Dear Reader,

Welcome to the mouth of Jasmine, our resident shark. She and I thank you for taking the time out of your day to help us make Jasmine come to life! Not literally, of course. That’s impossible. But through the ineffable power of movie magic, we can custom craft her corpse and transform her from concept art into a legendary, museum-worthy prop animal performer for my USC thesis film: DEAD PET SHARK.

For that, dear reader, we need your help. As Isaac Newton’s fourth law of motion states: The ineffable power of movie magic can only be powered through the financial contributions of generous and gregarious patrons. Only then can this film come to life.

You, our dear reader, must wonder: What is this film about? This is an astute question. Please sate your curiosity with our answers below:

Log Line

A ruminative child discovers the concept of mortality when he tries to resurrect a dead shark that he found on the beach.

Film Synopsis

In the early foggy morning, ARTHUR (8) walks the beach with his grandfather ZACHARIAH (65). They seek seashells, and Zachariah picks up any trash he sees along the way. Zachariah encourages Arthur to take in the world around him. Suddenly, Zachariah senses the presence of something big and beautiful hidden somewhere on the beach. Arthur gets excited, assuming it to be the rare queen conch shell, and looks for it.

Instead of finding the shell, Arthur stumbles upon an eight-foot-long Mako shark, dead on the beach with a fishing rope embedded around its neck. Zachariah informs Arthur that the shark is dead, but Arthur wants to resurrect it. Wanting Arthur to follow in his footsteps as a researcher, Zachariah encourages Arthur to test his hypothesis. Arthur brings the shark (whom he named Jasmine) back home and dumps her in his kiddie pool. The first of his experiments begins. Arthur sneaks through the kitchen in search of his mother SELINA’S (33) table salt, but she instantly catches and interrogates Arthur. Arthur does not elaborate on why he needs the salt, which makes Selina suspicious. For now, she drops it, telling Arthur about his upcoming play date with neighbor child PATRICK (9), and sets the table for breakfast. Arthur does so in a hurry, desperate to get back to Jasmine. He rushes to the backyard and dumps the entire salt container into the pool, waiting for Jasmine to come to life. Only Patrick has arrived, and so Arthur must socialize with him. Patrick and Arthur have breakfast and a heart-to-heart about the permanent extinction of the dinosaurs, a conversation that bothers Arthur. However, watching Patrick voraciously eat his breakfast, Arthur gets another idea. Arthur shows Patrick his dead pet shark and lets Patrick play with her. Selina relaxes on the hammock until she hears Patrick’s blood - curdling squeals. Rushing to the backyard, Selina discovers Arthur trying to feed Patrick to the Mako shark. Patrick runs away, and Selina confronts Arthur about his crazy idea. Selina commands Arthur to throw the corpse away and apologize to Patrick. Blaming Zachariah for this fiasco, she forces him to go with Arthur.

Arthur and Zachariah bring the Mako shark up to the bank of an estuary. Arthur cuts the rope off the Mako shark’s neck, discovering the deep pink scarring that it left behind. Arthur rolls the shark into the estuary. As Arthur watches the shark awkwardly sink to the ocean floor, he comes to understand that death is permanent and simultaneously realizes the cause of her death. Arthur throws the fishing rope in the trash bag and scours the beach for other garbage. Suddenly, the ocean breeze activates a sixth sense in Arthur, and he follows his intuition to the tide pools, where he finds the rare queen conch shell. He puts it to his ear and watches the ocean waves ebb and flow, but he hears the deep slow rumble of the entire underwater world.

 

Background / Mission:

Dead Pet Shark is a narrative thesis film, currently in pre-production at the University of Southern California. This story is about a child who goes from being a tad oblivious to the world around him to becoming environmentally conscious and sensitive to the needs of the planet he lives on, all through the power of the scientific process. 

We are fiscally sponsored by From the Heart Productions, and so far, we have raised 28% of our total budget. Currently, we are in pre-production (fundraising, casting, location scouting, etc.), and will be through mid-March. In addition to the standard elements of pre-production, priority will be given to lens and film stock testing, production design prep, and of course, casting & rehearsals. Incidentally, I will be taking virtual production next semester, and I plan to use that class to pre-visualize the entire story and block the locations with the actors. This will be done by 3D scanning locked locations and simulating them within the motion capture studio, where all blocking and rehearsal with the child can take place. Since we are shooting on film and since child actors present unique challenges, this process will do wonders to streamline our set’s flow when the day comes.

I grew up walking the beaches of Cape Cod. These landmarks hold a special place in my heart, and, like so many other ecological habitats, they are threatened by the same forces that plague countless other bioclimates. This connection to the land is the source of my passion for this project and the motif of the scientific process relates to my upbringing by my oceanographer grandfather and meteorologist grandmother, both of whom instilled in me a passion for environmental conservation.

As much as this is a social commentary on the effects of pollution and an homage to my childhood influences, this project represents the culmination of everything I’ve learned at the School of Cinematic Arts and serves as the final chapter of my academic career in general. This project will punctuate the new era of my life, serving as the springboard into my life-long pursuit of directing. 

About the Characters:

Arthur

Arthur is an analytical & stoic 7-year-old with a basic understanding of trial & error. However, he lacks an understanding of the basic but profound realities of life. Arthur’s perception of him/herself is that of a scientist/tyrannosaurus rex. Arthur dresses in sailor stripes and jeans. He looks nice only because his mom dresses him.

Modeling himself after his grandfather, Arthur pursues the great experiment of his life: bringing Jasmine back from the dead. Upon realizing there’s no way to resurrect her, Arthur defines for himself the concept of mortality, and just as profoundly, expounds upon his understanding of causality. In doing so, Arthur grows slightly fundamentally, becoming conscious of the environment and doing what he can to preserve it.

 

Zachariah 

Zachariah is a smart & analytical man, whose seen so many strange things in his years as a mariner that nothing phases him. Comprehensive and highly observant, he fashions himself an observer who refuses to interfere with his grandson Arthur’s learning process. Instead, he guides Arthur along the scientific train of thought, subtly instilling within him the passion for oceanography that he also possesses.

 

Selina

Selina is a ‘happily’ married mother who raises her son with her grandfather. She expects her son to follow in her footsteps and become a well-mannered and culturally literate individual. Unlike Zachariah, her methods are far less subtle, and she opts instead to command and be direct with Arthur whenever she can. A good mother, a disciplined person (runs in the family), and interestingly, a talented guitarist.

 

Patrick

Patrick is a plump seven-year-old with above-average social skills. He considers himself to be very cool and awesome. He wants to be friends with Arthur, and in the back of his mind, wants to recruit him into his friendship group. Like Selina, Patrick is a conformist, which is why Selina admires him so much.

 

 

 

About the Filmmakers / Crew

Writer/Director: Misha Gankin

Misha Gankin is a graduate student at the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. Misha loves to create dark comedies with an experimental bent that centers around protagonists who have epiphanies about the nature of the world they live in. His thesis film is a progression from the juvenalia he created while a student into his most ambitious movie yet.

Producer: Matthew Alden Gibson

Matthew Alden Gibson is an LA-based filmmaker who currently works as an assistant camera and assistant editor. Recently, he has worked on large-scale documentaries, narrative shorts, and a multitude of commercial and corporate shoots. He produces and shoots his own short films in addition to his work on set and has won multiple awards at international and domestic film festivals for his undergraduate thesis produced at Boston University’s College of Communication. Matt is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys employing natural settings in the films he’s worked on. With Dead Pet Shark, he is excited to get to work on a film that is being shot on celluloid and to work with such a talented crew who are up to the task.

 

Harnish Ambaliya is an award-winning cinematographer hailing from India. A third-year student in the MFA program, his ambitions equal that of the director. This film will be the magnum opus of his cinematographic career at USC, and he intends to propel into the A.S.C. by doing something few ever accomplish at SCA. Harnish will be shooting on 35mm film, the gold standard for cinematographers.

 

 

Production Designer: Tristan St. Germain

Tristan is a second-year MFA student at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, specializing in production design and directing. He grew up around New England, deeply familiar with the mysterious and sublime world of Cape Cod in the Fall. 

 

 

 

 

 

Fundraising Goals:

We’ve got quite the fundraising journey ahead of us. Our budget is currently at a whopping $40,000.
Of this, we have raised $20,000, so we're 50% there! 

We hope to raise another $20,000 through this campaign and need your support!

This funding will go towards two vital aspects of the film that we need to tell the story successfully and with style: 35mm film stock, and the custom creation of Jasmine, our beautiful, beautiful shark.

 

 

 

Thank You!!

We thank you once again for taking the time to read through and donate to our thesis project. We cannot make this film without people like you who are willing to join us on this journey.