DOWN.

Synopsis

Dustin is a social media influencer who is trying to deal with the inevitable breakup between him and his girlfriend. Through social media, text messages, and other phone apps, the story unfolds more with the use of Dustin's cell phone than the dialogue he speaks.

The Experience

Finally, junior year. The assignment is called an AP, or "Advanced Production." I'm assigned a Producer, a UPM, 1st AD, Editor, and a crew sizable enough to be considered a real production. The concept I created was simple: the film will explore getting to know a character purely through the actions on their cell phone. I created a story structure, and handed it off to my screenwriter Scott Weismann. With 3 weeks for pre-production, including writing the entire script, I spent the following 2 ½ months working with my graphic designer, Nic Clar, in order to get the film done in time.

The end result was a learning experience, like all films, and a proud visual satire on this generation. 

Creating the Backstory

When dealing with a film that relies on social media to tell the story, a lot of planning went into the profiles that are seen. The key was to show apps that didn't directly say they were "Snapchat" or "Instagram," but rather felt that way through the design. Working with designer Nic Clar, we were able to tell the story purely through action rather than say, dialogue. The experience was at it's core a learning experience for both of us.

Working with the Actor

The rehearsal process for this film was minimal since it heavily relied on visual effects. Stephen Walden, who plays Dustin in the film, was given the text actions on set, and then we would set up the camera angle accordingly.  Walden would do the same actions on his phone that needed to be synced up with the apps we were designing, and overall was very collaborative in the process. The end result was both of us having a new found appreciation and disdain for our cellular devices.