Short Summary
Hello, there. We are the team behind the upcoming short film, Impermanence. The feature takes place in the near future where everyone's conversations are recorded through a device called CORTEX. CORTEX is an implant that records every conversation the host has, enabling them to re-live their fondest memoires. The story focuses on Ellen March, a surveillance officer who uses CORTEX to find those who took the most important thing from her.
Our aim for the film is to create an emotionally layered narrative, that is both authentic and futuristic, where you follow Ellen on her journey to seek redemption and piece the puzzle together yourselves.
The story came about through writer and sound designer Peter Elsmere, who has always felt that sound was the untold hero within cinema and hasn't gained enough recognition, compared to its visual counterpart.
Meet the Team
Director - Callum Sexton
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When I think about film I think of creativity, commitment and team work. Growing up it was always my passion to work within the film industry and have been lucky enough to experience the thrill of productions first hand. As an actor I feel that my experience within the world of acting has allowed me to input those skills to the role of directing due to the fact I know exactly how a director needs to present himself and his ideas in order to achieve the maximum resemblance to our script/story. I grew up taking inspiration from British actors such as Daniel Radcliffe, whilst also admiring the emergence of Tom Holland. Directing wise Steven Spielberg heavily stood out to me whilst admiring the historic work of the likes of Kubrick and Hitchcock.
Writer and Sound Designer - Peter Elsmere
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“When thinking about my passion for film and how it is has affected my life, sound has played a major role within that and since being at University that passion has only grown. With this in mind, I wanted to write a project that drew upon the importance of sound within film. Inspired by films such as Memento and Miniority Report, the film at its core is about memories, and how we hold things close to us, particularly when dealing with grief. However, instead of the visuals providing the majority of the information like most other films, my aim is to work alongside the Cinematographer and create an audio-visual journey that is pleasing on the eyes but also, on the ears. This film is very deer to me and something that I have wanted to make for a while. I look forward to showing it to you in near the future.”
Producer - Pete Bustin
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As a film student I love films in a dystopian setting such as Blade Runner and The Platform which heavily inspires some of the locations and props we’ll use throughout our production to create a similar cinematic aesthetic within our film. We aim to have a diverse cast and motifs that immerse the audience with within our film and create the ambiance of a dystopian future.
Cinematographer - Sam Costa
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“As a child, I was raised on classic sci-fi and action films: Star Wars, Back to the Future, The Matrix; and since then these films and, this genre as a whole, has a very special place in my heart. So, when I heard the pitch for Impermanence, I was instantly hooked and I knew this is the film I wanted to work on. Not only because of the thrilling science fiction world and narrative, but I’m also a sucker for deep emotional stories and layered characters, and Impermanence’s script has that in abundance. Having grown up around family and friends who were photographers and videographers, I have always had a passion and fascination for working behind the camera. And having already some experience as a cinematographer, I think my skills are at a good enough level for me to be able to experiment with a range of different ideas and techniques to make our audience feel engaged in our world. We can’t wait to show you guys what we’ve been working on!”
Music - Jordan Milopoulos
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Studying music, I primarily specialise in Jazz, Rock and Fusion but have a love for Film and TV scoring. After many year of playing the guitar, I have found it necessary to learn a range of instruments to aid me in my creations e.g. Saxophone, Piano, Percussion and the Greek Bouzouki. I’m so excited to be working on this film!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pmEQ1ZFImf1m...
What We Need and What do you get?
Our budget is quite small, as we have had to scale back the film due to the pandemic. However, as a team we have discussed about how we can make the most out of the money, which can be seen in the chart below:
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We want to make this film look and feel cinematic as much as possible, which is why we believe set design will play a key role in this. As you can see, Actors takes up a lot of our budget, this is because we would like to be able to pay the actors for their fantastic work. However, without you, this won't be possible.
If you believe in this production and want to help in the creation of the project, we have some really good perks that you can claim such as limited edition posters.
The Impact
Impermanence is a powerful story about dealing with ones own grief but it also explores themes of corruption within society. Most importantly though, it is an original feature that focuses on emotions and even though the film is fictionalised, the story itself is personal to us all. The importance of family is ever present within the film.
The focus around a female narrative voice has real importance. We feel that cinema focuses on male narratives and predominantly serves a male audience. This needs to change. Supporting this film is where you can help make this change happen.
We are really passionate filmmakers, who have long term ambitions to work within the industry but due to the pandemic, we have had limited chances to build our filmmaking portfolio. In supporting this campaign, you will not only help out third year students on their final project, but help build our show reel. This will enable us to apply the film to film festivals and gain recognition.
Risks & Challenges
The main challenge we are still to face is the set design of the film. Due to the pandemic, we haven't been able to physically go to the locations and work out what the scene will look like. However, through the programme Set.A.Light, we have created lighting and set design concepts of how they will look. Here are a couple of examples.
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The pictures above are from an interrogation style scene.
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The pictures above are Ellen investigating audio files.
Working of our aim of authenticity, we want to create a futuristic style to this film that needs a lot more care and attention to detail.
Also, with limited resources and money, we were able to create an essence of what we want to create in our final film via our trailer.
Joining our Campaign
As a team, we are really excited about making this project and can't wait to share the experience with you. There are many ways to help bringing this film to life:
- Donate any money you can to reach our goal through the different perks.
- Following us on social media, which you can find at the bottom of the page.
- Sharing this page whether you can. Friends, Family, Work Colleagues whoever, we really appreciate it.
- Contact us for any information about the project via social media platforms or email (you can find at the bottom of the page)
Welcome to the team! We look forward to sharing you all the content on socials, and can't tell you enough, how much we appreciate you being part of the project.
If you are interested in being casted in the film please email the team at @impermanencefilm2021@gmail.com for the details.
COVID
In line with the government guidelines, we plan to film between late March and early May. As discussed in our video, the safety of both cast and crew are our first priority. We understand that some people may be concerned about filming during a pandemic and spreading the disease. WE ASSURE YOU, we will be taking every step necessary to stop the virus. The script was written so that there would limited face to face contact between actors. These are some of further steps that we will be taking whilst filming:
- Masks worn by crew at all times and actors when they are not in front of the camera.
- Social distancing on set wherever possible.
- Hand Sanitiser points will be positioned around the set.
- Crew will stick to their personal equipment.
- Sanitising wipes for shared equipment and props.
- For personal items, there will be set areas on set for items to placed.
If the worst scenario happens and have to film online due to the pandemic, we have a backup script that works online accordingly.
And Finally...Thank You!
Thank you for checking out our Indiegogo page and your support. Without you, this project won't be able to happen. Anything you can contribute to the project and help us achieve our goal means the world to the team and we will be forever grateful.
If you can't, don't worry, you can stay up to date with the project on our social media sites:
https://www.instagram.com/impermanencefilm_2021...
https://www.facebook.com/Impermanencefilm
If you have any queries about the project, please don't hesitate to get in contact with the team on our social media campaigns or email us at: @impermanencefilm2021@gmail.com
