Project Status
Overview
Thanks to our generous supporters, we brought an incredible team together for our-end-of-the-year shoot at Conway Recording Studios. We are pinching ourselves over the sheer talent, dedication, and brilliance of our cast and crew. The footage we captured during those four magical days has us so excited for what’s ahead.
No production is without its challenges and when one of our leads lost their voice unexpectedly, we made the tough call to schedule an extra shoot day in May to ensure the authenticity of live vocals that are at the heart of Pop Screen.
This extra day, along with our post-production, is supported by our new partnership with Fractured Atlas —making all donations tax-deductible under their 501(c)(3) umbrella!
While in LA, our director/songwriter Meg Steedle also worked with our amazing music producers— Taylor Bird & Peter Hanna —finessing the film’s main song. We cannot wait to share it with you all soon!
New Updates
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#MeetTheCast! — Stanley Sievers (@stanleyws ) plays our studio engineer, ‘John,’ and had us laughing from the moment we saw his audition. He didn’t let up throughout our 4-day shoot in December - in the POP SCREEN footage, at “cut!” you can hear the crew bursting into suppressed laughter at the end of several of his takes. Stanley brings an incredible blend of honesty, humor, and heart to his portrayal of ‘John.’ He and our engineer consultant, John Armstrong, (@analogarchitects ) clicked instantly — it felt like Stanley had been working at @conwayrecordingstudios for years. He fits so naturally into the world of our film. ‘John’ is the anchor of @popscreenfilm — the embodiment of the incredible people who keep the music industry running from behind the scenes, and we can’t imagine anyone else in this role. So lucky to have you, Stanley. #PopScreen #StanleySievers #BehindTheScenes #StudioLife #MusicEngineer #StudioEngineer #PopScreenFilm #bts #conwayrecordingstudios
✨ Big love to our Popsters!! 🎶 Swipe for more of your very own ‘album art’ 💿 We continue to give a huge thanks to those who made our December shoot a reality— shout out to @ciiiiiindo , @nycseaportboxer , @rich_t94 , @karolneufeld , Jay, @marcunderhill , @andrew_beadle , @danimal_j , Gretchen Darrell Jefferson, @awstinwoods , and @vmazz1914 ! We’re beyond hyped for these Popster ‘new releases’ and their killer ‘album cover art’! 🚀🎤 On their new release ‘Made Ya Twitch’ you’ll find @kevinchambersmusic & @bbtheegoat with those delicious harmonies they’re known for (for real tho , check out their very real Twitch #KevinsCafeLive🔥) Also in new releases is a new album from Cristina Laris aka @larisblas , serving up pop perfection à la Kim Petras & Beyoncé—get ready to hear these bops slay everywhere! 🎧💅 We still have more to fundraise for post-production, so if you’d like to support, consider joining our filmmaking fam! 🎬 Every donation is TAX DEDUCTIBLE and helps us cross the finish line - donate at https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/pop-screen-independent-film (link in our stories) ✨ #ThankYou #FanAlbumArt #SupportIndieFilm #PopScreenFilm #PopsterPower #ConwayRecordingStudios
Casting
Casting is currently underway for our film’s four lead characters.
We are VERY committed to hiring actors who one might consider ‘unknown’ for the roles of Alex and John, who will both play studio employees. We believe it’s important that we not recognize them from other work in order to lean into the idea that there are many talented people who work in the shadows of greats…and we may never know who they are.
This is a heavy acting piece and both Lily and Alex need to be able to sing…so, in all, it will take some special artists to bring this one to life.
A couple of the studio runners in the film will be played by actual studio runners Meg Steedle worked with during her 3 years at the recording studio. We are excited to hire some of Meg’s studio colleagues, not only giving them a chance to shine on screen, but also to authentically portray what it is these amazing people do behind the scenes and how it is they do it.
Location
We have been generously gifted the location of Conway Recording Studios in LA, the same location that provides the real-world inspiration for this script, by owner (and Meg’s former boss) Buddy Brundo.
Principal photography for POP SCREEN took place in Los Angeles, CA at Conway Recording Studios from December 12 – 16. A pickup shoot is scheduled for early March to complete the production stage!
Fundraising
We were a top 15 finalist for a $10,000 production grant from Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition. While we did not end up winning the funds, the honorable accolade added even more fuel to the fire – we know the story is special and we are determined to make this film.
On November 5, we launched our Seed&Spark 30-day goal of $24,000 to cover the bare minimum costs of production. This paid our talented cast and crew as well as provided us the means to rent much-needed equipment (camera, lights, etc.) to make POP SCREEN a reality.
In addition, we are fiscally sponsored under the 501c3 Fractured Atlas making all donations towards our project tax-deductible and making us eligible for many company’s charity matches.
OUR FUNDRAISING CONTINUES. If you prefer incentives with your giving, stay tuned for another chance to help us cross the finish line via a Fractured Atlas crowdfund campaign. This last push will raise money for our May pickup shoot and post-production costs!
Through the generosity of so many who believe in the power of music and music stories, as well as the desire to illuminate the people behind the scenes, POP SCREEN will be a labor of love for so many. We continue to be so grateful for all of the support we continue to receive.
Our incredible cast and crew for last December’s shoot!