Pilot Video (demo showcase of this project's general format) - https://youtube.com/shorts/NiZUNjmMGAs?feature=share

Pitch Video (Outlining who I am, what this project is, and how the funding will be used (with additional links to my work in the description)) - https://youtu.be/NlAPZUzQr_k

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DownStream is a new show/brand name for short form content (TikTok, YouTube Shorts, etc) designed to educate people on current AI news, expressed from an AI Safety/X Risk perspective. What separates this from other informative video series's is it's focus on comedy and lightheartedness, making it more appealing to general, mainstream audiences. DownStream will maintain a middle ground between "skit" and "news", sharing accurate information about the current AI landscape, and using comedic characters and scenarios to do so.

We believe one of the most important issues right now in preventing AI x-risk scenarios is informing the public. The more the public is on our side, the more politicians will care, and the more support will be placed behind bills like Bernie Sanders is currently trying to push. The problem is that current AI progress remains unknown to most of the public. Most people simply do not see what is happening, or have any major social media figures to grasp onto and listen to about this issue. The ones who exist remain relatively niche.

We hope to change that with DownStream (or, if not CHANGE, then at least move the needle in the right direction). The format we have chosen (informative skit), has been proven successful by Dave Jorgenson for general news coverage. We see this as evidence of it's potential in AI news.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

We plan to release 40 topical short-form videos over the span of 3 months. These videos will remain topical to the "AI news of the week", and maintain a balance between comedic and informative, while avoiding overly technical definitions or extremely complex topics that a general audience will not understand.

Our primary goals are:

• Produce 3 videos per week for 3 months, finishing at 40 videos in total.

• Make these videos high quality, well researched, and funny.

• Attract an audience of non-technical, "everyday" individuals.

The first two will be accomplished by our cast & crew of talented, driven filmmakers, including myself. Though there is no currently locked-in team, every filmmaker I have worked with from my home city of Philadelphia before has been talented, driven, and passionate about their craft. I am confident we will be able to get strong editors, actors, cinematographers, and researchers for this team, providing we are able to pay them.

As for the 3rd goal, well, as always, it's a bit of a coin toss. Success is an uncertain and fickle thing, especially with only 3 months to prove it (Although with enough funding, we would be more then willing to go for significantly longer then 3 months). However, two things working in our favor in this regard is the obvious gap in the market, and the track record of this concept. From what I can tell, no one is making content about AI Safety in this manner right now. The space is dominated by both purely-informative and purely-comedic content. A strong mix is proven to be effective (look at The Daily Show, or Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), but currently, doesn't exist in this field. The second part is simple: as mentioned before, we are taking many cues from a proven formula. Dave Jorgenson showed that this model translates to short form effectively, and general audiences enjoy learning like this. All we are doing is using the same techniques to inform people on the most pressing issue of all time. We believe this could work!

How will this funding be used?

We have designed 3 distinct plans to account for variety in how much we acquire (one for $5k, one for $10k, and one for $20k). These can all be found here: DownStream Budgeting.xlsx (note: it might auto-open to the "checklist" page, which we will be updating as funding comes in. You can switch pages to "Budgeting" at the bottom!) We also go over the funding in the Pitch Video!

That being said, briefly, the funding spread for is we get 10k (our primary pitch)

Equipment -
Canon EOS R50 V - 700
16mm Lens - 450
Rode Wireless Pro Mic - 300
COB Light - 170
RGB Accent Tube - 140
5 in 1 Reflector - 40
Lighting Stand - 100

Cast & Crew -
Writer/Director - 1000
Actor - 1000
Editor - 1000
Researcher - 1000
Producer - 1000
Graphic Designer - 600

Other -
Epidemic Sound Commercial License (4 months) - 100
Total estimated prop budget across all 40 videos - 2400 (60 per video)

If we make around 5k, we will cut the crew and drop to a 2 person team, myself as writer/director/editor, and my creative partner Willow Schultz as Producer/Financial Organizer/Actor (they acted in the Pilot Video). We will keep the equipment costs, the Epidemic Sound license, and both of our $1000 pays, and drop the per-video budget to $25. Additionally, we will extend the project to 4 1/2 months, with 2 videos being released a week instead of 3.

If we make around 20k, we will expand both crew and budget. All crew (minus graphic designer, as they are a one-time contract worker) will get their pay increased to $1600, and we will hire a dedicated cinematographer, a second editor, and split the writer/director position into two people. We will also double the graphic designer's total pay, bringing them up to $1200. Additionally, the per-video budget will raise to $100 per video, totaling $4000.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

Currently, the only locked-in team members are myself as Writer/Director and my coworker Willow Schultz as Producer/Financial Organizer. I have heard from several actors expressing interest, but have not put out formal casting calls yet, as I am waiting for funding to arrive. When I do receive funding, my cast and crew will likely be made up mostly of fellow college-aged filmmakers and former PlzDontKillUs members.

As for my track record, well, I have a long history of filmmaking. I've been working on film projects large and small for years, some of the best of which can be found here. I am the vice president of the Temple University filmmaking club Wandering Studios and the Lead Editor of the sitcom The Crowd, which airs on local Philly television, as well as YouTube. In 2025 I ran the filmmaker collective Spur Productions. Though we never gained meaningful success, We did manage to hit the deadline of 19 videos before the end of 2025 (one for each week we operated).

By far the most important thing I've been a part of (for this project's sake, anyway) was PlzDon'tKillUs, the AI Safety fellowship/creator bootcamp out of Lighthaven. There, I met and was mentored by a wide variety of people, including content creators like Aric Floyd of AI In Context, Art Chad, and Tor Parsons, as well as AI Safety pioneers like Nate Soares and Eliezer Yudkowsky. I also made strong connections with many incredibly creative and talented filmmakers, including GeneYes, Becca Lair, and Vishal. These people, and more, can vouch for both my creative abilities and deadline-hitting abilities (I made all 31 required videos at PlzDontKillUs!), and you can see the full list of my references here: DownStream Budgeting.xlsx. You can also see a list of the best videos I made for PlzDontKillUs here.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

Many things could go wrong before we throw in the towel completely. If we fail to aquire enough funding, or enough crew, I will pursue this project as a solo entity, just at a significantly slower pace and quality level. However, assuming we do get funding and crew, the most likely failure points come from being unable to meet deadlines. 40 videos in 3 months (3 videos per week) is a bit of a tight turnaround for a 5-8 person crew of college students, and although I believe it is a turnaround we can meet, it is not at all guaranteed. In this scenario, the project would carry on beyond the 3 month mark, and we would finish the promised 40 videos slightly later then intended. Assuming I (Ana Hawryluk) do not die during production, I do not see a timeline in which 40 videos are NEVER produced. As I said earlier, even if funding dries up and everyone else quits, I will carry on.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

Currently, zero dollars. But we are applying to a variety of other platforms, so if we get anything, we will update accordingly!

(Important note: there isn't really a "content creation" category listed on Manifund, so we chose "AI Governance" to best fit our goals. We hope this content inspires more average people to take AI risk seriously, who then use their political power to influence the government's actions!)