After spending most of his weekends away from film school working on different projects, Ryan Ohm decided he wasn’t going to wait for the diploma he’ll soon receive from Chicago’s Columbia College to make his first feature.
It is not surprising then to learn that same restlessness is shared by Finn, the 21-year-old college student at the center of Ohm’s feature debut “Finn & The Sea of Noise,” which is currently raising funds on Kickstarter before a June 16th deadline. But that’s where the comparisons end, not only to Ohm’s life, but to the countless other films made about that hazy period in a person’s life between adolescence and adulthood.
With a Kickstarter video that promises something different just by looking at it, shot with the same Hi-8 camera that will be picked up by Finn in the film for specific segments to give the film “a distinct, memorable atmosphere” according to its director, “Finn & the Sea of Noise” will chronicle a time of great change for the young man after he witnesses a death firsthand, putting into perspective a summer spent back in his hometown where his retreat back to basement parties and skate parks has clouded a way forward with his future.
Yet while Finn may have trouble navigating his post-collegiate life, Ohm has no such uncertainty when it comes to the film, bringing together a group of collaborators who’s he’s known forever such as cinematographer Jackson James, producer Scotty Smith and production design Francis Miranda with a cast and crew he knows by reputation as some of the finest the Midwest has to offer.
“The goal for this film was to pull together an all-star crew of not only some of the most talented peers I know, but also all around great people,” says Ohm, who aims to begin shooting in late June, should the film reach its crowdfunding goal. “Jackson and I have been working together since we first met freshmen year and really riff off one another when it comes to similar mindsets on visual elements and styles, and stories in general. The rest of the primary crew are people I’ve been friends with and worked with before, or people I’ve heard nothing but great things about. Overall, the level of excitement mutually shared among crew members is something that really stands out as amazing, and will surely give this production a unique boost.”
Also sure to be unique to the production is its setting in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst where Ohm plans to take full advantage of his familiarity with the city to use locations even locals might not be familiar, though it’s a place he hopes to expose to far more people outside of it, perhaps as early as this winter on the festival circuit, if all goes according to plan. Already, Ohm is heartened by the response to the film’s Kickstarter campaign and he’s intending to put as much energy into the film as he’s received from those who have already backed the film.
“I can’t wait to see the story come to life,” says Ohm, who hopes not to wait much longer. “We’re lucky enough to work with an amazingly talented cast of actors that bring the characters and story from script to a physical energy and I’m ecstatic about the amount of support we’ve received thus far. I can’t wait to share the final film with everyone who has backed us and given us the push to make this happen.”
To back this project and watch the filmmakers’ personal pitch video, check out the film’s Kickstarter page here. And visit Vimeo to see more of the filmmaker’s work.