“…[T]he characters sanity crumbles. Leading up to complete collapse, shelves, books, pipes, gears, walls, everything falling around him. Leaving him in a desolate landscape, with nothing but the ruins of his mind surrounding him.”

“The set will be his study,” says young Seattle area director Noah Martin, “walls lined with book shelves and various steampunk-style furnishings. The set will slowly be transforming
through the course of the film, increasing in intensity as the
characters sanity crumbles.”He’s talking about his latest project, a short film entitled The Raven.

As Noah tells me about this film, I find myself caught up in the idea of this set.  It’s meant to be a representation of the characters mind. “The set is going to be very intricate,” he says, “full of props that represent memories from his personal life. The most predominant of these, photographs of his lost love.”

“I have always had a thing for a story that had an edge, something that made you relate with the disturbing side of life”

The Raven is a kickstarter project, meaning it is micro financed primarily by everyday people like you and me.  Pledging a minimum of a dollar will officially put you in support of this ambitious project and will surely earn you the gratitued of the film makers.  Pledging higher amounts will grant you rewards, the more you give the more generous the thanks.

Noah talks about it passionately as he relates the projects origins, “I have always had a thing for a story that had an edge, something that made you relate with the disturbing side of life. This particular poem I feel has an element that every human being on the planet can relate to; the loss of love. It isn’t said how the nameless character has lost his love, but everyone has suffered this kind of loss. It was this that my inspiration came from.”

“The use of steampunk in this particular film was a beautiful fit”

If the intricate set, dark subject matter, or decent into insanity didn’t intrigue you, perhaps this will.  The film takes place in a steampunk setting.  Says Noah, “…it gives a certain feeling and atmosphere to [which] I feel suits Poe’s writing. The use of steampunk in this particular film was a beautiful fit.  The plot of “The Raven” unfolds [within] the characters mind…all the pipes and gears typical of steampunk makes the room feel very alive…  [A]as the character goes insane, the room begins to literally fall apart with his mind. With the bursting pipes and jamming gears all leading up to the ultimate complete collapse of both the room, and his sanity, I felt the story and theme went perfectly together.”

Kickstarting the Project

But the film still has a long way to go before its completed.  “We have a script, story boards, shot lists, etc.” says Noah, “What we need is the funding to begin building our set, rent a studio and hire a few more crew members so we can roll camera and make a beautiful work of art.”  He seems optimistic that the funding can be raised, but he needs your help.

In order to support the production of The Raven, Noah Martin needs you to visit his kickstarter page, make a small pledge and spread the word before Friday August 24.

You can almost picture it in your mind.  As the raven cries “Nevermore!” sending the character into outcries of disrepair, the set, his mind, falls apart around him until all that remains is “a desolate landscape, with nothing but the ruins of his mind surrounding him. The only structure left standing, his door frame with the raven still perched above him.”

To learn more about this project

Visit The Raven’s kickstarter page or the Big Flood Productions website.