Hello! My name is Todd Barringer Albright.

I am the director and producer of MAGIC HOUR, an independent feature film made in Los Angeles, California. After five years of shooting and editing, we’re moving into the finishing stages of post-production and, with your help, will deliver the fully realized film for festival and distribution consideration later this year.

MAGIC HOUR offers a unique approach to storytelling and tackles issues of housing, isolation, and mental health as a deeply bonded father-son duo navigates their neighborhood and a shared tragedy. It is intimate, funny, heart-wrenching, and spiritual. Test audiences agree! 

A successful crowdfund means audiences around the world will have the opportunity to enjoy the work of our very talented cast and crew, and the unique experience we’ve created together.

Although I have written and directed many projects over the last two decades, this is my first film as a feature director and producer, and I’m so grateful to be this close to sharing it with you.

Professional Background

I have an English degree from Duke and a MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute (AFI).  I also studied at Oxford and the Otis School of Art & Design. I have taught writing, photography, and film on both coasts. Early shorts include the festival-winning AUTOMATION and THE SECRET PARTS OF FORTUNE, as well as ICG Showcase Winner RAVELING.

I have written several screenplays, two of which were optioned, and another which was produced for German television; I have also adapted two novels and written narration for several documentary films. I shifted into post-production around the birth of my first son, and have put in over 70,000 hours as an editor, sound designer, and composer for independent documentaries, television docu-dramas (A&E’s “Wrecking Plan”) and freelance clients (e.g. Netflix, WeTV, TIME).

I also work freelance as a graphic designer, copy editor & proofreader for A24 Films, and run an independent publishing startup.

I directed and edited MAGIC HOUR in batches around client work and family commitments since late 2017. To date I have produced the movie entirely with my own resources and a few small donations. I believe the movie is worth its many years of effort, just as I believe many (somewhat unexpected) years of grinding in post have contributed to my overall aptitude as a filmmaker.

Not only do I appreciate your support in getting the film finished, but I also appreciate any questions you might have and the chance to find some community and peaceful exchange of ideas together. It’s been a long time in a dark room on this one!

Crowdfund Details

Our target for the campaign is $50,000. The first $25K of this would go towards post-production costs necessary to finish the actual movie, including music, sound design, motion graphics, color correction, titles, credits, and sound mix.

The other $25K supports everything that the finished film needs to enter the global market, including all copyrights, contracts, clearances, captioning, film festival submission packages and festival submission fees. 

Through this raise, we will also finally be able to pay our cinematographer Dave Crawford a small stipend for his contributions of time and equipment across many years of shooting.

Should we exceed our initial goal, additional funding will continue to directly support the film and help foster its success in the market, including proper PR, marketing / social media, travel & accommodations, music licensing, and the ability to hire a specialist in indie marketing & distribution.

 

To sum up our campaign: if we raise a baseline of $50K in 31 days we can get this film finished and out for festival consideration this year.

If we don’t reach our goal, we’ll still move forward through finishing post, continuing to independently finance each element of the film and working around other gigs. In this case, there could be no guarantees around the timeline of the film or delivery of any perks.

The Impact

I enjoy Indiegogo as a platform because of the variety of ideas — especially the tech prototypes and the indie games — and understand that these days a narrative film is almost an old-fashioned type of media. But as this Summer has shown, whether setting leggy plastic toys against the patriarchy or profiling the architect of our nuclear age, people still love original stories told by experimental filmmakers.

​Some twenty years ago, I reached out for help to make two short films at AFI that met some significant acclaim and opened some doors for cast & crew. It is an honor to be able to do so again, especially with a movie so far along the path to release.  I’ve done my best with MAGIC HOUR to create something extraordinary, that will truly entertain you while pulling your emotions every which way. To be able to bring it home with the help of the community is very much in the spirit of the film itself. 

For me this is an extra-special project as it features my older son in the second-billed role. We co-created this story together and share a lot of screen time. It has already been an epic journey (and 1/3 of his life) making this film, but the opportunity to share his performance with audiences is an additional motivator for this very proud father.

We also have a small but interesting cast comprised of professional and ‘streetcast’ amateur talent, including Sean Markland-Sanchez in his third collaboration with Flim Flam Productions.

Perks, Risks & Challenges

We’re offering some cool perks for supporters, from MAGIC HOUR mugs and poster art to a ‘sneak peek’ LA screening. You can get your name in the film credits, or even start that imdb account as a credited producer!

I hope that my track record of finishing and delivering high-level work, and the dedication we have shown thus far in producing this independently, warrants your trust.

There is always the risk that deals will fall through, and remaining costs will rise. At this stage of post-production, however, few line items remain. Although we can only estimate a delivery date, we will deliver both the movie and the associated rewards as efficiently and expertly as possible.

There is also the inherent risk that neither the movie nor our approach to packaging works, and we find neither festival audiences nor distribution. In this case we will self-distribute the film, via independent streaming services like Amazon Prime.  

 

Other Ways You Can Help

Sharing our page link or social posts this month is as valuable to us as any donation. We are raising a significant amount of money and our personal networks will only get us so far.  Getting the word out to more people and soliciting donations from film-lovers outside our network will be vital to the campaign’s success.