Please reach out to Matthew Scheffler at mscheffler90@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Growing up, I often had paranormal experiences. My mother would say that as a toddler, I’d come into her room at night and tell her there was a woman sitting at the foot of my bed. Growing up, these encounters persisted. From hearing someone in the room beside me, or watch them pass by an open doorway when I was alone. One day, I questioned whether I might be wrong, and that these encounters were not paranormal but instead a distant traveler, sent back in time to watch us. And The Traveler was born.
I’ve always gravitated toward genre films, especially horror and science fiction. With films such as The Witch, Hereditary, and Get Out bringing about a resurgence, it’s been a great time for horror! The Traveler in particular is heavily inspired by Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others, a personal favorite of mine. I leaned on this film in tone as well as the low-light visual aesthetic.
For the first few years, this was the biggest Challenge. With our limited budget, we had to rely on furnished, period accurate locations but given our size and creative scope, every historic site was less than enthusiastic. After dozens of rejections, a Location Manager colleague (shout out to Brad Reichel) put me in touch with Historic Richmond in Staten Island who was interested in branching into film productions. We filmed our interiors here and a day of exteriors at Old Bethpage Village, 45 minutes from Downtown Brooklyn.
Absolutely. Once the SAG strike went into effect, our co-financier had to back out of the project, taking half of our budget with them, With principal photography fast approaching, we were able to scrape together a bulk of the funds as well as run a 2nd successful Kickstarter to cover post-production.
We ran a kickstarter campaign that received an incredible response, surpassing our goal with $30k. We lost $45k in co-financing due to the strike and held a 2nd kickstarter campaign to cover post-production, raising $15k. The remaining $80k we self funded through a personal loan, savings, tax returns, you name it! Our final budget was $125k.
Just under 6 years from finishing the first draft until wrapping post-production. Though it was two years between when we first started raising money until we finished post.
The first time I met Meghan-Michele, I told her about this script. She was reluctant to read it for fear that bad writing would spoil her burgeoning crush. Luckily, she loved the script and eventually loved me. This film has been our passion for the last six years. We've had three kids together across its production. It is as much a part of our family as they are.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.