The Pleasure Matrix
Chicago, Illinois | Film Short
Horror, Mystery
At the beginning of this story, Grace sees selfishness as a virtue but by the end of the story, she risks her life to save someone she can not trust. Grace sees that by continuing down the path she is on, she will be alienating herself from Humanity.
Green Light
This campaign raised $17,000 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
126 supporters | followers
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At the beginning of this story, Grace sees selfishness as a virtue but by the end of the story, she risks her life to save someone she can not trust. Grace sees that by continuing down the path she is on, she will be alienating herself from Humanity.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Grace is a small-time crook, while burglarizing a house with her accomplices Omar and Vic, she accidentally destroys the cocaine stash they came to find. Meanwhile, Vic finds an invitation to a big party and the crew decide to crash it. They show up to the party but before they can even plan out how to rob the place, they find that the party is lead by a cult leader known as The Alchemist.
The Alchemist is meant to expose a pinched nerve in our society. Themes of hope, addiction, faith, morality, and ethics all have a place in this movie. These characters are the perfect vessels to explore the inner psyche of a sick mind like The Alchemist.
Put simply, this story is about a woman who learns to care for others. At the beginning of this story, she sees selfishness as a virtue but by the end of the story, she risks her life to save someone she can not trust. Grace sees that by continuing down the path she is on she will be alienating herself from humanity and understanding.
We’re on a mission to add our own special spin on the independent horror genre. A story that propels the characters on an emotional rollercoaster. It's not just gratuitous violence, this violence has a purpose.
We strive to make films that can be described as ‘Bergmanesque’. A story in which the central characters are undergoing some sort of inner turmoil about their existence and life. This movie’s a sexy, gritty, funny, horror with its own hint of weird, dark, creepy-ness. The tone is mysterious, slow, beautiful. In the end, the film will fill your heart with joy and then stab you in both eyes and make your head explode. Notable movies like Green Room, Requiem for a Dream and The Master are all big influences on the film. In the spirit of a movie like Wickerman (1971) or more recently, Midsommar, making a statement in the cult horror genre. This reinforces our belief that the genre is beckoning for more unique perspectives.
Every detail truly does matter for making a project that will live forever on the screen. By pledging to our film you will help improve the quality of our film tremendously and ensuring its completion. As we’re sure you know, making films is very expensive. Although we have spent hundreds of hours of our time finding creative solutions to expensive and complex problems, there are just some things we NEED money for.
That being said, we need $15,000 to pay our cast and crew acutely, make this movie optimal and ensure it all gets shot in a timely manner. We will be shooting for five days, in 3 different locations for 12 hours a day. After that, we will need about two or three months of editing before our project is completed. Then we can start submitting it to festivals and finding distributors.
Would you like to win an occult symbol statue? How about an amazing painting? Or how about some great posters/stickers of the film? Would you like to be on set with us? Does being an executive producer of the film catch your interest? Coming to our premieres and being a part of the essential crew making it happen is within reach! All of these things are available to you by pledging to our campaign!
Let’s make this BIG! We aim to premiere this short at the Chicago International Film Festival. We also would like to have it shown at the Chicago International Movies + Music Festival, Chicago Horror Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Chicago Latino Film Festival, and SXSW.
Help us spread the word, make some noise about your campaign! Contribute if you can! Come to our events! Buy a shirt! Say hello! Whatever you want to do, hit us up! Let’s make stuff happen in our community that is both original and impactful!
We know, rent is due EACH month (they really ought to change that) so here are some other ways you can help. Share this page with your horror friends! Let them know that we have some new spooky content!
You can also share right from this page using social media share tools at the top.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Casting
Costs $1,600
We need extras, bad. Not only do we need to fill a space with extras but we need to feed them all.
Copy-write / Licensing
Costs $100
We need to cover our asses and make sure that everything is legit, in a manner of speaking.
Special effects
Costs $400
We need to make the blood and death look real... don't we!?
Sound
Costs $600
We need to record good sound on set for the movie to work!
Production
Costs $800
We need to plan this thing properly. Team meetings, printing, and scheduling is hard work.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
The Camera
Costs $2,750
The equipment we need to create precise and cinematic movement is also vital to our operation.
Art Department
Costs $1,500
Curating art to be featured in the film and finding props is no joke
Lighting
Costs $1,750
The gritty tripped-out look of this film requires we invest in dynamic lighting
Locations
Costs $500
Most of the film happens during a party we need an accommodating place to shoot.
Food
Costs $1,000
No need for starving artists. We have a great community of talented artists providing value!
Score
Costs $2,000
Our score will be epic!
Transportation
Costs $400
We need to get where we are going!
Film Festivals
Costs $100
Help us submit, get into, and win at our top choices of film festivals.
Editing
Costs $1,500
Editing takes time. We want to spend the time in editing to make this perfect.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Space Cave Productions was founded by Colin Parker a Filmmaker and animator from Aurora, IL. A passionate creator who has a detailed and textural style in everything from his commercial production work, to experimental animation. Colin graduated from the College of DuPage with a certificate in Animation and Film. He found College of DuPage to be the perfect place to hone his craft and where he met many like-minded creatives. After college, he has done several hundred hours of pro bono work for Fox Valley United Way. He now works as a Videographer for Bureau Gravity, a marketing company located in his home town of Aurora, IL. His drive to tell stories started at a young age, in school, and at home, Colin couldn’t resist making his friends and family laugh at every opportunity. His love for drawing, computer graphics, and skateboarding, drove his creative mind to explore ways to tell the stories of his generation.
Our website space-cave.com features some of Colin's ambitious and unique work. Three years ago Colin embarked on his journey to tell this story and since then the team has grown exponentially. After four years of school and two years in the marketing and advertising world, his experience and drive will ensure a film unlike any other. Since attending the College of DuPage, Colin has worked as a freelancer on feature films, commercials, and video ads. He organized shoots as a producer and assistant director.
Nathalie Galde (Grace) is a Chicago-based multi-hyphenate: actor, improviser, producer, writer, and director. Most recently she appeared in, the ALTA winning La Carne Asada sketch show at Second City. Nathalie created and produces ImproviSEXation, a sex/body-positive comedy show that emphasizes chaos as entertainment. ImproviSEXation returns to the Annoyance stage in February 2020. @improvisexation, @lacarneasadachi, @batsuchicago, @jjdreamzimprov’
Gabi Mrugala (Vic) is twenty-two years old living in Chicago. She works with the Assisting Directing Department in the Chicago Film/TV Industry, as her day job, and is a freelance actor with Promote Talent Agency. She is finishing her Cinema Arts & Science Degree, concentrating in Directing, at Columbia College Chicago. She is passionate about the art of film making and shares her knowledge with her entertaining personality. Her social qualities make people feel welcome and encourage others to participate in engaging conversations that you can enjoy on the CyaLive or Livit Apps.
Julio Alexander (Omar) is an American actor that can be seen not only on film but occasionally on the stage. He competed in multiple sports in his early life into High School where he was a 2 sport athlete and also Heavily involved in his school's JROTC program. Post High School, Julio decided to begin studying law at a community college before deciding to try Mixed-Martial Arts. He then decided to attempt a long-awaited goal that was American ninja warrior. Even though he wasn't cast on season 8, he was cast later that year in Netflix’s ‘Ultimate Beastmaster’ Upon returning from Beastmaster he had a 6 month period contemplating what would be next in life, the answer became clear in a “what the hell” moment when he decided to dive in headfirst and see if anything could come from a career in Show-business. ‘Straight Edge Kegger’ was his Debut role since deciding to pursue acting. His story is still being written, time will tell.
Christopher Cardenas. I am an actor and writer from Indianapolis, IN, now living in the Chicagoland area. I have been skateboarding and for over two decades, which is how I became involved in the acting realm, with a film titled Maplewood, shot in 2017.
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Victor Tan is a freelance Director of Photography based in Chicago. One of these music videos, "Talk Talk", he had the pleasure of shooting was nominated for Best Cinematography in 2016 that was screen at Music Box Theater. A short film titled "The Pride" was submitted to numerous festivals and has taken a number of Laurels including "Best Cinematography". This year, 2019, he had the pleasure of working on a documentary in Toronto, Canada for Midas corporation with a very high potential of doing so again. His passion is working on narrative films and he had the fortune to work on a handful of them towards the end of the year 2019 including the trailer for 'Pleasure Matrix' and looking forward to shooting the entire film."
Katharin “K” Mraz, is the owner of Ladie K Productions, Inc., a media, marketing, and production company., Smart Pretty Designs, Inc., a production art and design company, and Creative Works Media, Inc., a photography/videography company focusing on progressive and socially responsible media. Based out of Chicago, Illinois, she spends her time as a freelance Producer, Director, Production Designer, Art Director,, Actress, and Model with a focus on independent feature films and narrative shorts highlighting diversity or women in the industry. In her free time, she contributors to several magazines spotlighting projects focused on people of color and women in media, mentors young aspiring filmmakers, models, and actors, and is an active advocate in the GLBTQ community.
Baili Martin is a production sound mixer in Chicago, IL. She works in all areas of audio recording, from full-length features to documentary, corporate/commercial, and short films. Her recent sound work includes SoulPancake’s, “Four Hands One Question” short, and Firstness, a feature-length film.
Aaron Rasbury began his film journey in 2018. With no formal film background, he jumped headfirst into student and indie work. Since then he’s been able to work on Love Craft Country, Suits Spin-off, Soundtrack, The Chi, and Station Eleven (in production and locations). He hopes to continue working with creative minds and help support new visionaries in their new ventures.
Please like us on social media and invite your friends too!
Instagram: @thepleasurematrix
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePMShortFilm
Visit our website: space-cave.com
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Grace is a small-time crook, while burglarizing a house with her accomplices Omar and Vic, she accidentally destroys the cocaine stash they came to find. Meanwhile, Vic finds an invitation to a big party and the crew decide to crash it. They show up to the party but before they can even plan out how to rob the place, they find that the party is lead by a cult leader known as The Alchemist.
The Alchemist is meant to expose a pinched nerve in our society. Themes of hope, addiction, faith, morality, and ethics all have a place in this movie. These characters are the perfect vessels to explore the inner psyche of a sick mind like The Alchemist.
Put simply, this story is about a woman who learns to care for others. At the beginning of this story, she sees selfishness as a virtue but by the end of the story, she risks her life to save someone she can not trust. Grace sees that by continuing down the path she is on she will be alienating herself from humanity and understanding.
We’re on a mission to add our own special spin on the independent horror genre. A story that propels the characters on an emotional rollercoaster. It's not just gratuitous violence, this violence has a purpose.
We strive to make films that can be described as ‘Bergmanesque’. A story in which the central characters are undergoing some sort of inner turmoil about their existence and life. This movie’s a sexy, gritty, funny, horror with its own hint of weird, dark, creepy-ness. The tone is mysterious, slow, beautiful. In the end, the film will fill your heart with joy and then stab you in both eyes and make your head explode. Notable movies like Green Room, Requiem for a Dream and The Master are all big influences on the film. In the spirit of a movie like Wickerman (1971) or more recently, Midsommar, making a statement in the cult horror genre. This reinforces our belief that the genre is beckoning for more unique perspectives.
Every detail truly does matter for making a project that will live forever on the screen. By pledging to our film you will help improve the quality of our film tremendously and ensuring its completion. As we’re sure you know, making films is very expensive. Although we have spent hundreds of hours of our time finding creative solutions to expensive and complex problems, there are just some things we NEED money for.
That being said, we need $15,000 to pay our cast and crew acutely, make this movie optimal and ensure it all gets shot in a timely manner. We will be shooting for five days, in 3 different locations for 12 hours a day. After that, we will need about two or three months of editing before our project is completed. Then we can start submitting it to festivals and finding distributors.
Would you like to win an occult symbol statue? How about an amazing painting? Or how about some great posters/stickers of the film? Would you like to be on set with us? Does being an executive producer of the film catch your interest? Coming to our premieres and being a part of the essential crew making it happen is within reach! All of these things are available to you by pledging to our campaign!
Let’s make this BIG! We aim to premiere this short at the Chicago International Film Festival. We also would like to have it shown at the Chicago International Movies + Music Festival, Chicago Horror Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Chicago Latino Film Festival, and SXSW.
Help us spread the word, make some noise about your campaign! Contribute if you can! Come to our events! Buy a shirt! Say hello! Whatever you want to do, hit us up! Let’s make stuff happen in our community that is both original and impactful!
We know, rent is due EACH month (they really ought to change that) so here are some other ways you can help. Share this page with your horror friends! Let them know that we have some new spooky content!
You can also share right from this page using social media share tools at the top.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Casting
Costs $1,600
We need extras, bad. Not only do we need to fill a space with extras but we need to feed them all.
Copy-write / Licensing
Costs $100
We need to cover our asses and make sure that everything is legit, in a manner of speaking.
Special effects
Costs $400
We need to make the blood and death look real... don't we!?
Sound
Costs $600
We need to record good sound on set for the movie to work!
Production
Costs $800
We need to plan this thing properly. Team meetings, printing, and scheduling is hard work.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
The Camera
Costs $2,750
The equipment we need to create precise and cinematic movement is also vital to our operation.
Art Department
Costs $1,500
Curating art to be featured in the film and finding props is no joke
Lighting
Costs $1,750
The gritty tripped-out look of this film requires we invest in dynamic lighting
Locations
Costs $500
Most of the film happens during a party we need an accommodating place to shoot.
Food
Costs $1,000
No need for starving artists. We have a great community of talented artists providing value!
Score
Costs $2,000
Our score will be epic!
Transportation
Costs $400
We need to get where we are going!
Film Festivals
Costs $100
Help us submit, get into, and win at our top choices of film festivals.
Editing
Costs $1,500
Editing takes time. We want to spend the time in editing to make this perfect.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Space Cave Productions was founded by Colin Parker a Filmmaker and animator from Aurora, IL. A passionate creator who has a detailed and textural style in everything from his commercial production work, to experimental animation. Colin graduated from the College of DuPage with a certificate in Animation and Film. He found College of DuPage to be the perfect place to hone his craft and where he met many like-minded creatives. After college, he has done several hundred hours of pro bono work for Fox Valley United Way. He now works as a Videographer for Bureau Gravity, a marketing company located in his home town of Aurora, IL. His drive to tell stories started at a young age, in school, and at home, Colin couldn’t resist making his friends and family laugh at every opportunity. His love for drawing, computer graphics, and skateboarding, drove his creative mind to explore ways to tell the stories of his generation.
Our website space-cave.com features some of Colin's ambitious and unique work. Three years ago Colin embarked on his journey to tell this story and since then the team has grown exponentially. After four years of school and two years in the marketing and advertising world, his experience and drive will ensure a film unlike any other. Since attending the College of DuPage, Colin has worked as a freelancer on feature films, commercials, and video ads. He organized shoots as a producer and assistant director.
Nathalie Galde (Grace) is a Chicago-based multi-hyphenate: actor, improviser, producer, writer, and director. Most recently she appeared in, the ALTA winning La Carne Asada sketch show at Second City. Nathalie created and produces ImproviSEXation, a sex/body-positive comedy show that emphasizes chaos as entertainment. ImproviSEXation returns to the Annoyance stage in February 2020. @improvisexation, @lacarneasadachi, @batsuchicago, @jjdreamzimprov’
Gabi Mrugala (Vic) is twenty-two years old living in Chicago. She works with the Assisting Directing Department in the Chicago Film/TV Industry, as her day job, and is a freelance actor with Promote Talent Agency. She is finishing her Cinema Arts & Science Degree, concentrating in Directing, at Columbia College Chicago. She is passionate about the art of film making and shares her knowledge with her entertaining personality. Her social qualities make people feel welcome and encourage others to participate in engaging conversations that you can enjoy on the CyaLive or Livit Apps.
Julio Alexander (Omar) is an American actor that can be seen not only on film but occasionally on the stage. He competed in multiple sports in his early life into High School where he was a 2 sport athlete and also Heavily involved in his school's JROTC program. Post High School, Julio decided to begin studying law at a community college before deciding to try Mixed-Martial Arts. He then decided to attempt a long-awaited goal that was American ninja warrior. Even though he wasn't cast on season 8, he was cast later that year in Netflix’s ‘Ultimate Beastmaster’ Upon returning from Beastmaster he had a 6 month period contemplating what would be next in life, the answer became clear in a “what the hell” moment when he decided to dive in headfirst and see if anything could come from a career in Show-business. ‘Straight Edge Kegger’ was his Debut role since deciding to pursue acting. His story is still being written, time will tell.
Christopher Cardenas. I am an actor and writer from Indianapolis, IN, now living in the Chicagoland area. I have been skateboarding and for over two decades, which is how I became involved in the acting realm, with a film titled Maplewood, shot in 2017.
Victor Tan is a freelance Director of Photography based in Chicago. One of these music videos, "Talk Talk", he had the pleasure of shooting was nominated for Best Cinematography in 2016 that was screen at Music Box Theater. A short film titled "The Pride" was submitted to numerous festivals and has taken a number of Laurels including "Best Cinematography". This year, 2019, he had the pleasure of working on a documentary in Toronto, Canada for Midas corporation with a very high potential of doing so again. His passion is working on narrative films and he had the fortune to work on a handful of them towards the end of the year 2019 including the trailer for 'Pleasure Matrix' and looking forward to shooting the entire film."
Katharin “K” Mraz, is the owner of Ladie K Productions, Inc., a media, marketing, and production company., Smart Pretty Designs, Inc., a production art and design company, and Creative Works Media, Inc., a photography/videography company focusing on progressive and socially responsible media. Based out of Chicago, Illinois, she spends her time as a freelance Producer, Director, Production Designer, Art Director,, Actress, and Model with a focus on independent feature films and narrative shorts highlighting diversity or women in the industry. In her free time, she contributors to several magazines spotlighting projects focused on people of color and women in media, mentors young aspiring filmmakers, models, and actors, and is an active advocate in the GLBTQ community.
Baili Martin is a production sound mixer in Chicago, IL. She works in all areas of audio recording, from full-length features to documentary, corporate/commercial, and short films. Her recent sound work includes SoulPancake’s, “Four Hands One Question” short, and Firstness, a feature-length film.
Aaron Rasbury began his film journey in 2018. With no formal film background, he jumped headfirst into student and indie work. Since then he’s been able to work on Love Craft Country, Suits Spin-off, Soundtrack, The Chi, and Station Eleven (in production and locations). He hopes to continue working with creative minds and help support new visionaries in their new ventures.
Please like us on social media and invite your friends too!
Instagram: @thepleasurematrix
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePMShortFilm
Visit our website: space-cave.com