The Process

Initially, we came up with a conversation that could take place between two individuals, on the TTC, who end up running into each other after becoming distant. The concept was based on our experiences of running into fellow creatives that we haven’t seen in a while and making excuses for the lack of productivity in our work in moments where we’ve had creative blocks or real doubts about our careers.

We then explored the concept of a conversation between the two characters catching up on the phone. We recorded it and placed it on the rough cut only to realize, it didn’t fit the film. Neither the style, nor what we were trying to ultimately achieve. It was too overt and obvious, voiceover usually seems to be.

That made us start playing with subtitles. Initially, after each line of excuse filled dialogue, a line, word, or phrase of text came up, reflecting the character’s true meaning behind their words. This depiction of the inner dialogue of the characters brought us closer to what we were trying to achieve.

We then hit the mute button and realized that what we were trying to say was more simply understood than we thought. We didn’t have to explain the message so directly to the audience, it would be interpreted. Ultimately, this is what makes experimental film what it is.