26 September 2026
I regret to announce that “Socks” is no longer in development…
That’s because I can safely say now that “Socks” is firmly in the pre-production stage!
This will be a short-lived stage. Since this will be an animated film and not a live action film, there is no need for us to scout locations, procure costumes or props, or plan out photography shots. All that we need to do is formally assemble the cast and set-up hardware and software for audio recording and animation.
I want to take a moment to fully explain why this film will be animated.
After I produced “Frankenstein” in 2024, I was excited at the prospect of producing “Socks” as a live-action film.
The minimum budget I had estimated for this film was between $60,000 and $70,000. That figure included film and audio equipment, modest cast wages, location agreements, lodging, transportation, food, craft services, costumes, props, and a DCP. That figure did NOT include any surplus money for marketing or distributing the film. It did not include costs for hiring professionals in key production roles (such as a cinematographer / director of photography and a sound engineer) and key post-production roles (such as a colorist or sound editor).
The first problem was – I suck at fundraising. I am deeply uncomfortable begging people for money.
I was willing to self-finance, but that leads us to the second problem. Between what I had saved and the money I had made selling my house two years ago, I would have just barely had enough money to meet my minimum budget. And given the current economic and political situation – burning through my entire life savings no longer feels wise, regardless of how important this project is to me.
An animated film – though tedious and time consuming – avoids a lot of production costs. No location agreements, no lodging, no transportation, no food or craft services, no costumes, and no props. Although I already sunk money into film equipment, the camera equipment can be repurposed and the audio equipment is still obviously very relevant. Furthermore, there were a few more pieces of expensive equipment I would have needed but had not yet purchased that I can now save myself from spending money on.
But it’s not only about money.
Much of this story takes place in remote desert locations. Filming in the desert carries very real dangers to cast and crew, plus added costs to keep everyone cool, shaded, and hydrated.
Part of the story takes place in an abandoned building. As an experienced UrbExer, I can tell you that abandoned buildings are inherently very dangerous locations. It’s one thing for me to take on that risk myself. It’s quite another to ask a full crew to work in such a dangerous environment for any length of time.
It was almost certainly going to be a pain in the ass to secure certain locations for filming. In particular, I was not looking forward to scouting for the gas station scenes.
Because this is a small budget project, I can’t hire professional actors. I have to hire friends who have their own separate careers. That would have meant trying to cram all of principal photography into about a two week window, and trying to schedule seven actors and at least five crewmembers to take the same two weeks off of work (presumably burning up most – if not all – of their vacation for the year). We’d lose some shooting days just travelling out west to the filming locations. And without an experienced cinematographer and sound engineer, filming would certainly have taken much longer.
Lastly, with a live action film, there would have been no way to cast Kate and Caleb (especially Caleb) without hiring child actors. And child actors introduces a whole other level of liability and responsibility that I just do not want to deal with.
Money may not buy happiness, but enough of it can render all of these production “problems” insignificant. By my standards, it’s more money than I’ll ever realistically raise. But by Hollywood standards, this is an extremely inexpensive film to make. If I’m very lucky, someone in the future with deeper pockets than me will see the value in this story and offer to remake it as a live-action film.
