Craig is dying! Something has to be done, or the vibes will be off for the rest of stream. The first chatter to call the paramedics will get a follow back!

Mantis Stream! Like and Subscribe follows Craig as he slowly, agonizingly, preventably, chokes to death on an egg. Thankfully, his girlfriend Mandy is in the room with him, livestreaming as her internet persona: the Brood Mother, a grand Praying Mantis Queen.

Craig's pathetic, muffled, cries for help go unanswered as Mandy must continue tending to stream. Someone just subscribed for 12 months, and that needs to be addressed before ANYTHING else.

As the light begins to fade from Craig's eyes, the paramedics finally arrive. They bust through the door, rush over to Craig, and begin to set up their own ring light. Unfortunately for Craig, this is perfect content for the paramedic's Day in the Life livestream. They need to get a mere 99 likes on stream, and then the paramedics can start their chest compressions. Chat seems enthused, but is it enough to get to 99? Craig's life may depend on it.

Who else is there for Craig to turn to as he continues to choke? The police? they are busy filming a reality tv show about how cool it is to be a cop. The Church? Surly the tendrils of internet crazy haven't made there way there yet. His friends? His mother? Is there anyone left who will stop posting about trying to save Craig's life in order to actually save Craig?

Mantis Stream! Like and Subscribe will explore that question. And most importantly, remember: every donation goes towards saving Craig's life.

Directors helping Craig in his time of need

Mantis Stream! Like and Subscribe is a satirical reflection of the pathological online reality we find ourselves in today. Our film seeks to recreate the surreal feeling of watching the world experience every human emotion through the filter of consumption and the anxiety of trying to connect with people in an environment where performativity has become so normalized. We will utilize elements of digital video art to tap into the sense of overstimulation in online spaces overpowering the genuine truth of real life. 

Growing up in the 21st century, we have witnessed the growing monetization of joy and suffering alike as the internet has rapidly subsumed our culture and creativity. We hope that viewers of the project will be able to take notice of performativity in their own lives and seek to be more authentic to themselves.

3D recreation of filming location

By juxtaposing traditional narrative storytelling with experimental digital art techniques we hope to create a thematic contrast between performative and genuine behavior. We will use a number of visual and auditory tools to transition from this sense of a genuine physical environment to an ingenuine digital one. The short will begin with a look emulating 16mm film. As we progress through the long duration take film, the 16mm look will gradually transition into a digital look accented by rapid digital zooms and scans. Eventually even the characters that were appearing in the physical space will be rotoscoped versions of themselves composited onto our image. Our stylistic inspiration comes from a variety of sources from narrative filmmakers like Robert Altman to digital video/glitch artists such as Joe Pease.

A helpful diagram to visualize the impact of your donations

This film is operating on a relatively small and manageable budget. We are shooting in a single location, and plan on taking full advantage of the digital nature of this project in order to reduce the costs of this film whenever possible. With that being said, there are still financial hurdles that will have to be leapt in order to create the film that we envision.

Our largest expense will be camera rentals, lighting equipment, and sound. In Mantis Stream! Like and Subscribe, we are portraying a long-duration take with 20+ characters. Even though many of these characters will be added digitally, it will still be a massive effort to properly light the space and capture audio with so many moving pieces and ideas. We need to be able to provide our G&E team with the proper gear for the job, as well as acquire quality audio equipment for our sound team. We will also need an appropriate camera build and lens kit in order to capture the space, and pull of the film to digital effect that is explored throughout the film.

We will also have to spend a decent portion of our budget on props and set design. Mantis Stream! is a high-energy, fast paced, cerebral film. And the ability to bring this world to life is dependent on having set design, props, and costumes necessary to immerse the viewers into the space.

Thank you so much for your support. We would not be able to make Mantis Stream! Like and Subscribe without you. Please follow our Instagram and Vimeo accounts in order to stay up to date on Mantis Stream! Like and Subscribe and any projects to come.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/clusterfuckcorp

Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/user211400856

We love you! - Sincerely, the Mantis Stream! Like and Subscribe team.