A feature length film made by college kids?
I was 21 years old when I penned "On Gallows Hill" - and I’m now 24 finishing it (jeez). Written during a particularly directionless time in life, I used ‘the vampire’ as a way of expressing this nihilism and overall feelings of being ‘lost’ I was contending with. After all (if you’re a vampire), what’s the point of living at all, if every day is the same? "On Gallows Hill" is as much a coming of age story with vampires, as the making of is my own coming of age tale. This project is a labor of love to the films that inspired me- and I hope that you enjoy all the blood, sweat, and tears (keyword:blood) the team has put into it.
Step 1: The Pitch Deck
The first draft of On Gallows Hill was written on paper in the back of my journal, under the original name The Bloody Barrens & The Basement People. Because of my background in art (and had never written a full screenplay), I would draw out scenes and characters in order to better understand the story. Thus, the pitch deck was born.
Step 2: Funding
After becoming a finalist for multiple grants... and then losing all of them, I realized that we would need to raise money in order to make this thing a reality. I opted to go with Indiegogo, since there would be no penalty if we didn't reach our goals.
Step 3: "I'm putting together a team"
Graduating from the University of Michigan, there was no shortage of talented artists and filmmakers in the area. Utilizing collaborators I'd been working with for 4 years and a healthy mix of new faces from around the midwest, we assembled a crew of around 30 of the most dedicated people for this ambitious project.
Step 4: Shooting
From June to August of 2023, we shot "On Gallows Hill" in Ann Arbor, MI and Toledo, OH. Through long overnights and last minute location changes, this crew pushed through the storm in order to bring you this film.
