Greetings NORTHBOUNDers!
In this month’s feed, we’re going to dig into the creative roadmap for 2019. We consider you all partners in our journey to NORTHSTAR, and so this email will describe some of the phases that go into making any film project, including: (1) Our Mission (2) Funding (3) Production (4) Release. We’re also going to sprinkle in new exclusive goodies for you guys, so let’s get to it!

For those of you that are new to our project (and for that matter, those of you that have stuck with us for awhile!), here is our creative mission statement:

Our filmmaking team is dedicated to making a feature film called NORTHSTAR in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and to continue making innovative media in the area. With this project, our goal is to stimulate a creative economy, to offer opportunities where once there were none, and retain vital talent that might otherwise benefit other markets.

NORTHBOUND represents the first step in this process. Our goal in 2019 is to produce Season 3 (View Teaser), complete this chapter of our story, and usher in the NORTHSTAR era! Pretty clear-cut, right? Well, here’s how we’re all going to do it!

//PHASE 2: FUNDING

You’ve probably always known that filmmaking costs money, but have you ever wondered where it all goes? Here’s the breakdown:

//PHASE 3: PRODUCTION

Speaking of Rip It Energy Fuel, thanks to their contributions as a major sponsor, we were able to begin early production in the summer of 2018 on Episode 1 of Season 3. In the last email, we previewed scenes from that episode, which is titled “Hannah’s Way” (click watch again if you missed it).

Once we’ve hit our Kickstarter goal in the spring, our team will reconvene in the woods to shoot the rest of Season 3’s episodes (there will be 4 total) once our peculiarly long (and unusually cold) U.P. winter finally gives way to the glorious summer we're all imagining should return (we'll believe it when we see it).

Our production dates are not yet scheduled, but we are blocking out a period of 7 to 10 days, and we’ll need lots of extras. Interested? Live near the U.P.? Willing to run around in the woods at night? EMAIL US.

In the Summer of 2018, NORTHBOUND actor Nate Alwine (Alex) and Assistant Director Evan Blagec spearheaded a series of weekly fight rehearsals held at Alwine's barn in Upper Michigan. Below are two exclusive looks at a fight scene taking shape from the yet to be shot Episode 3.

//PHASE 4: RELEASE

After production, our editors, led by co-creator Seth Anderson will edit the 4 episodes we’ve crafted for the final season of NORTHBOUND. Here we whittle down many hours of footage, record and mix additional sound, add music, craft special effects, fine-tune title graphics, and much more. This is where the entire collaborative effort of our community is honed into a polished piece we can all be proud of.

Once all 4 episodes are complete, the goals are first, to grow our audience, and second to continue building the bridge to NORTHSTAR. Luckily, we have an amazing online viewing platform at Seeka TV, which is now the online home for NORTHBOUND (View Seasons 1 & 2 Here).

We also want NORTHBOUND to go international in 2019. With that in mind, our strategy is to submit to festivals in the Web Series World Cup, which is a curated “best of” list comprising 20 web festivals across the world. Attracting a world-wide audience is another crucial step in opening the door to NORTHSTAR, and building a sustainable viewership for future projects made in Michigan.

Oh, and if you live in the U.P., NORTHBOUND Season 3 will again make its world premiere at our creative home, The Braumart Theatre! Finally, just for you, here are the episode titles for Season 3. These may offer some hints as to what will happen… no further comment.

#301: “Hannah’s Way”
#302: “Where there’s Smoke…”
#303: “Firewalk”
#304: “Liminal Spaces”

//HOW CAN YOU HELP?

There are two steps YOU can take today to help us raise our profile.