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The film follows Caden, a young adult insecure with his outward gender and sexuality, as he visits a "Persona Club" to switch bodies with a woman in an effort to romantically impress his male crush Arlo, who's coincidentally at the club to support his sibling's gender exploration.
After switching bodies with Kate, the female persona at the club Reverie’s Abode, Caden successfully deceives Arlo and suspectingly kindles a relationship with him. However, Caden simultaneously experiences visceral complications surrounding his attraction towards Arlo, as Kate’s sexuality differs from his asexuality, generating a quite literal out of body opportunity to reflect on his behavior and closeted identity. These complications, moreover, challenge him as he attempts to go “all the way” in his romantic pursuit.
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CADEN is the film’s protagonist. He’s introverted, asexual, and an insecure young adult with a “male shell” as he would call it. He initially gains confidence in pursuing a deeper relationship with Arlo through Kate’s body, but feels physically thwarted by her differing sex drive, sexualizing his fondness for his crush. While he and Arlo get along with each other through Kate’s persona, Caden stills holds reservations about furthering their relationship.
KATE is a sweet, if not risqué, girly girl. She is the persona in which Caden switches bodies with for the majority of the film’s runtime. Very liberal with her body, Kate aims for every client of hers to gain confidence in their gender and/or sexual identity by the time they leave the club. She does experience some discomfort in Caden’s body due to his sexual repulsion, but works through her confusion to help Caden through his concerns.
ARLO is Caden’s crush. He’s a masculine, kind, and presumably straight ally-type. He genuinely wants to get along with people, even those he’s just met. He supports his sibling’s gender exploration in any way possible, but as they prefer more independent exploration later in the visit, Arlo finds enjoyment in hanging out with “Kate.”
“THEO” is a masculine male persona embodying Arlo’s sibling, Theo, as they explore their questioning gender identity at the club. This Theo is angsty, drained by testosterone levels, and low-key cynical towards their brother. He wants to explore his masculine side through physical means; working out, sporting, etc.
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From the very premise, Crude Purple elicits themes of insecurity, self-confidence, and deceit, particularly as it pertains to queer identity and romantic attraction. This film’s story not only highlights the unproductive harm in closeting non-heteronormative behavior, but also underscores the problems of skewing identities into binaries. Caden’s asexuality and gender-bending activities displaces him from being labelled as straight or gay, cisgender or transgender, which makes his resolution at the club more challenging than for other visitors.
Crude Purple’s aim is to therefore emphasize the grayer and underrepresented areas of the LGBTQ+ community. Caden’s pursuit and ultimate arc underlines the necessity for freedom of expression, freedom of identity, and transparency surrounding them, especially as the United States and media outlets grow increasingly hostile towards queer communities.
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Crude Purple’s style evolves over the course of the film’s runtime. With a screenplay of 19 pages, the final film is estimated to be around 20 minutes in length, strictly following the character of Caden as he inhabits his and Kate’s body.
Beginning in Caden’s body, the style takes a more observational approach while still emphasizing the nervous state Caden’s in. Colors are rather mundane to imply the uneventful life he’s bringing into the abode. Tracking shots follow him to immerse the audience in the club they’re visually taking in alongside him.
As Caden switches bodies with Kate, the film’s style becomes increasingly more expressive and surreal. As he pursues Arlo through Kate’s persona, the color palette warms up and the camera movements become more vivid in terms of focus and movement to convey a heightened sense of excitement and simultaneous anxiousness. The film’s ambient score kicks in, contributing to a dream-like quality that the audience can perceive from Caden’s experience.
As emotions grow more complicated and the story transitions into night, the club atmosphere of Reverie’s Abode really amps up. Scenes become drenched in saturated purples and colder tones, simultaneously symbolizing the heightening sensitivity of the protagonist.
Overall, Crude Purple employs a striking use of framing, color, and sound that increasingly transforms to reflect Caden’s character journey.
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The Filmmaker
Ryan Grant, the writer/director of Crude Purple, is a fourth year film major at UC Santa Barbara. After transferring in Fall 2023, Ryan has since gained considerable experience in G&E work, cinematography, and production management on student productions ranging from shoestring to $20,000 budgets. His most notable project is an insightful documentary he co-directed, co-edited, and DP’d called quwa’; which was officially selected for the 40th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Retaining a passion for filmmaking since age 13, Crude Purple marks his directorial debut in the narrative fiction realm. With a plethora of experience/knowledge from various departments and a tightly assembled crew, Ryan is beyond prepared to bring this surreal, yet thematically personal film to fruition.
The Crew
Producer: Ryan Gee
Executive Producer: Farah Abdulkhadar
Line Producer: Kyra Geruldsen
Unit Production Manager: Sami Butler
1st Assistant Director: Giovanni Escalante
2nd Assistant Director: Sam Fernandez
Script Supervisor: Anais Zatarain
Editor/Digital Imaging Technician: Celestine Keller
Director of Photography: Sandhya Ganesh
1st Assistant Camera: Jayden Husfeld
2nd Assistant Camera:
Gaffer: Aja Esposito
Key Grip: Vaughn Schenkerberg
Best They: August Armstrong
Production Designer/Social Media Manager: Anna Cassidy
BTS Photographer/Production Assistant: Luca Meyers
Sound Recordist/Composer: Nick Hwin
Sound Recordist: Brandon Yi
Sound Assistant: Vivian Chiou
Sound Assistant: Alexa Alberto
The Director’s Statement
While the film department at UC Santa Barbara enrolls many creative and talented young filmmakers, there are very limited resources for such student films to get made. My crew and I, in addition, lack the funds and industry connections to adequately produce a film this unique, strange, and…queer. As someone who shares the same insecurities as the character Caden does, being romantically queer and Asexual, I know that a film with this expressive style and nuanced representation could have helped me better come to terms with myself as I entered my adulthood. For the longest time, I thought my identity and feelings were too niche for people to relate to, including those within LGBTQ spaces. That is, until I opened up to trusting individuals and have realized there are others like me out there, like Caden. Therefore, this film is far more than just for me. I have already received receptive responses at the screenwriting workshops I have brought this story to, finding people who can relate to, reflect on, and appreciate what this film is going for, queer and not queer alike. While the body-swapping scenarios are clearly unrealistic, there is still plenty of value and much to take away thematically as the characters grapple with heavily relatable and realistic issues concerning their identity, sexuality, and romantic attraction. With this project’s significance combined with the support of our donors, Crude Purple can achieve the production value it requires and leave a memorable impact on adventurous audiences.
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Crafty: $900 - Hearty meals, snacks, and water for around 5 days of shooting for our cast and crew
Production Design: $800 - Set decoration, props, costumes, special effects makeup
Locations: $300 - Renting specific spaces to shoot in
Equipment Rentals/Insurance: $600 - Camera attachments, monitor, and G&E equipment
Media Storage: $300 - Secure hard drives for a smooth editing process and storing/backing up footage
Gas: $100 - Transportation for crew/cast
Festival Submission Funds: $200 - Film festival costs
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Pre-Production: Ongoing since October 20th, 2024, and set to conclude February 20th, 2025.
Principle Photography: February 21st - 23rd and March 1st - 2nd, 2025.
Post-Production (Editing, Sound Mixing, and Color Grading): March to May 2025.
Completion Estimate: Early June 2025
Eyeing Isla Vista Film Festival as a potential premiere opportunity, with festival submissions to follow.
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If you are unable to pitch in, you can still help and support the making of Crude Purple by:
Sending this IndieGoGo page to friends, family, or potential donors via email
Giving this page a shoutout on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)
Follow @crudepurplefilm on Instagram to stay updated and engage with stories
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