We just talked with Fredericton film grad, Darcy Worth, about a new film he’s working on, “Life As We Know It.” Darcy partnered with screenwriter Donald Arsenault (also his business partner) for the film, along with the film’s co-producer, Jamie Bergen, one of our Graphic & Digital Media Design grads.
Today is an exciting day for the bunch – they’re currently raising funds on IndieGoGo (a creative funding platform), and they’re hosting a Facebook event today to garner enough “Likes” to get featured on the site.
Learn more about the project below, as Darcy takes us through the film, production company, and the quest for independent funding!
The Movie
The temporary title is “Life As We Know It”. It’s a drama set over the course of two years in the lives of young lovers Tom Hart and Amie Rousseau. We follow the blossoming relationship as we also see the two grow as individuals. Throughout the film their lives change as they deal with issues of family, violence, sex, and death. The core themes of the film are purpose, regret, and human connection.
That being said, films cost money to make! A lot of time in filmmaking is spent raising funds for the budget. That’s why we’re raising funds on an amazing crowdfunding website called IndieGoGo. It’s a place where artists can go to describe their projects and have people donate money to them in return for special gifts. We have raised just over $1300 so far, and in return we have prizes such as copies of the screenplay, behind-the-scenes photo books, making-of-documentaries, etc…
Why does getting featured help us?
1. Featured projects get way more traffic, attention, donations, etc…it’s just all-around better to be featured!
2. We are about 15% funded right now. Once a project hits 30% funded, it has a 90% chance of reaching it’s final goal amount. Getting featured (or highly ranked) increases our chances of hitting 30%, and subsequently hitting our big goal.
The Company
The film is being produced through a production company that Donald Arsenault and I co-founded, called Essentura. The name loosely translates to “the re-birth of quality films”.
It was founded in late February 2012, after I approached him about joining me on this venture.
The Team
In 2009 I moved to Fredericton to attend the Centre, and Donald came to attend the University of New Brunswick. After two and a half of years of Kinesiology studies, he decided that it was time to let that go and pursue screenwriting, which had interested him for many years.
The Centre is also responsible for introducing me to Jamie Bergin, the film’s co-producer. We met when we were students, I was in film and she was studying graphic design. She had an interest for film, so she took a few of my classes. Our connection was immediate. We realized we shared the same visual style, sense of humor, etc…Eventually we could finish each others ideas. She has since become an extraordinary person in my life, a great collaborator. We have worked together professionally many times in the past year and a half.
Together the three of us form a solid team, combining experience with professional education and training.
For more information about our film, company, experience, etc…find us on…
Essentura on Twitter
Essentura on Vimeo
You can also check out my demo reel on Vimeo!
The School
If it wasn’t for the Centre for Arts & Technology, I don’t know where I would be or what I would be doing. What I do know, however, is that if it weren’t for the Centre, Donald Arsenault, Jamie Bergin and I would not be in the middle of pre-production on our first feature film. That much is clear.
I attended the Fredericton campus, and it is an understatement for me to say that I liked it there. I LOVED my time there! It has paved the way for us to create a professional piece of cinema. I can’t review the program highly enough.