Some creative types find their outlet in filmmaking, others novel writing or painting. For Marblehead resident Paul Michaels, he is increasingly gravitating toward the ?app? as his milieu of choice.
The award-winning photographer already has one entry in Apple?s App Store, and now another of his passions is set to take flight on iPads everywhere. But before that can happen, Michaels is facing a race against time to raise the needed funds, which he said has him feeling like he?s living in a movie and hoping for a Christmas miracle.
Michaels? first app, Photo Shootout, gives the user the chance to experience virtually the life of a fashion photographer ? a life Michaels has lived in the real world ? while picking up a lesson or two about the lighting, exposure and timing needed to capture the best possible images of models.
This time around, Michaels has conceived of an ambitious undertaking, described as a ?graphic novel-plus,? centered on a passion he shares with his family: a love of animals, and the more exotic the better. Michaels, his wife and their children ? now ages 11, 13 and 15 ? were bitten (not literally) by a love of creatures that alarm and repulse others upon house sitting a teacher?s snake. Now, they have a couple of snakes of their own. They?ve also owned a tortoise, geckos, rats and rabbits, among other creatures.
?We?ve tried them all,? Michaels said with a laugh.
Michaels explained he has had the loose concept about chronicling the adventures of a trio of animal-loving siblings for about five years, but wasn?t sure if its home should be a television series or some other medium. Then along came the iPad, and the idea crystallized.
With the help of a turtle biologist, Mark Grgurovic, and an experienced comic artist, Beverly resident Dirk Tiede, Michaels has developed the story of three fictional siblings ? the Wildrz (pronounced ?Wilders?) ? who jump into action after discovering a turtle breeding ground is discovered near their suburban soccer field.
The initial graphic novel (a term that has come to describe longer-form comic books that have gained popularity in recent years), designed for ages 7 to 12, is based on the real-life work Grgurovic, whom Michaels noted with a laugh ?looks like Vin Diesel,? making him a particularly suitable partner for the ?pilot.? The ?plus? aspect of the ?Wildrz: Turtle Trouble? app is the interactivity that Michaels hopes to bring to the offering. In addition to the 60 pages of comics, the app is set to include 10 mini-games, 20 minutes of video featuring Grgurovic out in the field, access to the Grgurovic?s blog and more.
One feature Michaels believes children will particularly enjoy is the ability to record their own voices and those of their friends and family members into 230 ?speech balloons? that are part of the story. Users can thus play the characters ?straight,? reading the text as written, or create their own dialogue, perhaps to comedic effect.
Michaels notes with a degree of surprise that, to his knowledge, publishers of traditional graphic novels have yet to grasp this potential for their electronic offerings. Perhaps one of Michaels? other past work experiences, as a former software producer for Hasbro Interactive?s Tonka line of computer and console game software, helped him make the leap.
When the app is complete, Michaels believes it will ?let kids experience the adventure of saving wildlife from the safety of their iPads.? He bemoans the fact that children no longer commune with nature as much as they once did. But perhaps, through the app, children can have a similar transformation as Michaels witnessed upon bringing snakes into his children?s classrooms: seeing a youngster once petrified of a particular animal achieve a new level of comfort and understanding.
While the initial episode is based on Grgurovic and his ?turtle trouble? on the Parker River on Plum Island, the hope would be to update the app continually to honor and expose the amazing efforts of those working to save animals elsewhere as well. Finding such stories is the easy part, explained Michaels, ticking off examples such as the female scientist in Austin, Texas, whose efforts led the transformation of bats living under a bridge from being viewed as a scourge to a tourist attraction, or the ?literal sea of snakes? up in Manitoba, Canada, that are struggling to coexist with manmade intrusions, such as highways and cars.
Young users, said Michaels, will ?enjoy a great adventure, learn about an absolutely wonderful creature? and it could go on forever.?
But to get to that point, Michaels has a bit of a financial hill to climb. Even outsourcing the most expensive part of the project ? the programming ? overseas to keep costs as reasonable as possible (Michaels is quick to note that he would prefer to keep the work in the U.S., if it weren?t cost-prohibitive), he estimates he will need $100,000 to bring the project to fruition. For the fundraising, Michaels has turned to a website called Kickstarter, which bills itself as ?a new way to fund and follow creativity.?
The way it works is that creative types, like Michaels, are given a web page to promote their projects. On Michaels? you?ll find videos and images along with text explaining the project, along with details of a series of prizes Michaels is offering to his supporters. Offerings range in price from $10 for WILDRZ poster with your or your children?s faces on it or $25 for a code to download the app itself through $9,999 or more, which gets one an ?eco-adventure weekend? with Grgurovic, which one person has already snatched up.
The catch with Kickstarter is that there is a time limit. If the project creator does not meet his or her funding goal before time runs out, no money changes hands, and supporters are released from their pledges.
?It protects everyone involved,? the site explains. ?Creators aren?t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.?
For Michaels, time will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Day, Sunday, Dec. 25. Even with the ?eco-adventure pledge? he had as of Wednesday morning raised $12,169, leaving the goal a long way off.
Michaels isn?t getting discouraged yet, noting there have been a number of overnight success stories on Kickstarter, in which thousands of dollars have been raised in a matter of hours. He adds that while his particular timetable could lead to a blue Christmas, it also may be an opportune time to be trying to raise funds. His offerings, he notes, are suited for holiday giving. Even though the app itself won?t arrive for a few months, supporters will receive a certificate that can be placed in a stocking, as well as regular updates on the development of the app.
One particularly interesting gift option, he suggested, is the ability to have anyone drawn into the app as anything from an ?extra? (for a pledge of $250 or more), a ?secondary character? ($1,250 or more), a ?villain? ($8,500 or more) or the leading roles of the Wildrz mother or father ($9,999 or more), which he hoped some might see as a unique and enduring way to honor someone, perhaps a departed grandparent who loved animals.
If the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 25, it won?t necessarily mean the end of Wildrz, according to Michaels. There are other sites similar to Kickstarter to which he could turn and other funding avenues to explore. He is hopeful, however, that the Kickstarter avenue will work out, so that he will be able to maintain his independence.
?I wanted not to be beholden to a publisher,? he said.
So will Michaels reach his goal and will the Wildrz leap to life on iPads everywhere this spring? As they say in the comics, ?To be continued??
Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/x301187404/Marblehead-iPad-app-inventor-hoping-for-a-virtual-miracle
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