S H E D (A Short Film)

Role: Writer, Director, Producer, Actor 

Official Selection: Nashville Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Tallahassee Film Festival. Macon Film Festival, deadcenter Film Festival, ME Film Festival, Film Shortage Short of the Day.

The Brief: Get your side hustle on and create something profound AF that's emotionally true and maybe gets into a film festival. 

The Execution: We made SHED in three days with no money. Dana (my wife*) and I starred in it. We shot it at our house with our kids and our shed and it's a piece of fiction sure, whatever, yeah.

Seeing SHED come to life taught me so much as a writer. In the editing room, we were merciless, killing full scenes of dialogue and always looking to simplify the story beat. Ultimately, I think we were able to capture a real sense of claustrophobia. The world is caving in on Molly and she can't escape. Neither can the viewer. We wanted to make them feel like they were eavesdropping on a real couple. 

Thirteen minutes isn't a lot of time to tell a full story, but I think we found a believable arc that feels true. 

Ryan was an interesting character to write. I didn't want to make him villainous, the evil husband who's keeping his woman down; it's more that he's been through this time and time again with Molly and he's exhausted. A short film can only have so many story arcs. We made the decision early on to focus on Molly and less on the marriage. It was the right choice. No matter how perfect or wonderful (or handsome and, boy, is he handsome) Ryan is, it doesn't matter. Molly is going to battle depression for the rest of her life and for their marriage to survive, they have to figure out a way to get through the bad times. 

We shall persevere. 

*Borat Voice