From Pitch to Premiere
young woman is haunted by the lingering traumas of her childhood, manifesting as an unrelenting monster. This was Abigail Salmon’s ’22 (Cinema and Television Arts) vision for her senior thesis project — the culmination of her film production program in CSUN’s prestigious Department of Cinema and Television Arts, in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication. The Senior Film Showcase is designed to teach students how to navigate the entire filmmaking process, from script to screen and everything in between.
When Salmon first dreamed up her short film, “Dahlia’s Monsters,” she never imagined it would make it past the program’s highly competitive first stage, the pitch. The story was deeply personal and technically ambitious, relying heavily on visual effects. And, to make it even more challenging, students had to adhere to pandemic-era SAG-AFTRA protocols and take extra precautions to ensure their cast and crew’s safety.
Salmon’s cautious optimism paid off, and her senior-year project was approved. Now came the daunting challenge of financing the production, which took about 50 cast and crew to complete. That’s where CSUN Funder came in. CSUN’s signature crowdfunding platform, CSUN Funder is designed to support student and campus grassroots fundraising projects. The young filmmakers on “Dahlia’s Monsters” customized their campaign, sharing concept art, a video “trailer” that captured the heart of the story, and the impact donor support would have on the project. Referencing past budgets for student films of similar scope, the crew set an ambitious fundraising goal of $30,000. Finally, they shared their project with their networks, spreading the word far and wide.
Fundraising became part of the undergrads’ daily routine. They posted on social media, sent emails to friends and family, and shared updates with supporters. Early on, there were moments of doubt: What if they couldn’t reach the goal? But with continued outreach and the generosity of their supporters, donations steadily grew. When the campaign closed, they had the funds to move forward.
The Dec. 2021 shoot was grueling and exhilarating. When it wrapped, they had enough remaining funds to submit the film to festivals. In the year after its completion (after Salmon had graduated with her B.A.), “Dahlia’s Monsters” screened at several indie film festivals, winning the award for best student short film at the Hollywood Art and Movie Awards and the Cine Choice Awards.
For Salmon, the CSUN Funder donors didn’t just finance a film — and a dream — they gave her team real-world experience in budgeting, promotion and strategy. She’s grateful, Salmon noted, to all the donors who helped bring her vision to life while enabling the immersive learning opportunities that film production provides.
You can help students like Abigail Salmon make their projects a reality by contributing to a CSUN Funder campaign. When you donate to these projects, you’re investing in the next generation of storytellers, innovators and leaders.