Writing a Short Film the Day Before Shooting It

In a perfect world, my short film Sid would not exist. Its creation is thanks to one of my good friends, Jaiden Smith, who, unfortunately, had to cancel on me at the last minute for a short film I wrote called I’m Going to Sleep. Jaiden was set to play the lead in Sleep, and with his sudden cancellation, I was left scrambling. Ordinarily, I would have rescheduled the shoot so Jaiden could participate, but Sleep was for one of my classes, so I had to film something. We had already shot Carver’s Curse for this assignment, but I deemed it "unworthy" of showing to my class because I was unhappy with its final cut at the time.

Anyway, after Jaiden’s unexpected cancellation, I quickly put together the screenplay for Sid in about an hour. The final draft spanned seven pages and was set entirely in our apartment. Since I was unable to get a cinematographer for the project, I taught myself how to use my Canon C100 Mk II and decided I would handle cinematography for the shoots. And oh boy, was shooting a learning experience.

For starters, I was only 60% confident in my cinematography skills. I knew how to effectively frame a shot, but I struggled with the camera’s technical mechanics. I envisioned how I wanted the shots to look, yet I couldn’t quite achieve the desired result. Eventually, I managed to get it right, but it took some trial and error.

As for the shoots themselves, both days went smoothly. I felt bad that I had to whip up a script just a day before filming, but both actors, Luke Rekela and John Neithercott, did an excellent job in their respective roles. I was especially impressed with Luke because, beforehand, he had made a pact with me that he wouldn’t act in projects, as he felt he wasn’t a good actor. However, with Sid, he proved himself capable of being a leading man, which inspired us to write our next short film, Kurt & Waylon, with Luke in mind as one of the main characters.

One of the many common mistakes I see in aspiring young filmmakers is choosing actors who cannot command a leading role. To be a lead in any film, an actor needs to have command, confidence, and charisma. Without these qualities, the film will fall flat.

If I could redo anything in Sid, I would improve the film’s climax, which depicts Sid choking on his vomit and dying. While I thought the actors’ reactions were good, I would rework how Sid choked. I used hot oatmeal, which was difficult for Luke to hold in his mouth for long periods. Additionally, during our first take, Luke prematurely spat out the oatmeal, which landed on his chest and caused a slight burn. I felt bad, so I rushed to clean it off him but ended up slipping and falling on the floor as I grabbed dozens of paper towels to douse him with.

Despite its production hiccups, I’m glad Sid exists. It serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished on the fly with committed collaborators. It’s also the first experimental and dramatic film Brothers Duel has made, which is a bonus. It makes me more confident that we can create short films that aren’t strictly within the comedy genre (although comedies are the most fun to film).