One in a Crowd: Crowdfunding to Infinity and Beyond

Some films go down the crowdfunding route. Some films offer you a special something as an incentive. New Austin-lensed short film "Flown" isn't just offering you a DVD of the finished project, they'll send it in to space first.

OK, so maybe not actual space, but definitely into high altitude, attached to the production's weather balloon. Considering they can reach 25 miles above the Earth's surface, that's not bad.

"Flown" stars Brett Brock (possibly best known as private investigator Clyde Marshal from the revamped Dallas) as Jack, an astronaut returned to Earth and having a hard time dealing with the gravity of his new/old situation. That becomes even harder when he hears about the death of a young test pilot.

Director and UT film school graduate student Mark Blumberg has already written and cast the film. He's even shot some test footage in Lake Travis for a pivotal scuba diving sequence. To finish the film, he's trying to raise $7,500, and with roughly a week to go on his crowdfunding push he's already half way there.

And "Flown" really will go where no crowdfunded film has gone before, with that trip to the edge of the atmosphere. The producers will put 25 discs in a payload package, attach it to a weather balloon which will take them to 85,000 feet, then they will parachute back to Earth and straight into the mail to backers.

If you are interested in having the most high-flying disc imaginable in your collection, then head over to the "Flown" Kickstarter campaign

If you're feeling like you need some travels in time as well as space, there's always Chris-Rachael Oseland, Austin's acknowledged Kitchen Overlord (see All Your Plates are Belong to Us, Oct. 3, 2014). After five books of sci-fi and fantasy-inspired dining and drinking tips, she's going back to her very first recipe collection, Dining with the Doctor.

She's already been down the crowdfunding route for her last book, The Illustrated Geek Cookbook. With her latest project, she's revising that first book for Dining with the Doctor: Regenerated, which even owners of the original will want to own. For example, the original had a recipe and recap for every episode of seasons 1-6 of the renewed time-travelling classic: the new edition will add the two latest seasons. Not just that, but many of the recipes will be completely reconcocted or, in the case of some, totally replaced. There will be a new chapter of cocktails, plus it will all be organized to help people with special dietary needs.

Oseland has a Kickstarter campaign to cover the publishing costs. And, yes, it will include fish fingers and custard.

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One in a Crowd is a series intended to showcase Texas film and tech projects that are crowdfunding their way to a goal, be it distribution, a prototype, or production costs. If you have a project that we should know about, email us at filmflam@austinchronicle.com.