LONG ROAD PRODUCTION UPDATE DEC 2019

Hi Roadsters

I hope you’re all well. Sorry it’s been a while since the last update but I’ve been full on with finishing a short horror film for Banshee Productions which is almost done. 

Saying that I have been busy getting all the backer perks together for you all and they are pretty much ready to go other than the final DVD’s. They won’t be ready until the film is released so I’m going to send out the perks as they are with the DVD’s to follow later. This will start in Jan as  Xmas is now around the corner and nobody needs that confusion. 

With regards the film itself, I’ve been away from The Long Road for a while and reflecting upon my experience with it at the Galway Fleadh I’ve ‘unlocked’ the film and have started a re-edit. 

This isn’t as drastic as it sounds and is me taking advantage of having the luxury of time to do it. Having some time off from the film has allowed me to look at it fresh and see that the beginning of the film isn’t as strong as the rest. I always knew this would be the case as our lead character is a hard character to like. This was always the point to contrast the change he goes through and I always knew it would be a big ask to expect the audience to stick with it. However it feels that it goes on too long like that and he needed softening a little. With this in mind I felt we needed to tone done his unsympathetic nature and at least give us some kind of way into his character so that we want to spend time with him. Saying that he’s still an absolute git with a lot to learn which was always the point, just not in such a relentless way. 

Now a lot of people would say I shouldn’t talk about this stuff but as backers of the film I think it’s important you are included as much as possible in the process and it happens on every film so what’s the point in pretending otherwise. You’ve signed up to support the film and I think you should share in it warts and all. 

The main thing is that by opening up the film again it will confirm where it works and where it needs work. That’s the beauty of changing things around and looking at it from a different perspective and that can only be a good thing as it will make the film stronger. As I don’t have a deadline to work to it means that I can make sure the film is the best it can be or at least as good as I can make it. Saying that I really do have to put it to bed at some point otherwise it’ll be a life long project the way it’s going. It turns out perfection is impossible to find, who’d have thunk?

Anyway as always may the road rise with you until next time. 

Big love

Craig

Long Road update Aug 2019

Hi ROADSTERS

I hope you are all well. I’m sorry that I haven’t updated in a while but things have been pretty busy. 

I had to get a load of materials together to take the film to the Galway Film Fleadh which was amazing. More to follow on that. 

Good news. Today I have ordered all the perks and they will be sent out to you once everything has arrived just in time for the film’s release later this year. 

I have also started the final grade pass of the film and will then be preparing the Blu-ray files. 

We are planning a premier screening in London followed by further screenings with q&a’s. These are all to be confirmed and as soon as I have more I’ll let you know. 

We’re in the last leg now and I can’t wait to get the film out finally. 

In the meantime may the road rise with you. 

Cheers

Craig

THE LONG ROAD Crowdfunding update.

Hi Roadsters 

So here we are into the last 5 days of the campaign and at 90%. AMAZING. One last push and we’re there. We have £200 left to raise to hit target and I need all your help to do it. Please share the campaign link igg.me/at/TheLongRoad and tell as many people as you can about the film.

I’ve decided that September will be the release month for the film so I can now get everything together for that and with the help of our PR guru Susie Tullett we should be able to get some decent reviews in the papers etc and get some bums on seats. 

I’m really looking forward to seeing you all at one of the screenings once dates have been locked. In the meantime Thank You for all your support. You’ve all been amazing and I couldn’t have done it without you. The film is yours as much as mine and you should be extremely proud of that. You’re alright you are. 

Here’s a couple of pieces of music from the film: 

Main Theme Photo Video:https://youtu.be/CmO42rL7NHs 

Rosie’s Theme:https://youtu.be/vLpYrcntYTk 

Until next time may the road rise with you. 

Best Craig

The Long Road Main Theme.

Heres the main theme from The Long Road as as played by David Ryder Prangley and Christopher Nettleton. 

The Long Road Production update April 2019

Hey Roadsters

I hope you’re all well. Time for a quick but long update on the film.  Sorry there’s a lot to tell so bear with me. 

Some of you might have already noticed that I’ve started a new IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign. igg.me/at/TheLongRoad. If you could share the link with all your friends and social media that would be AMAZING. 

We’ve been running about 5 days and are already 61% funded. That’s incredible and it makes it the most successful first week of any crowdfunder I’ve been involved in. But with your help I know we can smash it. All the funds from this will pay for a marketing guru to promote the film’s release and get the film to festival. That means reviews and screenings. 

The reason I have done this is because the last couple of weeks I’ve been dealing with an LA distribution company who were after the film. As we were negotiating it became clear that although not a scam they were notorious for not paying any of their filmmakers any money and charging huge marketing fees on top. This means that their filmmakers never get paid and in fact end up in debt to the company who essentially then take the film from them. This practices is not illegal and happens more than you would think even with the big studios. 

In fact I have a producer friend who made a well known film back in the 1990’s who this happened to when he was dealing with a big studio who you would all know the name of. 

For legal reason ( namely I don’t want to get sued by their rather expensive lawyers) I can’t mention any names but the moral of the story is don’t go Swimming with Sharks. 

Talking to a few industry friends of mine I have been told to steer clear of this company as they don’t have a good reputation - which as you can imagine is what I’ve done by politely declining their offer. 

I have been through this situation a few times now on a couple of my projects so luckily I can spot the warning signs. 

The last thing I want to do is sign away everybody’s support and hard work and faith in me to some rubbish deal for several years and world wide rights without any MG’s (Minimum guarantees ie monies upfront before sales). That would just be silly. 

Again this experience just confirms what I’ve been feeling for a long time now, which is, I’m better off Self Distributing (SelfD) through Amazon and negotiating non exclusive deals where I can. I wrote a bit about it here: http://workshopcraig.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-joy-of-self-d.html?m=1

It’s a lot more work for me but it means that the film is going to get more of a chance. 

With that in mind I have now hired a marketing guru called Susie Tullett who has a wealth of industry experience. Here’s her IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876371/

Susie and I are now starting to put together a plan for the film and once that’s in place we’ll start making things happen with the aim to release the film on BluRay, DVD and VOD at the end of the summer. We are also looking at the possibility of a small cinema release through Our Screen if it’s worth while. 

So lots happening. In the meantime if you want to help please could you share our IndieGoGo campaign? It really would be a MASSIVE  help. 

Until the next time

May the road rise with you. 

Craig

igg.me/at/TheLongRoad