— First and foremost, in Bound, we’d love to make something that’s just a fun time in a vibrant place. Next, we want to get curious and use the varied backgrounds of the characters and the migration setup as a chance to explore why different cultures are the way they are and how places often get discovered and settled. Finally, we can use our more “grassroots” stature as a power to try and maybe to be new things in a world that’s well-tread.
the plan.
Funding
— The goal is to fund at least four episodes, or Block A, by the end of the year, at the target scale. At present, So Far Bound is wholly independent and so we’ll work toward that funding goal in two, general ways: 1) crowdfunding and 2) standard pitches for investment. Especially in the early stages, the series will lean toward crowdfunding as we try to steadily build awareness toward higher investment. … If we’re fortunate enough to fund the first episodes earlier, through public means, we’d continue to stretch goals for a full, first season. The boxes below outline current plans for a Season 1, which has a general theme of “Discovery.”
Block A / Episodes 01-04 / “Winter”
— In the days after the plane makes its emergency landing, the characters form cliques and, while in waiting, each is drawn out into exploring the setting in some way. Meanwhile their hotel is in disarray behind the scenes and the city itself is about to have a meaningful event.
Block B / Episodes 05-08 / “Spring”
— A few weeks after the opening days of the story, we jump to a time of greater exploration and a bit of carelessness. The group is in full-on “holiday” mode, further bonded by the events prior and further boosted by having come out on the other side of it all.
Interlude I / “Wedding”
— The “interludes” are an idea for a recurring special within each season at midpoint. They would feature the characters taking a trip outside of the setting. It can tie into the main story in some ways, but mostly, it’ll just be a self-contained adventure. It could be feature length (80-90 minutes).
Block C / Episodes 09-12 / “Summer”
— The fever dream / honeymoon period is ending and we’ve got to address some practical concerns. As they keep pushing back their leave dates, what of the characters’ strings back home? And what of the more logistical, lifestyle and, uh, legal concerns of staying abroad?
Block D / Episodes 13-16 / “Autumn”
— After almost a year the characters stand as makeshift citizens in their new world. The Wild Horse (hotel) is central to their lives and the city continues to shift around them. They’ve become incredibly tied to this place and to each other and now, it’s time to really try to build something.
Post-Funding
(An overview of how things might go, post-funding).
1. Location, Location, Location.
Right now, we’ve got a short-list of filming locations. On the other side of fundraising, with more resources, team members and information in hand, we’d dive deeper into those locations and into new options to select a setting that best meets the creative and logistical needs of the series. That selection will inform the story and the build-out of the production.
2. Writer’s Room / Review.
The first four episodes are written and the season outlined. We’ll wait until after selecting the final location, final cast members and, ideally, until having some writing staff in place before going back to work on the scripts. We can always be tinkering, but both the location and cast will have great affect on the story, so we’ll want to know those pieces before (re)writing. … This would also be a time to review the schedule and scale and continue to round out the production team.
3. World Building.
With the scripts, and thus the story and production scale updated, we can begin building out the world’s on-location, in earnest. The preferred plan is to rent or purchase a space, within the final location, in which we can construct the two, main filming sets: the hotel lobby and the bar/cafe. In that case, this time period would be heavily dedicated to that. Another option is to partner with an existing hotel and restaurant for filming. … Also in this stage, we’d build up support crew on-location, plus gear inventory and more in preparation of filming.