Electronic Press Kit
TEASER TRAILER
Coming Soon.
Premiere: Grad Fest | Enzian Theatre, Orlando FL | June 2nd 2022
ABOUT
LOGLINE: After a car accident puts her son in a coma, Debra is ridden with guilt, but has she found a way to bring him back?
PLOT SUMMARY: Eli and Alice are siblings that often play violent video games together. One day, their mother Debra, a police officer, decides to drive Eli to a violence seminar and tells him to quit playing video games with his sister. On the way to the seminar, Eli and Debra suffer a severe car crash and after being brought to the hospital Eli slips into a coma. Debra is distraught. The next day, after noticing Eli’s hands twitching to the sound of Alice’s video games, she ironically turns to what she criticized him for playing in order to try to wake him up. With the aid of her daughter, who feels neglected by her mother, and despite an antagonist doctor, she begins brining games into the hospital for him to ‘play’. Her first attempt is to no avail. The second time she brings in games for him they cause a power surge that threatens his life and chaos ensues.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
This story was inspired by the way that parents can often blame video games for violence in children. In a roundabout way, this is a story of how neglectful treatment of someone’s children can really be the cause. The contrast between Debra’s treatment of Alice and Eli is the A plot of the film, while using video games to wake Eli from his coma are merely the B plot. I also thought a story like this could make for a good opportunity to collaborate between different artistic fields in Full Sail and showcase student work from these departments. Video games have brought people (especially siblings) together for many years and this film is paying a small ohmage to the friendships formed by means of gaming together.
TECHNICAL SPECS
•Country: USA
•Run Time: 06.43.23
•Aspect Ratio: 16:9
•Type: Movie
•Color: Color
•Sound: Stereo
•Language: English
•Digital Acquisition: Digital Cinema
•Camera: Sony A7s-iii
•Lens Manufacturer: Sony
•Lens: 28-70mm Sony Prime Lens
•Camera Aperture: 35 mm Full-Frame
•Editing System: Adobe Premiere Pro
•Finishing System: Adobe Premiere Pro
•Codex and Format: DCP, Mpeg, H.264, ProRes 422 HQ
CAST
VICKY VANWINKLE
Debra
Vicky was voted “most talented” in her high school graduating class and dreamed of being an actress since her youth. She made a film in college, which where her character brought awareness to social issues. After spending some time away from acting, she has recently returned. She can be seen most recently in “Sightseeing” and “Toads and Diamonds”. Vicky is happy to be back on the big screen and working with Full Sail. She would like to thank her family for their support.
ERIC CASACCIO
The Doctor
Eric now resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, where his creative career expanded into life coaching. His programs focus on envisioning your picture window of life and breaking free from toxic relationships. Casaccio has recently placed quarterfinalist, semifinalist, and finalist in many screenwriting competitions with his feature-length screenplay "Twin Flames" and his short "Always Love." In addition, he has returned to acting with a leading role in the short Full Sail University film "My Sick Love," which was screened at the Dunedin International Film Festival.
PATRICK KELEHER
Eli
Patrick Keleher was born and raised in Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley. He grew up doing a whole lotta acting, filmmaking, and skiing. Patrick can’t wait for the next opportunity to curl up around a campfire and watch the stars. Now he is attending Full Sail University studying film.
KORA KOKAVEC
Alice
Kora is an outgoing young girl that loves dancing, singing, swimming and drawing. She makes friends easily and wants to be a chef when she grows up.
CREW
JASON SCHAAKE
Director, Producer, Writer, Director of Photography
Full-time Master of Fine Arts in Film student at Full Sail University. Freelance filmmaker and drone pilot at Nymbiis LLC. Film festival selected director and cinematographer. Digital artist. Adventure fanatic from Hawai’i and Colorado.
EMMANUEL SIMMS
1st Assistant Director, Sound Mixer, Nurse 1
My name is Emmanuel OverTyme Simms or Manny. I produce a network on Roku and FireTv to create unique and novel content designed to educate and heal my community through animations, sketch comedy, and mental health resources.
TAYLOR CHAPMAN
1st Assistant Director
Taylor Chapman is from Dallas, Texas, currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in Film Production at Full Sail University in Orlando, Fl. In this career she aspires to become a producer, 1st AD and/or cinematographer. She truly enjoys the art of visually telling stories and enticing emotional reactions. She feels that there is also a satisfying aspect for completing a project from start to finish.
ADRIAN VALENTIN
Director of Photography, Camera Operator
Adrian Valentin is a filmmaker with a diverse belt of tools such as 2D and 3D animation, compositing, videography, etc. He graduated from Full Sail University with a Bachelors in Computer Animation, and is currently working on finishing his Master of Fine Arts in Film at Full Sail.
DAVID KLOEHR
Camera Operator
David Kloehr is an aspiring producer and director from Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a bachelor’s degree in Finance. He is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production at Full Sail University. He began his film journey as an LAbased actor from 2014 to 2019. As an actor, he’s worked on several productions, notably The Middle, Scandal Made Me Famous, and Woodlawn. After his tenure in Los Angeles, he set his sights on producing and directing. Since then, he’s worked on several Oklahoma-based productions, including Hulu’s Reservation Dogs, Lionsgate’s American Underdog, and the upcoming Reagan film. More recently, he’s operated as an extra’s coordinator and financial analyst through an internship with Kingdom Story Company. Long term, he aims to own and operate his own production company in the future.
EMILY SEGUROLA
Camera Operator
My name is Emily Segurola. I am majoring in the master’s program at Full Sail University. I’ve worked in several different projects as a Director, DP, editor, and producer. I’d like to continue working in the cinematography and editing aspects of film, while maintaining my skills as a director.
ZACHARY CLARK
Sound Mixer, Boom Operator
Zachary Clark was born and raised in Brick, NJ. He attended Full Sail University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Film. He is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Film Production. He challenges himself to become a production sound mixer and operator.
VAISHNAVI SIGNH
Script Supervisor, Nurse 2
DESIREE VELEZ
2nd Assistant Director
Desi Alexandra was born and raised in Tampa Florida. At the age of eleven she began taking on-camera acting classes which exposed her to the film world. In high school she became interested in being behind the camera. She started out as a freelance photographer and fell in love with video in the process. She has now worked on a few independent films in various positions such as BTS Photographer and videographer as well as Director’s Assistant and 2nd AD. She hopes to learn more about the production process and looks forward to working on more projects as she develops her knowledge and skills as a filmmaker.
CLIFFORD ACEY
1st Assistant Camera, Gaffer, Key Grip
I attended Jackson State University where I graduated with a 3.0 GPA and my Bachelor’s Degree in Media Production. I am currently attending Full Sail University where I am currently pursuing my Master of Fine Arts in Film. I am a member of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. and I plan to become a Writer, Director, and Producer.
JACOB LYON
2nd Assistant Camera
Jacob Lyon is pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Recording Arts at Full Sail University. Having a passion for video games growing up, he also developed a passion for making YouTube videos, surpassing over 1.8k subscribers on his channel. He was very athletic growing up, winning a team state championship in tennis, and playing sports year-round. He always had a passion for singing, and started posting acapella covers to Vine towards the end of his senior year in high school. After Vine shut down, he switched to uploading his covers to Instagram, where he currently has over 7.8k followers and posts updates for his original music. He currently has two singles out on all platforms and many more unreleased.
ANNMARIE COSTANTINE
Make-Up Artist
PRODUCTION STILLS
Title Card
Eli and Alice playing video games
Debra shaming Eli. “Those games are so bad for you”
Alice is left alone
Alice tells Eli to wake up
Alice and Debra at Eli’s hospital bed
Debra searches for Eli’s portable game console
Eli with his portable video game
Debra arguing with the doctor
The doctor argues with Debra
The doctor makes his point
Alice is neglected
Alice plugs in TV and causes short circuit
Eli struggles to breathe
Doctor panicking
The doctor blames Debra for incident
Debra’s POV – she wakes up
Alice has had enough
FULL CREDITS
Written, Directed, & Produced by
Jason Schaake
Starring
Vicky VanWinkle as Debra
Patrick Keleher as Eli
Kora Kokavec as Alice
Eric Casaccio as The Doctor
Emmanuel Simms as Nurse 1
Vaishnavi Singh as Nurse 2
Cinematography
Jason Schaake
Adrian Valentin
1st Assistant Directors
Emmanuel Simms
Taylor Chapman
Editing, VFX & Sound Design
Jason Schaake
Camera Ops
David Kloehr
Emily Segurola
Adrian Valentin
Jason Schaake
Sound Mixer & Boom Ops
Zachary Clark
Emmanuel Simms
Art Director / Wardobe
Jason Schaake
Production Designer
Emmanuel Simms
Script Supervisor
Vaishnavi Singh
2nd Assistant Director
Desiree Velez
1st Assistant Camera
Clifford Acey
2nd Assistant Camera/
Eli Stand-In
Jacob Lyon
Editing, VFX & Sound Design
Jason Schaake
Hair / Make-Up
Annmarie Costantino
•
Crafty / Catering
Jason Schaake
IN COLLABORATION WITH…
The Full Sail University Game Design Program
Gameplay and Game Art
Dejuan Owens
Video Game 1: LIVE OR DIE
Project Lead: Justin Kamm
Producer: Justin Kamm
Designers: Austin Dosen, Delroy Gaskin, Gary Nuckles, Justin Kamm
Developer: Andy Lam
Artists: Conor Ford, Lingxiao "Billy" Wang
Voice Actor: Justin Kamm
Quality Assurance: Delroy Gaskin, Jason Lance, Justin Kamm, Lingxiao "Billy" Wang
Writers: Anthony Kamm, Justin Kamm
Video Game 2: 2 FOXES AND THE PUZZLING FOREST
Lead Developer: Garrison Lee
Project Lead: John Summerville
Lead Level Designer: Ki Hawthorne
Lead Audio Engineer: Nadine L'Heureux
Lead Visual Artist: Sarah Woizeschke
Level Designer: Christian Soares, Justin Kamm, Lisa D Lee, Leon Lu, Nathaniel Pace, Robert Gitau, Tyler Diaz, Wyatt Martilik
Game Developer: Andy Lam, Justin Brown, Pranjal Lochande, TJay Cargle
Game UI Developer: Jeremy Pineda, Kevin P. Smith
UI Artists: Bryson Barthol, Wenhao Lui
Audio Engineer: Lee Neering
QA Test Conductor: Chad Kiernan
QA Tester: Christian Soares, Jason Lance, Sowmya Ragi
UI Developer: Francis Young
Extensive Tester: Jake Wade, Krystle Kettle
Game Design Consultant: Roy Papp
Initial Concept Contributor: Ty Wagner
Video Game 3: ADVENTURE WAR BATTLEFIELD
Studio Director: Roy Papp
Studio Manager/Game Producer: Sowmya Ragi
Game Designer/Game Developer: Trent Cobb
Writing/Dialogue: Jeremy Garner
Sound Effects: Wes
Special Thanks: Full Sail University, Synty Studios, Mark Pointer, Nathaniel Pace, John Summerville, TJay
Music
So Bodacious by BadNraD
Return by Jamie Bathgate
2 Foxes and the Puzzling Forest Soundtrack
Adventure War Battlefield Soundtrack
Drift Apart by Break of Reality
Where We Are Now by Laurel Violet
SFX / VFX
Artlist
Motion Array
SPECIAL THANKS
Al, Hannah and Jeff Schaake
Full Sail University
Studio Lot Orlando
Roy Papp
Dejuan Owens
Kari Whaley
Luke Leonard
Jennie Jarvis
Allen Gorney
Georg Hartmann
Howard Katz
Van Manson
Andrew Byrd
Christian Rodriguez
Rob Sloan
Dave Chmela
Peter Gordon
PRODUCTION NOTES
•The location for the house scenes was changed a couple of hours before day 1 call time.
•All video games in the film are greenscreen or composite VFX (and are video games made by Full Sail Video Game Development students!)
•The Film was shot over 3 days on a Sony A7siii by four different Camera Operators and two Cinematographers.
•Patrick (Eli) fell asleep on set in the hospital bed.
•Eric (the doctor) felt compelled to hug Vicky (Debra) after we finished scene nine, when he yells at her.
•Vicky (Debra) is wearing Jason’s pants in her day 1 wardrobe.
•Jason (the director) still owes Kora (Alice) a slice of chocolate cake.
BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS
FULL SYNOPSIS
Eli and Alice are siblings that often play violent video games together. One day their mother, Debra, a police officer, decides to take Eli to a violence seminar and tells him to quit playing video games with his sister, who often feels neglected by her mother to begin with. The sounds of a violent car crash are heard, and Eli ends up in the hospital, in a coma. His mother and sister stay overnight to visit and in the morning his sister plays games next to him on her iPad. Debra notices Eli twitching and immediately makes a connection to the sounds of the video game and his twitches. Eli’s doctor insists this is impossible. The next day Debra and Alice bring a portable game controller to the hospital room, and Alice is told to play with Eli. Eli reacts physically to the game with inconsistent results and stops all movements as his doctor enters. The doctor explains again why the stimuli won’t work on Eli, which angers Debra and makes her seemingly crazed. At home, Alice tries to confront her mom but is dismissed as Debra is focused on the Eli situation. The third time Debra and Alice visit the hospital, they bring a full TV and console set up with them, which when plugged in, causes his power strip to short circuit and the power to his oxygen machine and pulse reader to be lost. Eli begins to involuntarily struggle to breathe. The doctor shows up as everyone is in a panic. He blames the situation on Debra and tells he told her it wasn’t going work and that she needed to wake up – figuratively speaking. The words ‘wake up’ echo in her head as her anxiety spikes and a vision goes blurry. When her vision focuses back in, she finds herself in a hospital bed, surrounded by everyone. They tell her she’s been the one in a coma the whole time and only in her joy, embraces Eli. Alice, after everything, still feels neglected. She calls back some dialogue from the first scene of the film and proceeds to remove her mother’s police gun from her bag. The sound of Debra’s panicked dialogue and a gunshot are heard over black.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jason Schaake
(808) 224-7195
JASchaake@student.fullsail.edu
YOUNG COLORADO FILMMAKER TO RELEASE PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA SHORT FILM IN ORLANDO “DISCONNECT”
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, JUNE 2nd – After taking the Film Festival world by storm with his two short films; Am I Alone? (horror-comedy) and iStalker (thriller), up-and-coming director Jason Schaake has his aim set even higher for his newest film, Disconnect.
It is to premiere at the Enzian Theater for Grad Fest on June 2nd.
The short film phycological drama is based on a cop, Debra, who is riddled with guilt when her son, Eli, slips into a coma after a car accident they were in together. After noticing Eli’s hands twitching to the sound of video games, she turns to what she’d always criticized him for playing in order to try to wake him up. With the aid of her daughter, Alice, and despite an antagonist doctor, she is determined to save her boy.
“I wanted to flip the script on parents’ common narrative that video games cause violence in children” says Jason. “I think irony can be a powerful way to send a message in storytelling, and in this case it’s that Debra turns to video games to try to save her son, meanwhile she overlooks her own neglectful treatment of her daughter.”
Jason grew up making films as both a job and hobby in Hawaii, having won 1st place in teen video award contests. He would later hone his filmmaking skills in Colorado and earn his MFA in film from Full Sail University in Orlando. He aims to keep pursuing film as a career and emphasize producing films outside of major film hubs, and closer to the outdoors.
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