Project Description

Update: The Final Countdown!

There are only hours left in our funding campaign and we're doing everything we can to reach our new target of $25,000!

If we get there by the deadline, we'll host a premiere screening of all three episodes of Wastelander Panda in Adelaide, and all of our supporters will receive a free double pass to attend.

Every single one of you has helped to make this project a reality, and we can't thank you enough for your amazing support.

Despite reaching our goal, we still need to cover Pozible's fees and the cost of everyone's rewards.  It's a big ask, but it will mean a world of difference to the final episodes, with every extra dollar going on screen to make Wastelander Panda even more awesome!

Please help us to give this project one last push, and get it over the line, by sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or by any means possible.

We know that $25,000 seems impossible, but during last week's Pandathon we raised $2800 in 24 hours, so we know that a small chance exists, and because it does, we're not giving up.

Thank you so, so much for everything you've done for us. You're all amazing people, and every small thing adds up. We couldn't have done this without you.


Update: 100%!

We did it!  Thank you SO much to everyone who has donated to Wastelander Panda and made this project a reality.  All the money we've made on Pozible is now guaranteed. 

We have an option to sit back for the last few days of the campaign and take the $20k, but we've spoken to a lot of people who didn't get a chance to donate, or still want to get Wastelander Panda rewards, so we've decided to push this further and see how far we can go.


 


Update: Writer/Director Victoria Cocks Talks Wastelander Panda:
Meet Victoria Cocks, Writer/Director of Wastelander Panda.



Update: The Future of Wastelander Panda is in Your Hands!
Meet the cast and crew of Wastelander Panda and learn more about the project.

Update: PANDATHON!

On March 7th, from midnight to midnight, Adelaide time, we held a Pandathon, where the Wastelander Panda crew stayed up for 24 hours to raise money for the project.

There was live streaming from Epic HQ, hourly updates and giveaways, Q&A sessions and a public appearance by Arcayus the panda in the Garden of Unearthly Delights, as supporters tuned in on Twitter (@epicfilmsAUS) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/epicfilmsAUS).

Thanks to everyone's amazing support, we made $2827 in a day, finishing on $16,410.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

The sleep deprivation was worth it.  :)


The tale of the last remaining panda in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

THIS PROJECT CAN BE BACKED FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

Wastelander Panda has been in development for over a year, since Victoria Cocks (Writer/Director) and Marcus McKenzie (who plays Arcayus, the panda) came up with the concept in a university lecture.

Knowing that the idea of a film about a panda in a wasteland is difficult to convey through words, we created a three minute prologue of the series to help funding bodies and television station understand the style and tone of the film.  We then uploaded the prologue to Vimeo.

 Within five days, we had over 100,000 online views, from people in 140 countries around the world. 

The response has been amazing, and we're now taking the project to the next level by making a series of Wastelander Panda web episodes to lead into the full television series of hour-long episodes.



You can help us bring Wastelander Panda to life!

Wastelander Panda is an unusual project, unlike anything we've ever seen on TV.  We know our audience exists; proven by the internet community's love for the prologue, and all of the comments we've had from you, asking us when you can see more. This is why we have chosen to crowd fund the next stage of the project.

We're aiming to raise a bare minimum of $20,000, which will help us to cover the following costs for three web episodes:

- Equipment hire. The prologue was shot on Red MX and Arri Alexa cameras, and we hope to continue using these cameras for the series.
- Production design, and creating a realistic alternate world for the story.
- Travel and accommodation for cast and crew in the Flinders Ranges, the area where we shot the prologue.
- Post production, including a colour grade and music composition

$20,000 is the absolute minimum we require to complete the web episodes to the same standard as the trailer, and will involve asking for a lot of sacrifices and favours from people.  We'd love to raise more!  Any additional funds raised will help us to make Wastelander Panda bigger and better, and enable us to pay cast and crew for their work.





Where can I read more about Wastelander Panda?

Wastelander Panda has been featured on a number of blogs and news sites, and received some amazing feedback from people all over the world.

Some of the highlights have included:

- Being made a staff pick on vimeo.com
- Front page of io9.com
- Front page of neatorama.com
- Front page of buzzfeed.com
- Video of the day on geekinvaders.com
- Front page of gizmodo.com.au
- Front page and a full article on French blog geekxploitation.com
- Front page on Greek blog mediagate.gr
- Front page on German blog kraftfuttermischwerk.de

Plus:

- A Twitter message from @garywhitta, writer of The Book of Eli: ""I enjoyed it a lot, very cool! When is the full movie coming out?"
- A Twitter message from @eddiewhitejr: “@epicfilmsAUS, sent ur pilot to Head Of Features at JimHensonCo: “Mesmerizing! So odd and weird, yet you are glued to it. Great panda head.”

To read more information about the project, or to stay up to date on our successes, visit our website, or become a fan of Epic Films on Facebook:

http://www.epicfilms.com.au
http://www.facebook.com/epicfilmsAUS



How does Pozible work?

Pozible is a crowd-funding website that allows anyone in the world to make a contribution towards creative projects.  Donators receive rewards from the project creators, depending on the amount they pledge.  Rewards for donating to WASTELANDER PANDA are outlined on the right-hand side of this page.

However, only successful projects are funded.  If we don't raise $20,000 by March 14th, our project will be deemed unsuccessful, and everyone will get their money back.

If you love the prologue and want to see more Wastelander Panda, please help us to fund the project by sending your friends and family to this page.  The address is:

http://www.wastelanderpanda.pozible.com

Key Crew

Victoria Cocks – Writer/Director

Victoria Cocks is a talented all-round filmmaker, with experience as a cinematographer, editor, compositor, motion designer and VFX artist. She has studied screen production, multimedia & animation and visual arts, and won multiple awards for her work, including a Gold award from the Australian Cinematographers Society for her work on The Golden Years.

Victoria’s credits include motion designer and camera operator on Shut Up Little Man, a feature documentary officially selected for the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, and motion and title designer on Life in Movement, which won the Foxtel Documentary Award at the 2011 Sydney Film Festival and Best Feature Film at the South Australian Screen Awards. She edited Murder Mouth and Sumo Lake, both of which won South Australian Screen Awards.

Victoria has spent the last year developing Wastelander Panda for Epic Films, and directed the Wastelander Panda prologue in late 2011.  She is excited about bringing the full story of Wastelander Panda to audiences worldwide.

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Kirsty Stark - Producer

Kirsty has worked in the South Australian film industry since graduating from a BCA (Hons) in Screen Production at Flinders University in 2008.

With a background in the camera department, Kirsty has won several awards for her cinematography on short films, as well as working as a camera assistant on multiple Australian feature films (Oranges and Sunshine, Snowtown, Lucky Country, Beautiful Kate), short films and television commercials.

Kirsty produced multiple music videos, corporate promotions and music videos under her own name, before co-founding Epic Films in 2010.  She acted as Executive Producer on Epic Films’ first two s16mm projects – L’Artiste! and Landscape Scene - before moving into the role of Producer for The Beekeeper, Wastelander Panda and Cowboys & Indians.

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Vivyan Madigan  - Director of Photography

Since completing the three year Screen Production course at Flinders University in 2009, Vivyan Madigan has worked as a freelance camera assistant and cinematographer.

While still at university, Vivyan was awarded the Australian Cinematographers Society Student Encouragement Award for his work on Things Have Changed. In 2010 he followed this up, winning the ACS Cliff Ellis Memorial Award for Pleased to Meat You.

Over the last 18 months, Vivyan has also assisted on numerous short films, national TVC campaigns, feature films – including Red Dog and Swerve – and an SBS TV series called Danger 5, to be aired in early 2012.

Vivyan was Executive Producer on L’Artiste! and Landscape Scene for Epic Films, as well as shooting Landscape Scene.  He also shot The Beekeeper and the Wastelander Panda prologue.

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For information on other cast and crew, please visit the Epic Films website.

http://www.epicfilms.com.au



FAQ

Can I buy a reward as a gift?
Yes! If you would like to donate to the film but send the reward to someone else as a gift, go through all the normal process of making a donation in your name (necessary for billing purposes).  Then send us a message through Pozible or email kirsty@epicfilms.com.au to let us know the name and address of the person you would like to receive the reward.

When will the web series be released?
As we are yet to shoot the web series, the release date is still to be confirmed, but we are hoping the episodes will be online in mid-late 2012.  As a supporter, we will contact you when it's released so that you are the first to know!

What do the rewards look like?
Photos of all rewards will be available soon, and uploaded to this page!

How will I get my reward? How will you know my t-shirt / hoodie size?
Once we reach our deadline (March 14th) we will message everyone who has donated, confirming postal addresses for rewards, and any other information required, such as t-shirt and hoodie sizes.  Please reply to us as soon as possible so that we can order and post your reward.

Can we exceed the goal?
Yes! $20,000 is the absolute minimum we require to complete the web episodes to the same standard as the trailer, and will involve asking for a lot of sacrifices and favours from people. We'd love to raise more!  Every extra dollar will go towards making the Wastelander Panda series bigger and better!  Pozible allows us to keep every dollar donated to us before the project deadline (March 14th).

Other questions?  Please ask on our Facebook wall or send us an email at kirsty@epicfilms.com.au!