WELCOME TO THE 'OVERDOSIN' CROWDFUNDING PROJECT!

We are digital film production students at the Ravensbourne University of London developing this music video for our graduation project. We had partnered with our dear friend Zakareus to produce an ambitious yet meticulously planned vision of his debut song 'Overdosin'.

Since the summer, we have put together enough savings to fund over half of the project. But we need your vital support to reach this video's full potential!

Below we shared an extensive insight into how this idea will be achieved, everything we have accomplished so far and the sectors that need the most help in.

SIZZLE REEL (Featuring the song 'Overdosin')

HOW WILL WE FILM THIS?

The video will begin with Zakareus chilling with some friends, he spills a drink revealing the track title "Overdosin'" in water droplets and as his friends start to drink and get ready, it is clear there is something on his mind. The group leave and make their way to the party through a beautiful street art crowded Brick Lane. This is when Zakareus spots a girl in the street with her friend. The two seemingly make eye contact until Zakareus's friends whisk him away. At the party, Zakareus is pulled in every direction, there is a feeling of being surrounded by people but still feeling a deep sense of loneliness. At this point, he spots the girl from Brick Lane but as she exits the frame, we realise it was never the girl he was looking at but her male friend. The two begin speaking, then leave the party and get intimate at his house, only for Zakareus to wake up in bed alone the next day, stuck with the distracting feeling he felt in the beginning. Cut between the narrative story will be a choreographed performance with dance moves that express the emotions embedded in the feel of the song. Camcorder footage and 2000s-esque snapshots cut into the video, giving it an intimate wholesome feel throughout. The message of the story is idealising love in the modern age and it will be told through a series of harmonious close ups and wide shots, relating back to Zakareus' early music inspirations in 90s-00s R&B music.

OUR VIS-PACK

WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY PRODUCED:

- Filming equipment

- Crew members

- Actors, Dancers and Extras attached

- Storyboards, shotlists, sizzle reel and other treatments

- Shooting schedule (4 days of filming)

- 1 Location (a house to film the pre-drinks and house-party scene in)

WHERE WE WOULD LIKE HELP IN?

- Location Bookings. We have sourced our desired locations and have already purchased one which is a house for the pre-drinks and house-party scene. However, we would like to film at two more locations which are Brick Lane (Shoreditch) and Grove Passage (Shoreditch). These wouldn't cost a lot, as we have negotiated for student rates. But to film at both of these locations we would need to purchase filming permissions that go for £50 p/hr which we will only film in for a couple of hours in day.

- Production Design. In order to create an authentic looking space for all the locations, we would need to invest in our mise-en-scene. This includes purchasing wallpapers, CD's, decorative coloured lights and props such as plastic cups for the house party scene. We have already sourced various elements such as alcohol bottles, makeup mirrors and other pieces which means we wouldn't require much investment on set-dressing the space.

- Costume Design. To save costs, we have planned with the actors and dancers about the type of personal clothing they can bring to perform in. But some costumes would need to be purchased such as baggy jeans for two actors, a basketball team jersey for our lead and smaller accessories such as jewellery.

- Talent Wages. Our performers have been very generous to us when we first hired them and have all agreed to work under London living-wage. Our dancers have even agreed to practice over 7 hours worth of choreography for free. To show our gratitude, we would love to pay our 4 dancers and 4 actors for their hard work. To further reduce costs, we have tightly scheduled the scenes we would require them in. Our dance sequence will only require one day's worth of work and have scheduled the actors for necessary days only.

- Production & Transportation. Since a lot of our crew have kindly offered there assistance for free, we would like to provide them with a lunch meal each day. Our plan is to cook some food and have some snacks and drinks to share additionally. As well as saving costs by preparing the meals ourselves, a warm lunch will greatly support the morale on set, especially as we aim to film this December.

We would also like to hire some floor protection when filming inside the house since there will be approximately 40 of us but also rent some chairs for people to sit as we will be working over 10 hours each day.

In terms of transportation, we would like to hire a small van for three days. The first and last day of production will be to transport kit to and from the rental house. We would also like to have a van hired on the day of filming at Brick Lane and Grove Passage. This is so that we can securely store some of our kit but also a place for our DIT to work in. We would constantly need to backup footage for all we have filmed. So this van will serve as a mini office space that would be close by to the locations.

PERKS & REWARDS

In return we would like to offer a range of digital and film-related perks as part of our appreciation that will be delivered immediately after this crowdfund is complete. The band and our crew fully understand that this is a project we cannot do without your generous support. Even if you can't help us through a donation, we would love to ask your help by sharing this project with your friends and family. 

THE CREATIVE TEAM

DIRECTOR - Ty Chapman (Instagram: @ty_chapman)

Ty is a filmmaker whose professional journey began in the world of small music video production. Since then he enrolled at Ravensbourne University and discovered a passion for directing and honing the craft of screenwriting. Simultaneously, developing a keen interest in visual arts, mixed media, and production design.

Throughout Ty's career, collaborations with Atlantic Records and Deloitte Digital, as well as engagements with production companies like Minow Films and TK FX Studios, have cemented his reputation as a versatile and skilled artist.

However, at the core of Ty's creative heart lies a deep affection for the music video industry, where he thrives in creating captivating narratives through the lens. Ty is set to be the director for the upcoming music video "Overdosin" by Baby Zakareus. This project is emblematic of his enduring dedication to the art of visual storytelling within the music domain.

Link to his wonderful 2023 showreel: https://youtu.be/g4oIZ74f9HE

PRODUCER - Matas Galkevicius (Instagram: 131_matas)

Matas first started his career as an actor where he quickly realised that he preferred to work behind the camera rather than in front. He had wanted to learn how films are made so that one day he could make his own. This is when he joined Ravensbourne University back in 2021. Throughout his studies, Matas specialised in production management whilst working in the film industry for companies such as Apple TV and Studio Canal to develop his skills.

When approached by Ty to direct the 'Overdosin' music video, Matas was hooked by the meticulous preparation and passion put into this project but also how it closely resembled some of his favourite aesthetics and genre of music such as the nostalgic 90's and 00's R&B videos of Nelly, Timbaland and Ne-Yo.

Director of Photography - Ben Marlow (Website: https://www.benjaminxmarlow.com/)

Benjamin is an upcoming and exciting cinematographer with a keen eye for detail, colour and shot composition. He has worked as a live music videographer for the majority of his career, but had dabbled his hands in the occasional short film and music video. His works have captured the attention of many music producers and dance groups from around the UK. Often travelling as a one man band he has mastered his craft at efficiency, capturing every moment to tell the best visual story possible in the edit. Now working with a fantastic team he is able to pull all that experience together and take charge to create a stunning music video.

WHO IS BABY ZAKAREUS?

Zakareus, a queer singer/songwriter residing from North West London who began his music journey performing and competing with his high school soul and gospel band around London. This then led him to join urban music collective Zone Kulture, creating music and performing in amazing venues like Prysm Night club, sharing the same stage as artists like Tory Lanez and Pop Smoke. 5 years later he is now set to release his amazing first solo song and project. ‘Overdosin’ mixes elements of modern R&B taking inspiration from artists such as Brent Fiayaz and Destin Conrad. His song 'Overdosin' highlights the theme of love and addiction with a catchy hook reminiscent that of Chris Brown. He is now ready get back on stage to promote this debut song as well as some more of his newly-created music sounding better than ever before. (Instagram: @babyzakareus)

THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking the time to read about our project! Links to our socials can be found below where we will be constantly sharing our progress for this project. If there is anything you would like to know or ask about, drop a message there as well or email our producer at matasg.productions@gmail.com.

We look forward to sharing this project with you!