If you’ve ever fantasized about being a movie producer, or even starring in a feature length motion picture, this may be your chance.
“Flying Again is a film that any aviation enthusiast would enjoy,” says CFI, small business owner, and independent filmmaker Jason Schappert.
The film is a project of borne of Schappert’s love of flight and his love of instructing. Perhaps more than anyone in the industry, Schappert and his online ground school business, MzeroA, have adapted to the Internet and instructional videos in a big way. He’s engaging, enthusiastic, and driven. And he needs your help.
Schappert’s latest project is a feature length film called “Flying Again.” It’s an ambitious undertaking, but an essential one as seen from the perspective of a young man who is making a name for himself in the general aviation business.
Focused on so-called rusty pilots, Schappert and his team are dedicated to plucking the low-hanging fruit of the industry, and as he says, “…to get those rusty pilots back in the cockpit and start growing our pilot population.”
The target for funding Schappert’s movie is $20,000. As of this writing, he’s well on his way.
To fund the project, Schappert has turned to Kickstarter, an online crowdfunding site that allows John and Jane Doe to make a financial contribution with confidence. This is no back-alley deal. Kickstarter is well managed, reliable, and totally above board. Using their services allows entrepreneurs like Schappert to access funds in a way that is convenient and quick for the borrower, while providing contributors with something of real value in return. It’s a win-win scenario designed for the modern Internet driven world.
A short video starring Schappert introduces the project. Clocking in at just over three minutes, the video is an excellent promotional tool. It illustrates the quality of video and audio a contributor can expect to see in the finished product.
But Kickstarter goes beyond that. It also allows Schappert’s team to offer perks, or rewards, to contributors. Those rewards are tied to contribution levels, much like you might see on a Public Broadcasting System fundraising campaign. In this case the perks range from a signed movie poster at the $10 level, up through having your name in the credits of the film at the $100 level, all the way up through the full rusty pilot movie experience that allows the $10,000 contributor to be featured in the movie, flying and receiving instruction from Jason Schappert in person.
In addition to Schappert’s convincing sales pitch, a nearly five minute trailer of the film is also available for viewing on the Kickstarter site. Included in the trailer is an introduction to one of the rusty pilots Jason works with. In a telling introduction the subject says, “I’m Bill Clayton, and I haven’t flown in 24 years.”
Schappert is on to something. Lapsed pilots are out among us. Many would love to return to the cockpit now that they’ve got more free time, the kids are gone, and many of the pressures of being a young spouse or parent have gone by the wayside. Yet they may feel intimidated at the idea of starting from scratch, or finding they may not have “it” anymore.
Thankfully, young rebels like Schappert have taken on the task and are using powerful but inexpensive tools like the Internet to help speed the process along and spread the word. It’s okay to go flying again. The help those rusty pilots need is out there. And it might even come with a movie production credit.
