Back in march I finished a 3 month online film program offered by NYU/Tisch/Yellowbrick. Its call TV and Film essentials and at the end I got a certificate which I proudly added to my ever growing video editor resume. Its a decent program but not the film school experience I was hoping for, no face time or collaboration, no school equipment to rent or feedback from teachers. Even though all those things were stripped out of this course I did find it very useful. It provided me with projects to focus on as well as a great insiders look into the current workings of the industry not to mention a pretty good look at the history of film and TV. All that neat stuff was told to me via pre-recorded interviews of various successful filmmakers and professors. It was perfect for my mostly remote work life. And it has inspired me to take an in person class at some point down the road. Anyway, My final project is a short film based on a real life paranoia my wife and I share in. One night while we were on the train headed to a poetry reading we were going through our usual check list of things we secured before leaving the house. One of us will usually be the sarcastic ass (usually me) that claims that he left the gas on, left all the windows and doors open and left the water running in the bathroom. That night neither one of us remembered if the candle we lit earlier in the day was blown out and it was finally agreed upon that I would venture home and make sure the place wasn’t in flames. As I got off the train to head back I told my wife “this would be a good idea for a short” and low and behold my final project came to life. The Routine was shot on my iPhone, because I had no crew all the sound was recorded at home, I shot way too much despite having written a script and crudely storyboarded. I think overshooting is a good thing, better to have it and not need it. On the bright side it starred my wife Lisa which I have 24/7 access and was game most of the time. And except for the subway scene in which Lisa interacts with a straphanger (played by my friend Camillo DiMaria) she was performing all by herself and pretty well I might add. Anyway, the link is below if you want to check it out.
