What is the Patron Unit?
In any type of movie there are teams that are focused on specific areas that help to get a movie made. Watching the credits to a movie you’ll see names broken down into sections: Production, Post-Production, VFX, Music. You might even see teams broken down by city: Los Angeles Unit, Sacramento Unit, Paris Unit.
The patron unit is a new production unit that I have created that will be included in all movies that I make through my own production company, Stage Ham Entertainment.
Why join the Patron Unit?
I have a passion for helping others succeed and being able to put more time and effort into creating videos to help others. By supporting me you are essentially joining me in helping others to succeed.
Currently, I am in the process of making a feature film while also producing videos for YouTube and running a media production company with my wife. By supporting me you will help to provide education to others by helping fund a bigger project. All support from Patrons like you will be rolled over monthly into a production fund that will go towards the feature film I am making, whether in the time allotted or cast, crew, props, wardrobe, locations, craft services and/or catering.
If you did not know, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve directed a few feature films that have been distributed by companies such as Lionsgate and PureFlix Entertainment or streamed on platforms such as Netflix, Tubi, Roku Channel and more. I have also directed a number of short films, have my own media production company where I work with clients on a regular basis and create documentary films. So hopefully I can bring some sort of experience value to the content I am sharing.
During this process, I hope to be able to show you the efforts it takes to make a feature film, including where money was spent, how things were scheduled, storytelling techniques, camera tricks, and much more.
How Supporting Me Works (The Bigger Picture):
As I produce feature films, you can join the Patron Unit during development to see how I polish a story and get it ready to go into production. If you are not interested in production you can pause your support and join us again in post-production or distribution, but honestly, I’d love to have you along for the whole process. The support that is gathered in each month of development will be pooled together as much as possible and added to the support received in production and then post-production. Ideally, this helps to make the movies budget a little bigger. The bonus is your support during development helps to a degree in post-production so you know your hard earned dollars have a life beyond just monthly patronage. (See below for the current project status)
Patron Unit Updates: In my exclusive Patrons Unit Updates feed, you will find, exclusive content and other things to show you how thankful I am to have your part of the patron unit. Updates will include some quick learns and thoughts with just you. Also look out for special discount codes to my online store as well as exclusive patron only merch.
What Your Money Pays For:
As I’m sure you know, making movies cost money. Luckily I am an expert in micro-budget filmmaking. With that being said, it doesn’t mean I can always make it for free. The money that you provide by becoming a patron pays for the essentials to get things done.
Some basic costs that we face are:
- Locations
- Talent
- Crew
- Food (to feed crew)
- Equipment
- Time
- Legal
Movie Types I Make
Documentaries:
Time is the biggest cost…and hard drive space. Your support helps me to allocate the time needed to get the cut done by reducing my client workload or even hire an editor. Oh, did I mention that patrons could even have their topic ideas turned into movies? Yay, way cool, right?
Scripted Movies:
Food? – yes! Well, the people I often work with are professionals and are likely taking a major pay cut to help me out. They likely are working a 10-12 hour day just to get all the shots in, maybe multiple days if it is a really tough shoot. Providing them with some food so that they don’t pass out on set, is not only courteous but also smart if I want to complete our day.
We also sometimes have additional cast and crew that are not able to work for free, so we have to pay them. There is a lot that goes into planning a shoot and having it come out good. Whether you support with $1 or $1000 or just share the videos for others to view, your support is valued and extremely appreciated. My biggest thank you goes out to all of you.
