Maybe it’s a gimmick, or maybe it’s truly part of the spirit of this wired age where we can connect with our audience and actually allow the into the filmmaking process, but we gave them the decision of where we’d film this year’s harvest. They were able to choose between three up and coming wine regions: Okanagan Valley, BC, Monticello AVA, VA, and Colorado’s Grand Mesa.

And the winner is…

Colorado. Based on our weighted system, Colorado edged out BC in a 36-30-4 score. The $1,261 that we raised will all go toward funding the travel expenses needed to bring our crew to the world’s largest mesa, which also features the planet’s highest commercially viable wine growing region.

So thanks to all of our backers for steering our film in two ways: sharing your resources and telling us what we should do with them.

We’re looking forward to sharing the results of a fascinating exploration of this new vinifera growing region, and we’re excited that our film will be able to take on more of a national scope.

I’ve written before about how we seem to be in the midst of a golden age for documentary films, and part of the reason for that is how the technical and cost hurdles have steadily dropped. (This year’s edition of the daVinci Days Film Festival, coming up next weekend, offers additional evidence, with a menu of provocative documentaries.)

But, even though the equipment has changed, some essentials remain: You still need to be able to sniff out good stories — and then figure out the best way to tell them. “Vino Veritas” looks to be on the right track, but — like some vintages — we won’t know for sure until it’s time to uncork it.

But we’ll certainly be moving forward. We may need to rethink the scope: maybe we’ll need to keep it local, turning to regional boosters and local organizations as possible funding sources. That would also certainly cut down on our major production expense: travel costs. Maybe we’ll need to look at overall length and scope.

The success of the project will be defined by what steps we take next. I for one was never comfortable asking strangers for money anyway. Getting money from good friends and family, in these tough economic times, is in some ways less appealing. On the surface, it’s ridiculous: asking others to finance an endeavor that is as incredibly fun and rewarding as making films. And making films about wine, where we’ve talked to fascinating people and passionate storytellers and artisans, and been behind the scenes at some amazing wineries…what can be more enjoyable than that? It’s certainly worth investing more of my own time and money.

So we’ll dust ourselves off and schedule the next shoot. The show must go on. Show me someone who has never failed, and I’ll show you someone who has never tried. Success builds character, failure reveals it…[ insert Zig Ziglar quote here ]

Thanks to all of our amazing supporters, donors and the passionate wine people at WineStyles Corvallis, Airlie and Harris Bridge. We’ve got countless new friends and followers. Everyone who we’ve reached through the campaign, please stay in touch.

And I’ll see you in a couple years in some darkened cinema.

We’re thrilled that our first film project, the short A Country Wedding, will be showing at the Salem Film Festival in October.  Screening schedules haven’t been released yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as they do.

We’re in full documentary/fundraising mode now with Vino Veritas, and we’re learning that a doc is quite different from a scripted film. But ACW was such a blast. We had an intense 5 days of shooting last summer, but the experience was so enjoyable because so many fantastic people were involved. I hope we’ll get to do more scripted material in the future, including exploring the feature version of the script, Killing Crows, on which ACW is based.

We’ll plan to meet up for dinner with the cast, crew and supporters who end up heading to Salem. More details to come.

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There were 30+ wineries pouring at various locations in town, and crowds were roaming the streets with wineglasses in hand. I expected that we’d be able to garner some interest, and perhaps we did. But it’s hard to approach strangers, even strangers drinking wine, and ask them for money. Our approach was soft: check out the website, give a buck or two if you’re inclined, consider following us on Facebook, tell your friends, etc.

The event itself seemed to be a success. The wineries were positioned in different stores, and participants bought a $5 glass and taste tickets at $1 each, then wandered the town. Many of the tasters seemed to be shopping and making purchases. Wineries from all over Oregon were pouring and getting exposure. We met some winemakers from various backgrounds and even landed a prospect or two for the film. It was awkward trying to pitch our film to potential donors, though. After all, would you give strangers money for a film project if they approached you in a crowded store when you were just interested in getting a one-dollar taste of some local wine? We’ll see.

We’re at 5% of our $5,000 fundraising target. Not a bad start with more than fifty days to go in the campaign. But I also know it’s going to take a lot of work to get to the amount we need.

The best thing about telling people that you’re making a film is the fact that the more people you tell, the stronger the pressure to complete the project on time and make it impressive. Even if they don’t donate to the campaign, I want these folks to be able to someday be able to brag that they knew about this movie when it was just getting off the ground.

Whatever the case, it was still a good opportunity to get word of our film out to the local community. We met some nice folks. And if you’re ever in Corvallis, stop by Oregon Camera to replace a lens cap or pick up a new 7D, and be sure to visit Corvallis Brewing Supply for the best selection of local microbrews in town, or to get your yeast, carboys and advice.

In September we plan to launch our campaign on Kickstarter, and investors at the $250 level will receive a bottle of the best of the 24 wines we tasted last Sunday.

It also helps to immerse yourself in the landscape. When you travel by bike, you start to see things differently. You get an immersive perspective, rather than just a look at a place out the window.

• $10 – Supporter – We love our supporters; couldn’t do it without you
• $25 – Subscriber – Subscribers will receive a packaged screening DVD of the film upon completion of the project
• $50 – Booster – Boosters will receive a screening DVD and a Three Crows Media tee shirt
• $250 – Associate Producer – APs will receive the DVD, tee shirt and a credit on the finished film. This is your chance to see your name on the big screen!

So click the ‘donate’ button on the right of the page to join us in our production. We’ll keep you posted on the results.