Fund This: ‘That’s A Warp!’ Is A Lo-Fi Throwback Made With Heart

Welcome to the Fund This column! Each week, we’ll look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments and check out previous installments right here.

Project Name: That’s A Warp!

Asking For: $800 through Indiegogo

Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $625

Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): 30

Description: If the success earned last year by Stranger Things is any indication, 80s nostalgia is currently in, and a group of students are devising a show that can capitalize on that trend. Filmmakers-in-training at the University of Austin, led by creator Reagan Weger, have turned to Indiegogo supporters in hopes of funding their micro-budget time-travel comedy That’s A Warp!

Weger, along with co-writers Jenny Ezell and Jamie Dunaway, have stylized That’s A Warp! as a campy, lo-fi series that borrows its style from the now-30-year-old shows and movies to which it pays homage. Its characters, whose personalities range from rebel to outsider, are similar to the archetypes found in The Breakfast Club and its ilk. Their experiences in the modern day, made possible by a time-traveling couch, will stand as That’s A Warp!

With the small amount of money they hope to raise through Indiegogo, the Longhorns behind That’s A Warp! plan to shoot a pilot that will introduce their project. More details are available in the pitch video:

Creator Bio: Texas Student Television, with which the That’s A Warp! team is affiliated, is described in the show’s pitch as “the only student-run, FCC-licensed digitally broadcasting television station in the country.”

Best Perk: Chip in $50, and you’ll receive your own personalized video from the That’s A Warp! team. One would hope said video would include VHS tracking lines, in order to mesh with the show’s nostalgic qualities.

Why You Should Fund It: The online video industry has changed a lot in the past decade, but fundamentally, it remains a place where creators who cannot be heard anyone else can make their respective presences known. The team behind That’s A Warp! is the epitome of the “kids with a dream” trope. For just $800, they will be able to deliver their lovingly-rendered vision to the masses. Shows like this, I would say, are what keep the indie web series community exciting.

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