Level One
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Thriller, Sci-Fi
Whether it's 2020, outside pressures, or our own doubts, we all have something that can make us feel trapped. LEVEL ONE explores this feeling as Wendy attempts to escape a deadly room that defies all logic. Faced with a seemingly unsolvable puzzle, she finds sometimes all we can do is KEEP TRYING.
Level One
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Thriller, Sci-Fi
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $11,300 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
62 supporters | followers
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Whether it's 2020, outside pressures, or our own doubts, we all have something that can make us feel trapped. LEVEL ONE explores this feeling as Wendy attempts to escape a deadly room that defies all logic. Faced with a seemingly unsolvable puzzle, she finds sometimes all we can do is KEEP TRYING.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WENDY IS TRAPPED in a room with no doors and a single boarded-up window. A disembodied voice tells her she has only until the hourglass empties to escape. When time runs low, the walls start to creep in, threatening to crush her. Her only saving grace - there’s a way to reset the room and try again... and again... and again... and again... And, although she may be safe from the crushing walls, the endless attempts become their own form of torture as Wendy realizes perhaps there was never a way out.
This film is designed to embody the gnawing pit in your stomach when you realize you are truly trapped. The inevitability of despair creeps in on us through methodical editing and languid, even dream-like camera movement. Visually the film will convey a sense of minimalism, sparse set design, clean lines, and a limited color palette. Everything is dulled down to allow a hyper-focus on the actress’s physicality and movement through space. Our hope is that this film will find its place among other cerebral sci-fi thrillers like those on Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone.
ONERS!... aka "THE LONG SHOT!"... Level One will be constructed out of several long shots. Each will feature a moving camera, dancing through the space with Wendy, trying to find an escape. In this way the audience plays a critical role in the film. We’re right there with Wendy, watching the clock count down, and feeling each critical second tick by.
The challenge for our DP will be to explore the framing as another character in the film. When do we hold onto the moment to create a real sense of space, and when do we increase the tempo to reflect Wendy’s distress? The editing process will be more or less accomplished in the strategic planning of each shot.
The success of this choreographed interplay between camera and actor will owe much of its success to the amazing team we have already assembled. Our lead actress, Toy Lei, is an accomplished stunt coordinator and performer, and our film’s director, Roxy Shih, has a strong background in dance and dynamic narrative scenes.
Check out these clips from the shows listed above to see the wondrous power of the oner
Kidding S1Ep3 Every Pain Has a Name
Jake Schreier / Showtime
Alfonso Cuarón / Warner Bros. Pictures
Alfred Hitchcock / Warner Bros. Pictures
Alfonso Cuarón / Strike Entertainment
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS
Adding to the technical challenge of this film are the difficulties of shooting during a pandemic. We will be keeping our production team small and taking the necessary measures to ensure that social distancing and proper PPE are provided to everyone involved.
THANK YOU!!!
So there you have it. That's our goal, our dream for this movie.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Any contribution you can make to this project will be greatly appreciated and thanked. Please check out the INCENTIVES area for all the different gifts we’re offering for all pledges! There are lots and lots of awesome prizes!
A LETTER FROM THE WRITER
Sitting in an airport restaurant, my boyfriend and I discussed ideas for a short film shot in a single take. "Oners" are one of my favorite feats of filmmaking and I wanted to create a piece that used them intentionally and creatively, not just to save time in production. I wanted to write something where the camera could play a role on the film and started imaging the piece as almost a dance. Lastly, I wanted a central theme or player to be time. With a "oner" that audience experiences time just as the character does and I wanted to make that experience new and unusual to both audience and character. Since we all usually move forward in time, I thought maybe the best thing to do was to move backward instead. So, those were my three critical elements. I didn't have a plot or characters built in just yet. All I knew was that I wanted a oner with time travel and a dance, and "Level One" was born.
Eventually the idea grew into a full script and I began to find friends and creatives who also relished the challenge that had been posed back in the airport. Roxy Shih came on board first to direct. She was able to focus the theme and incorporate specific societal norms towards things like age and gender that could mirror the maddening circumstances of the character. Roxy then introduced me to Katie Moest, an amazing art director, whose enthusiasm for the project was one of the first times I thought to myself, "holy hell this thing might just work." With every new collaborator, this film has grown in ways that I could have never imagined. We found our leading lady, Toy Lei, whose background in stunts and fighting has opened amazing doors into the physicality and choreography of the piece. I have also been so lucky to have two fantastically patient and knowledgeable producers, Briana Gold and Cole Wede, help me navigate the maddening world of producing a short film.
With all that in mind, any contribution you can make to this film would be incredibly appreciated. My hope is that "Level One" will be screened in festivals across the country and maybe even transform into an installation piece. But before any of that we need to make the darn thing. Especially now, I want to make sure to pay our cast and crew a fair rate for their time and creativity.
Thank you so much,
Kelsey Jonikas
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Breakfast and Lunch
Costs $720
Food is fuel! If you have a hook up for meals in or around downtown LA, please share the love!
Special Effects Make-Up
Costs $100
We've got the make-up artist, but are lacking the fake blood. Anyone got some to spare?
Arri ALEXA and Other Camera Gear
Costs $1,500
The heart wants what the heart wants, and our DP's heart really wants an ALEXA.
Expendables
Costs $100
Please send us tape! Gaff tape for gaffing, skin tape for sound, paper tape for camera. Send it all!
Lighting Package
Costs $500
Even the darkest films need light. Any LA rental houses or electricians looking to lend a hand?
Grip Package
Costs $500
We'll need some c-stands and uhh maybe a 20x20 frame, combo stands, and lots of sandbags, for safety
Cast and Crew
Costs $6,580
Our number one expense in cast and crew and the expertise they bring to this project.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Director
Roxy Shih
Roxy is an internationally acclaimed Taiwanese-American multi-disciplinary artist and speaker. As a filmmaker, she is known for her versatility and has worked with many independent companies both overseas and domestically. Roxy was chosen for the Armed With A Camera fellowship in 2011 and received a grant to direct the short "Play Time," which premiered at the DGA and went on a successful film festival tour internationally. Roxy had her directorial debut, The Tribe, acquired by Empress Road Pictures in 2016, and has since directed another three feature films, Pain Killers, Heart to Heart, and Pooling to Paradise. She also helmed episodes of the highly anticipated sci-fi anthology series Dark/Web on Amazon PrimeShe has had her work shown at an array of festivals such as The LA Film Festival, LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, Cannes, SXSW, Toronto Independent, and Dances with Films.
Actress / Stunt Choreographer
Toy Lei
Toy is a native New Yorker and California transplant. She’s had a fascination with the action genre ever since her parents took her to Chinatown to watch kung fu movies, and as such, started training in the martial arts when she began acting classes. Her emotional intensity and movement skills contributed to her casting by Academy Award director Alejandro Innaritu for his Oscar-winning VR short CARNE y ARENA, and she can be seen repeatedly in the O.R. in GREY’S ANATOMY. She also recurred on the FOX show SON OF ZORN. After lamenting the lack of roles for Asian females over 30 especially with the “fun” stuff, she began writing and producing her own projects. Her films, BOXER, HOW TO GET CAUGHT, THE WEDDING as well as others, have cumulatively won several awards such as Best Actress, Grand Prize, and Best Action. CARNE y ARENA can currently be seen internationally in museums such as The Prado and LACMA.
Writer/Producer
Kelsey Jonikas
Kelsey is a boom operator by trade and storyteller at heart. She grew up with her mom reading mystery novels to her before bed and her dad taking her to see Sci-Fi movies on school nights. LEVEL ONE is her first short film to be produced, but check out her cool space cat T-Shirt featured below. I would trust this lady. She seems cool.
Production Designer
Katie Moest
Katie is a production designer working in film, television, and new media. Whether it’s designing a grad student’s bedroom or constructing a post-apocalyptic bunker, the chance to build a world through sets, locations and props is always a fun adventure. Katie is an IAWTV-award winner for her work as Production Designer on The New Adventures of Peter & Wendy. She also served as production designer for two Emmy-award winning Pemberley Digital productions — The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma Approved -- and the Emmy-nominated digital series, Her Story. Other credits include the award-winning films Quality Problems, The Republic of Rick and Non-Transferable, PBS Digital's Frankenstein MD, Dragon Age: Redemption, and Edgar Allen Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party. Katie is pleased to have turned her enjoyment of wasting time on the internet; a passion for books, movies, and television; and a degree in a mostly unrelated subject into a career as a production designer through willpower and serious geekery.
Gaffer/Fabricator/Producer
Evan Niedrauer
Evan is a Lighting Designer based in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in New Jersey and began his foray into lighting through live Theater. After moving to Philadelphia, lighting design expanded to film, television, and a broader range of live events. Upon receiving a BS in Film and Television Production from Drexel University, he went out to Los Angeles to further his career as a Lighting Designer. Since landing in L.A. he has done work Gaffing on feature films and television, Designing for Theater and Dance, and founding NieLights, a lighting fabrication company.
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WENDY IS TRAPPED in a room with no doors and a single boarded-up window. A disembodied voice tells her she has only until the hourglass empties to escape. When time runs low, the walls start to creep in, threatening to crush her. Her only saving grace - there’s a way to reset the room and try again... and again... and again... and again... And, although she may be safe from the crushing walls, the endless attempts become their own form of torture as Wendy realizes perhaps there was never a way out.
This film is designed to embody the gnawing pit in your stomach when you realize you are truly trapped. The inevitability of despair creeps in on us through methodical editing and languid, even dream-like camera movement. Visually the film will convey a sense of minimalism, sparse set design, clean lines, and a limited color palette. Everything is dulled down to allow a hyper-focus on the actress’s physicality and movement through space. Our hope is that this film will find its place among other cerebral sci-fi thrillers like those on Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone.
ONERS!... aka "THE LONG SHOT!"... Level One will be constructed out of several long shots. Each will feature a moving camera, dancing through the space with Wendy, trying to find an escape. In this way the audience plays a critical role in the film. We’re right there with Wendy, watching the clock count down, and feeling each critical second tick by.
The challenge for our DP will be to explore the framing as another character in the film. When do we hold onto the moment to create a real sense of space, and when do we increase the tempo to reflect Wendy’s distress? The editing process will be more or less accomplished in the strategic planning of each shot.
The success of this choreographed interplay between camera and actor will owe much of its success to the amazing team we have already assembled. Our lead actress, Toy Lei, is an accomplished stunt coordinator and performer, and our film’s director, Roxy Shih, has a strong background in dance and dynamic narrative scenes.
Check out these clips from the shows listed above to see the wondrous power of the oner
Kidding S1Ep3 Every Pain Has a Name
Jake Schreier / Showtime
Alfonso Cuarón / Warner Bros. Pictures
Alfred Hitchcock / Warner Bros. Pictures
Alfonso Cuarón / Strike Entertainment
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS
Adding to the technical challenge of this film are the difficulties of shooting during a pandemic. We will be keeping our production team small and taking the necessary measures to ensure that social distancing and proper PPE are provided to everyone involved.
THANK YOU!!!
So there you have it. That's our goal, our dream for this movie.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Any contribution you can make to this project will be greatly appreciated and thanked. Please check out the INCENTIVES area for all the different gifts we’re offering for all pledges! There are lots and lots of awesome prizes!
A LETTER FROM THE WRITER
Sitting in an airport restaurant, my boyfriend and I discussed ideas for a short film shot in a single take. "Oners" are one of my favorite feats of filmmaking and I wanted to create a piece that used them intentionally and creatively, not just to save time in production. I wanted to write something where the camera could play a role on the film and started imaging the piece as almost a dance. Lastly, I wanted a central theme or player to be time. With a "oner" that audience experiences time just as the character does and I wanted to make that experience new and unusual to both audience and character. Since we all usually move forward in time, I thought maybe the best thing to do was to move backward instead. So, those were my three critical elements. I didn't have a plot or characters built in just yet. All I knew was that I wanted a oner with time travel and a dance, and "Level One" was born.
Eventually the idea grew into a full script and I began to find friends and creatives who also relished the challenge that had been posed back in the airport. Roxy Shih came on board first to direct. She was able to focus the theme and incorporate specific societal norms towards things like age and gender that could mirror the maddening circumstances of the character. Roxy then introduced me to Katie Moest, an amazing art director, whose enthusiasm for the project was one of the first times I thought to myself, "holy hell this thing might just work." With every new collaborator, this film has grown in ways that I could have never imagined. We found our leading lady, Toy Lei, whose background in stunts and fighting has opened amazing doors into the physicality and choreography of the piece. I have also been so lucky to have two fantastically patient and knowledgeable producers, Briana Gold and Cole Wede, help me navigate the maddening world of producing a short film.
With all that in mind, any contribution you can make to this film would be incredibly appreciated. My hope is that "Level One" will be screened in festivals across the country and maybe even transform into an installation piece. But before any of that we need to make the darn thing. Especially now, I want to make sure to pay our cast and crew a fair rate for their time and creativity.
Thank you so much,
Kelsey Jonikas
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Breakfast and Lunch
Costs $720
Food is fuel! If you have a hook up for meals in or around downtown LA, please share the love!
Special Effects Make-Up
Costs $100
We've got the make-up artist, but are lacking the fake blood. Anyone got some to spare?
Arri ALEXA and Other Camera Gear
Costs $1,500
The heart wants what the heart wants, and our DP's heart really wants an ALEXA.
Expendables
Costs $100
Please send us tape! Gaff tape for gaffing, skin tape for sound, paper tape for camera. Send it all!
Lighting Package
Costs $500
Even the darkest films need light. Any LA rental houses or electricians looking to lend a hand?
Grip Package
Costs $500
We'll need some c-stands and uhh maybe a 20x20 frame, combo stands, and lots of sandbags, for safety
Cast and Crew
Costs $6,580
Our number one expense in cast and crew and the expertise they bring to this project.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Director
Roxy Shih
Roxy is an internationally acclaimed Taiwanese-American multi-disciplinary artist and speaker. As a filmmaker, she is known for her versatility and has worked with many independent companies both overseas and domestically. Roxy was chosen for the Armed With A Camera fellowship in 2011 and received a grant to direct the short "Play Time," which premiered at the DGA and went on a successful film festival tour internationally. Roxy had her directorial debut, The Tribe, acquired by Empress Road Pictures in 2016, and has since directed another three feature films, Pain Killers, Heart to Heart, and Pooling to Paradise. She also helmed episodes of the highly anticipated sci-fi anthology series Dark/Web on Amazon PrimeShe has had her work shown at an array of festivals such as The LA Film Festival, LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, Cannes, SXSW, Toronto Independent, and Dances with Films.
Actress / Stunt Choreographer
Toy Lei
Toy is a native New Yorker and California transplant. She’s had a fascination with the action genre ever since her parents took her to Chinatown to watch kung fu movies, and as such, started training in the martial arts when she began acting classes. Her emotional intensity and movement skills contributed to her casting by Academy Award director Alejandro Innaritu for his Oscar-winning VR short CARNE y ARENA, and she can be seen repeatedly in the O.R. in GREY’S ANATOMY. She also recurred on the FOX show SON OF ZORN. After lamenting the lack of roles for Asian females over 30 especially with the “fun” stuff, she began writing and producing her own projects. Her films, BOXER, HOW TO GET CAUGHT, THE WEDDING as well as others, have cumulatively won several awards such as Best Actress, Grand Prize, and Best Action. CARNE y ARENA can currently be seen internationally in museums such as The Prado and LACMA.
Writer/Producer
Kelsey Jonikas
Kelsey is a boom operator by trade and storyteller at heart. She grew up with her mom reading mystery novels to her before bed and her dad taking her to see Sci-Fi movies on school nights. LEVEL ONE is her first short film to be produced, but check out her cool space cat T-Shirt featured below. I would trust this lady. She seems cool.
Production Designer
Katie Moest
Katie is a production designer working in film, television, and new media. Whether it’s designing a grad student’s bedroom or constructing a post-apocalyptic bunker, the chance to build a world through sets, locations and props is always a fun adventure. Katie is an IAWTV-award winner for her work as Production Designer on The New Adventures of Peter & Wendy. She also served as production designer for two Emmy-award winning Pemberley Digital productions — The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma Approved -- and the Emmy-nominated digital series, Her Story. Other credits include the award-winning films Quality Problems, The Republic of Rick and Non-Transferable, PBS Digital's Frankenstein MD, Dragon Age: Redemption, and Edgar Allen Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party. Katie is pleased to have turned her enjoyment of wasting time on the internet; a passion for books, movies, and television; and a degree in a mostly unrelated subject into a career as a production designer through willpower and serious geekery.
Gaffer/Fabricator/Producer
Evan Niedrauer
Evan is a Lighting Designer based in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in New Jersey and began his foray into lighting through live Theater. After moving to Philadelphia, lighting design expanded to film, television, and a broader range of live events. Upon receiving a BS in Film and Television Production from Drexel University, he went out to Los Angeles to further his career as a Lighting Designer. Since landing in L.A. he has done work Gaffing on feature films and television, Designing for Theater and Dance, and founding NieLights, a lighting fabrication company.