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My new Kickstarter project is a DVD of "The Mishaps of Musty Suffer" films. New HD transfers of 8 films, off the LoC's master material; films picked by me and Steve Massa. Click here for details.

Ben

"The Mishaps of Musty Suffer" kickstarter is already 56% funded in the first 5 days. Must be Musty fans out there!

Kickstarter page is here.

Thanks for looking!

Ben

Ben, here's one big long-time fan of silent comedy (me) who just doesn't want to see Musty Suffer suffer any longer.

I have every intention of supporting his cause, but I wish you could also set up your pledges via PayPal.
Sorry to tell you I tore my nasty credit cards up.

Steve Rydzewski, Philadelphia

Sorry, Steve. This is the way Kickstarter is set up.

Ben

BenModel wrote:"The Mishaps of Musty Suffer" kickstarter is already 56% funded in the first 5 days. Must be Musty fans out there!

Kickstarter page is here.

Thanks for looking!

Ben

I feel quite handsome now I've looked at that pic!

Turpinutz wrote:Ben, here's one big long-time fan of silent comedy (me) who just doesn't want to see Musty Suffer suffer any longer.

I have every intention of supporting his cause, but I wish you could also set up your pledges via PayPal.
Sorry to tell you I tore my nasty credit cards up.

Steve Rydzewski, Philadelphia

Steve, here's a possible workaround for you and for anyone else with the same issue who wants to help out:

If you have a (trustworthy) friend who does have a CC, you could PayPal $$ to your CC-using friend…and then your friend could make the pledge. If we don't make the funding goal, then you'd have to get your $$ back from your (trustworthy) friend. With Kickstarter, if the project doesn't meet its funding goal, no one gets charged. (Although, at this point, we are 61% funded with more than 3 weeks to go, and I would imagine "Musty" will be a reality.)

Kickstarter's payments are coordinated through Amazon, so the same issue/workaround would apply when the DVD comes out. (Although, then you'd have the additional option of coming to a show I was doing where I was selling the disc.)

There are definitely drawbacks to using this system of fundraising (Kickstarter) and distribution (Amazon/CreateSpace), but the advantages of the number of people I'm able to reach outweigh them, for the time being.

Thanks.

Ben

On a more serious note, I would very much like to donate, Ben, not least because Musty ended up making a brief entrance in my PhD thesis which I'm about to hand in! Sadly, however, I will be without a job in a month and so maybe next time ...

742, not a problem. Best of luck on your paper.

Ben

I'm glad to see so much support this early in the project, Ben. I already contributed and hope to see future volumes of his work (even if the other shorts aren't as funny). I know volume 1 of "Accidently Preserved" hasn't been out for too long, but any news on volume 2? Wishing you great success and looking forward to receiving the DVD!

Ben has noted on the original Accidentally Preserved thread at

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15075" target="_blank" target="_blank

that sales of vol. 1 have produced enough money to pay for volume 2 and has promised to keep us abreast of events.

Bob

I will absolutely let you know what will be on volume 2, once I'm ready to. It's too early to announce anything; I don't like to "leak" details unless I'm very certain they're going to work out. There should be some sort of news in the fall.

Thanks!

Ben

Ben,
I look forward to Musty finally reaching a wide audience. I just posted a new blog about Kickstarter and Musty Suffer. Hopefully it will generate some more interest for you. Keep up the superb work.

David
cinemahouston.wordpress.com

Wow, thanks David! Great write-up!

Ben

BenModel wrote:Wow, thanks David! Great write-up!

Ben

Ben, have you tried advertising these endeavours through facebook groups? One of the ones dedicated to silent films has over 2000 members. How many of those are "active" is another thing, but still it would reach a sizeable audience.

As Screen Junkies pointed out, Zach Braff, a man with over $20 megabucks, got enough money out of Kickstarter for a movie project that a studio was willing to fund. If everyone who contributed money to him gave $5 to the Musty Suffer project, Ben could put all of Musty Suffer on dvd, especially if he promised not to add any Ham & Bud comedies.

Bob

silentmovies742 wrote:
Ben, have you tried advertising these endeavours through facebook groups? One of the ones dedicated to silent films has over 2000 members. How many of those are "active" is another thing, but still it would reach a sizeable audience.

I've always hit the key groups/fanpages for this, and have done so since I started on "Accidentally Preserved" last October. I'm also on Twitter (@silentfilmmusic).

If there are any groups you're in where I have not posted in about Musty -- I can't keep up with all the new ones people keep launching -- perhaps you can post the link to the project there.

Thanks.

Ben

BenModel wrote:

silentmovies742 wrote:
Ben, have you tried advertising these endeavours through facebook groups? One of the ones dedicated to silent films has over 2000 members. How many of those are "active" is another thing, but still it would reach a sizeable audience.

I've always hit the key groups/fanpages for this, and have done so since I started on "Accidentally Preserved" last October. I'm also on Twitter (@silentfilmmusic).

If there are any groups you're in where I have not posted in about Musty -- I can't keep up with all the new ones people keep launching -- perhaps you can post the link to the project there.

Thanks.

Ben

will have a look over the weekend.

Shared on my facebook page. Good luck...hope you reach your goal!

Good luck with this, Ben. I've made a pledge and I'm sure that most others here have too. Hope you make it. Apparently, if you haven't seen Musty Suffer, you haven't lived....

Richard W.

ColemanShedman wrote:Shared on my facebook page. Good luck...hope you reach your goal!

Thanks! This is a big help. I can only reach so many people, but if Musty fans re-post the link, the word will spread.

And thanks, Richard W, for your support and good wishes. I agree, these films have to be seen (to be believed)!

Ben

Thanks, Mike! We are currently 76% funded after just 9 days, with three more weeks still to go.

Ben

You've got my twenty-five simoleons, sir. Proud to be involved in this, my first Kickstarter project experience. Can't wait to watch these films of which I've never heard and to listen to your sterling scores!

Thanks, WB!

Ben

I was only vaguely aware of this series until I saw one of the entries at Slapsticon recently, Local Showers by name, which details Musty's action-packed trip to the dentist. It was genuinely funny and surprising, like a Melies trick film with an especially wicked sense of humor. I'm happy to kick in, and can't wait to see more of the shorts. And what a pleasure to see the Kickstarter counter romp towards the finish line!

They showed the Musty Suffer short "Outs and Ins" as party of the Lame Brains and Lunatics program at Cinefest this year. I really enjoyed that one and I am looking forward to seeing more.

Yes, Steve Massa picked that for the Cinefest program. Steve and I are selecting the films for the DVD, and it's Steve's research into Harry Watson Jr.'s career and on the "Musty" series itself that triggered the idea for producing a DVD of the shorts.

Ben

Re: the liner notes that will be posted online for this, if booklets are too expensive, might I suggest enclosing a low-budget print version in individual sheet form like Chris Snowden used to do for his Silent Comedy Mafia DVDs on the late great Unknown Video label? I thought that was a nice touch, along with the awesome silent film poster fridge magnets of course.

I admit, I am a fan of enclosed printed liner notes. :-)

CreateSpace's service does not include booklets. If I produced the discs thru a duplicator, a single-sheet like what you're describing could be possible, but it would mean an extra (although slight) cost. I work basically full-time doing film accompaniment and do not have the time and mental focus to add extra steps like designing an insert and especially dealing with a third-party duplicator for production. For me, the one-stop-shopping aspect of CreateSpace works for my situation, and if they don't do inserts, then I don't have inserts.

The online notes thing is a great workaround; Steve and I have been doing this with the "Cruel and Unusual Comedy" series at MoMA since it started in 2009, as MoMA ceased printing film notes several years ago but we wanted film notes for the shows. Plus, online notes can be as long as they need to be.

Ben

Maybe instead of a the online notes being straightforward web pages, they could be done as a PDF in a booklet format, so anyone who wants to can create their own booklet if they want to print it themselves.