This short was my final project in the last production class I took at Binghamton University. BU's Cinema department, for those who don't know, focuses heavily on experimental cinema. Avant-garde. Artsy. Whatever you want to call it. As someone who backed his way into the film medium from a desire to tell stories as a writer, this was both a blessing and a curse. The most valuable thing I took from going through the department, however, was to look at film and video the way one would experience a painting or other more "traditional" piece of fine art. Without sounding too pretentious (but realizing it's probably unavoidable), this project benefits from being viewed with that mindset.

This short was influenced by two films I had seen that semester: Michael Snow's Wavelength and John Cassavetes' The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. The lighting and improvised performances were inspired by the latter, and the overall form by the former. The subject matter (the "story," if there is any to be found) comes from a universally shared experience: the "conversation" that comes at the end of a failed romance. The unmoving frame and the lull in the middle make the whole thing pretty difficult to sit through, creating an uncomfortable viewing experience that I feel serves the subject matter. As a film that, to a certain degree, is uncomfortable to sit through by design, it's easy to dismiss the whole thing as an exercise in pretension. But this experiment turned into something I'm really proud of.

I was really surprised by how happy I was with the end result. It's the most successful blend of narrative and experimental cinema that I produced while at BU. It may have something to do with the way I approached the whole process--limited planning, no frills production, and a willingness to experiment and "go with the flow" (a gaffe I ulimately decided to leave in the final film near the end is a good example). Something I struggle with in the cinematic medium is finding ways to be whimsical and impulsive. Because of the time and technical issues involved, it's very easy to overthink and get a product that turns out "overcooked." Making this was a relatively painless and rewarding experience for me.

I could go on about this ad naseum, but I'll spare everybody. Except to say that I think this marks the first work I completed after becoming a smoker, which, for some reason, I feel deserves to be noted.*

* Smoking kills.