Long time friends of the Blog may recall a tattooed Associate Creative Director who’s really into Birding and was on a 365 day quest to not only see as many different species of bird as possible, but also to document the entire process of his big year. An already hefty undertaking for a Associate Creative Director at a major advertising firm, our bird loving Gilgamesh then pushed his project to the limit, deciding to permanently inscribe the binomial name of each found species on himself when the year was complete. Ladies and Gents, please reacquaint yourselves with Mr. Paul Riss.
Throughout his journey, Paul was fortunate to have the support of many different people willing to follow him into the wilderness in search of another tattoo. Bringing a Westside presence to the project, both Chris Gordaneer and Derek Shapton found themselves in Paul’s tow, behind the lens of what will become PUNK ROCK BIG YEAR.
While time has run out on Paul’s ‘big year’, the work on PRBY is far from finished. Now entering the post-production phase, Paul and producer Marie-Pierre Toure are in the process of putting together his dream of getting,
… a younger generation to understand that there are birders out there just like them and they should check out this most incredible pastime. Also, to make people aware of how fragile and important birds are to our natural environment.
In an effort to keep his real world children’s college funds in tact, Mr. Riss has started a IndieGoGo campaign in hopes of garnering further support for his unfinished baby. There are some awesome donation perks availible, ranging from a digital pat on the back ($10), to a physical copy of the completed film ($50), all the way up to being able to tattoo your name or brand on Paul ($5,000 – no joke!).
So whether your a Birder, an independent film fan, or just enjoy Paul’s work, if you got an extra buck why not get yourself a digital pat on the back, you’ll sleep better at night knowing you helped a man fulfill his dream.
Just in case the above links weren’t obvious, CLICK HERE to check out the other perks offered on the PUNK ROCK BIG YEAR Indiegogo page.
Images © George Simhoni, Paul Riss, & Chris Gordaneer Respectively