Mark Hackman
Dance Crash + The Saints
The Last First
The Job.
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COVID stopped all event-based organizations from making money. We need to keep Crash creatively active to satisfy their major funders + The Saints commission quota + maybe we can turn a negative into a positive and get some new followers outside our immediate region.
The Considerations.
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Everyone is doing the same “in these uncertain times” commercials and environmental performance videos – the novelty’s worn off. One of Crash’s strengths is the jux of personalities and values within the ensemble, being both a concert and street styles ensemble. PLUS Trump is constantly talking trash about the city of Chicago, “Worse than Afghanistan.” There’s an argument that 2020 reality is more interesting than any piece of art we could create.
The Idea.
Documentary.
Professional dancers doing the best they can during a pandemic in a major American city. How do they earn a living? How do they rehearse? How do they figure the death of George Floyd, the social justice demonstrations, the downtown bridges being lifted during protests? Etc.
Filmed entirely by the dancers themselves, “The Last First” is a longform piece of content that not only won awards and opened a bunch of eyes, but will likely serve the world as an effective time capsule of a very niche perspective we had access to.
I had the amazing pleasure of “directing” everyone involved with the types of moments that need to be captured then realizing a linear story – connecting the puzzle pieces after the fact – all from my condo. An introvert’s dream come true.
