|
 |
|
 |
| June 05, 2012 News |
| EKN Fast Five: John Shofner - ‘Become One: A Karting Documentary’ |
| |
Announced last month, a film project is currently in the works to help promote the sport of karting in a way that has yet to be done. ‘Become One: A Karting Documentary’ will help to bring an inside look of what the sport of karting is all about. The goal of the film, produced by John Shofner of Shofner Films - is based solely on promoting the sport, as other films and documentaries have focused on the telling of a story.
To help get the production funded, Shofner has created a page on the Kickstarter.com website. There, anyone has the opportunity to pledge their support for as low as $1. As the pledge increases, so does the return as supporters will receive digital copies of the finished project and other items dependant on the amount. As of today, over $12,000 have been raised toward the film production costs with the ultimate goal of $40,000 within reach. We contacted John after he returned from shooting footage at the Texas ProKart Challenge event this past weekend in Houston, Texas.
EKN: What is your background in video/film production?
John Shofner: That’s a bit of a difficult question. I just picked up a camera in April 2010 because I thought it would be fun. Since then, it’s just progressed and gone from there. I have self taught myself everything I know about shooting, editing and everything else related. I think in this business it more about having a natural eye for it than an education.
EKN: What brought you to film karting?
JS: A friend of mine that I met at Cresson in Fort Worth raced formula cars there. I got to talking to him and he eventually invited me out to a small kart race he put on at NTK in Denton. So, I came out and shot that having just bought my first HD film camera. It just kind of naturally progressed after that. I’ve shot numerous karting films and have gained a strong love for the sport and even more the people within the sport.
EKN: How is the film concept developing?
JS: The concept is continuously developing. My team and I are constantly meeting and discussing ideas and concepts for the film. Overall, we want to promote the sport as well as we possibly can. And that is the key goal. This isn’t a marketing film for any one team or person. But a film that tries to explain karting as a whole, a film to better the sport. And a film to try and help karting escape the ‘yard kart’, ‘kiddy kart’ and ‘carnival’ perception. This is a real sport that just about anyone can get into, and it’s amazingly fun.
EKN: What type of feedback have you been receiving since the announcement about the film came out?
JS: I’d say 98% of the feedback is that ‘Become One’ is exceptionally well received. People like the work that I have done and really want to make the project happen. A few were leery because I do not have an exact concept laid out for the film. But I have been there to answer all question and concerns and believe that it has put to rest any fears. As I outlined earlier, the concept is constantly changing to suite the needs of a story. And once we get to the track, new things that were unforeseeable that will work well in the film will also present themselves. I think more and more people understand this and are just excited to see what the team comes up with.
EKN: What can people or kart shops expect when they pledge their support for the film?
JS: At the moment, we have pledge brackets that are setup that have differing ‘prizes’ based on the dollar amount that you pledge, ranging from a 720P download to a full blown title sponsor bracket. The lower categories are effectively a prepay for a copy of the film. As you increase you get perks added like posters or shirts as well as a screening ticket in Dallas. We are still looking for a gear sponsor and have just acquired a tire sponsor, MG Tires, for the event that is donating a generous amount of tires to the project. A new bracket is being setup to give away tire sets and a copy of the film as well. This is a unique opportunity for all the individual supporters of the sport to make a difference. Every dollar helps.
Teams and shops would be more interested in the upper end of the brackets. $1500 gets your team or shop a short segment in the film, where as $5000 makes you a title sponsor and gets you a motion graphic intro and a large presence in the film. Again though, this is more about karting as a whole and as shops and teams make their living in the sport we expect them to remember this isn’t an advertisement as much as it is an overall support of the sport in which they are so heavily involved in. If we can bring karting into the spotlight more and more everyone will be happier. That's the key here, and people will appreciate those that made it happen. I’m already aware of two chassis that are most likely being purchased simply because of a shop that is backing the project.
For more information, be sure to visit the Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/BecomeOneTheFilm - and to pledge your support visit the film’s Kickstarter page (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1415102938/become-one-karting-documentary). |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
