Zits
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Horror, Comedy
ZITS is a body-horror dark-comedy film about the terrors of narcissism, a throwback to the EC Comics brand of cosmic justice in short-form horror storytelling. This is ultimately a cautionary tale of how an addiction to rage and empty validation leads to a fate of literal destruction.
Zits
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Horror, Comedy
Green Light
This campaign raised $18,955 for pre-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
59 supporters | followers
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ZITS is a body-horror dark-comedy film about the terrors of narcissism, a throwback to the EC Comics brand of cosmic justice in short-form horror storytelling. This is ultimately a cautionary tale of how an addiction to rage and empty validation leads to a fate of literal destruction.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
One evening, walking home in LA, a social media-obsessed "ingenue", Sandy, trips over an older woman's blind dog. Blowing a narcissistic rage gasket, our main character explodes into a verbally abusive tirade, kicking the older woman's dog during it.
The older woman, a being with powers unbeknownst to Sandy and full of rage, casts an evil eye on her. Sandy returns home, ignorant of what has happened, and continues her slovenly existence; constant phone addition, and cruel apathy toward her roommates. Later that night she awakens to find herself covered in abnormally mutated acne. While inspecting her body, she is catapulted into a nightmarish animated hallucination where she is compelled to pop every bump on her body - ultimately leading to a disgustingly bloody and chaotic demise.
Zits has received the following accolades at scriptwriting competitions thus far:
NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL - Finalist
GENREBLAST - Finalist
CORDILLERA FILM FESTIVAL - Finalist
FILMQUEST - Quarter Finalist
COVERFLY - Top 35% of discoverable scripts on Coverfly
In every film I make, I am holding up a mirror to some aspect of society and humanity, in some cases it’s a funhouse mirror. I wrote the first draft of Zits on the tail end of a mental breakdown. It wasn’t like I was actively looking for my next film, it all just came together in my mind that this was a film I needed to write. I had the bones of the story floating in my brain for a long while, spawning after my experiences with acne when I was younger. It wasn’t until my breakdown that I had all of the meat to wrap around and fill in the rest of the story. As a result of writing with a clear mind, fueled by personal burdens and not setting limitations, Zits is my most ambitious and personal film to date. I can promise that it is going to be unforgettable.
Zits is set in everyday Los Angeles. Much like acne and narcissism, there is dirt and darkness that lurks below the surface, and though we cover it with style and sheen the repulsiveness always finds its way to the surface. We draw this parallel because this is what ultimately, we hope to achieve with zits; a movie where one frame's visuals will absolutely enthrall you, and the next frame will disgust you to the core. Dark shadows, textured and moody lighting, intimate and uncomfortably tight frames with controlled camera movements, all of this and more will be our tools to build this experience.
Sandy
Sandy is a social media-addicted zennial. At surface level, she’s a charming young woman but one layer down she’s a cold, manipulative, covert narcissist. Her self-worth has been ravaged by a life of trauma. She seeks validation from strangers but doesn’t put effort into having meaningful healthy relationships with people in her life. If she feels even remotely slighted she rips into her perceived enemy until they are pulled to rock bottom.
Older Woman
The Mysterious Older Woman is an elusive agent of chaos, of sorts. Possibly a witch or gypsy, she possesses an unknown power, subsisting with her senior dog in gritty Los Angeles. Her demeanor, but most notably her eyes, show the turbulent and painful life she’s had to endure. She conceals a rapacious envy for people who haven’t had to endure what she has, especially those who seem to squander that privilege. This woman doesn’t seek out trouble, but is more than capable of casting it when it finds her.
Hi there! For those of you who don't know me, I'm a filmmaker whose directorial work has been spotlighted by BLOODY DISGUSTING, FILM SHORTAGE, VIMEO, and the prestigious short film YouTube channel OMELETO. My work has screened at numerous film festivals including but not limited to the MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL, DENVER FILM FESTIVAL, PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL, BOSTON UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL and the Oscar-qualifying festivals SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, FLICKERS RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, LA SHORTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL and the DEADCENTER FILM FESTIVAL. My short film A King's Betrayal was handpicked by Ramon Coppola as a finalist in the Francis Ford Coppola Short Film Competition.
PREVIOUS WORK
- A King's Betrayal (2015)
- A Perfect Breakfast (2018)
- Unholy 'Mole (2019)
Check out our Director of Photography, Hunter Gulan's website for more examples of his work.
We need $17,000 more to make Zits. Here's how we've broken down the budget.
PRODUCTION
- CAST & CREW: Zits will be a 4-day shoot. We're paying a camera team & lighting team, production designer, costume designer, SFX artist, makeup artist, VFX supervisor, and SAG-AFTRA actors for 4 days of work.
- SFX Artist: The zit prosthetics and execution of the practical effects are crucial to the climax of the film.
- COSTUME DESIGN: Our characters need to tell us who they are and how they live, with their wardrobe.
- SOUND: A professional sound mixer to capture quality sound. There is nothing that turns off an audience quicker than bad sound.
- PRODUCTION DESIGN: Sandy's room has been thoughtfully designed by our art team to communicate visually, the level of disregard and neglect she has for herself and everyone around her.
- CRAFT SERVICES & CATERING: We've got to feed people well when shooting on a budget!
STRETCH GOALS
If we surpass our budget, our stretch goals are:
- If we raise $22,000, we'll be able to cover a pickup day on our stage with our pertinent cast and crew.
- If we raise $27,000, we fund our post-production costs as well as have budget for submitting to film festivals.
Any amount you can afford to contribute would be greatly appreciated. You're helping fund the passion of these filmmakers and their craft!
DONATE
Donating using the "Make a Pledge" button above is the best way to help us out! Any size donation truly helps and we thank you for spending some of your hard-earned bucks on us during this holiday season!
SHARE
If you can't donate, we get it! Another way you can help us is by following us on Instagram @zitsthefilm and sharing the project. The more people that see this gives us a better chance of achieving our goal!
LOAN
Interested in helping us with gear? Check out our LOAN list on the Wishlist page - we've got a few items we could use for production, that you may have. More interested in loaning us some of your personal time on set? Email us at [email protected] and let us know why/how you want to help!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Macro Probe Lens
Costs $1
LOAN: We have one very suspenseful shot that could really be punched up with the use of this lens. Help us make that happen!
Crash Mat
Costs $1
LOAN: We have a shot where Sandy falls back and we definitely need a crash mat to make that shot safe and believable.
Catering & Crafty
Costs $2,000
We need to eat! We'll have at least 20-25 people on set each day and for a 4-day shoot that adds up!
Cast
Costs $2,000
We're paying SAG-AFTRA day rates to all of our actors
Crew
Costs $10,000
We're paying for professional camera & lighting, production design, SFX, hair & makeup, wardrobe, VFX, and sound.
Wardrobe
Costs $1,000
Our costume designer has created looks that visually represent who our characters are - which requires time to design, shop, and fit.
Production Design purchases
Costs $2,000
Set dressings like linens, chroma paint for our green screen, and plastic for easy clean up, all need to be purchased for our Art Department
Discreet Earbud
Costs $1
LOAN: We have a shot where our lead could use this for in-ear playback of sounds from her phone.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
We've assembled an amazing team of working professionals to tackle my most ambitious project yet.
CAST
PRODUCTION TEAM
CREW
POST-PRODUCTION
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
One evening, walking home in LA, a social media-obsessed "ingenue", Sandy, trips over an older woman's blind dog. Blowing a narcissistic rage gasket, our main character explodes into a verbally abusive tirade, kicking the older woman's dog during it.
The older woman, a being with powers unbeknownst to Sandy and full of rage, casts an evil eye on her. Sandy returns home, ignorant of what has happened, and continues her slovenly existence; constant phone addition, and cruel apathy toward her roommates. Later that night she awakens to find herself covered in abnormally mutated acne. While inspecting her body, she is catapulted into a nightmarish animated hallucination where she is compelled to pop every bump on her body - ultimately leading to a disgustingly bloody and chaotic demise.
Zits has received the following accolades at scriptwriting competitions thus far:
NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL - Finalist
GENREBLAST - Finalist
CORDILLERA FILM FESTIVAL - Finalist
FILMQUEST - Quarter Finalist
COVERFLY - Top 35% of discoverable scripts on Coverfly
In every film I make, I am holding up a mirror to some aspect of society and humanity, in some cases it’s a funhouse mirror. I wrote the first draft of Zits on the tail end of a mental breakdown. It wasn’t like I was actively looking for my next film, it all just came together in my mind that this was a film I needed to write. I had the bones of the story floating in my brain for a long while, spawning after my experiences with acne when I was younger. It wasn’t until my breakdown that I had all of the meat to wrap around and fill in the rest of the story. As a result of writing with a clear mind, fueled by personal burdens and not setting limitations, Zits is my most ambitious and personal film to date. I can promise that it is going to be unforgettable.
Zits is set in everyday Los Angeles. Much like acne and narcissism, there is dirt and darkness that lurks below the surface, and though we cover it with style and sheen the repulsiveness always finds its way to the surface. We draw this parallel because this is what ultimately, we hope to achieve with zits; a movie where one frame's visuals will absolutely enthrall you, and the next frame will disgust you to the core. Dark shadows, textured and moody lighting, intimate and uncomfortably tight frames with controlled camera movements, all of this and more will be our tools to build this experience.
Sandy
Sandy is a social media-addicted zennial. At surface level, she’s a charming young woman but one layer down she’s a cold, manipulative, covert narcissist. Her self-worth has been ravaged by a life of trauma. She seeks validation from strangers but doesn’t put effort into having meaningful healthy relationships with people in her life. If she feels even remotely slighted she rips into her perceived enemy until they are pulled to rock bottom.
Older Woman
The Mysterious Older Woman is an elusive agent of chaos, of sorts. Possibly a witch or gypsy, she possesses an unknown power, subsisting with her senior dog in gritty Los Angeles. Her demeanor, but most notably her eyes, show the turbulent and painful life she’s had to endure. She conceals a rapacious envy for people who haven’t had to endure what she has, especially those who seem to squander that privilege. This woman doesn’t seek out trouble, but is more than capable of casting it when it finds her.
Hi there! For those of you who don't know me, I'm a filmmaker whose directorial work has been spotlighted by BLOODY DISGUSTING, FILM SHORTAGE, VIMEO, and the prestigious short film YouTube channel OMELETO. My work has screened at numerous film festivals including but not limited to the MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL, DENVER FILM FESTIVAL, PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL, BOSTON UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL and the Oscar-qualifying festivals SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, FLICKERS RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, LA SHORTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL and the DEADCENTER FILM FESTIVAL. My short film A King's Betrayal was handpicked by Ramon Coppola as a finalist in the Francis Ford Coppola Short Film Competition.
PREVIOUS WORK
- A King's Betrayal (2015)
- A Perfect Breakfast (2018)
- Unholy 'Mole (2019)
Check out our Director of Photography, Hunter Gulan's website for more examples of his work.
We need $17,000 more to make Zits. Here's how we've broken down the budget.
PRODUCTION
- CAST & CREW: Zits will be a 4-day shoot. We're paying a camera team & lighting team, production designer, costume designer, SFX artist, makeup artist, VFX supervisor, and SAG-AFTRA actors for 4 days of work.
- SFX Artist: The zit prosthetics and execution of the practical effects are crucial to the climax of the film.
- COSTUME DESIGN: Our characters need to tell us who they are and how they live, with their wardrobe.
- SOUND: A professional sound mixer to capture quality sound. There is nothing that turns off an audience quicker than bad sound.
- PRODUCTION DESIGN: Sandy's room has been thoughtfully designed by our art team to communicate visually, the level of disregard and neglect she has for herself and everyone around her.
- CRAFT SERVICES & CATERING: We've got to feed people well when shooting on a budget!
STRETCH GOALS
If we surpass our budget, our stretch goals are:
- If we raise $22,000, we'll be able to cover a pickup day on our stage with our pertinent cast and crew.
- If we raise $27,000, we fund our post-production costs as well as have budget for submitting to film festivals.
Any amount you can afford to contribute would be greatly appreciated. You're helping fund the passion of these filmmakers and their craft!
DONATE
Donating using the "Make a Pledge" button above is the best way to help us out! Any size donation truly helps and we thank you for spending some of your hard-earned bucks on us during this holiday season!
SHARE
If you can't donate, we get it! Another way you can help us is by following us on Instagram @zitsthefilm and sharing the project. The more people that see this gives us a better chance of achieving our goal!
LOAN
Interested in helping us with gear? Check out our LOAN list on the Wishlist page - we've got a few items we could use for production, that you may have. More interested in loaning us some of your personal time on set? Email us at [email protected] and let us know why/how you want to help!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Macro Probe Lens
Costs $1
LOAN: We have one very suspenseful shot that could really be punched up with the use of this lens. Help us make that happen!
Crash Mat
Costs $1
LOAN: We have a shot where Sandy falls back and we definitely need a crash mat to make that shot safe and believable.
Catering & Crafty
Costs $2,000
We need to eat! We'll have at least 20-25 people on set each day and for a 4-day shoot that adds up!
Cast
Costs $2,000
We're paying SAG-AFTRA day rates to all of our actors
Crew
Costs $10,000
We're paying for professional camera & lighting, production design, SFX, hair & makeup, wardrobe, VFX, and sound.
Wardrobe
Costs $1,000
Our costume designer has created looks that visually represent who our characters are - which requires time to design, shop, and fit.
Production Design purchases
Costs $2,000
Set dressings like linens, chroma paint for our green screen, and plastic for easy clean up, all need to be purchased for our Art Department
Discreet Earbud
Costs $1
LOAN: We have a shot where our lead could use this for in-ear playback of sounds from her phone.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
We've assembled an amazing team of working professionals to tackle my most ambitious project yet.
CAST
PRODUCTION TEAM
CREW
POST-PRODUCTION