‘iDig’ premieres at La Grange Theatre

LA GRANGE – The men behind the La Grange-based video marketing firm, Motion Source, best known around town as the studio that created a Chevrolet commercial that aired during the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star game and prominently featured Harder’s Service Station, premiered their new short film, “iDig,” at the La Grange Theatre Feb. 19.

The 25-minute short follows a down-on-his-luck man named Doug who hatches a plan to dig up a time capsule buried in 1976 and contains the first Apple computer, the Apple 1, which has sold at auction for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Doug enlists a former school friend to help, who in turn recruits a former class bully, and the three head to a fictional Pleasantdale Middle School to dig the computer up to sell. The plan doesn’t go as planned, and without giving the film away, a dark turn leads Doug to examine his choices.

Written by Motion Source owner and Brookfield resident Jon Scaletta, the film was conceived on a flight home from a job in Finland as Scaletta read Steve Job’s autobiography and learned an Apple 1 had sold at auction for $375,000.

Aided by his business partner, Craig Bass, and the Motion Source crew, the film began shooting in December 2012. The film will be submitted to numerous film festivals this year, according to the creators.

“This was a huge learning project too,” Scaletta said.

The two hope to take that education – which included how difficult it is to actually dig a 6-foot-deep hole – and apply it to more short films down the road, perhaps eventually leading to a full-length feature at some point.

While the film is not available for the public, those interested will hopefully get a chance to screen it at film festivals in Naperville and Elgin this year.

While both Scaletta and Bass have plans for more movies down the line, both are focused on “iDig” for now, as well as moving their business to a new home on Grand Avenue in Brookfield. Motion Source’s new location will feature a massive studio space connected to their office, only increasing the potential for interesting work down the line.

Like the firm’s Chevy commercial, which featured a local cast and location, “iDig” similarly drew on area talent and locations like Now Serving and the Jackson Street Antique Mall. According to Scaletta and Bass, they’re always on the hunt for talented locals and those who have a location or prop they can use.

“If people want to support the arts, let us shoot in their home,” Bass said.

Learn more about "iDig" at the film's website at www.idigthefilm.com and read the Suburban Life's 2013 feature story on the film at shawurl.com/10rf.