Mates for Life is a series of performing arts films with the goal of connecting people to nature. Inspired by the phenomenon of bird species that mate for life, the series captures the intimacy and beauty of different pairs. The forthcoming installment: barn owls is a choreographed dance interpretation of avian movement crafted specifically to inspire both supporters of conservation and the arts, resulting in more engagement and support for both of these groups.
The earth and the arts desperately need saving.
By cross pollinating these groups through film, we seek to bolster the support for endangered bird habitats and arts groups.
The Story So Far
Spring 2023
Mates for Life - Whooping Crane was completed and screened at several film and conservation festivals. And will release online on "Whooping Crane Day" - May 28, 2025.
Summer 2024
Xavi Núñez (Choreographer) was awarded the ACE Fellowship from Trillium Arts and Tim Whalen (Director) along with two dancers were able to meet a barn owl, work on choreography and share our work with an audience on the farm at Trillium.
Project Status
Project Status
During our artist residency at Trillium Arts, we spent each day in the studio working on movement resulting in around 4 minutes of completed choreography. This movement was inspired by a trip to visit a Barn Owl, Orion who is cared for by Carlton Burke. This one-of-a-kind experience had us face to face with the magnificent raptor allowing us to observe his subtleties first hand. Check out a sneak peek at the choreography and a look at the process below.
Why it's Important.
The barn owl is an important part of the ecosystem in their habitat, their major role is regulating small mammal populations. While not endangered, habitats like theirs need our preservation. Open prairies were once the majority in North America, but only slivers of them are left due to agriculture. Preserving and rebuilding these habitats not only benefit the barn owl, but all of the species in their ecosystem.
The goal of Mates for Life is for people to connect, learn, grow and give what they can to both the arts and environmental communities. This project is poised to be a catalyst to motivate a new generation of conservationists and theater goers and support these important efforts long into the future.
Barn Owl
Story Brief
Act I - Leaving the Roost
Two owls are ‘perched’ in the forest, it’s quiet and the sun is barely peeking light through the trees as the owls prepare for nightfall.
As the darkness consumes them, they start to come alive with movements in unison that are subtle at first and intensify as they ready for their nightly hunt.
Their movement hits full stride as they glide gracefully, silently, intensely through the night the camera only catching glimpses of them in the ‘moonlight’.
Act II - The Hunt
We transition to the STUDIO SET (to allow the dancers to fully realize their movement in a safe setting). The studio set is a stylized version of the forests with tree trunks for dancers to weave in and out of. The dancers will also transform into barn owls using shadow puppetry and wire harnesses! The dancers in shadow (seen in the end of the Choreography video above) will interact with the screen, sometimes taking flight themselves and other times letting a fully realized owl puppet take flight before emerging again as human.
Act III - Returning Home
After the ‘hunt’ is over, the owls return to THE FOREST to rest as the sun emerges from the horizon, mimicking movements and settling in to roost until the following night.
Creative Leads
Since Whooping Crane, Tim and Xavi have have not only started work on Barn Owl but have also collaborated on Cosmic Rhythms an immersive experience currently on view at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL.
Project Timeline
END OF MAY 2025
Funding Launch - Public Release of Whooping Crane on May 28 to help inspire donations
JUNE 2025
Early Funding Goal (15-25%) to cover Final Choreo and early Pre-production
AUGUST 2025
Locations, Costumes, Crew is locked and ready for shoot. Round 2 funding (hopefully 50% of goal) is reached
OCT - DEC 2025
INDOOR SHOOTING TIME WINDOW - Studio booked, props, projection, wire logistics happen / Final funding push with new materials from Studio Shoot (if necessary)
LATE SPRING 2026
OUTDOOR SHOOTING TIME WINDOW - Dates/travel are locked, outdoor production happens, shooting is wrapped.
LATE SPRING 2026
Edit begins
EARLY SUMMER 2026
Edit locked, Music Score, Color/Sound Finishing
LATE SUMMER 2026
Film Premiere! Plus, Send to film festivals, work on packaging with Whooping Crane as proof of concept for series pitch for distribution
Funding Goal
$200k
This is our ideal budget and covers all aspects of pre-production, rehearsal, production, editing and the hard costs of distribution (lawyer, distributor fee, film festival submissions). We aim to pay our artists and crew fair wages and try to be as resourceful as possible when renting equipment. For Whooping Crane we had numerous gracious equipment sponsors that provided gear to us at low or no cost as their contribution to the project.
~$15k
~$75k
~$70k
~$45k
PRE-PRO
Creative
Production Logistics
Choreography
Rehearsals
OUTDOOR PRODUCTION
Crew
Equipment
Meals
Travel
IN-STUDIO PRODUCTION
Crew
Equipment
Meals
Studio Rental
Wire Rigging
Shadow Screen/Puppeteers
POST PRODUCTION
Editing
Sound Mixing
Score/Music Licensing
Color Correction
Distribution Costs
Funding Partner
Trillium Arts (501c3) has graciously agreed to be a fiscal sponsor of the Mates for Life - Barn Owl project. This amazing opportunity allows a tax exempt donation to help fund choreography and production of the project.
Future of the Project
The whooping cranes project served as a proof of concept and was self-funded by the director and his production company, Big Foot Media. With the success of this project, we hope to attract a conservation-minded sponsor(s) to help fund the barn owl project to pay for crew and filming expenses. Each project will align with a conservation organization and arts organization to push a call to action at the end so viewers make a difference.
Possible Non-Profit Alignments: