The Debutante's Gown
Natchez, Mississippi | Film Short
Horror
A haunted debutante gown is plucked out of a quirky antique shop by a community theatre director. Emily returns home to take care of her dying Grandma. She searches for a distraction and lands the lead role, the debutante's gown is assigned to her. When the gown goes on its lights-out for Emily.
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$1,560
Goal: $8,510 for pre-production
A haunted debutante gown is plucked out of a quirky antique shop by a community theatre director. Emily returns home to take care of her dying Grandma. She searches for a distraction and lands the lead role, the debutante's gown is assigned to her. When the gown goes on its lights-out for Emily.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
When Ashley Heathcock moved back down south to Natchez, Mississippi she was inspired by the raw beauty and felt compelled to write. She has been a visual storyteller for 16 years working as a costume designer in film and television. The Debutante's Gown script has just won The New York Script awards for Best First Time Screenwriter (short) and is a finalist for Film Invasion Los Angeles and Nashville Film Festival.
In 2023, Ashley began to give educational workshops on character design where she would breakdown the process for costume design from script to screen. During the workshops she would speak at length to young audiences, discussing the power of clothes and how the right costume will transform an actor. One day while she was rehearsing her thesis for the workshops and riding her bike around, a story began to emerged of a malevolent haunted gown. With resources in mind, she decided to create short film as a proof of concept instead of a feature length film. The Debutante' Gown is a fun exaggeration of the power of clothing and what could happen if the garment was evil.
The beauty of this historic town on the Mississippi River is an untapped cinematic resource. A short film is a great way to create a proof of concept and for Ashley to reintroduce herself to other industry professionals as a writer/director.
For many years in the film industry Ashley rarely saw women in roles like writer/director/producer. This has recently has started to change, and she hopes she can be a part of that change.
We have had an outpour of local community support thus far (with our shooting locations). This project wouldn't be possible without that, we are very grateful. The crowdfunding campaign will allow us to fill in the holes of our remaining needs. It will go directly to the following preproduction and post cost: fabric for the gown, costumes for the actors, rental fees for particular props, specialized contact lenses for make-up, paint and building materials for production design, rental fees for camera equipment, rental fees for sound equipment, insurance coverage during the shoot, feeding the crew, housing/travel cost for the distant talent, fees for festival submissions, and marketing.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our project! Please see our visual mood boars regarding the visual tone and stunning locations for The Debutante's Gown.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera Rentals
Costs $2,000
We will need to rent cameras and lens to fully capture our rich textures of our locations.
Sound Equipment
Costs $260
We need professional sound equipment to ensure we have crisp, clean dialogue, and also capture the ambiance of our haunted locations.
Meals for Cast & Crew
Costs $750
An essential component of keeping a production running smoothly is making sure the cast & crew has plenty to eat!
Cast Travel
Costs $1,700
Some of our amazing actors will be coming from out of state, and we could use your help covering their travel expenses!
Production Design
Costs $800
We will have to build and paint practical sets for the play, The Debutante, that is within the story.
Costumes/Hair/Makeup
Costs $1,000
We will have to custom build The Debutante's Gown. We'll also need to purchase wigs and special contact lens for the Emily's transformation.
Post-Production
Costs $2,000
Once the shoot is complete, all that we'll have left is editing, coloring, sound designing, composing, VFX, packaging....
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
When Ashley Heathcock moved back down south to Natchez, Mississippi she was inspired by the raw beauty and felt compelled to write. She has been a visual storyteller for 16 years working as a costume designer in film and television. The Debutante's Gown script has just won The New York Script awards for Best First Time Screenwriter (short) and is a finalist for Film Invasion Los Angeles and Nashville Film Festival.
In 2023, Ashley began to give educational workshops on character design where she would breakdown the process for costume design from script to screen. During the workshops she would speak at length to young audiences, discussing the power of clothes and how the right costume will transform an actor. One day while she was rehearsing her thesis for the workshops and riding her bike around, a story began to emerged of a malevolent haunted gown. With resources in mind, she decided to create short film as a proof of concept instead of a feature length film. The Debutante' Gown is a fun exaggeration of the power of clothing and what could happen if the garment was evil.
The beauty of this historic town on the Mississippi River is an untapped cinematic resource. A short film is a great way to create a proof of concept and for Ashley to reintroduce herself to other industry professionals as a writer/director.
For many years in the film industry Ashley rarely saw women in roles like writer/director/producer. This has recently has started to change, and she hopes she can be a part of that change.
We have had an outpour of local community support thus far (with our shooting locations). This project wouldn't be possible without that, we are very grateful. The crowdfunding campaign will allow us to fill in the holes of our remaining needs. It will go directly to the following preproduction and post cost: fabric for the gown, costumes for the actors, rental fees for particular props, specialized contact lenses for make-up, paint and building materials for production design, rental fees for camera equipment, rental fees for sound equipment, insurance coverage during the shoot, feeding the crew, housing/travel cost for the distant talent, fees for festival submissions, and marketing.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our project! Please see our visual mood boars regarding the visual tone and stunning locations for The Debutante's Gown.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera Rentals
Costs $2,000
We will need to rent cameras and lens to fully capture our rich textures of our locations.
Sound Equipment
Costs $260
We need professional sound equipment to ensure we have crisp, clean dialogue, and also capture the ambiance of our haunted locations.
Meals for Cast & Crew
Costs $750
An essential component of keeping a production running smoothly is making sure the cast & crew has plenty to eat!
Cast Travel
Costs $1,700
Some of our amazing actors will be coming from out of state, and we could use your help covering their travel expenses!
Production Design
Costs $800
We will have to build and paint practical sets for the play, The Debutante, that is within the story.
Costumes/Hair/Makeup
Costs $1,000
We will have to custom build The Debutante's Gown. We'll also need to purchase wigs and special contact lens for the Emily's transformation.
Post-Production
Costs $2,000
Once the shoot is complete, all that we'll have left is editing, coloring, sound designing, composing, VFX, packaging....
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team