Hello everyone,
Thank-you so much for taking the time to check out my crowdfunding campaign!

This project is pretty big – it is one that will grow over time. To get it started, I need backers to help me “LAUNCH” Little Creatives, so that’s why I am here.

What Is Little Creatives? 
I started a video production business back two years ago, B&E Productions. Due to COVID, it didn’t get a very good start. I have since discovered a need within my community for arts (especially in film production & performing) for children, so I created “Little Creatives”, which is a program within my business that is solely focused on children.

Little Creatives will be a range of workshops & programs. The workshops & programs will support the children in building their skills & confidence while learning more about the industry, and thinking of ways that we can support our community together, through art & creating.

What funding support I need? 

• Start up costs (insurances are high when working with children, filming equipment & when working out in public locations)
• Costs to purchase the last bit of gear I need to make this possible
• Costs to set up a Little Creatives website (to keep it separate to B&E website)
• Costs to launch “Northern Rivers Connect TV” – to make the first episodes we will need a small budget to put towards advertising, wardrobe, travel & other expenses.

The Workshops & Programs

Stage Vs Screen workshop
The stage vs screen workshop (it doesn’t have a name yet), gives children a 5 week introduction to the differences in stage and screen. Children are taught a lot about stage in their drama classes, but there aren’t a lot of ways that children can get access to screen opportunities. Building confidence in front of a camera is something that all children should be allowed to experience – far too many people (adults or children) don’t like being in front of cameras. This 5 week work shop will teach the students the differences between performing on a stage & for the screen, while rehearsing a monologue or small scene. In the final week, they’ll go to a studio space in Byron Bay where they can have their monologue filmed. The monologue can then be used (if they wish) for their portfolios. If they aren’t interested in portfolio building, the experience still gives them an opportunity to see all that goes into filming, the process involved in taking an idea to a final product, and building their confidence in front of the camera.

Demo Reel Packages
The demo reel packages are a fun way to get kids creating, and again, in front of a camera. I come to you, bringing my equipment with me, and I create a scene or monologue with your child. This can be one on one, or your child can do it with a friend. The scenes/ monologues are 1-3 minutes in length, and we either use a monologue that we find online or we re-create a scene from a TV show or film. These sessions (being one on one), give your child the time to learn more about themselves & their creative abilities without the pressure of peers watching on. These packages can be used for new performers to build on their confidence, or for the more skilled performer who is wanting to build their portfolio. Either way, these packages are affordable, with payment options available, and support you children to learn new skills.

Supporting Community : Northern Rivers  Connect TV
Northern Rivers Connect TV will be an ongoing web series. The children will “present” an episode each week. Each episode will focus on getting to know the faces behind the local businesses, as well as learning about the locals. This is a new, unique way of advertising businesses. The local businesses can use their “segment” from the episode for their websites – each segment will be like a mini documentary, which gives the businesses a new kind of advertisement, an ad worth watching! The episodes will feature 2-3 businesses and a local with a story. Once the series has been tested (so once the first “season” has been made), if we have viewers & interest the idea is to charge businesses a fee to be featured. This fee will keep the series going. However, we need to start the series, which means running it for free. To make that happen I need funds! This supports our community, and again, gives children opportunities to gain skills & confidence.

MY STORY
Two years ago I graduated from TAFE with my diploma in screen and media. I was new to the world of filmmaking (producing, directing & filming), and eager to find my place somewhere within the industry. I wasn’t naïve, I knew this industry was tough, but I definitely wasn’t prepared for how tough it actually was. Everywhere I went, I was expected to have a portfolio, which I expected. I started offering my services for free, but since I had no equipment, nobody would take me on. Thing is, this industry isn’t solely for those who want to make it to Hollywood or big budget productions. Creating is an outlet, but it is also something that is needed to support businesses & communities. Being a “filmmaker”, or wanting to be a filmmaker, doesn’t necessarily mean we want the big gigs. Some of us, like myself, simply love creating. Which makes the fight to get into this industry ridiculous. There are so many smaller productions you could get involved with – if only you had the connections, the money, or the equipment.

I had moved over here from WA though, so connections wasn’t something I had. Money? I’m a student with a part time job, so again, no luck there. Only option left was equipment. So I took a job, the only job I could find, doing night shifts at a servo. As someone who went through Domestic Violence, a late night, closing shift at a service station by myself, was not the greatest for my PTSD. But I wanted this career path more than anything. I wanted to build a portfolio, and I felt the only way left to do that, was purchasing my own equipment. So I stuck at this job, coming home most nights in tears. I hated the isolation at the job, hated the silence when no customers were coming in. I had to do it though, and little by little, I built up my kit. Wasn’t long before I had all the basics! I was set. I took my “let’s do this” attitude back out there, approached businesses offering my services for free to build this portfolio, but again, brick wall. The businesses had no time, weren’t interested or “could do it themselves via TikTok”. I kept asking. Kept finding reasons to create content. I’d go to events and just film. I’d steal my friends kids and get them to help me out. But never quite enough for a decent portfolio. So $10,000 worth of equipment in, and I was ready to throw in the towel and reassess what I was doing. My approach was clearly wrong. I wasn’t doing something right! Fortunately, I had a wonderful woman give me her time, she allowed me to come into her drama classes and film her & the students, and in return I’d make some videos for her social media pages with the content I got. She got me to film their end of year showcase, as the students were not allowed to perform in the theatre due to COVID, so I did that also. Before long, I was working with these students as a drama teacher alongside this wonderful woman who gave me a chance – but that still wasn’t where my heart was at.

So 2 years ago, when I set out to start up my business, my main focus was on supporting my community & other businesses. Now, I sit here writing this, my heart filled with joy, but feeling so overwhelmed, because the amount of support I have had from the parents who have recognised the lack of support, fairness and decency within this industry has pushed me to change paths.
Too many children (and adults) miss out because they don’t have enough money to sell themselves to producers & production companies.
Too many children miss out on opportunities to be creative in front of cameras & on stage because of their parents income.
And too many children are sold this idea that filming, performing & creating is FOR fame.

Creating can be for so many other things, and there are so many other career paths you can take, if you are just taught to think outside the box. Many small businesses need support with social media, filming content & creating graphics.
Many not for profit organisations need performers at little to no cost.

I have spent a year working with kids, showing them all there is to filming, creating graphics, acting, working with sound & creating art. So I created “Little Creatives” as a way to work with the children through workshops & programs to find ways to create, but while thinking outside of the box. I want to utilise “Little Creatives” to encourage the children to consider using creativity as a way of supporting their community, creating content that matters & that has an impact, and finding ways to set career paths in motion without necessarily having to end up in Hollywood.

As someone who has been through violence, assault and abuse – my mental health is something I have always had to deal with. The one thing that has always gotten me through, were my “outlets”. Writing, crafting, filming, photographing. During the toughest years of the abuse I went through, the biggest escape for me were my Marvel movies, but also the creative communities that surrounded those films. The cosplaying conventions, the many YouTube videos dedicated to those films, the art I’d create inspired by those stories. Creating, in whatever form, should be encouraged & more creative workshops & programs for kids should be more accessible.

If you’re still with me, please check out the rewards I am offering for you to back me.

Thank-you so much for your time, and for your support.

Stay creative!
Elysha x