Directing a short film

Over the course of a year and a half, I worked with a team of five others to create ZeroNet.

Pre-Production

Fundraising

Over the course of a two month period, my team worked to raise close to $10,000. We campaigned around the holidays and used social platforms to explain what we were trying to do and what the money would be used for.

Location Scouting

I worked closely with the producer and first assistant director during our location scouting process to find the best places to film. We rented a house in Connecticut as our main location and worked with a local hardware store and Quinnipiac University’s Law Library.

Script Revisions

Our first assistant director also doubled as our head writer. I worked with her to get the script to where we needed it to be before the casting process. We started with an original screenplay written by Nate Wilhelm and turned it into what it is today.

Storyboards and Shot Lists

The director of photography and I worked on getting my vision down on paper through storyboarding and shot listing. Through this collaborative process, I explained to the DP what I was looking to capture and we worked on making it a reality.

Casting

After having over 300 actors and actresses apply on BackStage.com, I spent three days in Manhattan with the producer and first assistant director to hold auditions.

Production

Set Design

Because of our small budget, my team went thrifting leading up to the week of production. After establishing who our main character was, I had to decide on how his house would look and feel. My team furnished an empty house and gave it character and style.

Working with Actors

I had the privilege to work with an awesome group of actors and direct them. With our budget, we put them up in an Airbnb for the week and paid for their food and travel along with a daily salary. This was one of the first times I got to work with professional actors and loved every second of it. As the director, I did my best to let all of the actors in on who each of their characters were and what I was looking for from them on screen.

Putting Everything Together

During the week of production I was in charge of my team as well as the actors and production assistants we had on set. Using all of the resources we created during the pre-production phase, filming went as smoothly as it could have and we were able to capture everything we wanted.

Post-Production

Editing

Following production, I worked with the editor and sound design as they put together the footage and audio. It was another collaborative process in which I explained my vision as they did their best to put it all together.

An Original Score

An original score was created by Robert Campbell. I worked closely with him to explain the mood and tone of each scene and where I felt music would be best.

Color Grading

I connected with our colorist as he began the process of coloring the film. We went for a cooler feel with more blues to add to the feeling of the overall film.

Film Festivals

After the film was released in November of 2020, the producer, first assistant director and I submitted the film to several film festivals with the remainder of our budget. Take a look at the festivals we were in and awards we won:

• Los Angeles Film Awards (Winner of Best Original Story)

• Indie Short Fest (Outstanding Achievement Award for Best Young Female Filmmaker)

• Toronto International Women Film Festival (Winner of Best Student Film and Best Cinematographer)

• Venice Shorts (Semi-Finalist)

• jellyFEST Season 6 (Semi-Finalist)

• LA Live Film Fest

• Montreal Independent Film Festival

• NewFilmmakers NY

• Golden Short Festival