Monday was a really fun day, because we wrote a song for the movie! Since the beginning I've had the idea of The Abnormals having a theme song, like any good superhero team should, and yesterday I hosted a zoom meeting with two of my friends who know a lot more about music then me so we could write it. I actually have written lyrics before. I do a summer program where we write original musicals, so I actually have a lot of experience with this. My two friends Jaden and Seth, who wrote the song with me, also do this program, and they both know guitar.
We started by discussing what the structure of the song should be like; we could go the route of a song telling the story of the film, a song that mentions the characters but doesn't tell a specific story, or a song that has nothing to do with the characters or story that just fits the vibe of the movie. We went with the second option. The idea was that it would feel like the theme song to superhero cartoon like Teen Titans or the 60s Spider-man show.
Jaden and Seth did all the guitar stuff while Jaden and I did all the lyrics. We decided to structure it in a very simple structure of verse>pre-chorus>chorus>verse>pre-chorus>chorus>bridge>pre-chorus>chorus. For the overall song I was very inspired by the band The B-52's and their very bouncy 60s surf rock meets 80s new wave. Their song "Planet Claire" was one that I was thinking of a lot while writing. In general the aesthetic of the B-52's is something that was in my mind during the entirety of production. I just love how sincerely fun and goofy it is.
We finished writing the lyrics during our zoom call and by the point Jaden and Seth had to log off. I then recorded the vocals on my phone to send to them to use as reference when they record and mix the real thing. At the moment Jaden will be doing the vocals. He really wanted to do it and he's a good vocalist so I think he'll do a good job. He also plays the character Toy Master in the movie, and there's something I like about having the villain be the one who sings the hero's song, especially given how theatrical the character. It's like the character made the song as a snide "are you happy now?" to The Abnormals.
While all of this is happening, my friend Jake, who plays the character Agent Siegel, said he would be able to compose the score to the film. I had asked him before and he said he wouldn't have to the time to, but I guess things changed because he's the one asking me if he can do it. I sent him a rough edit of what I have for him to put music to. He's super talented on the piano so I'm hyped for what he sends back.
A lot of stuff is happening in the world of social media for The Abnormals. First, I posted the first look images for the film last Wednesday, three stills that I felt would get people excited and most importantly make them want to know more. The last of the three gave my page's followers there first look at The Abnormals in costume, and the costume reveal is big moment for any superhero movie's marketing. It means things are serious now, like a message that says "yeah, get hyped, cause it's happening".
On that day, I also did something really crazy. Let me run you through my process. At the end of the film, there's a montage of footage of villains who escaped from prison. The idea was that this would allude to how comic books often end on cliffhangers while allowing more of my friends to have roles in the film. Now initially I was going to send a message to my summer break theater group chat, but I realized that that would exclude people from my school who may want to participate, as well as the people who don't frequently check WhatsApp. I would get the message sent to more people if I used Instagram, I thought. I considered that I should send it on my personal Instagram story, and that gave me an idea. What if I posted on the film's social media page, and made it a public offer? That idea is insane and also brilliant! Not only would I get more eyes on the post, I would be getting audience involvement and cultivating a fan base for the film. I made a post detailing how to film and send me a video that would be included in the film. At the moment I have received no responses, however some of my friends have said that they are interested. I love how this will make the movie feel even more like a community effort. Plus, if I am to get pretentious for a minute, I like to think that community involvement through the internet like this may be a part of the future of cinema. At least in my opinion, it should be. Imagine every movie has a call for people to submit art that will be shown in the movie, a call for any person to lend their voice to a computer generated character, a call for people to be credited for a digital double of themself that appears in the background, there's a lot of possibilities for this.
Lastly, today I posted the official poster for the film. I made it through editing a screenshot from the film, adding this spiral background that appears in the film itself at a few points that matches the green and blue color scheme I've been using, and added the tagline, release date, and the cast and director information. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I posted two versions of it, one with the credits and other info, and one with just the image and title. I did this because if for any reason someone wanted to save the poster to their phone, they should have the option to have a version without the clutter of text if they so please. Again, I'm really trying to appeal to young internet users and how they consume content, and one of the many things I know about them is that they like things that are to the point, hence the simpler version of the poster.
Alright so I have begun the editing process and I'm currently pretty far along with that. I'm mostly done with the line edit (putting all the clips in order and having them at the length they should be) and I've done a little bit of color grading. I'm really happy with how it's looking, and while a lot of it feels kind of awkward without music or sound effects, that will soon change. Making the line edit is actually fun because, and I know I sound like a broken record but it's true, I can feel the film I've been dreaming of for the past two months come to life. Color grading, on the other hand, is a tedious process that should be used as a military torture method, however it's nice seeing the visuals of the movie improve with a few clicks. As you can see, I split the line edit into three sequences, which makes it easier for me to organize and know where I am in the timeline.
Last Tuesday, I filmed the last clips I needed, which are the shots of the character Agent Siegel calling in to assign the Abnormals their mission. I filmed them against a green screen and added this background which I felt was properly retro and fit the movies vibe. Really, the main reason I used a green screen was because it would be really obvious that the Abnormals HQ and the office Agent Siegel is calling from are both just my house. I have a small house where all the walls look the same, that's why.
Stay tuned for my next post, where I'll discuss how I've been marketing the film on social media!
FINALLY after only a slight amount of pestering I got everyone to send my their headshots and bios! I'm going to start posting these tomorrow, and I'm also going to start editing. I will be so honest with you, I find editing to be really tedious and while there is enjoyment in it, I am not a fan of editing. Tomorrow I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and get this thing done. Anyway I'm not thinking about that right now because I finally have my cast's bios and chosen headshots! Like I said I'll begin posting these tomorrow, and I'll also probably be posting some behind the scenes updates throughout the week. I'm so excited, I really feel like I'm running a professional movie social media account.
We had another group meeting! Like the last one, it was fun seeing what other people are doing and giving them advice. A lot of people are getting close to filming, so soon we'll all be on the same point in our project timelines. I certainly felt after the meeting that I'm where I need to be in terms of time. I showed some clips I filmed to the other people in the group and they all seemed to like them. I made the realization that this movie is weirdly hard to describe to people. Both in and outside of the group, whenever someone asks about it I say "oh it's about superheroes". Then when they ask for the actual plot I hesitate for a bit and say "This team of superheroes has to stop a villain from getting a gemstone." It's such a simple heroes vs villains story with absolutely nothing unique about it other than the the fact that someone is making something so simple and vintage in the year 2025 when it feels like it should be a cartoon short from the 60s. Of course that's the point, but it makes it hard to describe while accurately getting across the vision. The plot itself isn't what matters, it's the film's presentation and also it's mere existence.
Ok so that title isn't entirely true, but what is is that I filmed nearly all of the film in one day! The only thing left to do is to film this brief video call footage with one person which will appear on the screen in the film. But I'm not thinking about that one shot with two lines right now because literally everything else is done!
This morning, staring at around 10, my three actors Max, Sawyer, and Reagan arrived at my house and we filmed all of the indoor scenes at the Abnormals HQ, the ones that begin and end the film. Then my dad ordered pizza and we had lunch at around 12:30. After that, we filmed these brief suit-up montage shots against the greenscreen. Seeing everyone in their full costumes for the first time was one of the best moments of the day, made me feel like my vision was coming to life in front of me.
We then took another break after that and drove over to Tree Tops Park to meet up with Jaden and Lee, the other two stars, to film the forest scenes which take up a bulk of the runtime. We got there a little after 2 finished at around 4:45. When it came to the indoor stuff, we really had no issues. The outdoor scenes also went smoothly, however we did have to pause a few times for park goers to walk past and to wait for the sound of planes and cicadas to subside, which are both very common in that area for some reason.
I think I speak for everyone when I say that we felt a little embarrassed hanging around this public park in our superhero and villain outfits, and yeah I think we got a few stares. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this here, but I'm autistic, and because of the social anxiety that comes with that I was kind of dreading this, so I just forced myself to not think about the passerby and just focus on the movie. I mean, we're actors and filmmakers, we're weird people. You see the general public making up stories and playing pretend as adults or even young adults? We're weird people, and that's cool.
I originally said I would make a shot list for this film, but I didn't have time. It still worked out though. I actually kind of prefer the method of improving and coming up with visual ideas in the moment. For example, I wanted to put some knick-knacks around my living room to make it look more like a superhero base, and I found this conch shell. I got the idea that when the character Astroknight turns on the TV to get the team's mission, he should do it in a cool, unexpected way. Thus, the secret mission channel is tuned into by spinning around the conch shell on the coffee table. I also allowed for a degree of improvisation with the performances. Jaden and Lee especially did a lot of these exaggerated moments that felt highlighted the campiness of those characters and the film itself. Sometimes I felt like they were taking it too far and had to ask them to dial it back, but regardless I loved what they did with those characters.
It was really fun blocking the scenes. I feel like I direct my blocking with a more theater-like sensibility than film, probably because I do theater and I'm very used to it, so if you were on set you would've heard a lot of talk like "form a line" or "form a triangle". Then again, maybe that is traditional in film and I haven't been on enough sets to notice it.
One of the main reasons we were able to film most of the movie in one day is that I only did one take for most shots. The only times I did multiple takes were if someone messed up a line, if I messed up moving the camera, if an unexpected sound occurred, or if I felt like someone's performance or delivery needed to be tweaked. All of those things rarely happened, and I'm happy to say that a vast majority of the shots we're two takes at most. Some may say that this is a flawed method, while I say it depends on the director and the cast. I feel like the first take is usually the most authentic performance and I don't want to stress out my actors or myself with too many takes (looking at you, Kubrick). It saves time both in filming and in editing, because I don't have to endlessly watch the same clip over and over to see which variation is best.
Now is a good time for me to mention just how fun the set was. Yes we were making a film, which is work (something I had to remind my cast of a few times) but we were also hanging out and having a good time. By the time it was done everyone was feeling good and accomplished and was just as excited to see the final product as me, which makes me happy.
This is becoming a very long blog post but I'm just so excited about this movie! Now that it's been filmed, a massive weight has been taken off of my shoulders, and I have more than enough time to edit and do all the necessary marketing shenanigans. Today was an amazing day.
I've made the decision that I won't be filming at Becon for the indoor scenes. They have very specific hours that don't fit with the schedules of my friends, plus the indoor scenes, which I hope to maybe do this Saturday or Sunday, will probably be done late into the evening or night, which Becon won't allow. My new plan is that I'll do it at my dad's house. It's got these maroon red walls and looks like it's been frozen in time in the 70s despite being built in the 2000s, which fits the visual aesthetic I'm going for.
As of now it looks like we'll be filming the outdoor scenes (Treetops Park) on Sunday. I'm crossing my fingers that this date stays because I really need to get footage shot. We'll probably be at Treetops all afternoon because I want it all done in one day. They close at 6pm and I think if we start at 2pm or 3pm we should be good to film the 6 pages that encompass those scenes. I'm going to make a shot list so I'm prepared when we get there. I'm going to try to make this film have as little cuts as possible and do as much as I can in long takes simply because it will mean less time filming with having to reposition the camera and also less work in editing.
As we prepare to shoot, I'm making sure that everyone has their costume elements. As of now it looks like everyone does because I made sure that all of these outfits can be made from everyday objects. Here's the list I made:
Costumes:
Astroknight (color scheme: blue)
Blue cape
Overall blue color scheme
Logo, design, or emblem on the shirt (maybe a medallion)
Belt (maybe the logo is on the belt)
Gloves
Civilian outfit that matches the color scheme
Cryptid Kid (color scheme: green)
Denim vest
Steampunk type goggles
Green shirt
Cryptid pins and patches
Fingerless gloves
Civilian outfit that matches the color scheme
Showstopper (colorful scheme: red)
Patterned gloves
Red shirt
Domino mask and/or headband or crown-like headpiece
Black pants (maybe a belt)
Civilian outfit that matches the color scheme
Toy Master
Suit (maybe with a pattern or colors)
Colorful tie or hat
Blackout
Black cloak
Jewelry
Gloves (either black or red)
Possibly makeup around the eyes
Agent Siegel
Formal Suit
I talked about this list with the cast, and most of the things here we already have. Here are some images:
I'm super excited to begin filming, and I really hope that I can have at least most of the shooting done before Spring break begins in a little over a week.
Last Friday we did group meetings, where we gathered in groups of five to share what we've been working on and get feedback on it. In the group I was in, four of us we're doing a short film and the other was doing music marketing. It was really fun talking with the person who was doing music marketing, as she's still in the early stages of the projects which meant we were all able to give input on how she could create a persona for her subject, talking about colors and outfit choices and other things of the sort. For everyone we gave input on what could be done to help improve their project or help move them along in the process. This was all really great. Not only was it useful, it was also a fun bonding experience for us as classmates. It feels like we've spent so much time in discussions and talking to each other about our projects that we've become a little media studies family.
When it comes to the feedback on my project, I was really happy that it was all positive. A few people asked how I would feasibly be able to film some of the things I was describing, but I reassured everyone that I had carefully written a script that would require nearly zero special effects despite the fantastical subject matter. I was also pleased to hear that everyone loved the mood boards that I had made, and that they felt that there's a lot of details and consistent imagery in my blog posts that made them see the vision of what of I'm going for.
Original Template
Updated Template
One of the last things I showed them were these templates for "meet the cast" and "meet the director" posts that will be put on the movie's Instagram. They said that they would prefer more stylized character posters for this film to show of the cast, which I agreed with. I still felt like I wanted to show off the cast members as actors and not their characters, so I changed the templates to remove the logo of who they're playing, as I'll save that for the posters. I'll also ask them to not mention who they're playing when writing the bios that will be featured, again to make it more about them as actors and not characters. I think these posts will be a fun behind the scenes look into the film.
As of now, the plan is to begin filming Sunday. Originally I wanted to start during the week but do to availability I had to push it back. This might actually be a good thing though, as it now means there's more time to prepare and gather the costumes and props. I'm really excited to see the movie come to life!
I wanted to do a full read through of the script Monday night, but not everyone was available so I decided to postpone it to later in the week or the weekend. I still had some people who were able to join the meeting, however, so I used the time to go over the things I would've talked about after the read through, which I then sent in our group chat for those who couldn't make it.
Given that filming will hopefully begin next week, now is the time to gather the costumes and props that will be used. In this meeting, I talked about my ideas for the looks for the main characters and brainstormed clothing items that we may need. Because this is a superhero movies, it's really important that the characters have distinct and memorable appearances. I made these mood boards to showcase my ideas for what I want the visual feel of the characters to be. I've placed them below along with brief descriptions of the characters.
Astroknight: Team leader, wielder of the Astro Sword.
Mood - Heroic, adventurous, cosmic
Cryptid Kid: Scientist with the animal-like powers of cryptids Mood - Rugged, earthly, practical
Showstopper: Actress and musician who can manipulate sound Mood - Mythic, bright, flashy
Blackout: Villain who's goal is to block out the sun Mood - Gothic, imposing, regal
Toy Master: An interdimensional trickster who collects rare artifacts Mood - Theatrical, impish, sophisticated
Agent Siegel: The Abnromals' informant who gives them their missions Mood - Put-together, authoritative, just
I'll begin by apologizing for my inactivity, as I was out of town the past three days to visit the Savannah College of Art and Design, which is the school I'll be going to in the Fall. Well now I'm back and there's no time to think about the future when I need to devote myself to my present, and by my present, I mean THE ABNORMALS!
Last week, on Tuesday, I hosted another meeting on Zoom to further discuss the film. I decided that filming would be on three days: One day will be at Becon Tv, a student tv station, and would be the two scenes in the Abnormals HQ. The second day will be at a park called Treetops Park (where I filmed my AS Level project!) and will be the forest scenes. The third day will be back at Becon to film the entrance of the villains for the rogues gallery scene at the very end of the film. I don't know if I'll have available space in the runtime to include that scene in the edit of the film I send to Cambridge, but regardless I'll have an extended cut that I'll release on my own as the definitive edition. These days won't be in the exact order I described, and in fact I'm thinking that we might do the forest scenes this weekend because it's the most heavy of the three days and I want to try to have most of the filming done before Spring Break.
After explaining all of that to the cast, we did a quick read through of select scenes that I felt were the most important to showing who these characters are and how they interact. Originally I wanted the villain character of Blackout to be played one of my friends from my summer workshop (most of the cast is from there, in fact) but he won't be available, so instead I got one of my friends from school and rewrote Blackout to be female so she could play her.
I was really happy with how the readthrough went. The people I have playing the main trio of Astroknight, Cryptid Kid, and Showstopper are all good friends in real life and I can already feel that translate into the chemistry of the characters. I hope that through the natural friendship of the characters, the film can be more engaging and maybe even comforting for some viewers. The dynamic is there for the Abnormals, and I'm also really happy with my two villains Blackout and Toy Master. They lean more into the campy tone then the heroes, and their actors are already having a blast going as over the top as they can. As a director, my main notes for all of the actors is going to be telling them when to dial up the camp and when to tone it down. I've noticed that there are moments where I feel like going over the top is distracting and harms the scene, and others where it feels like playing it naturalistically makes it feel awkward because the tone of the performance doesn't match the dialogue.
I'm going to be hosting another Zoom tonight, this one being a full table read. I am beyond excited for this movie, and it feels great watching it take shape.
I created a social media page for the film! I used Instagram, as it's the primary social media I use. This a really exciting moment for me, now I feel like the existence of this movie is official, the public knows that it's happening. I had another cast meeting a few days ago (which I'll talk about in my next post) that makes me really optimistic for how the final product will be. I made the first post Tuesday, and if I felt less confident that I had actors who would be in the film I probably wouldn't have done, but I think I have enough people confirmed that it feels right.
The first post I made was the teaser poster for the film. I'll make a primary poster featuring the characters once filming has began and I'll have images of the actors in costume to use, but for now It's just this teaser poster to get people hyped.
I went with "This Spring, suit up" as the tagline because it fits with the superhero genre while fitting both the release and tagline into one line, which I wanted because I wanted the teaser poster to be as simple as possible, with very few lines of text.
The only other piece of text that isn't the title that I included is "a new adventure from Nathaniel Brent". I went with "new adventure" instead of the standard "a film by" or "directed by" credit because it shows that I'm trying to make a film that's a little more unique then the average student short, and also because it matches the classic comic book feel.
I felt that by including my name on the first poster and in the bio, it shows how this film is my passion project and establish it as being born of my vision. People who know me well will see my name and immediately have an idea of what this movie will be like. I definitely want to include myself in a lot of the social media, as I think having a human personality behind a movie is a good way to create a personal connection between the film and audience and thus make people more interested in it. This will mainly be through behind the scenes posts, Q&As, and a "meet the director" post I plan on making.
Yesterday was a very bid day for the film. I had my first official cast meeting with the people who will hopefully be starring in the film (unfortunately given how school is, there's a possibility that not everyone will be able to commit, which is why I over prepared by asking more people to participate then I actually need). The meeting was mainly talking about scheduling (based on the schedule I made last week), possible locations, and getting everyone accustomed to what the film will be and the desired tone. They had all already read the script before the meeting, I just wanted to clarify that it's intentionally very kitsch, and will thus require a style of acting that leans in to that.
I also talked about the music for the film. I really want this movie to have a theme song with lyrics. I have some friends who make music, so I asked them if they would be willing to write that alongside me, and they said yes. It will probably play during the suit-up montage towards the beginning, and will hopefully also be released as a single on music streaming sites to go along with the movie. This is honestly one of the things I'm most excited about, as I have a big soft spot for movies with dedicated theme songs (i.e. "Flash" by Queen from Flash Gordon or "Burn" by The Cure from The Crow) and it's going to be really cool having one in my movie.
The last thing I did in the meeting was have the cast members read some lines so both I and them can get a feel for how different people will be in different roles. Like I said in a previous post, I really need the main trio to bounce off of each other if I want this to work. Hopefully I can finalize the cast next week.
Before I go, I'll show off these logos I made. One is the main logo for the film, and the other three are logos representing the members of the team... The Abnormals!
As per the requirements of this project, I need to make two research posts in which I watch to two existing short films to prepare and get ideas for my own. These two are both superhero shorts, which fits with the film that I'll be making.
Film 1: The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story
The Spider Within is an animated Spider-Man short released by Sony Pictures in 2024. What's really cool about it is that it was made in partnership with a nonprofit called the Kevin Love Fund to promote mental health awareness. The film itself is about Miles Morales returning home with a lot on his mind, not just his life as Spider-Man, but also his struggles at school. His dad invites him to watch a movie, but Miles goes to his room. While in his room, he encounters a shadowy copy of himself, which morphs into a massive spider. This creature isn't literally there, it just represents his anxiety, and the film does a great job portraying that with the visuals and sound. I love the use of comic panels in this film, showing either flashbacks or a different perspective on a shot, such as the view of the spider that Miles sees alongside Miles himself. I will definitely consider using a similar technique for my film. It's also really cool how this short is largely a horror film that just features a superhero character. I love genre bending like that, and I may attempt to include techniques associated with other genres in my film too.
Now originally, I was going to find a different superhero short to watch, until I discovered that this isn't the only Spider-Man horror movie...
Film 2: The Spider
A month after The Spider Within came out, filmmaker Andy Chen released The Spider, an unofficial fan-film that reimagines the origin of Spider-Man as body horror. What I love about this film is how it plays with what the viewer expects from the character its based on. The first few minutes seem pretty similar to the classic origin story (radioactive spider bite, shooting webs, sticking to walls) if noticeably more gross. The thing is, you can tell something is off. The color palate is dark and intense, the music is ominous, and every shot of Peter's face shows how he's getting more sick. Even still, it just kind of feels like a darker version of Spider-Man's origin. That is until Peter vomits up blood and one of his teeth and wakes up covered in webs. That's when this thing shifts gears fully into horror. Before you know it, Peter has spider limbs growing out of him and eats Uncle Ben. When Aunt May discovers the grisly scene, we get a look at what Peter has become. And my god, is it glorious. Scraggly hair, multiple eyes placed in irregular locations on the face, a pair of fangs, and a coating of slime. My only complaint with this film is that at the very end, he turns into a more conventional giant spider that is far less scary that than the literal spider/man hybrid, but that doesn't stop the practical effects from being insanely impressive and scary and the whole movie oozing with atmosphere (and other fluids!).
As per the requirements of this project, I need to make two research posts in which I watch to two existing short films to prepare and get ideas for my own. These first two films are both live action and were released recently, with one coming out last year and the other coming out only a around week ago.
Film 1: Coreys
Coreys (2024) is a thriller/comedy film written by, directed by, and starring the comedian Conner O'Malley. I remember watching this when it came out and not really enjoying it. On rewatch, I'm more conflicted. The film's plot is that a dissatisfied husband and father named Corey discovers an internet influencer who looks exactly like him, also named Corey. Other Corey is a popular, uninhibited party animal who surrounds himself with women and flaunts his success, the exact opposite of Main Corey. Main Corey goes to Las Vegas to meet his doppelganger, resulting in the two of them fusing into one. This new Corey runs around Vegas for a bit until memories of Main Corey's family start rushing back to him, resulting in the two splitting back apart and Main Corey going back home to his wife, now with a new appreciation for his mundane existence.
Despite it's eccentricities, in the end it's a pretty standard "there's no place like home" story. Main Corey thinks he wants the party lifestyle, but realizes that he's more happy as a suburbanite. I applaud the film for who it gets that idea across very smoothly, not bogging it down with unnecessary information. My big problem is that a lot of it feels like it's just going through the motions. I get that Main Corey's want is based on wanting to emulate the life shown on the internet, that part is made very clear by him obsessing over Other Corey's videos. But why he does he choose to leave? It seems like his Vegas persona is everything he ever wanted. The flashback to him with his son is so out of nowhere and feels unearned. We're supposed to believe he's a loving father just because the movie tells us to via some home videos. None of his previous actions support this, and that leads to weaker storytelling.
I also really don't like the way flashbacks and inserts are used. Again, I get that this whole movie is about the internet, which is why O'Malley feels the need to heavily emphasize the chaotic videos of Other Corey and show how they're getting into Main Corey's head via quick inserts. In the beginning, it's fine. But then it keeps going. Conner, I get it. Other Corey represents the ideal life that toxic social media sells to straight men, you make that very clear. You can stop now. The inserts are so prevalent that becomes obnoxious, and not in a "that's the point way" more so in a "this is just hammering in the message as if the audience is too stupid to infer it themself while padding out the runtime way".
Overall, Coreys is fine. I don't love it, I don't hate it. I'm probably never going to think about it again. What I've learned from this one is to go beyond the surface level where applicable, not overuse technical gimmicks, and not try too hard to make a statement. If the audience wants to get it, they'll get it.
Film 2: Liked
Liked (2025) is a horror film written and directed by Kylie Roseanne, a YouTuber better known to many as Haunted Hippie (I'm a fan of her videos, which is how I found out she made a short film). I'm not going to act like this movie is perfect, but I will say that I enjoyed it a lot more than Coreys. Both movies are ones that deal with the internet and the role of influencers, and while Liked makes very little sense regarding themes, it's far better written, directed, and shot, and I can forgive the messiness when Roseanne is clearly having a blast putting completely unnecessary body horror elements in her indie dramedy about a substitute teacher trying to make it big online.
The plot of this film is that Hannah, a substitute teacher, starts posting online as a fashion influencer. She tries to maintain a balance between her passion project and relationships with her friends and family, all while caring for the rapidly growing creature she found in her closet, which she named Coco, who feeds on her blood. Eventually Coco grows into a humanoid woman that resembles a mix between a zombie and Amy Lee from Evanesence, proceeds to kill Hannah's friend and then Hannah herself, and the film ends on her beginning to record a video as her adoptive mother would.
What impressed me most about this film is the acting and the writing. It all feels very natural, and it's clear that it's a film about the influencer experience written by someone who's lived through it. There are moments of Gen-Z slang like "touch grass" that don't feel forced and instead feel like natural things these people would say to each other when hanging out. The horror and suspense is really well done, especially given the limited resources. They do a great job hiding what Coco's growing forms look like, making the final reveal all the more powerful.
Now obviously the intended metaphor here is that Coco drinking Hannah's blood represents her giving parts of her life away to make videos. How are these things correlated in the context of the movie? Why does it end like that? I don't know, but it's cool! Liked is a movie that feels fun. It has energy. Some may even say, it has sauce. I think with short films, that's what matters. If my audience has a good time and is smiling by the end, that's how I know I succeeded.
I had begun writing on Monday, thinking that the process of making this film would be a long and difficult one. I anticipated that because of other classes and activities I would have very little time to work and that the script would go through numerous rewrites. I was wrong. I ended up with a lot of time to write the screenplay, and although it went through a fair amount of changes in the beginning of it, the basic idea always stayed the same and I reached a point for I solidified what the plot itself would be and it was a lot of smooth sailing from there.
I should back up. What even is the plot of my film? Before the week we formally began the project, I was already brainstorming ideas. I was thinking a lot about themes and aesthetic choices and trying to use them to work outside-in to find what the actual story. I also went on to my Letterboxd to make an inspiration list, where I selected random movies I've seen that could serve as inspiration what I would make, trying to do it on instinct without thinking. That list is to the right:
Initially, my idea was that I would make a film talking about technology and social media. It's a topic I'm very familiar with, being a member of Gen Z and all that, I felt like I would be an easy way to tap into some relevant and important themes while having creative room to do weird and creative stuff with the visuals. As I developed this idea, I went on my teacher's website to watch some A Level short films from years past. While a lot of them I couldn't watch because they've since been made private, I was able to access enough to get a feel for what other people have done with this project. And this convinced me to completely rethink my approach. I quickly discovered that technology and social media are incredibly popular and, let's not sugarcoat, overdone themes in student films. If I made a film about these things, I be retreading ground that many others have tread and similar ways.
I needed something unique. I needed an idea that no other AICE Media student would even consider, let alone attempt. Frankly, I needed an idea that was stupid. I soon found that idea in the form of superheroes.
Superheroes are something I've been fascinated by since I was a kid. Superman from 1978 is one of the first movies I have memory of watching to this day is one of my all time favorites. I also have memories of Batmanthe Movie from 1966 staring Adam West at around a similar young age. I've wanted to do a superhero film for a while, but I've always been intimated by the inherent technical complexity of that genre.
Why I was finally convinced to finally attempt a superhero film for my final project that serves as a portion of my final exam grade? I still can't really answer that. I think it's a mix of a few things: Wanting to make something unique and unexpected, wanting use the genre to make something in the spirit of my low-budget B-movie heroes like Charles Band of Full Moon Features or Lloyd Kaufman of Troma, and probably most of all, I just want to make a thing that I think is cool.
I knew I wanted to make a film about a team of superheroes, as I like writing that's very character focused and a team would be a great way to have fun character dynamics. My next move to decide on powers for them, as they all needed to be easily filmable. What I came up with was someone who has a sword that comes from space, someone who has animal instincts and strength, and someone who can create and manipulate any sound.
I spoke with my teacher about the idea, and she liked it, but had some issues with some choices I wanted to make and ending up giving me some great advice. I talked to her about how I wanted to replicate the feel of comic books from the 50s and 60s, which were very exaggerated and silly, while still telling an emotional story. I also wanted a fight scene. I was wisely told to drop the fight scene idea because it would be way to complex to film. I was also told that for what I was describing, it would actually be better to lean more in the direction of comic book silliness, even if it was at the expense of the story's impact. What I realized was that this film, as my teacher described, is a "kitsch object". It's less about plot and more about pastiche. That made me revaluate a lot of my approach.
The story I came up with after this conversation I felt like was something straight out of a classic comic book, with the heroes going to another planet to stop a villain from retrieving a gemstone, the way they go about this turning into a trivia contest hosted by an imp who also wants the gem. Very much in the vain of the goofy adventures held by superheroes in the silver age of comics, the 60s, when the Comics Code Authority required all books to be as kid-friendly and sanitized as possible as a response to pearl-clutching parents groups worried about comics promoting violence and devil worship. The more I think about it, the more I realize how interesting it is that the signature look of the silver age was born out of not just conservative moral panic but also counter-culture and psychedelics.
I have a great fondness for the aesthetics of those silver age comics and what they represent. To me, it's about a sense of unabashed imagination and fun, outsider creatives working in a restricted system that led them to get as weird as possible and find even more ways to sneak past censors and create bizarre art that still confused the upholders of the status quo. So I guess that's why I feel so passionately about making a superhero movie. I just want to get weird and have fun.
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