Who are you? And what's this Real Melbourne thing?

I'm Justin - hi! :) I'm an experienced creative who’s spent my life living and loving all things film and TV. I spent my teenage years dreaming of making it as an actor, and many nights performing on stage in comedy and drama plays at my high school. After I graduated I performed in two sold-out Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows, appeared in TV roles on Neighbours, We Can Be Heroes and Blue Heelers, studied acting all over Melbourne, and since then I've developed a keen interest in writing and producing my own concepts.

One of those concepts is "Real Melbourne" - a web mockumentary, which delves into the stories of various Melbournians and explores their day-to-day lives and the challenges they face in society today. We learn about their careers, passions, flaws, loves, flaws, interests.. flaws... and what makes them tick (did I mention their flaws?) Real Melbourne is what you'd find if 'The Office' and Chris Lilley's 'We Can Be Heroes' had an awkward love triangle with 'Humans Of New York'.

The idea came to me when I realised that, over the years, I've met a FANTASTIC array of quirky characters across Melbourne, and their stories, hilarious character traits, and what drives them as a person really intrigued me. Everyone out there has their own story to tell... and a fast-paced, satirical comedy where we get to come along for the ride was the perfect platform to tell them.

I've written six episodes so far and plan on producing the first three episodes to be shopped around to investors, submitted to web festivals and competitions around Australia and the world, and possibly even sell the concept to local streaming services. Each episode is 8-10 minutes long, and is scheduled for production in late 2018.

But in creating a well-made production, inevitably the self-funded dollars run low, the favours begin to dry up and the 'I'll owe you a beer!'s make me seem like an alcoholic.

That's where you come in!

So... what's it about?

Real Melbourne is a short-form, bite-sized comedy explored in a series of character-driven webisodes:

• A landscape gardener bites off more than he can chew...
• A personal trainer falls in love with one of his clients...
• An eager actor gets dealt a crushing blow by his agent…
• A tennis pro's coach mysteriously goes missing…
• A demanding cafe owner strives to make his business the best in town...
• A struggling real estate agent comes face to face with her rival...
• ...and many more!

On the surface, Real Melbourne is a light-hearted comedy. But at it's centre, it tells a very relatable, human tale... one that unfolds with a surprising amount of heart, told through the eyes of a flawed larrikan. I firmly believe the best comedies are grounded in drama, and in writing this series I made sure to underpin the comedy with some more serious, sad and raw moments. That way the audience can bask in a funny yet moving story, and actually care about these characters as they realise their ambitions, discover what's important to them and strive to get what they want out of life.

What we're asking for!

By adding $5,000 to our production budget, this will make up the funding I need to film, edit and produce one full episode of Real Melbourne to a professional quality. This episode will serve as a Proof of Concept which will be shopped around to investors to seek out further funding. 

If I double this target, two episodes of Real Melbourne means it will fulfil eligibility criteria to be screened at Australian and international web festivals and online content competitions. Playing the festival circuit would give Real Melbourne an incredible platform to be seen, which gives it the strongest chance for investor and distribution interest from streaming services like Netflix, Stan, Ozflix, ABC iView, SBS On Demand, etc. In the end, it's very important to me to create a well-polished production so that Real Melbourne stands out from looking or feeling like a 'backyard production'.

I currently have FIFTEEN different characters in various stages of development - each with their own story to tell - so there's plenty more funny on the horizon!

…and I think we all need to have a damn good laugh nowadays, don’t you?

Where would my money be going?

It may be surprising to learn that donating as little as $50 can feed a hungry crew member for the entire production! Donating a meatier $100 can ...well... feed them for the whole production. I mean... that's just basic maths*.

(*I may have used a calculator)

Donating even more generously will help launch this production toward not only meet our achievable target, but possibly even exceed it and create more episodes than we originally anticipated. This would help pay for the many costly but essential components involved in the monumental task of film production. Film & TV production is like an iceberg... you only get to see the tip of what ends up on screen, but under the surface there's a small army of people involved, months and months of work, a gigantic amount of effort and a lot of funding. 

In a lot of cases none of the critical elements can be skimped on either, otherwise you risk even the smallest productions coming out unpolished and unprofessional. The costs we need to budget for include:

• Paying cast and crew – given the nature of having comedy underpinned by drama, these stories will need the talent of some professional local actors to help bring the stories to life. Not to mention also needing the expertise of some very talented and experienced crew members, who are all well versed in their fields (ie. camera operators, sound recorders, etc!)
• Camera equipment - So... EXPENSIVE! Cameras, tripods, mounts, lenses, dollys (not the creepy horror-movie toy ones with the heads that spin all the way around), aaaand more. Just to make each shot look polished and professional.
• Lighting equipment - There's a surprising amount of work to make each shot look naturally lit! #lit #YOLO
• Sound equipment - If there's one thing that brings a great production down, it's overlooking quality audio recording. It's JUST as important as the visual aspect of any production!
• Makeup & Wardrobe - to help make each of our characters stand out as their own personality and create a more realistic world
• Props - hiring, creating or even purchasing props from Op Shops adds serious amounts of realism to each scene
• Video editing service - much of the finished product you see on-screen relies heavily on great, well-cut, and comedically-focussed editing by people who know how to use the software!
• Catering - a well-fed cast and crew is a happy cast and crew! And a happy cast and crew create GOLD.
• Location hire - sometimes the best settings to tell our stories rely on renting time and space from others!
  
  

With successful Pozible funding my aim is to shoot the first episode in October 2018 (ideally with enough pledges, two or even MORE episodes!), finish editing by December 2018 and then start shopping this wholesome little comedy around from January 2019 to anyone who'll take me (I'm a bit easy that way).

What are the risks?

Thankfully, I'm very lucky to have a great network of very knowledgeable peers to lean on for guidance and hands-on assistance throughout production. Over the years I've leant a hand to my fantastically professional industry friends on their their own passion projects. Once I told them my story, they all expressed interest in returning the favour and helping make Real Melbourne a reality.

As far as challenges go, I currently work a full-time job so the shoot dates will be restricted to weekends and public holidays. This can sometimes present a scheduling challenge in availability for cast and crew, but to tackle this I've deliberately developed each episode to only need very small cast and crew numbers. Less people to co-ordinate = more opportunity for success without compromising the quality! In addition to this, I've written each of the stories to focus primarily on one central character, which was done deliberately to help make casting and managing numbers of people on-set easier to co-ordinate.

Additionally, the way we will shoot this series is very "from the hip", meaning it will look raw and edgy and we'll be able to get the shots we need a lot easier and faster than what is usually required for longer set-ups to acheive more cinematic shots (ie. feature films). This means we can enjoy faster turn-around shoot times, or even use any extra time up our sleeve more creatively (this is often when the best performances come out!)

All of this will work toward a professional production, whilst also minimising a lot of the logistical complexities that come with film making. All in all, it's going to make the whole process much more acheivable so we can ensure we deliver a great slice of comedy to each and every one of you :)

Check out the Real Melbourne YouTube channel and Real Melbourne Instagram page for more info!

Thanks for reading! Xoxo