one bee - (untitled)

Filmography

(untitled)

1998, 2min. (B&W/Super-8mm)

Starring

Andy Cheatwood

Synopsis

A man walks down the street. He is alone and minding his own business. But he is being watched. Someone is filming him as he watches. He flees. He dashes around a corner and into an alley. His pursuer gives chase, but soon loses him.

Now the pursuer is lost and wanders aimlessly. But he discovers he is being watched! He runs, dropping his camera as he tries to escape. Soon, he is alone and walks more slowly. But he finds out that he is still being followed, and by the man he was formerly pursuing!

Production Notes

This was the first film of my Cinema 290 [Visual Communication] course at USC. (In fact, it was only untitled because I had not figured out how to shoot the titles in the proper focus before the assignment was due!) One week extended between the assignment date and the due date, so it was up to me to work fast!

Fortunately, my friend Andy Cheatwood had agreed to assist me with the film, which was assigned to communicate the concept of "change." In a hurry, I decided to make the film sort of like a palindrome. The two characters would switch places ("change") in a series of steps in which they would come closer together, then move back apart in a similar fashion. Let me explain:

The film would begin with one character being followed by another. The hunter is filming the hunted as he walks along the street. Slowly, the hunted becomes aware that he is being watched, and soon enough he is running to escape. Now, the hunter is running too (as we flip to the other side of the palindrome). As he runs, the hunter discovers that he has lost track of his prey. He walks along, looking around, and after a moment, discovers that he is being watched! As he scurries away, frightened, he drops his camera and sees the hunted - now hunter! - pick it up. Continuing to walk, he notices now that he is being filmed.

Filmed-aware-running:running-aware-filmed. Just like that!

Andy and I had plenty of fun running around Beverly Hills and filming the movie. It received plenty of praise in class, too. It was even compared to Hitchcock for its creation of suspense!