Snafu
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy, Film-Noir
Snafu was born out of the love for combining genres. With sprinkles of mystery, black comedy, crime, and even slapstick. The story uses its non linear storyline to bob and weave through all of these genres and tell a compelling story of how one small mistake can lead to a giant Snafu
Snafu
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy, Film-Noir
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $5,553 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
40 supporters | followers
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Snafu was born out of the love for combining genres. With sprinkles of mystery, black comedy, crime, and even slapstick. The story uses its non linear storyline to bob and weave through all of these genres and tell a compelling story of how one small mistake can lead to a giant Snafu
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The word snafu when used as a noun is defined as a confused or chaotic state; a mess. This definition is the center point of our short film. I wanted to write a story with a very simplistic central theme that could inform the actions and reactions of the characters inhabiting it. The idea of a single mistake acting as the first domino to fall thus setting forth a chain reaction of mishaps and misunderstandings that could all have a line drawn to the inital mistake sounded like a fun way to structure a story. Based in Los Angeles during a non descript pre smartphone era, our film follows Reagan through a non linear telling of a day where nothing seems to go right.
The Characters
Reagan and his partner Big are enforcers for a local crime boss. They tend to bicker like an old married couple as they are two inherently different people. Reagan is a bit of a try hard. He's not new to this lifestyle, but his overall level of maturity would suggest that he has a lot to learn about the game and life itself. Reagan really is the kind of guy who responds to criticism or any type of confrontation to his behavior by making excuses or making it seem as if he is really just misunderstood. This type of behavior is the catalyst for the way our story unfolds
Reagan's partner Big, is one cool customer. Never truly rattled by anything, Big has his way of doing things and by that I mean Big does things the right way. He's a proffesional and he carries himself in accordance to that fact.
Christian is our poor sucker stuck in the middle of a shit situation. He's a real happy go lucky guy who's relationship with Reagan will cost him quite a lot.
The Method
From the very beginning of this process we knew we wanted to shoot this on 16mm film. In fact, that was the first decision made even before I had written the script. Luckily my DP had a good amount of it leftover from a previous project. The specific film he had was Tri-x Reversal B&W Film. This stock is very contrast heavy and from an aesthetic point of view works best with lots of shadows, almost like it was begging to be used for a noir. Since we didn't have much money at all to shoot (or buy different film) I decided to write with my initital inspiration being the film stock itself!
INDIE FILMMAKING!
I can't emphasize enough how much of a truly independent production this was. Production of our film cost less than 4k with almost our entire cast and crew working for nothing. I truly belive that filmmaking is a product of community. In my everyday work life I am a producer, and my personal ethos as a producer is that if you treat your crew with love and respect they will always pay it back to you. Every person on our crew has worked with me before and I have always put them first. I've always made sure they were taken care of. Because of that, when the time came where i needed them to come out and make something cool for next to nothing not only did they all agree, they were happy to do it. Big love to my cast and crew I love you guys.
FUNDING
OUR GOAL: $5,000
Our goal is too raise funds to finish the last bits of post production on the film. Those costs include sound design/mix, color grading, and a small amount of VFX to cleap up some shots. The rest of the funds are going directly to festival submission fees and a DCP file so that we can show our film on the big screen.
Where Your Money Goes:
Sound Design & Mix: Nothing in film seperates the pros from the amateurs like good sound! With a great sound mix and sound design, not only will our film make you feel like you're in the room with the charachters but when the big moments hit, you'll feel like you're being hit too!
Color Grade: Shooting on film already does so much to make the image look incredible, but when you add the touch of a color grade something good turns into something pristine.
VFX: Sometimes there's just some things you can't avoid on a shoot. Whether that's a light stand poking out of the corner on your best take or a crash pad that just can't be hidden. Luckily, the magic of modern filmmaking can make those things go away and that's what we aim to do.
Festival Submissions/DCP: What better way to show a film than on the literal big screen! We have a ton of festivals we'd like to submit our film to and the first step is submmissions. You can see a shortlist of the festivals we plan on submitting to below. This list entails festivals of all different sizes and esteem. We want everyone to see our movie. In most cases once you are admitted to a festival you have to a provide a DCP of your film. For those who don't know, a DCP file is what is required to be able to show a film through a standard cinema projector.
Copy & Paste the below statements to make sharing even easier!
Excited to see @ironically_cliche new short film @snafushort. Shot on film for next to nothing! Contribute to their seed and spark and follow their page!
www.seedandspark.com/fund/snafu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go follow and contribute to @snafushort seed and spark! All shot on 16mm film with next to now budget!
www.seedandspark.com/fund/snafu
Short List of Festivals:
- TIFF
- Raindance Film Festival
- Chicago International Film Festival
- AFI Festival
- Stockholm International Film Festival
- Woodstock Film Festival
- San Francisco Indipendant Film Festival
- Sundance Film Festival
- LA Indie Film Festival
- New Orleans Film Festival
Thanks again for stopping by our page! We'll see you at the movies!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Color Correction
Costs $1,000
The final color grade to take the beauty of our already stunning 16mm scans to another level.
VFX
Costs $1,000
Some small bits of cleanup on one of our scenes (crash pad in frame)
Sound Design and Master
Costs $1,500
We need a sound designer/mixer to finalize all the intricate sounds for our film.
Festival Submissions Fees
Costs $1,500
Festival submissions fees will ensure that our film can be seen by as many of our peers as possible!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Phillip Soulliere is a Director and Producer based in Los Angeles, CA. Phillip grew up in the Coachella Valley desert of California where the sprawling landscape and peculiar nature of the residence spurred his initial desire to tell stories. In 2019 he co-founded the Los Angeles based production company Stray Dogs, LLC and currently acts as their senior executive producer.
Ben Meserve grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by the film Industry. Ben is an accomplished director of photography. His work ranges includes a vast body of award winning narratives, music videos, and commercials.
Freddie Gardner is an African-American writer and director based in Los Angeles, CA. Born in Savannah, GA and raised on the east coast. He's currently working in production for Stray Dogs LLC
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The word snafu when used as a noun is defined as a confused or chaotic state; a mess. This definition is the center point of our short film. I wanted to write a story with a very simplistic central theme that could inform the actions and reactions of the characters inhabiting it. The idea of a single mistake acting as the first domino to fall thus setting forth a chain reaction of mishaps and misunderstandings that could all have a line drawn to the inital mistake sounded like a fun way to structure a story. Based in Los Angeles during a non descript pre smartphone era, our film follows Reagan through a non linear telling of a day where nothing seems to go right.
The Characters
Reagan and his partner Big are enforcers for a local crime boss. They tend to bicker like an old married couple as they are two inherently different people. Reagan is a bit of a try hard. He's not new to this lifestyle, but his overall level of maturity would suggest that he has a lot to learn about the game and life itself. Reagan really is the kind of guy who responds to criticism or any type of confrontation to his behavior by making excuses or making it seem as if he is really just misunderstood. This type of behavior is the catalyst for the way our story unfolds
Reagan's partner Big, is one cool customer. Never truly rattled by anything, Big has his way of doing things and by that I mean Big does things the right way. He's a proffesional and he carries himself in accordance to that fact.
Christian is our poor sucker stuck in the middle of a shit situation. He's a real happy go lucky guy who's relationship with Reagan will cost him quite a lot.
The Method
From the very beginning of this process we knew we wanted to shoot this on 16mm film. In fact, that was the first decision made even before I had written the script. Luckily my DP had a good amount of it leftover from a previous project. The specific film he had was Tri-x Reversal B&W Film. This stock is very contrast heavy and from an aesthetic point of view works best with lots of shadows, almost like it was begging to be used for a noir. Since we didn't have much money at all to shoot (or buy different film) I decided to write with my initital inspiration being the film stock itself!
INDIE FILMMAKING!
I can't emphasize enough how much of a truly independent production this was. Production of our film cost less than 4k with almost our entire cast and crew working for nothing. I truly belive that filmmaking is a product of community. In my everyday work life I am a producer, and my personal ethos as a producer is that if you treat your crew with love and respect they will always pay it back to you. Every person on our crew has worked with me before and I have always put them first. I've always made sure they were taken care of. Because of that, when the time came where i needed them to come out and make something cool for next to nothing not only did they all agree, they were happy to do it. Big love to my cast and crew I love you guys.
FUNDING
OUR GOAL: $5,000
Our goal is too raise funds to finish the last bits of post production on the film. Those costs include sound design/mix, color grading, and a small amount of VFX to cleap up some shots. The rest of the funds are going directly to festival submission fees and a DCP file so that we can show our film on the big screen.
Where Your Money Goes:
Sound Design & Mix: Nothing in film seperates the pros from the amateurs like good sound! With a great sound mix and sound design, not only will our film make you feel like you're in the room with the charachters but when the big moments hit, you'll feel like you're being hit too!
Color Grade: Shooting on film already does so much to make the image look incredible, but when you add the touch of a color grade something good turns into something pristine.
VFX: Sometimes there's just some things you can't avoid on a shoot. Whether that's a light stand poking out of the corner on your best take or a crash pad that just can't be hidden. Luckily, the magic of modern filmmaking can make those things go away and that's what we aim to do.
Festival Submissions/DCP: What better way to show a film than on the literal big screen! We have a ton of festivals we'd like to submit our film to and the first step is submmissions. You can see a shortlist of the festivals we plan on submitting to below. This list entails festivals of all different sizes and esteem. We want everyone to see our movie. In most cases once you are admitted to a festival you have to a provide a DCP of your film. For those who don't know, a DCP file is what is required to be able to show a film through a standard cinema projector.
Copy & Paste the below statements to make sharing even easier!
Excited to see @ironically_cliche new short film @snafushort. Shot on film for next to nothing! Contribute to their seed and spark and follow their page!
www.seedandspark.com/fund/snafu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go follow and contribute to @snafushort seed and spark! All shot on 16mm film with next to now budget!
www.seedandspark.com/fund/snafu
Short List of Festivals:
- TIFF
- Raindance Film Festival
- Chicago International Film Festival
- AFI Festival
- Stockholm International Film Festival
- Woodstock Film Festival
- San Francisco Indipendant Film Festival
- Sundance Film Festival
- LA Indie Film Festival
- New Orleans Film Festival
Thanks again for stopping by our page! We'll see you at the movies!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Color Correction
Costs $1,000
The final color grade to take the beauty of our already stunning 16mm scans to another level.
VFX
Costs $1,000
Some small bits of cleanup on one of our scenes (crash pad in frame)
Sound Design and Master
Costs $1,500
We need a sound designer/mixer to finalize all the intricate sounds for our film.
Festival Submissions Fees
Costs $1,500
Festival submissions fees will ensure that our film can be seen by as many of our peers as possible!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Phillip Soulliere is a Director and Producer based in Los Angeles, CA. Phillip grew up in the Coachella Valley desert of California where the sprawling landscape and peculiar nature of the residence spurred his initial desire to tell stories. In 2019 he co-founded the Los Angeles based production company Stray Dogs, LLC and currently acts as their senior executive producer.
Ben Meserve grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by the film Industry. Ben is an accomplished director of photography. His work ranges includes a vast body of award winning narratives, music videos, and commercials.
Freddie Gardner is an African-American writer and director based in Los Angeles, CA. Born in Savannah, GA and raised on the east coast. He's currently working in production for Stray Dogs LLC