Intro:

Hi I'm Jon Bass, a filmmaker born and raised in Omaha, NE in the midwest! I’ve been in Los Angeles CA for 4 years now; making stories of all kinds come to life. My upcoming project is an epic story that combines the arts of dance and visual storytelling. “CLOSE” - is unlike any other dance film and one of my most ambitious projects to date! I'd love your support in bringing this film to life!

Synopsis: "CLOSE” is a 5-minute experimental film that examines a tumultuous romantic relationship by visually expanding the internal experience of loss, grief and eventual acceptance through dance and what it feels like to not be able to be close or physically touch based on a shifting relationship dynamic.

Playing with time, multiple surrealist locations, and lyrical/modern ballet dance, CLOSE aims to slow down and expand the vast, contradicting feelings that occur within a single moment of loss in a romantic relationship.

Meet the Production Team!

Deven - Director

A film director, editor and photographer with extensive experience in music videos, documentaries, short films and commercials. He has lived in China and Taiwan for over 8 years. He speaks fluent Mandarin and has worked with many clients and brands from the Asia region, now based and working out of Los Angeles

Coming from a writing background, Deven loves to approach projects from the ground up, working with artists to craft a narrative and find the most compelling way to bring their message or vision to the screen.

Jon - Executive Producer / Cinematographer

An LA-based filmmaker originating from Omaha, NE. Now shooting commercials and branded content for Stella Rosa, ASOS, ILIA, and music videos for various musicians. He brings his variety of shooting experiences to the table with a keen eye for lighting and camera movement.

The story of Close stems from Jon's personal life experiences and his seeking out a creative and stunning way to express some of the toughest feelings that have stuck with him throughout his life in various aspects.

Lauren - Producer, Assistant Director

Though never trained as a professional dancer herself, Lauren Duncan is a self-proclaimed “dance enthusiast” dedicated to bridging the arts of dance and film. She is a talented director/ producer working with the dance community for years at Elon University and the Brea Space.

She seeks to use her years of experience in film production and the technical language of dance to uniquely connect the two mediums: the powerful storytelling of choreography showcased in ways only film can capture. On Close, She’s helping bridge our two worlds of dance and storytelling on the producing side with logistics, coordination and all things dance!

Carter - Line Producer, B Camera Operator

Also a talented LA-based filmmaker working on a range of commercial, and narrative projects. His expertise has led him to collaborate with clients across the country, for nonprofits and corporations such as Google, ASUS, and Adidas.

His filmmaking approach is rooted in a deep desire to understand the experiences of people and to create work that emotionally resonates with audiences

How we’ll use the Donation Money

Paying our Dancers, Choreographer

The heart and soul o fthis film, with this money we’ll be able to compensate our dancers for the rehearsal times, all the prep and hard work of solely using their movement / performance to communicate the complexities of loss and longing to “Close”.

Equipment Costs / Rentals

We aim to make this a dance film like none other, we look to bring a high production value to this story and to do that technically, We’re looking to achieve a unique look to dance films by shooting on Super 16mm Film. We also need a lot of high powered lights, for ultra slow motion capture, and tools like a 16 ft jib, a dolly slider, and tools to make the filming process smoother

Locations

We have 2 Locations we’re building our various environments out of.

For our layer in the bed void, we’re creating a desolate empty space with pieces from a bedroom set dressed in the center, we’ll eventually have massive amounts of sheers/bed sheets hanging from the ceiling for the dancers to move between.

A RGB Cyc Wall capable of FX, changing to any color - this will hold a solo dance piece using color to help express these emotions.

An Exterior Parking Lot - A place for the tain truck to spray water across our set and our dancers - to move about in a nostalgic movie scene

Special FX / VFX

We need Rain FX Water Trucks with hoses in order to create this dance piece in a large enough area to host one of our dances in the film. As well as Visual Effects were adding in post to enhance the sci-fi elements of our world - adding lights, adding hanging props like floating glass shards, and adding rain effects to our falling sequences. As well as showing the tangible magnetic-like effects of how our dancers eventually cannot touch anymore

In Summary:

We can't wait to make this film and with your help, we can create a new and exciting world to tell this heartfelt, vulnerable story of dealing with loss in a way that dialogue can't fully speak to.