Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends

Holy wow! It's already the end of another year!

2015 was a whirlwind year for us - in the truly best of ways! Our team expanded adding new roles and facets to our filmmaking abilities, we crafted two new webisode series, produced and filmed our first major film, Garden Party, which we are so crazy excited about, shared in some of the most breathtaking wedding days we have had the pleasure of partaking in, captured the story behind a mesmerizing work of art in the form of stained glass, told countless new stories, and grew closer together as a family of storytellers.

Through the thick and thin, the struggles and the triumphs, the moments of difficulty and the highlights of living the dream of storytellers, we have been blessed beyond measure and are so thankful for everything that has happened in this year. This has honestly been one of the best years and we are so excited for what 2016 has in store for us - here's to the dream of filmmaking, and the continued pursuit of to tell the story!

Happy Turks-giving!

What's Thanksgiving without some Turkeys?! We couldn't be more thankful for the Turkey's that make up our team, and our family of storytellers.

This is always a special day of the year for us as we begin the process of looking back at the year as a whole, acknowledging the many adventures we have all shared and the stories that we have been blessed to tell together. The year is always filled with highs and lows, but we are thankful for both as every obstacle, every triumph, every moment is an opportunity to learn and grow.  

Today, as we take a moment to slow down from the hustle and bustle of life and spend time with those we love, let us reflect on the idea of true thankfulness even in uncertain times.

We hope that everyone has a blessed thanksgiving today and that you are able to spend the day enjoying time with the turkeys you love too!

Fall. Flannel. Friends.

We love this time of year, and not just because we get to dawn our favorite flannel shirts; this time of year is full of so many adventures and exciting experiences that we get to share with one another. From late night bonfires, to apple picking, to even silly group photo shoots, there's something so alluring about the change of pace that Fall brings us. To reflect on the passing of summer and to look ahead to the remaining of the year. Here's to the refreshing change of season and the beauty that is Fall!

The Frontlines of Filmmaking

There’s something you should know about making movies. It’s pretty easy. Kind of like making pasta, putting on socks, riding a bike. Oh, wait, that's right - it's SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT!

You see, even the smallest, shortest, and simplest of films take hours upon hours of work, planning, development, and creating. Everything from long sleepless nights of work, blood, sweat, and computers go into making a movie in today's day and age. On top of that, if you want to make your dream movie, you need to do some hardcore networking and take a few classes on bank robbing OR have deep pockets; because they cost a lotta dolla billz.

As some of you might be aware, Michigan's legislature recently just slaughtered the budget of the Michigan Film Office. What does that mean? Well that means the funds available to the Film Office to award to local crews and movies being made here in our great state has been axed and starting in just a few months all funds remaining with the office will revert back to the State. They plan on taking away resources that help make movies in Michigan. Why? To fix roads...not the worst reason, but it still is a sucker punch to the gut for us filmmakers!

Don't get us wrong, we are not protesting here; it is just a bit disappointing. But you know what - we are local filmmakers and we believe in the power of storytelling in our community - and West Michigan is that community. The news sent shock waves throughout the industry just two weeks back when the announcement was made, and many of the indie filmmakers here in the area have already noted they are packing up shop and moving elsewhere - but this is our home, our community, and we aren't ready to abandon it. 

While the next few years are unclear, and what happens to the narrative industry is still to tell, we aren't running; we are digging in, now more than ever, and we are determined to make the dream happen here. We believe in telling stories in Grand Rapids, in West Michigan, in Michigan period, and we are setting out to do just that this summer with our project, Garden Party!

We are stepping out onto the front lines and trying to tell a story in the most creative, funny, and professional way we know how. Despite it being hard, tough, and a lot of work, we are so excited to make a movie and we are doing it regardless of the obstacles. Heck, we are still making the movie even if we don't raise all of our funds through IndieGoGo - which is kind of scary, but hey, we believe in storytelling.

So, who is Garden Party for? You! Grand Rapids! Michigan! The world! We are so excited to be making a film that can bring so many competing ideas together in a funny and interesting way. It's truly the physical embodiment of what the Incentives were meant for all along. So please, consider joining our efforts to make something awesome by checking out our IndieGoGo campaign. We aren't just looking for cash donors--we are looking for people to get in on the experience. Our perks for supporting Garden Party actually make you a part of something bigger.

So yes, our state cut critical incentives to help local filmmakers like us tell stories to share with you, our friends. But we aren't going anywhere - we are sticking here, digging our feet in, and setting out to continue the dream of storytelling. Help us in doing so with this story, and the many others we are setting out to tell!

The Garden Launch Party!

We just want to take a minute to thank everyone who came out to the official launch for Garden Party last weekend! We loved having you all over to our office space so we could tell you all about this amazing story and give you a first hand look into what this project is shaping up to be.

It was an awesome night of laughter, great conversations, excellent company, and some exclusive sneak peeks into what we've got waiting for you all in just the coming months. 

Garden Party isn't just another film, and it isn't just another crowdfunding campaign you can contribute toward that'll leave you out in the cold; it's an engaging and captivating story that we are designing so you can experience it as if it were real. 

Stay tuned for more Garden fun coming soon!

(Shout out to our amazing friend and photographer genius, Noah Prefontaine, for these awesome launch party photos!)

Welcome to the Garden Party

Ask just about anyone and they'll tell you that there is something magical about theatrical storytelling. Sitting in a dark room for 2 hours with a group of strangers, experiencing the same story in front of you, and each walking away with a deep and meaningful take on the story that then makes you think differently is one of the most fascinating wonders of our age. As storytellers ourselves, we fell in love with this artform of such storytelling.

This summer we are excited to be setting out to tell just such a story that just such an audience can come together and experience as one. It's actually the first story that was ever told, but with a new twist; the Fall in the Garden of Eden, but set at a corporate business party in the boss' garden estate.

We've been workshopping, refining, and laughing all along the way over the last year as we have continued to develop and deepen the story of Garden Party. With every step of creating this script, these characters, this world, we have only fallen more and more in love with this story and we are so excited to begin to share it with the world. It's a dark comedy, with an interesting spin and perspective on the subject matter that we are positive will have a crowd of strangers sitting in a dark room somewhere laughing their heads off.

But in order to tell this story, we need you!

This is a massive undertaking, and we aren't kidding when we say this is the largest story, production, or project we have set out to tell. It's new, it's exciting, it's daring, but in the end it's our dream; to tell stories that make an audience think, laugh, love, and grow. This isn't just a hobby, this is what we want to do with our lives. And in order to do that, we need people like you! People who like experiencing something new, who believe in the art of storytelling through film, people who love watching stories unfold before them, and people who live for storytelling just like us.

We need you. We need your help in sharing this story and this campaign with everyone that you can think of. We need your excitement and your energy. We need your support and belief. We need you, our fellow storyteller.

Check out our IndieGoGo campaign for Garden Party to find out more on how to get involved, experience this story for all it's worth, and how to have a few laughs with us along the way. This is the story of Garden Party, where just one sip can change the world.

Dynasty: Four Years of Storytelling

We are so excited to be celebrating four years of storytelling this weekend not just as a team but also as a family of filmmakers. We've loved sharing our films and passion with you all and we are beyond stoked for this new year of storytelling that is ahead for us. Thanks for watching