How a $4,000.00 proof of concept trailer got a $100,000.00 investment!
15 years ago my key crew and I hit a huge milestone. My director/DP friend Daniel Maldonado had an idea for a Texas Zombie movie. At the time I owned the Panasonic HVX 200. To pull it off he needed some high-end lenses, an amazing SFX Makeup crew, and a wicked location!
An underrated zombie film produced and shot before The Walking Dead and The Last of Us saw the light of day!
Daniel hustled to get donations and he also did a BBQ fundraiser. It took him a few weeks but he got the funds we needed to film the proof of concept. We went all out! I was the 1st AD on the proof of concept trailer and the 2nd AD on the feature film version.
PROOF OF CONCEPT TRAILER
We scouted a nearby county where we knew we could get away with murder. Found a small corn farm and the owners were super cool and supportive. They had a small cabin we used as base camp.
We shot for 3 days and came out with some insane shots! A few weeks later Daniel had a kick-ass trailer that he pitched to every Producer, Executive Producer, and Key Crew we ever worked with. They were blown away. 6 months later he got an investment of $100,000.00 to film the feature film version of The Killing Strain!
It was an ambitious debut film packed with stunts, VFX, and a logistical nightmare with 110 degrees plus heat throughout the shoot. This was 2010!
The film got foreign distribution in the UK and Japan! It even got a licensing agreement on Chiller TV, which was one of the first horror channels prior to Shudder TV.
Daniel has thought me a lot about pitching! He’s a passionate filmmaker! He created his own crowdfunding version of Kickstarter way before it even existed. Grassroots to the bone!
Although the film wasn’t a box office success, it certainly catapulted our careers and got us the opportunity to work on bigger films. Make sure you check out Daniel Maldonado’s website http://www.danielmaldonadodp.com/
Proof of concepts can get you investments but you have to go all out!
1 Comment
James Elia · June 30, 2023 at 5:17 pm
I am currently working on a Virginia Eugenics Documentary. Do you have any literature or learned experiences that can help me get funding for this project.
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