That Alien, Sound
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Comedy, Adventure
THAT ALIEN, SOUND is a comedy adventure about a sound wave that takes over a woman's body through a radio broadcast. Experiencing the world for the first time, this extraterrestrial explores identity, relationships, and what it means to be alive.
That Alien, Sound
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Comedy, Adventure
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $30,451 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
277 supporters | followers
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THAT ALIEN, SOUND is a comedy adventure about a sound wave that takes over a woman's body through a radio broadcast. Experiencing the world for the first time, this extraterrestrial explores identity, relationships, and what it means to be alive.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WATCH HERE:
WATCH THE FIRST 11 MINUTES OF OUR FEATURE FILM, THAT ALIEN, SOUND with either of these links: Vimeo, YouTube.
Sound is an alien spirit who mysteriously zaps into the body of a young woman named Micah while they both listen to a radio broadcast of a live performance by the Death Valley Girls. Initially shocked, Sound marvels at having a body for the first time, but Micah’s boyfriend and family struggle to make sense of the situation and try to make her return home to outer space.
They come up with a plan to recreate the switch by finding the next Death Valley Girls’ concert. As they scheme and roadtrip, Sound experiences Micah’s possessive boyfriend, the clashing perspectives of modern-day Americans, the taste of a perfectly stuffed sandwich, and using her voice for the first time — she learns what it is to be human.
The script comes from a love of alien and sci-fi films, and from a deep admiration for the everyday poetry of shows like Better Things. It examines how we look at identity through the lens of a non-human.
We want to take the living-room love that drives so many low-to-no budget indies and then throw in some extraterrestrial spice, killer music from artists you should know, and performances from singular, largely undiscovered actors. Our cast features diverse actors and creatives who have fresh perspectives to American cinema.
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Mia Danelle, Executive Producer and "Sound/Micah"
There’s nobody on this earth who can play that alien, Sound except Mia Danelle, who has been a charm and delight in the acting and film communities in LA since she was a teenager. When you watch Mia bring Sound to life in our cut of the first eleven minutes, you will have the same question our writer-director lives with, “How is she not the lead of a major, big budget production?”
Mia currently recurrs on FX’s Mayans M.C. as "Cielo."
Will Tranfo, "Shannon"
Will Tranfo has a fantastic ability to settle into a bizarre set of circumstances. When casting Shannon, Mia recommended him immediately after having noticed his talent years prior. One of our favorite Will performances that you should definitely watch is his episode of Room 104 “I Knew You Weren’t Dead.” He’s also appeared on Here & Now, Criminal Minds, and in tons of fantastic short films.
Deyo Forteza, “Deyo"
Deyo Forteza is playing Micah’s older brother — the first character to acknowledge Sound as the extraterrestrial that she identifies as. His more well-known acting roles include on Lucifer, in the mangentic short Evan, and a sneaky key bump on You’re the Worst. Look out for his dance moves too!
Arkie Tadesse, Cinematographer
When you see the cinematography, you’ll experience a level of craft and relation to the story that’s on par with the big timers. While our DP, Arkie Tadesse works on big-budget client and doc work in LA and around the world, this is somehow his first feature as the lead for camera. We’re excited to show how great Arkie’s vision applies to a narrative movie.
Sean Hokanson, AD & Producer
Sean Hokanson has been a sound recordist and mixer on a ton of shows, shorts, and features over the last seven years. On THAT ALIEN, SOUND, Sean’s main focus is as a producer and assistant director because he knows production through and through. He runs a fun, working, respectful, and happy set, which makes him perfect for this project.
Streets Ahead Productions, Unit Production Management & Producing
We’ve been lucky enough to partner with Streets Ahead Productions, a boutique production company that has produced and sold several feature films. With their collaboration, we will be fully insured throughout production and have experienced creatives helping us navigate budget management, scheduling, insurance, and locations.
Death Valley Girls, Sweeps, Dizzy Dames & More Tunes To Come!
In the first eleven minutes produced of THAT ALIEN, SOUND, we’ve already locked down tunes from three different artists who we love.
The Death Valley Girls jam “Disco” plays a pivotal role in converting Micah into Sound and with help from fundraising, we can hopefully secure more of their tracks for the rest of the movie.
Sweeps is a lo-fi artist with a large Spotify following of over 316,000 monthly listeners — his song “i’ve waited so long” is featured when Sound eats for the first time. He also mixed the zipping radio frequencies that play over the first minute of the film.
Our opening also features Dizzy Dames new track “Feel It,” further establishing our devotion to creating a soundtrack rich with independent artists and largely undiscovered songs that absolutely rock.
Brando Topp, Writer & Director
Brando Topp is the writer and director, and he’s also producing and editing. His most notable accomplishment is gathering this fantastic team of creatives together to rally around this script to try and take our mutual desire to make movies to the next level. He created a mini web-series named Swingtime that played at the Austin Film Festival in 2017, and is an AMC Stubs A-List member. Brando loves movies more than anything. He has a few more shorts on his website too.
Our team also features a growing number of skilled specialists who we're honored to work with. Moving forward, we want to continue working with the best, while also budgeting for COVID-19 — including hiring a compliance officer and getting any PPE needed to help keep our set aligned with local guidelines.
For this campaign, we are seeking $30,000 from friends, family, investors, and the Seed & Spark community. This is half of our budget to shoot the remainder of the movie this fall. For the remaining half, we are working and saving on our own, as well as seeking additional private investment.
Here's a delicious and simplified breakdown of our budget:
- Shoot the rest of the movie this October.
- Spend the rest of the year editing on our own/saving for color correction & sound mixing.
- Finish the movie, and show you and everyone we can.
- Screen it everywhere we can independently and enter film festivals.
- Find a home for That Alien, Sound where we and you can watch it for years to come, marveling at this zany art project that we all came together to realize.
CONTRIBUTE WITH A PLEDGE!
You can support our film by making a monetary pledge and choosing an incentive that matches your budget. We MUST collect 80% of crowdfunding goal in order to keep our funds.
CONNECT
*Instagram: @thataliensound
*FOLLOW US HERE ON SEED & SPARK | Make sure you click "follow project" at the top of this page to be the first to receive updates! This would be an awesome help because the more followers we get here, the more rewards and discounts we can receive.
SHARE BABY!!!
With your help sharing THAT ALIEN, SOUND with your community, the further we can make this possible.
Feel free to copy and paste the example below!
HEY FRIENDS! Who wants to see an alien eat a burger?! Catch the first 11 minutes of @ThatAlienSound and join them on @seedandspark to support the making of this feature film — https://seedandspark.com/fund/that-alien-sound#story.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
FOOD & LOCATIONS
Costs $6,300
Feed our cast and crew by contributing here for meals & more location essentials.
TRAVEL & COVID SAFETY
Costs $1,500
Fly everyone out to a music festival to shoot the last scene! And keep us safe!
ART & WARDROBE
Costs $1,700
Makeup and wardrobe add details to the world of our characters.
AWESOME CAST
Costs $7,500
We want to take care of our actors for all the hard work they're putting in!
CAMERA TEAM & EQUIPMENT
Costs $4,100
There's no shooting a movie without a camera team and equipment!
Share this update!
About This Team
Our team is made up of a family of good friends. We're so grateful for you!!
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WATCH HERE:
WATCH THE FIRST 11 MINUTES OF OUR FEATURE FILM, THAT ALIEN, SOUND with either of these links: Vimeo, YouTube.
Sound is an alien spirit who mysteriously zaps into the body of a young woman named Micah while they both listen to a radio broadcast of a live performance by the Death Valley Girls. Initially shocked, Sound marvels at having a body for the first time, but Micah’s boyfriend and family struggle to make sense of the situation and try to make her return home to outer space.
They come up with a plan to recreate the switch by finding the next Death Valley Girls’ concert. As they scheme and roadtrip, Sound experiences Micah’s possessive boyfriend, the clashing perspectives of modern-day Americans, the taste of a perfectly stuffed sandwich, and using her voice for the first time — she learns what it is to be human.
The script comes from a love of alien and sci-fi films, and from a deep admiration for the everyday poetry of shows like Better Things. It examines how we look at identity through the lens of a non-human.
We want to take the living-room love that drives so many low-to-no budget indies and then throw in some extraterrestrial spice, killer music from artists you should know, and performances from singular, largely undiscovered actors. Our cast features diverse actors and creatives who have fresh perspectives to American cinema.
Mia Danelle, Executive Producer and "Sound/Micah"
There’s nobody on this earth who can play that alien, Sound except Mia Danelle, who has been a charm and delight in the acting and film communities in LA since she was a teenager. When you watch Mia bring Sound to life in our cut of the first eleven minutes, you will have the same question our writer-director lives with, “How is she not the lead of a major, big budget production?”
Mia currently recurrs on FX’s Mayans M.C. as "Cielo."
Will Tranfo, "Shannon"
Will Tranfo has a fantastic ability to settle into a bizarre set of circumstances. When casting Shannon, Mia recommended him immediately after having noticed his talent years prior. One of our favorite Will performances that you should definitely watch is his episode of Room 104 “I Knew You Weren’t Dead.” He’s also appeared on Here & Now, Criminal Minds, and in tons of fantastic short films.
Deyo Forteza, “Deyo"
Deyo Forteza is playing Micah’s older brother — the first character to acknowledge Sound as the extraterrestrial that she identifies as. His more well-known acting roles include on Lucifer, in the mangentic short Evan, and a sneaky key bump on You’re the Worst. Look out for his dance moves too!
Arkie Tadesse, Cinematographer
When you see the cinematography, you’ll experience a level of craft and relation to the story that’s on par with the big timers. While our DP, Arkie Tadesse works on big-budget client and doc work in LA and around the world, this is somehow his first feature as the lead for camera. We’re excited to show how great Arkie’s vision applies to a narrative movie.
Sean Hokanson, AD & Producer
Sean Hokanson has been a sound recordist and mixer on a ton of shows, shorts, and features over the last seven years. On THAT ALIEN, SOUND, Sean’s main focus is as a producer and assistant director because he knows production through and through. He runs a fun, working, respectful, and happy set, which makes him perfect for this project.
Streets Ahead Productions, Unit Production Management & Producing
We’ve been lucky enough to partner with Streets Ahead Productions, a boutique production company that has produced and sold several feature films. With their collaboration, we will be fully insured throughout production and have experienced creatives helping us navigate budget management, scheduling, insurance, and locations.
Death Valley Girls, Sweeps, Dizzy Dames & More Tunes To Come!
In the first eleven minutes produced of THAT ALIEN, SOUND, we’ve already locked down tunes from three different artists who we love.
The Death Valley Girls jam “Disco” plays a pivotal role in converting Micah into Sound and with help from fundraising, we can hopefully secure more of their tracks for the rest of the movie.
Sweeps is a lo-fi artist with a large Spotify following of over 316,000 monthly listeners — his song “i’ve waited so long” is featured when Sound eats for the first time. He also mixed the zipping radio frequencies that play over the first minute of the film.
Our opening also features Dizzy Dames new track “Feel It,” further establishing our devotion to creating a soundtrack rich with independent artists and largely undiscovered songs that absolutely rock.
Brando Topp, Writer & Director
Brando Topp is the writer and director, and he’s also producing and editing. His most notable accomplishment is gathering this fantastic team of creatives together to rally around this script to try and take our mutual desire to make movies to the next level. He created a mini web-series named Swingtime that played at the Austin Film Festival in 2017, and is an AMC Stubs A-List member. Brando loves movies more than anything. He has a few more shorts on his website too.
Our team also features a growing number of skilled specialists who we're honored to work with. Moving forward, we want to continue working with the best, while also budgeting for COVID-19 — including hiring a compliance officer and getting any PPE needed to help keep our set aligned with local guidelines.
For this campaign, we are seeking $30,000 from friends, family, investors, and the Seed & Spark community. This is half of our budget to shoot the remainder of the movie this fall. For the remaining half, we are working and saving on our own, as well as seeking additional private investment.
Here's a delicious and simplified breakdown of our budget:
- Shoot the rest of the movie this October.
- Spend the rest of the year editing on our own/saving for color correction & sound mixing.
- Finish the movie, and show you and everyone we can.
- Screen it everywhere we can independently and enter film festivals.
- Find a home for That Alien, Sound where we and you can watch it for years to come, marveling at this zany art project that we all came together to realize.
CONTRIBUTE WITH A PLEDGE!
You can support our film by making a monetary pledge and choosing an incentive that matches your budget. We MUST collect 80% of crowdfunding goal in order to keep our funds.
CONNECT
*Instagram: @thataliensound
*FOLLOW US HERE ON SEED & SPARK | Make sure you click "follow project" at the top of this page to be the first to receive updates! This would be an awesome help because the more followers we get here, the more rewards and discounts we can receive.
SHARE BABY!!!
With your help sharing THAT ALIEN, SOUND with your community, the further we can make this possible.
Feel free to copy and paste the example below!
HEY FRIENDS! Who wants to see an alien eat a burger?! Catch the first 11 minutes of @ThatAlienSound and join them on @seedandspark to support the making of this feature film — https://seedandspark.com/fund/that-alien-sound#story.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
FOOD & LOCATIONS
Costs $6,300
Feed our cast and crew by contributing here for meals & more location essentials.
TRAVEL & COVID SAFETY
Costs $1,500
Fly everyone out to a music festival to shoot the last scene! And keep us safe!
ART & WARDROBE
Costs $1,700
Makeup and wardrobe add details to the world of our characters.
AWESOME CAST
Costs $7,500
We want to take care of our actors for all the hard work they're putting in!
CAMERA TEAM & EQUIPMENT
Costs $4,100
There's no shooting a movie without a camera team and equipment!
Share this update!
About This Team
Our team is made up of a family of good friends. We're so grateful for you!!