertile corner of the world, and I hope Six Miles at Sea is only the first.
HOW CAN I HELP?
The most direct way to help make this film happen, of course, is to make a contribution. But it will also be a huge boost to help get the word out. There are surely a lot of people beyond the small community we're building here who would love to see a film like this made. The wider this network grows, the bigger the potential audience, and our chances of reaching our funding goal improve with each new friend who gets excited about Six Miles at Sea.
So please share your enthusiasm for this film with everyone you think might want to participate in bringing it to the screen, or who just might want to see it when it has arrived. Share it via social media. Share it via email. Or even old-fashioned talking-face-to-face. To make it easier, we've composed a few quick bits you can copy-and-paste into a tweet, or an Instagram or Facebook post, whatever is your preferred mode of interacting with the online world these days:
Help filmmaker @bnovotnyfilms by supporting his nostalgic coming-of-age film about a pair of adventurous boys desperate to sneak into a Bruce Springsteen concert in 1974. Join them on @www.seedandspark.com/fund/six-miles-at-sea
I just watched the video for the short film SIX MILES AT SEA directed by filmmaker @bnovotnyfilms and WOW, you've got to support this nostalgic short film set at the Jersey Shore! Join them on @www.seedandspark.com/fund/six-miles-at-sea
I'm so excited to see the short film SIX MILES AT SEA, by Southern alum and director/writer @bnovotnyfilms, be made in Manahawkin and at Spray Beach Yacht Club this summer! Support them on @www.seedandspark.com/fund/six-miles-at-sea
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Underwater camera housing - rental
Costs $850
A crucial part of the story takes place underwater. Our DP can nail it with the right equipment!
Lens package - rental
Costs $2,000
Top quality lenses in the right hands give a small budget the look of the highest-end production.
Garvey rental
Costs $1,000
The story doesn't happen without a boat. The right one will play its part to bring the scene alive.
Cast
Costs $2,000
The young actors to play these roles will be asked to work hard and share their talent.
Crew
Costs $11,000
This film will offer skilled New Jersey artists and craftspeople a chance to show what they can do.
Production Essentials
Costs $2,000
Craft services to feed the crew. Sanitation. Insurance. Permits. Payroll. Not glamorous. Necessary
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
I'm a film editor by trade, but I've been creating stories for as long as I've been able to put one word after another. Most of those stories I kept to myself, but occasionally I'd share them with trusted friends, and one of them was published as a novel set on Long Beach Island, Tales From an Endless Summer.
After many years in the entertainment industry helping to shape other people's stories, I decided it was time to put my own work out in the world. Six Miles At Sea started as a short film that was intended to serve as a practice run for the feature film I have in mind. But as I worked on it, as I imagined the world and got to know the characters, I got excited for the possibilities of this story in particular.
The Director of Photography for this film will be Tony Coon, a talented and hungry cinemagrapher who knows this landscape intimately and photographs it beautifully. Through the past 10 years, Tony has honed his craft and filled his portfolio with examples of high-end documentary, lifestyle, narrative and commercial cinematography. His strengths are capturing the power and intensity of the moment.
The film's composer will be Eric Houghton, who grew up clamming and crabbing in the bay off Harvey Cedars and has been a member of ASCAP for 30 years. His major works include Pioneer Songs, and Passion Songs, and have been regularly performed throughout the United States by soloists, church choirs and orchestras for decades. He has been on the piano faculty of the Westminster Conservatory of Music at Rider University in Princeton New Jersey since 1984.
The Water Safety Officer for Six Miles at Sea will be Bryce Svensen, a senior at Shawnee High School who has been a certified lifeguard for three years and comes from an impressive lifesaving lineage, with his father and uncle both serving for many years on the Long Beach Township Beach Patrol.
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Notice About Casting
We've received a few reports, both from parents and from casting agencies, that someone is scheduling auditions in Santa Monica, California for Six Miles at Sea.
THIS IS NOT LEGITIMATE.
The only casting call this production published was on Backstage.com. The only actors we have contacted in this process were through Backstage.
We are not auditioning actors in Santa Monica.
No one named Doug Wilkinson has anything to do with this production. If you have been contacted by this person, please report it as a scam to the casting agency involved.
THANK YOU.
The Story: It's the summer of 1974 on the Jersey Shore and two thirteen-year-olds, Finn and Gary, are looking for adventure. Gary loves rock n roll and his older brother has introduced him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, who has two albums out but is still largely unknown. When Gary learns that Springsteen is scheduled to play at a club on Long Beach Island, he schemes to borrow his brother's clam boat and set out from the mainland to cross the wide bay and sneak in to the show. Finn is stoked to see his first rock concert, convinced by Gary's claim that "it will change your life".
Halfway across the bay, the boat gets stuck. The boys face the reality that they may not make it to the island. They may miss the show. They might need a bit of magic to make it happen.
The story is an excursion into that boundary between childhood and adolescence, those youthful days when adventures could lead anywhere: maybe to a first concert, or even a first crush.
My family owned and operated a marina on the island from before I was born, but I grew up on the mainland, so the wide expanse of the bay was always a little exotic to me whenever we'd visit my dad at work. Even after I started working there full time, and took up residence in what we called our "surf shop" on the property, the water never lost its magic for me. And the sunsets! They took on the mantle of legend. When I moved to California in pursuit of love and a new life (a successful pursuit, BTW) my connection to the place remained. It's why I call my company Island Marina Productions.
A lot of people know the connection I'm talking about. It's emotional, it's visceral, it's nostalgic. And I think a lot of people would love to see a place that means so much to them captured on screen: the sound of water lapping at the side of a boat, or a laughing gull announcing its joy. The graceful pencil-sketch of the causeway arching in the distance, or the soft light of one of those spectacular sunsets settling over the pines.
I can't guarantee our film will catch all of those details, but I can promise that this story will have the distinctive feel of a special place. We'll be shooting on location, using local actors and crew, telling a local story. I'd like nothing more than for the whole project to become a community celebration, from the fundraising to the production to the premiere.
HOW WILL WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
Well, an intimate story like this can be captured on film by a small, diligent crew, even when the canvas is as wide as Barnegat Bay. Right now we have a script, some great locations lined up, and a few important positions filled. As we reach our funding goal, we'll be able to bring on more skilled technicians: sound. Assistant Camera. Script Supervisor. Water Safety Officer. We'll be able to rent our lenses, confirm our picture vehicles. Cast our actors.
We know that COVID-19 is still a concern, but since this film consists of almost exclusively exterior scenes, the risk to actors and crew should be minimal. Still, our production will take appropriate measures to ensure everyone's safety on set, including monitoring vaccination status.
Once production is wrapped, the next step is to go into post. We have editing covered, but there's more to post-production than editing. This is the time our composer will spring into action to create music that will enhance the story and engage the audience. If through the generosity of our friends this campaign surpasses 100% funding, we'll devote those resources to giving the film a professional sound mix and color correction at this stage too.
HOW CAN I SEE THE FINISHED FILM?
Once post-production is completed, it'll be time to share Six Miles at Sea with the world. We'll be submitting to festivals, but our primary focus will be on scheduling live events, and particularly a premiere that can be attended by as many of our contributors as possible. Some in our community -- Executive Producers, for instance -- may be offered online sneak peeks, and once the film's festival run has finished, online screenings will be made available to all contributors and crew.
There are a ton of great stories waiting to be told, grounded in this colorful, enticing, fertile corner of the world, and I hope Six Miles at Sea is only the first.
HOW CAN I HELP?
The most direct way to help make this film happen, of course, is to make a contribution. But it will also be a huge boost to help get the word out. There are surely a lot of people beyond the small community we're building here who would love to see a film like this made. The wider this network grows, the bigger the potential audience, and our chances of reaching our funding goal improve with each new friend who gets excited about Six Miles at Sea.
So please share your enthusiasm for this film with everyone you think might want to participate in bringing it to the screen, or who just might want to see it when it has arrived. Share it via social media. Share it via email. Or even old-fashioned talking-face-to-face. To make it easier, we've composed a few quick bits you can copy-and-paste into a tweet, or an Instagram or Facebook post, whatever is your preferred mode of interacting with the online world these days:
Help filmmaker @bnovotnyfilms by supporting his nostalgic coming-of-age film about a pair of adventurous boys desperate to sneak into a Bruce Springsteen concert in 1974. Join them on @www.seedandspark.com/fund/six-miles-at-sea
I just watched the video for the short film SIX MILES AT SEA directed by filmmaker @bnovotnyfilms and WOW, you've got to support this nostalgic short film set at the Jersey Shore! Join them on @www.seedandspark.com/fund/six-miles-at-sea
I'm so excited to see the short film SIX MILES AT SEA, by Southern alum and director/writer @bnovotnyfilms, be made in Manahawkin and at Spray Beach Yacht Club this summer! Support them on @www.seedandspark.com/fund/six-miles-at-sea
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Underwater camera housing - rental
Costs $850
A crucial part of the story takes place underwater. Our DP can nail it with the right equipment!
Lens package - rental
Costs $2,000
Top quality lenses in the right hands give a small budget the look of the highest-end production.
Garvey rental
Costs $1,000
The story doesn't happen without a boat. The right one will play its part to bring the scene alive.
Cast
Costs $2,000
The young actors to play these roles will be asked to work hard and share their talent.
Crew
Costs $11,000
This film will offer skilled New Jersey artists and craftspeople a chance to show what they can do.
Production Essentials
Costs $2,000
Craft services to feed the crew. Sanitation. Insurance. Permits. Payroll. Not glamorous. Necessary
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
I'm a film editor by trade, but I've been creating stories for as long as I've been able to put one word after another. Most of those stories I kept to myself, but occasionally I'd share them with trusted friends, and one of them was published as a novel set on Long Beach Island, Tales From an Endless Summer.
After many years in the entertainment industry helping to shape other people's stories, I decided it was time to put my own work out in the world. Six Miles At Sea started as a short film that was intended to serve as a practice run for the feature film I have in mind. But as I worked on it, as I imagined the world and got to know the characters, I got excited for the possibilities of this story in particular.
The Director of Photography for this film will be Tony Coon, a talented and hungry cinemagrapher who knows this landscape intimately and photographs it beautifully. Through the past 10 years, Tony has honed his craft and filled his portfolio with examples of high-end documentary, lifestyle, narrative and commercial cinematography. His strengths are capturing the power and intensity of the moment.
The film's composer will be Eric Houghton, who grew up clamming and crabbing in the bay off Harvey Cedars and has been a member of ASCAP for 30 years. His major works include Pioneer Songs, and Passion Songs, and have been regularly performed throughout the United States by soloists, church choirs and orchestras for decades. He has been on the piano faculty of the Westminster Conservatory of Music at Rider University in Princeton New Jersey since 1984.
The Water Safety Officer for Six Miles at Sea will be Bryce Svensen, a senior at Shawnee High School who has been a certified lifeguard for three years and comes from an impressive lifesaving lineage, with his father and uncle both serving for many years on the Long Beach Township Beach Patrol.