Fundraising Goal and Budget 眾籌目標與預算

Sound Design and Mix: As a team of narrative storytellers, we see little difference between narrative and documentary filmmaking. We intend to use sound as an important device to illustrate the bridge and the differences between Hong Kong and America. We also have a lot of interviews and materials recorded from different sources, which need proper processing. To screen the film in theatres as required by most film festivals, we will need to rent a mix stage for surround sound mixing. All of this means the sound work for this film is considerable and worth the price.

Music: Just like narrative filmmaking, a lot of documentary filmmaking relies heavily on music to craft the emotion and mood. Therefore, music will be used sparingly but critically in lengthy passages of the film. We intend to hire a world-class instrumentalist to perform certain sections of the score, ensuring utmost authenticity and human emotion.

Archival Footage: An important factor in most documentary filmmaking is archival footage, and licensing archival footage is often prohibitively costly, even to indie filmmaking. We are licensing a few important clips of Hong Kong history, and to future-proof our film, we are purchasing unrestricted commercial licenses. This means the costs are hefty, even if only for a few seconds of material.

Graphic Design: Another important element in documentary filmmaking that can be overlooked is motion graphic design. A lot of documentaries rely on motion graphics to communicate important background information, and our film is no different. The detailed animations will elevate our film and tell our story better. The budget for graphic design will include the fees for poster design as well, which is another critical component in maximising visibility for our film.

Film Festivals: Very few people know about the massive hidden costs of the film festival industry and the burden these fees place on independent filmmakers. To gain exposure for our films, independent filmmakers must pay hefty submission fees to hundreds of film festivals, only for a slim chance of getting selected. We aim to arm ourselves with a lofty film festival submission budget, to ensure this Hong Kong story gets told worldwide.

Crew Reimbursement: As recent film school graduates, most of our crew have worked on this film for free. But just because we are young fresh graduates making a passion project, it doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to be paid. The considerable portion of the budget directed to crew reimbursement will ensure the crew gets paid at Californian minimum wage levels for the hours they put on this production.

聲音設計與混音：雖然紀錄片看次簡單，但其實製作紀錄片所需的功夫不遜於劇情片，有時甚至乎超越劇情片。作為劇情片出身的團隊，我們對紀錄片和劇情片的態度和處理手法並無太大分別。聲音設計將會是一個重要的元素，去闡述香港與美國之間的橋梁與差異。我們亦有很多於不同場合灌錄的材料皆需處理。以達到大部份電影節的戲院標準要求，我們亦需要租借混音設施去進行立體聲混音。以上代表這套電影將會有龐大且昂貴的後期聲音工作。

配樂：與劇情片一樣，很多紀錄片都非常依賴配樂去塑造電影的情感與氛圍。故此，我們將會在關鍵場面用上配樂，並計劃聘請一位頂級的樂手去彈奏選段，以確保最真誠的情感表達。

資料片段：資料片段是紀錄片製作的重要一環，而對獨立電影人，購買資料片段的版權往往價值不菲。我們將會採購數條重要香港歷史的資料片段，而為了保障我們日後的發行空間，我們將會購買常規商業版權。雖然片段只有幾秒長度，但它們的售價仍然相當之高昂。

美術設計：紀錄片的另一個重要元素是動態圖像。跟很多紀錄片一樣，我們的電影選用了動態圖像（例如動畫）去傳述重要的背景資料。仔細的動畫將會提升我們電影的質素以及更有效去表達這輛的士的旅程。美術設計的預算亦包括了海報設計，而電影海報是吸納觀眾眼球不容忽視的一環。

影展報名費：鮮為人知的是參與電影節遊戲背後所隱藏的龐大開支，而這些報名費為獨立電影人添加了巨大的財政壓力。獨立電影人為了博取曝光，必須繳付相當高昂的報名費，以換取渺小的放映機會。我們打算預備好充裕的影展報名費預算，去確保這個屬於香港的故事能夠在全球放映。

團隊補償：作為近期的電影學院畢業生，我們大部份團隊成員都是以義工名義參與製作。但新畢業生的自發製作並不是不計酬勞的理由。這個最龐大的預算部份將會確保我們的團隊成員能夠至少以加州法定最低工資的標準收回薪酬。