So, many of you may now know that I was successful in my funding campaign for JENS PULVER | DRIVEN via Kickstarter.com. The final tally was $27,210 in 20 days, with 410 gracious contributors pledging support.
I’m very grateful for this, and excited for the opportunity to build, and engage with my audience while I am making this picture. I plan to talk more about this experience here in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here is a great blog from Kickstater on the success of the project in which I answer several questions about how I ran the campaign.
Additionally, I have been invited to take part in The Conversation: Social Media, Digital Distribution & the Future of Film on March 27 in New York, to speak on a panel about new funding strategies for filmmakers. If you’re in the area I definitely recommend checking out the event, it looks to be shaping up incredibly well in both subjects covered, and the speaker roster.
Currently I have been shooting with Jens daily as we come up on this March 6 bout in Columbus, Ohio, and planning our March production in which I will be conducting a week long (incredibly in-depth) interview shoot with Jens to probe his remarkable life story up to now, his key fights, the world of mixed martial arts, and his future.
I’m very encouraged by the footage I’ve been getting, and must say it’s hard to express what I am learning about Jens, and from Jens, as I shoot this film without relying on some cliches. This guy is so completely authentic, and very much the definition of the ‘real deal’.
I believed it from day one, but it’s reinforced every day. My affinity for him and his plight just grows and grows. It’s so easy to see why he is loved, he’s everyman…a blue collar journeyman fighter, and gentleman hero who would literally give you the shirt off his back.
I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself folks, but I can feel it…this is going to be good!
Just a short 15 days ago I launched a Kickstarter.com campaign to help fund my film, JENS PULVER | DRIVEN. Since that day, I’ve been working non-stop, 24/7, to get the word out; an effort that has resulted in 225 gracious contributors pledging, to date, $13,500 toward the production of this film.
I do not take this lightly, and I am deeply grateful for every dollar pledged.
When I started the campaign, I knew time was going to be short as Jens’s fight, that provides the spine for the film, is coming up in just 6 weeks on March 6th. I also knew I would need to be capturing as much as possible up until then, and begin the process of bringing in crew, making travel arrangements, and planning the shoot in Columbus, Ohio, where the fight is to be held. As well, I had to weigh the manner in which Kickstarter works. If successfully funded, I would not receive the funds until 2 weeks after the drive closed.
Taking all this into consideration, I realized that I would have to do a campaign spanning just 20 days.
The other item I had to weigh when starting the campaign was how much should I attempt to raise. After much deliberation, and running of numbers, I landed on the figure of $25,000. A lofty goal for sure in just 20 days, but it was the number that would ensure I could follow Jens to Columbus, and shoot the entire film, come what may.
Along the way I have been asked why I am attempting to finance the film this way. The short answer is, traditional finance, which was sought out for this film, did not come through. I think Jens puts it best though. In numerous interviews, he has stated how, “everything in my career has been for the fans, and this is simply an opportunity for them to take part in the making of this film, be part of my story. And, if it goes well, then they can say I helped make that happen.”
I share his sentiment, and take it a little further. We live in a society in which many of our entertainment choices are made for us by large corporations who hard-sell us what they think we want see, hear, or consume. It’s a top-down approach, and a closed system, that does not allow for any of us to have a voice in what is being produced.
With this film, it’s the exact opposite. The $13,500 raised thus far, is not from anyone wealthy, it’s from regular people all across the country that are making a choice with their hard earned dollars to say “this is what I want to see!” And, the contribution to the film doesn’t end once the dollars have been pledged, they (you) are now part of the process of making this film. We’re in this together, rooting for Jens, and sharing in the creation that is his remarkable story on film.
We’re taking the bottom up approach with this film. There IS strength in numbers, and as witnessed by the amazing outpouring of support so far, either by the financial contributions, the incredible emails saying “thank you for telling this story!”, or the generous people out there taking it upon themselves to tell others, “hey, check this out, and get involved”, we know that we can buck the system, and come together as a community around this common goal to tell the story of an incredibly remarkable man, who has inspired so many throughout his life.
Right now, I have just over 4 days left to raise the remaining $11,500 and meet this goal. If I do not raise it, the pledges are canceled and the funding is not received. As I look at this I think back to something I read in Jens’s book “Little Evil: One Ultimate Fighter’s Rise to the Top.” In junior high, at one of Jens’s wrestling meets he was being pummeled, losing by 13 points. He basically felt like giving up, 2 more points and he was done anyway. His coach wouldn’t have it though, he told Jens that he’d better go in there and win. Which, to his own surprise, he did. He put his own doubts out of his mind, and focused on the task at hand. Winning.
It’s that spirit that I carry forth in this campaign to get this film made, and it’s the drive that Jens personifies, pushing me to make this film in the first place.
So, right now, I am asking you to stand with me, to work with me, to spread the word, and encourage others to do so with you. We absolutely can do this, especially if we go forth with the understanding that this campaign is not just about getting a single film funded, it’s about all of us coming together to tell an inspirational story that exemplifies the fight within us all, that has the potential to speak to many, and with hope, those who need to hear it most.
Thank you for all of the support.
With my Deepest Gratitude,
Here’s a little background on my film JENS PULVER | DRIVEN, and how I came to the project.
Four months ago I met Jens Pulver. Jens is a mixed martial arts fighter, and former 3 time UFC World Champion. Now, I am quite new to MMA, I honestly haven’t watched it much, nor before my first meeting with Jens, did I know much about his career. What I did know, after that first meeting, is that Jens is a warm, casually unassuming guy, with a quick smile and big heart, that is willing to chat with anyone.
After that meeting, due to my avid curiosity, I did my research, read his book (which I highly recommend “Little Evil: One Ultimate Fighter’s Rise to the Top“), and learned that there was so much more to Jens, and his sport, than meets the eye.
If you haven’t read it, the first chapter in his autobiography begins like this:
“When I was seven years old, my father decided that he no longer wanted children. On a cloudy Seattle afternoon, he grabbed my two younger brothers and me by the collars of our shirts and hauled us into the living room. After lining us up in a little row by the fireplace, he stumbled into the kitchen to fetch his shotgun.”
I was hooked from that moment, and became engrossed in the story of an abused kid from the horse tracks in Seattle, who despite every opportunity to repeat the mistakes of his father, instead embraced athletics, and eventually rose to the height of World Champion in his sport.
His life story, coupled with his current return to the WEC, simply struck me as an amazing story to tell. So, we talked some more, I attempted to find some financing, unsuccessfully, and as 2009 came to a close I decided rather than miss out on this story as it happens I just needed to start shooting, and find other means of financing the film while I shot.
After the holidays were done, Jens and I got together and the end result was this teaser trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYgwLofk7j4 meant to capture the story, tone and look of what I was going for overall in the film I am making. Since releasing it on YouTube 13 days ago, it has now been viewed over 26,000 times, and prompted countless emails from fans, and friends of Jens recounting their experiences, and what an inspiration Jens has been to them personally.
All of this has helped me strengthen my resolve, and go all in on making this film happen, whatever it takes.
You see, to me, Jens and his story, reflect our collective American psyche of right now.
Many people out there are feeling beaten, bruised, and battered. They are carrying a heavy burden, feeling alone, and in many cases…are losing hope. But, across the board, deep down, there is that spark, that drive, that need to overcome, to succeed, to conquer. We are all fighting for something. Whether we’re fighting against our pasts, fighting for a better future, fighting for what is right, in our families, our communities, and our country, or fighting to simply stay alive, we share in this universal human struggle. Jens’s life story has run this entire gamut, and reflects this need to overcome adversity at all costs.
In the end, I will shape a feature documentary that follows Jens’s immediate journey back to the cage through to its end, while probing his early life, his rise as a mixed martial artists, and the art of fighting itself.
After failing to attract traditional financing, I decided in order to get DRIVEN off the ground, I needed to do something non-traditional that would invite others into the filmmaker process. And, just as I was trying to figure out exactly how to do that, I received an invite to present a project on Kickstarter.com. It seemed a perfect vehicle, as it created a strength in numbers sort of approach to financing, and in a way that was not’something for nothing’, which I simply can’t do.
The way a Kickstarter campaign works is contributors pledge to back your project, and exchange for their gracious monetary contribution, they receive rewards. I’ve set up a number of rewards for this film, including receiving a pre-release limited edition DVD of the film signed by Jens, all the way up to the opportunity to be flown in for a private pre-release viewing of the film with Jens at his Idaho training center.
If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to visit my Kickstarter.com campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/…ilm-about-a-le where I am seeking to raise the $25,000 (of which a little over $7K is pledged thus far) needed to get through production, including following Jens to Columbus, Ohio for his March 6th bout. My deadline to complete this goal is February 1st at 3pm MST.If I don’t reach the goal, the film is not funded.
I know that there are very many pressing financial concerns out there today, that absolutely deserve our attention. And that the current economy has made a real, and devastating affect on many. So when I ask for support of this film, it is with the belief that Jens’s story is indeed worth telling, and can speak to many, as well with the hope that once completed it can carry Jens’s inspiring message to those who need it most.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I understand that not everyone has the means to contribute, but would appreciate greatly, anyone and everyone passing this along. Every bit of help counts!
Gregory is originally from Nebraska. He grew up in a small town named Potter. There he passed the days dreaming of being a super hero, staging reenactments of Red Dawn, and capturing and removing legs from grasshoppers with his best friend, Marvin Munch. Currently he resides in Idaho where he raises his daughter, and makes films.
