FUNDRAISING FOR

Easy Target

A darkly comic short film
Filming Spring 2026 • NYC & Hoboken, NJ

CAMPAIGN STARTS FEB 15, 2026

Our goal:

$40,000

0% funded - $0 of $40,000 raised

🚀 Support our film!

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               A cutthroat confrontation with the pay-to-play industry, Easy Target is a razor-sharp satire in the vein of Office Space with the drawn-blood intensity of Whiplash and a twist of The Truman Show.

Mission & Story • Characters • Our Team • Film Experience • Budget • Supporter Benefits • Timeline • FAQ
WHY THIS FILM? WHY NOW?

🧭 MISSION STATEMENT

Easy Target is a comedy that confronts the pay-to-play industry underbelly that profits off artists’ desperation, dressing up exploitation as mentorship. But the deeper target is our own knee-jerk buy-in: when we live in panic and hunger for belonging, do we rail against the system or get strung along by grifters selling certainty? Right now, when so many of us are on edge, this film asks, with a sharp-toothed smile: how do we take our agency back?

STORYBOARD PANEL #65: CU – SINGLE SHARKY

SHARKS, GUPPIES, AND GUPPETTES...

📖 THE STORY

STORYBOARD PANEL #49B:
MCU – OTS ANDREA on BILL

On a jammed Manhattan side street, out-of-work actor Joe Goodman bails from a taxi in a rush, accidentally leaving behind his headshot. He barrels into an acting “Shark Tank” seminar run by a delightfully passive-aggressive gatekeeper and a celebrated casting shark who feed on desperation. The room turns into a pressure cooker of status, shame, and pay-to-play promise until Joe detonates, hijacking the workshop into a public reckoning. But Joe’s real opponent isn’t the sharks in the room, it’s the quiet rage he’s been rehearsing for years. Will it shake him awake, or swallow him whole?

Easy Target is written to stand alone as a complete short, while also introducing a larger story world. It’s a proof of concept for a feature-length version of the film (screenplay complete). The short deliberately weaves in multiple character threads, hinting at the larger film beneath the surface.

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STRIVING TO BE CHOSEN. FIGHTING TO BELONG.

🎭 CHARACTERS living in the world of Easy Target.

Characters in Order of Appearance

TAXI DRIVER – 30s, Female. Aspiring New Yorker. Observant. Wily. Quick-witted. A little reckless.

JOE – 30s, Male. Aspiring Actor. Skateboarder. Intelligent. Talented. Out-of-work and down on his luck. Chip on his shoulder, but essentially decent. Entitled. Combustible. At his wit’s end.

DEBRA – 30s, Female. Andrea’s high-energy, devout workshop assistant and minion. Covetous of her position. Actor-in-secret who loves the sound of her own voice. Takes focus whenever possible. Delightfully passive aggressive.

ANDREA BURNSIDE – 40-60, Female. Veteran mid-level casting director. Imperious. Demanding. Unforgiving. Never forgets a face… or who’s in charge. Carnivore.

BILL – 50s, Male. Actor. Earnest. Eager for any opportunity. Seeks approval.

DENNIS – 40-60, Male. Actor. Experienced. Confident. Observant. Persistent.

JESSICA – 20-30, Female, Actor. Attractive. More creative than she thinks. Relies on her power over men.

SHAUNA – 30s, Female, Actor. Forthright friend. Playful. Sense of dignity.

ALICE – 30s, Female, Actor. Quintessential best friend, girl next door. Perhaps susceptible to stage fright.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
FROM PAST SCRIPT ITERATIONS

STORYBOARD PANEL #8:
MCU – TWO-SHOT JOE/TAXI DRIVER

CURIOSITY, TALENT, EXPERIENCE – THE ENGINE OF OUR FILM

👥 OUR TEAM

David Kubicka
Actor/Director/Producer

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, David Kubicka is primarily an actor. His notable credits include Showtime’s Billions, and Ethan Hawke’s Tesla. David is a graduate of the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York, and has a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Colorado. He now runs the Hoboken, NJ-based production company Vivid Signal Films, and most recently directed the short film Grass, which screened at the Naked Angels Film Festival (New York, August 2024), and was First A.D. and Producer on the short film High Strung, currently in post-production (filmed in New York, November 2025).

Nicola Benizzi
Cinematographer

Bio coming soon.

Mahnaz Damania
Actor

Mahnaz Damania is an Indian actor, teaching artist, writer and culture consultant, working across stage, film, and television. Trained at Stella Adler, she has performed in acclaimed Indian productions and made her Broadway debut in Life of Pi. A META nominee and BroadwayWorld International nominee for Best Leading Actor – Female, she brings a blend of movement, nuance, and global perspective to her work.

Ellen Barber
Performance & Script Consultant

Ellen Barber is an Actress, Director, and Script Consultant who has enjoyed a career spanning over four decades that includes starring on Broadway, Off and Off-Off Broadway, and on Regional Stages across the US. Film work includes leading roles for Major Motion Picture Studios, Independent Features and Documentary Films. She starred in three Academy Award-Winning Short Films and had a leading role in a Peabody Award-Winning feature. She has directed Off and Off-Off Broadway Productions in NYC, in Los Angeles, and on the Regional Stage. She is Co-Founder and Artistic Actor of Winterlight Productions — a New York City-based theatre company celebrated for its thoughtful traditional and vibrant salon productions. She is a Founding member of The Ensemble Studio Theatre, former Chair of The Writers Lab NYC, and a member of Jack Wetherall’s Shakespeare Lab NYC.

Ed Tadiello
Production Designer

Edward Tadiello is a versatile American artist with a long career as an illustrator and art director. He joined the Scenic Artist union in 2006 and has worked as a scenic artist on many movie productions, including “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull”, “The Sorcerers Apprentice”, and “American Gangster”. He has also worked as a Camera Scenic on TV shows such as “30 Rock”, “Billions”, and “Ray Donovan”. In 2008, he added the Production Designer category to his union membership and has worked as an Assistant Art Director for several TV shows and advertising campaigns, including a Chanel commercial directed by Martin Scorsese.

What kind of film is this?

🍿 THE FILM EXPERIENCE

  • Tone: Uncomfortably Funny, Darkly Absurd, Pressure-Cooker Tension, Reality That Slips Sideways.

  • In the Vein of: Office Space x Whiplash x The Truman Show.

  • Promise: A darkly absurd audition nightmare with teeth. And you’re part of the experiment.

🚀 PROOF OF CONCEPT for the FEATURE FILM

  • The feature screenplay is complete.

  • The short film stands alone, but introduces the world and key characters.

  • The goal: use the short to attract feature partners (producers, investors, cast attachments).

Where does your money go?

🧾 BUDGET

Total Raise

$40,000

  • Cast (~$9.85K)
  • Production (~$22K)
  • Insurance (~$4K)
  • Post-Production (~$1.25K)
  • Festivals (~$500)
HIT VS. MISS

🎯 The Target

If we hit the goal ($40K), we can staff the shoot properly, secure the right gear/locations, and leave breathing room for the finishing touches that elevate the film (especially sound and color).

If we miss, we’ll still make the film, but we’ll scale down: leaner crew, tighter location choices, and more reliance on favors. Post remains in-house, but higher-end finishing and festival rollout may be delayed until additional funding comes in.

DETAILS

🔍 Breakdown

Cast (approx. $9,850)
Under a SAG-AFTRA Short Project Agreement, this covers on-camera talent: paying principal actors for their time and craft, stunt performer & coordinator, plus a significant contingency of background talent. Several shoot days rely on a busy, lived-in environment, so background is essential for the film to feel real, not staged. It’s the difference between “good on paper” and “alive on screen.”

Production (approx. $22K)
This is where most of the money lives: paying cast and essential crew, plus camera/sound/lighting, locations/permits, production design, meals, and transportation. It’s the cost of getting high-quality footage on the day and protecting the schedule from chaos.

Insurance (approx. $4,000)
Unsexy but essential: coverage that protects the production and is often required for locations and permits. It keeps the whole machine safe and legitimate.

Post-Production (approx. $1,250)
Post is intentionally lean because much of it is handled in-house. This bucket covers the hard costs that still remain: storage/backups, exports/deliverables, and targeted specialist support if needed (sound mix, color, graphics).

Festivals / Publicity (approx. $500)
Submission fees and basic launch materials so the film can actually be seen: DCP/exports, captions, and key art/poster assets. This is the film’s first doorway to an audience.

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What do you get in return?

🤝 SUPPORTER BENEFITS

Your funding opens up opportunities for us to expand our skills and reach as artists and craftspeople. If the story resonates with you and you want to help bring it to life, we’d love to have you with us. We offer light-touch benefits that don’t pull funding or time away from production: set updates, invitations, and on-screen/IMDb acknowledgment where appropriate.

🤝 Starter
$25–$249
social media shoutout
thanks
🤝 Supporter
$250–$999
social media shoutout
updates
thanks
🙏 Special Thanks
$1,000–$2,499
social media shoutout
thanks
credit
invite
🧩 Associate Producer
$2,500–$4,999
social media shoutout
thanks
credit
set visit/invite
👑 Producer
$5,000+
social media shoutout
thanks
Producer credit (limited)
private screening/invite

🕊️ Prefer to give without the need for benefits? Not a problem. Your support still moves the film forward. And of course, you will receive our profound gratitude that YOU made this film possible!

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When Will The Film Be Made?

🗓️ TIMELINE

An enormous amount of work has already gone into preparing this project for an efficient production. The script is locked, the storyboards are complete, and the budget has been refined, which means once funding is secured we can move immediately into action. The schedule is ambitious, but it’s designed to keep availability aligned across cast, crew, and locations, and to carry momentum straight through post-production while the project is fresh, focused, and fully assembled.

📝📍 Pre-Production
Feb–Mar 2026
Lock locations
Lock schedule
Cast remaining roles
Finalize shot list
Prep rehearsals
🎬 🎥 Production
April 2026 (4 shoot days)
Principal photography in NYC/Hoboken
Capture all performances and core coverage
✂️ 🖥️ Picture Edit
May 2026
Edit in-house
Assemble cut
Refine pacing
Lock picture
🎧 🎨 Sound + Color + Deliverables
Late May 2026
Mix sound
Score/music
Color grade
Captions
DCP/export masters
🎟️ 🏆 Festival Launch
June 2026 and onward
Submissions
Premieres
Screenings
Outreach
Next steps
What are the hurdles?

💪 RISKS + CHALLENGES

Easy Target is ambitious to produce. It’s a fast-paced comedy with very specific production elements, stunts and practical effects, a large cast, and a pivotal scene that requires coordinated background performers. That scope creates real challenges: aligning schedules, keeping the day moving, and protecting performance and safety while executing technical beats.

This film also has a few key moments that require precise execution. There are sequences where props, camera/monitor playback, and choreography have to work cleanly in real time, and practical effects require careful planning, continuity control, and reset time. Those are exactly the kinds of details we’re designing the schedule around so we can move quickly without cutting corners.

We’ve built the plan to manage those risks. The budget is calibrated for the actual needs of the shoot. We believe in paying people appropriately because it leads to better work, better morale, and fewer costly problems on the day. The biggest risk in a project of this scale is trying to do too much with too little. We’re doing the opposite: setting a clear, achievable plan, and surrounding the project with experienced collaborators so we can execute at a professional level.

⚡ Quick Read

Challenges: scale, scheduling, technical beats, stunt & background performers, practical effects resets
How we’re managing them: prep, rehearsals, experienced crew, fair pay, realistic budget, safety-first planning

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ FAQ

Is this short a proof of concept for a feature film?

Yes. This short is designed to stand on its own as a complete film, while also serving as a proof of concept for a feature-length version of Easy Target (feature screenplay already written). The short intentionally introduces multiple character threads so you can feel the story of larger world underneath.

What makes this film challenging to produce?

It’s comedy with precision: timing, choreography, and specific production elements matter. There’s also a pivotal workshop sequence that requires coordinated background performers and a working on-camera setup (camera + monitor playback). A few moments involve controlled stunt/effects work, which we’ll execute safely and deliberately.

Where will the film shoot?

We’re planning a tight, efficient shoot in the NYC area (NYC/Hoboken region). The production is designed around a limited set of locations to keep logistics realistic and protect the schedule.

When are you shooting, and when will it be finished?

We’re targeting a Spring 2026 production window, with post-production immediately after. The schedule is built for momentum, so the film stays top-of-mind for the team and we carry the energy of production straight through to a stellar finish.

How will you keep the schedule momentum?

By doing the heavy lifting up front. The script is locked, storyboards are complete, and we’re planning the shoot around efficiency: minimal location moves, clear priorities for coverage, and a schedule designed to protect performance, safety, and time.

Does the film include any intense content?

Yes, there are moments that spike in intensity (including a stylized fantasy/imagined violence beat). It’s handled with safety-first planning and practical effects discipline, and it serves the satire rather than becoming a gore film.

What does my contribution actually pay for?

Your support goes directly toward production costs (cast/crew, gear, locations, meals, transportation), essential post expenses (deliverables and targeted finishing support), festivals/publicity, and insurance. In other words: getting the film made well, finished properly, and launched. What’s more, we’re fundraising here directly, not through a crowdfunding platform, so 100% of the funds are received by us–no middleman!

Are donations tax-deductible?

At this time, contributions are not tax-deductible. Vivid Signal, LLC is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and we are not operating under a fiscal sponsor for this campaign.

How will supporters be acknowledged?

Benefits are simple and respectful: updates, optional screen/IMDb credit (where appropriate), and invitations to screenings/events depending on support level.

Why is the budget $40K?

Because it’s calibrated to the real needs of the project. We believe in paying people appropriately, and that translates into higher-quality work, better morale, and fewer costly breakdowns on the day. The goal is not “cheapest possible,” it’s “professional execution.”

What happens if you don’t hit the full goal?

We’ll still move the project forward, but we’ll scale intelligently: simplify where it doesn’t harm the story, protect safety and core production needs, and adjust finishing/festival rollout based on funds.

How else can I help besides donating?

Sharing the page helps immensely. Intros to potential supporters, location leads, in-kind production support, and festival/press connections can also be meaningful.

CONTRIBUTE

📣 Help us bring Easy Target to life.

If this story resonates with you, we’d be grateful for your support.

Every penny of your contribution goes directly toward preparation, production, post, and getting the film in front of an audience. Since we’re raising the funds directly, there’s no middleman, no hidden charges, and no platform fees.

➡️ Contribute (see instructions below)
📣 Share the page (it helps more than you think)

Know someone who supports independent film or loves sharp comedy? An introduction is incredibly valuable.

Prefer to support privately or at a higher level? Send us a note and we’ll follow up.

How To Contribute:

1 Step One
Make your contribution via Venmo or Zelle --or-- make arrangement privately (see form below in step 2)

Venmo

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Zelle

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to VIVID SIGNAL LLC at:

vividsignalfilms@gmail.com

Memo: Easy Target + your email (for perks/receipt)

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2 Step Two
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