The Story
Adapted from Hermann Hesse’s “Demian”, Unravel Me follows a matured Sinclair through a series of dream sequences as he reflects upon the events of his youth and adolescence that shaped him to be the man that he is in the present day.
Unravel Me explores all of the pinnacle events and thoughts throughout Sinclair’s youth and adolescence that help to illustrate the development of his personal growth now that he's in the stride of his adulthood. Dreams of water and fire, of birds and apples, of childhood bullies and adolescent friends paint the words he speaks and his journey in becoming the bird that breaks out of the egg.
Meet the Team
Megan Gordon
Director, Writer, Co-Producer
My background lays strongly in theatre directing and literature, but my speciality in recent years has been in cinematography, which makes Unravel Me all the more special to me – a unique fusion of my key passions and skills. Demian is a fond favourite of mine and makes me imagine these crazy, big, and intense images every time I read it, and those images are exactly what I intend to translate across on screen.
I am the founder of Ardent Cinematography, an independent film company specialising in rich and raw fiction storytelling as well as corporate, live events and promotional photography and filming. Some of my most recent works under this company and as a collaborative, freelance cinematographer are a series of award-winning short films and documentaries such as It’s Okay, That’s Love (2015), Lucia Foster Welch Ad (2016), All the Words (2016), and Genesis 4 (2016).
Andrew Pallot
Co-Producer, Editor
After spending a few months creating a deeply emotional documentary with our director, Megan, last year. I wanted to get back in to the hot seat of fiction film-making and make a film where going crazy is part of the brief. I was drawn to the project, both to work closely with a great crew but also to allow myself to express myself in different ways. This is the reason I am taking on the role of both camera operator and that of an editor. Both these roles allow me to experiment and try different techniques that I wouldn’t normally be able to try on a film set.
I have worked on many different projects, from short films to music videos to documentaries, over the past few years as a producer and editor, such as Barred (2016), All the Words (2016), Genesis 4 (2016), My Worst // My Best (2017), REVO: Captivity (2017), and now Unravel Me.
Sam Dynamou
Camera Assistant, Colour Gradist
Having recently returned from filming a documentary in Amsterdam and a weekend filming the best rollerbladers Europe has to offer, I’m ready to get back into the swing of fiction film-making. The first thing that drew me to the project was the artistic style - for me, film is a freedom-of-expression art form. This film is allowing us to break the conventions of narrative film making while still telling a interesting story from a book that I believe deserves to be shown on screen.
My past experience of camera work is varied, having worked on corporate promotional videos, feature films and my own personal projects. I have a real passion for colour and feel that that comes through when doing colour grading. This is an area of film that interests me greatly as it’s very easy to manipulate the audience’s interpretation of a film on a subconscious level just with the colour of the image.
Julian Greenbank
Grip, Assistant Editor
I was immediately drawn to this project after our director, Megan, described the original story to me. I was impressed by how well thought out the story structure was and by the connective tissue she had created to link all the visuals together. After reading the script, I knew I had to be part of this very unique project. My previous experience as a grip has been mainly through a series of University projects, all of which I was highly recommended by my colleges for. I have also worked as a director on two documentaries so I understand how to visualise what the director wants when they want the camera to do something specific. My main hope in this film is to do justice to the original story and to do justice to the director’s vision, creating a unique, visually interesting story.
What We Need & What You Get
Below is a pie-chart breakdown of where all of your donations will be going:
Cast: One of the biggest proportions of our budget is, of course, our cast. We only have one actor within our entire film, who will be playing the role of Sinclair. He is a crucial element of our film, therefore we want to ensure that we secure a high-quality actor and can pay him for his time and contribution to the film.
Props: Our film is very prop-orientated and all of these play a key role in the film as they will be used to make references and gestures to the novel Demian. We are using a range of significant and interesting props, from apples, feathers, and a swing, to a piano, a bath, and paintings. We have already been able to secure some of these for free or for cheap, but we need your help to secure the rest, and to help us transport the larger props to and from our set.
Set Build: We will be shooting almost entirely in a film studio using simple, plain backdrops. However, some of the scenes require a small set build to help bring each dream sequence to life. We already have access to flats and flooring, but we need extra materials to help construct believable locations, ranging from a psych ward and room, a room of mirrors, and a fabricated forest.
Art Department: We have a great team of make-up artists and stylists who will help us truly capture the bizarre nature of these dream sequences. There will be a variety of costumes and prosthetic make-up used, so we want to make sure that our wonderful team are covered for all of their expenses and hard work.
Pyrotechnics: Fire and water are key images throughout our film, but we don't want to risk ruining their authenticity and intensity by creating these effects in post-production. We have received advice and product recommendations from professional pyrotechnics on how to create practical fire effects, from creating fuses to setting things on fire safely and successfully.
Catering: We plan on shooting this across a minimum of 5 days, which will be long and exhausting, therefore it is very important that we make sure our cast and crew are well fed!
Distribution: We plan on submitting Unravel Me into film festivals supporting short films upon its completion, but in order to submit it to the right ones, we must pay a small entry fee.
We are extremely grateful for all of your donations so we would like to thank you by compensating you with a variety of wonderful and unique perks. These range from exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content via our secret Snapchat, digital copies of the original script, early access to the film before anyone else, and a special thank you in our credits.
The larger the donation the greater the incentive! You can also get your hands on a physical DVD copy of Unravel Me, a signed by cast and crew A3 poster, an exclusive copy of the director's commentary, and even your very own copy of Demian!
All money donated to this campaign will go towards one of the expenses as listed above. Any remaining money will be invested into further distribution for Unravel Me, and payment to the crew for all of their hard work.
If we don't reach our goal, what will happen?
If we are unable to raise the full amount for our project, we will continue to go into production, but with a lower-than-expected budget. Unfortunately, this will greatly restrict our production design and will possibly result in re-scripting certain scenes, and we may even have to lower payments to our cast and art department.
However, everyone on our team is experienced and incredibly passionate about this project, therefore we will still strive to create the best possible version of this film that we can, utilising all of the resources available to us.
Past Projects
Lucia Foster Welch Advert:
All the Words (trailer):
Genesis 4:
Dam It!:
REVO: Captivity (trailer):
Thank you!
We would like to thank you all so much for taking the time to read about our project and to donate! We understand that some of you may not able to make a donation, but there's something just as powerful that you can to help us and that's by sharing our project with your friends and family.
We greatly appreciate any and all contributions to our project, monetary or not, and we are very excited to start truly bringing this film to life - all thanks to you!
Love,
the Unravel Me team