Hiding From Plain Sight
Over-analyzer Marsh gets one more chance to speak her heart when her best-friend/former-roomie/kind-of-also-an-ex, Peter, shows up at her door the night before leaving town. Will she embrace the horror of telling him how she feels?
Have you ever been so scared of ruining a relationship you hide your feelings? So scared to say or do the wrong thing that you just don't say or do anything? Welcome to Marsh's personal hell.
Timing is everything. With a deep and complex past between the two of them the time to say everything that needs to be said is now. Like now. Peter moves to New York in the morning. Marsh plays it cool over drinks after her show, but ends up restless and awake later that night; replaying every awkward moment and missed opportunity again and again in her head until she's interrupted by a knock at her door. Peter. Thus begins the delicate dance between resolving the past and taking advantage of the present.
Hiding From Plain Sight is a playfully bittersweet story about love, the struggle to embrace its uncertainty, fear, and all the sticky things that get in the way. Including ourselves.
We need help with production! Oh gosh. That can mean a lot of things. Let's break it down with a chart:
The film is also getting an original song and score! Lindsey is teaming up with a local singer-songwriter to craft a sound that's all our own. And we'll be submitting our short to festivals when all is said and done. Stretch goal funding will provide us with a larger reach for festivals.
Being a character-driven piece, our needs aren't astronomical. We need great equipment, a talented cast and crew, and post-production that matches the calibre of the everything created up to that point.
It's a relationship-driven piece, so yes, there's a love scene. We're hiring an Intimacy Director to ensure the safety and integrity of the cast, crew and the work. We believe in progress and making art that is safe, thoughtful, and informed. Hiring certified professionals is how we make that happen.
And we're still making movies in the era of Covid. Covid Compliance is a non-negotiable budget item that adds to our overall expense (providing PPE to cast and crew, testing, etc.) in addition to hiring professionals to work in-front of and behind the camera.
Oh my goodness, THANK YOU!!!!! Making art - making movies - is a collaboration of talents and belief in a story. We want to extend all our gratitude to you for believing in us and being part of our community. We could not do this without you. Thank You.
Lindsey Newell is an award-winning actress, a singer, writer, producer, and the creator behind our story. In LA, she's what's known as a “theatre girl”. It's true. Attending summer programs as a teen, earning her BFA in acting, and participating in theatre all along the way, it is a badge worn with pride. Maybe she's a bit of a late bloomer, but she finally found her place in comedy. It's got everything; rhythm, variation… music. Speaking of music;
Most recently - as a company member - she wrote and performed a cabaret show for the vintage girl-group, The Satin Dollz, called Pin-Up Revolution. Lindsey studies and hones her comdey and acting chops at Scott Sedita Acting Studio.
Wow. So a lot has happened and it's been QUITE a while since you've received any updates from me. Apologies. There were some… trials and tribulations. That's a good phrase for it. I'll try to be brief. (Ha!)
Six weeks out from filming - to the day - Nate chose to leave the project. These things happen and all one can do in such a case is move forward. And that's what I did. Everything imploded on a Thursday, and by that Saturday I was in talks with a potential new producer/director, and by Monday Sean Renzetti came on board, filling the position. We didn't lose a second of time or momentum. In fact, we gained everything. Truly.
We found a location in Sun Valley for our bar scene at an INCREDIBLE rate - and met a super cool fellow musician/filmmaker in the process, thank you Ace at Brilliant Screen Studios - and it instantly fit the vibe. Very little set dressing needed. See?
The crew who came along for the ride includes Conor Soules (Director of Photography), Jon Bass (Gaffer), Bethani Mosher (First AC), Drew O'Donnell (Sound), Parisa Leduc (Makeup), Celina Surniak (Intimacy Coordinator), and Monica O'Donnell (Wardrobe and Set Design). Rounding out our tiny but mighty cast we had Carleton Bluford (Peter), Mel Mehrabian (Ruby) and Tavis Doucette (Dylan).
Folks. FRIENDS… These amazing human beings showed up and showed out!!!!! Every single day on set was an absolute dream, a complete joy, and the most professional. We laughed, we got the shots, we had a BLAST - and there were no egos. Just the pure desire to bring and execute at our best to serve the story. I could not have asked for more.
Not only that! But we finished on time on the first day (after shooting 50+ set-ups), and early every day after that. All in all, we shot 24 pages of mostly dialogue in 3.5 days (seeing as the final day only took us 2 hours to get all we needed while simultaneously praying for sunrise but only being met with the overcast sky that actually fit the mood better than what I had originally envisioned). That is no small feat.
And now??? We wait. Well, I wait. It's in the trusted hands of our editor, Jonathan Angelico. The first cut has been assembled and Sean and Jonathan are already working steadily on the second cut. We will have a finished film, ready for festival submissions - and complete with an original score - by the 1st of December. That said, the priority is to have it done right over any deadline. But 2023 Festival Circuit, here we come!
The photo at the top is one my husband snapped of me after a particularly emotional scene. Speaking of my husband, please let's celebrate the one and only Ryan Johnson for stepping up as the ULTIMATE Production Assistant to ever PA. He procured lunch for everyone every day (saving us lots of money in the process), grabbed gorgeous Behind The Scenes photos, did anything that was needed, and at the end of it all he was right there by my side sharing every delicious moment with me. I am humbled by him.
But the photo… yes, it was an emotional scene - the denoument, if you will - but look closely and you'll see unadulterated bliss like I haven't felt from this business in a long, long time. I do believe it takes two things to make your dreams come true. It takes immense gumption and belief in yourself, because no one will do it for you. Plain and simple. But on the days when that belief falters, when you fail to see your light, it takes your village; friends and family, the ones who vociferously remind you of your abilities to see you through until you find it within yourself once again.
YOU are all part of that village. YOU are the reason every single person got paid to work on this project, like I set out to do. YOU are the reason we were able to do all the things I dreamt of. YOU are the supporters who made this story possible. I can never say it enough... Thank You!
All this to say, it was magical. I am indebted to you all for that gift. Now Stay Tuned! We've only just begun!
Wow! We were able to do so much within our 30-day campaign. Two matching donors, 70+ contributors and so so so much love. We raised $7,175 in the end. Give yourselves a round of applause!
I'll be honest, I've never enjoyed crowdfunding. It is tedious drudgery - shocker coming from a creative - but it's also the most humbling and rewarding work. With each donation that came in, each positive response, we were reminded exactly why we do this in the first place: for you!
You've all done the heavy lifting so far of reaching into your pocketbooks and giving what you were able to make our dreams come true. We are eternally grateful to you. Now it's time for you to sit back, relax, and let us get to the really fun part - MAKING A MOVIE!!!! In 2 months time we'll be on set and creating all kinds of magic that is only made possible because of YOU!
We'll begin fullfilling incentives soon - starting with the group Thank You song! In the meantime, let us take this chance to once again express our appreciation and admiration for each and every one of you. Your belief in us, your support, it truly means the world to us. Asking for help was scary. But you came through and I can't help but beam with happiness, love, and gratitude and excitement when I look at the village that came to our aid. Thank you for the most wonderful gift. The best is yet to come. Stay tuned!
We have only 5 hours left to raise $1,075 for a full match and I know we can do it! You've already given us the strongest show of support and we could not be more humbled and grateful for all that you've done for us.
Along this journey, we've learned the importance of putting oneself out there firsthand. But it isn't just important for something like raising funds to fulfill a dream. It's the reward that has kept us going back to our phones and socials to ask friends, family, and strangers for help. Asking for help isn't always easy, especially with times as tough as they are, but when that request is answered… there's no way to describe that feeling. But we have one final ask: can you send 2 friends a message asking for their support towards our campaign?
64 of you have come together to show us how much faith you have in our abilities, how much desire you have to see us succeed. We are over the moon with excitement for the next phase, we just need one final push to get us across that finish line.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Let's do this thing!
Our Matching Donor has graciously chosen to EXTEND their match thru the end of the campaign! We've already raised $500 of the $2,000 match. With 2 days left in the campaign, we're so grateful for this opportunity to become fully funded.
If you have donated, THANK YOU!!! May we make one more ask of you? As this is a community of support that we're building, we would love and appreciate if you could ask 2 friends to join our cause. Let them know that now until the end of the campaign their impact will be DOUBLED. A full match means we'll be fully funded.
Full funding means we're able to secure the right locations, equipment, cast, and crew to tell this simple story with the love and care it deserves.
Thank you for all of your support! We are truly blessed to have you on our side. Let's make a movie!!!
We have another Matching Donor!!! This time the match will take place over the weekend (Thursday thru Sunday night) and the match is up to $2,000!
If we raise another full match, we'll have met our goal of $10,000 and be fully funded! Spread the word to everyone you know. They have one more chance to DOUBLE their impact and help us make the best movie possible.
Thank you for your continued support in helping us tell this story. We are over the moon with your belief in us and this film. The best is yet to come. Let's make a movie!!!
Check out this absolute STUNNER!!! Introducing Melissa Mehrabian as the supporting character in our story, Ruby. Ruby is the best friend of our protagonist, Marsh. She's strong, confident, supportive, and the loving nudge our Marsh sometimes needs.
Mel is bright, vibrant, and a tour-de-force singer and actress. She's Disney's first ever Iranian-American villain in the new hit Disney+ show, The Quest. She also recently appeared on NBC's This Is Us final season. We are thrilled to have her in our cast!
We had an amazing matching donor drive day! We not only met, but we surpassed our match in less than 24 hours. Truly, we are blown away by your support. The closer we get to our goals, the more folks join our team, the more humbled and excited we are to create and share this story with all of you. We simply cannot express our gratitude enough. Thank you!!!
Mark your calendars and spread the word! We have an anonymous donor who has graciously agreed to MATCH all donations made up to $1,000 THURSDAY JUNE 2!
If you've been waiting for the right time, or know someone who is, to contribute to our campaign, Thursday is the day! You'll effectively double your impact as every dollar raised on Thursday gets immediately matched up to that thousand dollar mark. We are so humbled by the support of our matching donor and can't wait to welcome our new team members aboard.
Thank you for your continued support. Let's do this!
Hey-Yeah! We did it! We received a cash donation that pushed up over the $2,000 mark and we're 20% funded one week in. We have big goals over the next 3 weeks, with a matching campaign coming soon, so stay tuned.
This last week also brought some exciting creative news. I met up with singer-songwriter Emily Husslander and within a few hours we wrote - words and music - the original song which will be featured in the film.
We are so incredibly grateful to everyone who has joined the team in these early days. We've got another weekly goal of $2,000. You've given us a great start. From this point, spread the word! Every contribution, every new team member moves us closer to our big goal of being fully funded. Let's smash this week's goal and make some movie magic!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support!
Huzzah!
In the first 4 hours of our campaign going live we received 4% of our overall funding goal. We look forward to building on that momentum and crossing the finish line well before our deadline. But it's only possible with your help.
A big shout out to our first round of donors. You've ignited a spark, so now let's fan out the flame. We are so grateful and excited you chose to join us on this journey.
This is only the beginning. Stay tuned!
