A group of Point Park students recently raised over $3,000 on Kickstarter for their upcoming short film “Some Monsters.” 

The film portrays the struggle of an American family during the aftermath of a sexual assault against the daughter, but is told through a unique perspective, following the father and his struggle to reunite the household under duress. The script was hand-picked by producer Jordan Durham after he and the crew read through 47 scripts. 

The crew turned to the online crowdfunding website Kickstarter to stand out from the other film crews in their department, according to junior Kevin Galloway. 

“It was able to make things a lot easier,” Galloway said. “For example, if we need a shot that requires a professional, we can hire that pro to come on. It gives us the ability to stand out from amongst the other crews, and to stand out at film festivals.” 

Director Kate Walker, junior cinema production major, lauded the Kickstarter project, saying it provided props and crew equipment. Walker said the crew decided to go with Kickstarter for other reasons as well. 

“We wanted to show that this wasn’t just a student film,” Walker said. 

Kickstarter differs from other crowdfunding services such as IndieGoGo or GoFundMe in that it does not award you any money if you do not reach your goal. The crew chose Kickstarter for this reason, among others. 

“We wanted to challenge ourselves,” Walker said. 

According to their website, Kickstarter hosted over 20,000 successfully funded programs just in 2014. The monetary values on those projects are staggering. Kickstarter states that 529 million dollars were pledged to projects hosted on their site in 2014, more than $1,000 a minute. 

Durham, junior cinema production major, has used Kickstarter on a documentary he made last year. 

“Kickstarter works better as far as raising money, and it’s more professional in the way you approach people,” Durham said. 

Their Kickstarter campaign made itself quickly evident as a success, raising half of the $3,000 requested in just the first week. 

Hoping to avoid any misrepresentations of the fallout from sexual assaults and the lives of victims and their families, the crew approached Pittsburgh Action Against Rape to get recommendations on accurate portrayals. 

“We went to the organization, sat down with a panel and went over the script,” Walker said. “We wanted to [make] sure the story was told correctly and wasn’t glorifying or undermining the situation,” 

In addition to their consultation, the crew for “Some Monsters” will donate 10 percent of the total amount raised from their Kickstarter project. 

Galloway, who has worked on paid projects in the past, said working with Walker and the rest of the crew has been a special experience. 

“We’ve had all summer to connect and build a relationship. I’ve been picking her brain to see what’s she is envisioning so I can best portray it,” Galloway said. 

As a cinematographer, Galloway said he’s never been involved with a film like this from the very beginning. 

“It has been three months and I’ve been re-reading the script,” Galloway said. 

“When I get into the real world I won’t have that luxury.” 

Durham praised Walker on her vision on the project, too. 

“Kate is very good at getting real and natural performances from her actors,” Durham said. “The whole crew has respect for her, and each other.” 

“Some Monsters” will have it’s department screening in early December, though Durham is hoping to arrange a public screening for the film shortly afterwards. Admission to the screening was one of the benefits offered for donation to their Kickstarter project.