Cloudland Pictures

2 DAYS, 7 GAYS, 1 CITY

Gay and Loathing in Bris Vegas is a 14-part webseries set over a 2-day weekend about being gay and bored in Australia’s third largest city. 

Watch Craig and John, the co-creators of the series explain the genesis of the project and the reasons for crowdfunding in the "Gone with the Wind" of pitch videos.  

We've shot, post-produced, and delivered Day 1 (episodes 1-11) and we just finished shooting Day 2 (episodes 12-14).  

We are looking for some extra funds to help us finish post-production and help us get ready for festival release. Based on just two completed episodes, we have already gotten into three festivals  and most recently have entered the semi-finals of the International Online Webfestival (you can vote for us at Vote Gay and Loathing)

'try-before-you-pledge',

We're giving you the opportunity to try-before-you-pledge.

Every week, for the next 11 weeks, we will be releasing a completed episode for free on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram and will be posting the links here for you to watch as well as putting them all on our website.  

If you want to see the remaining 3 episodes (Day 2) , all we ask is that you help with a very small proportion of the costs of post-production.

Who's it for?

Everyone who has experienced Gay and Loathing in Bris Vegas will agree that it's a series full of energy, clever writing, and engaging and hilarious dysfunctional characters that are very relatable, whether you are straight or gay. 

This is a show for everyone who is able laugh and cry at the flaws of humanity, whatever color or sexual persuasion.

WHAT GAYS IN BRIS VEGAS, STAYS IN BRIS VEGAS

The seed of Gay and Loathing in Bris Vegas was planted about three years ago when John Cahill, on of the co-creators, thought it would be good to write a web-series about two gay guys who go out to breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, but never actually eat anything (brunch paralysis).

The scripts were written over two weekends, but it took another 9 months to start production and pull together the cast and the crew – people who were willing to work for free and offer up their equipment as there were no government grants or investors (other than ourselves) that were going to fund the series.

It took over 15 months, 8 shoots, and quite a few thousand dollars, but now all 14 episodes have been shot with 11 of them eager for release (plus a few promo videos).  The final 3 episodes are currently being edited.  

On behalf of all the cast and crew, we would be honored if you would contribute to our Pozible campaign. 

With your generous support, we will be able to finish Series One and deliver something special and highly entertaining.  We will be able to do this much faster and at a much higher quality with your help.  

We have some unique and interesting rewards in mind for our contributors, and we’re looking forward to keeping you updated on the project as it moves through the final phase.

WHY WE ARE CROWDFUNDING

Every creative person knows what it is like to dream of the incredible stories they could tell if they could just get the equipment and time. For most, the need to work a day job and pay the bills doesn’t leave a lot of time or money to follow these dreams which are often seen as a luxury, but which make life worthwhile.

Money

We have been very lucky to have benefited from the goodwill of the amazing people who form our cast and crew. They’ve donated their time, their expertise and their equipment. In return, all we have been able to offer is some food and drink, a bit of travel money, lots of on-set laughs, and a chance to meet other like-minded people.

Perhaps testament to the quality of the writing and the fun that was had on set, most of the crew that helped us out on the early episodes, stayed on for each new shoot, and the project started to attract high profile local talent like Sean Dennehy (Don’t Tell, Sanctum, Mabo) and Leigh Buchanan (Project Runway) along with emerging Queensland talent like Michael Deed, Josh walker, Peter Wood, Jake Cowan, Jessica Leighton, Paul Newlands, and Peter Macklin to name but a few.

Everyone involved in this production wants to grow and learn, to try out our skills, and contribute to bringing to the screen a production that is the best quality possible.

Limited budget though means limited means and limited opportunities to learn and grow to the next level. We've done an amazing job already on just passion and the smell of Red Rooster and Costco.  We could do so much more.

Working on higher end equipment with experienced post-production talent (like audio-engineers and colour graders) means not just looking and sounding better, it also means the crew to get exposure to new skills, mentoring, and test themselves on new equipment - to create something we are all really proud of and that sends a message to audience and industry that Bris Vegas is a world class city with its own character and 'kulcha'.

Time

John and Craig (the creators) began writing Gay and Loathing in Bris Vegas in early 2017. We began shooting our first episode in September that year, two more episodes in December, another couple in March, one in May, three in August, another two in September, and the final episode in October. Then there’s the many months of post-production.

Having some semblance of a budget means that we can better prepare and post-produce the remaining episodes in a shorter time period. This means, we can release the final episodes quicker than what we have been able to produce the first eleven episodes.

Primary target: $3,500.

The money raised will be used to fund the post-production of Day 2 (episode 12-14), in particular good sound design, professional colour grading, foreign subtitles and deliverables like DCP prints for international festival release. 

Day 2 is approximately another 20 minutes worth of edited footage.  

Stretch target: $60,000

Would you like to see even more episodes of Gay and Loathing in Bris Vegas? Would you like to see a SEASON 2 or to see what else the creative team can do?  Maybe a short film or a movie?

Whatever funds we raise above the initial $3,500 will go towards our next production, and if we raise enough, producing a second season of Gay and Loathing in Bris Vegas.  Based on the costs incurred for 6 episodes (around 30 minutes of screen time) we estimate that the cash expenditure for production and post-production was $14,000. This expenditure was on catering (food and water), transport costs, production design, wardrobe and make-up, some equipment rentals, and other incidentals.  It does not include labour, camera, sound, lighting, and editing equipment subsidised by our amazing cast and crew who volunteered their time and expertise to make Season 1 a reality.  

Our stretch target reflects what we believe would be the actual costs of producing a second season made up of 6 x 5 minutes episodes (or 30 minutes worth of completed screen time) with cast and crew getting paid something for their time (although below award).   We estimate the final figure would be around $60,000.  

We're aiming for the stars because we might hit the moon.   Why not come with us on the journey?  We'd love to have you.