For spring break last month, as unwise as it may have been considering the rise of the global pandemic, I travelled to Tennessee to see my best friend, Dylan, again; it had been about seven months since I'd last been with him. As the days passed and as we drove around town, we noticed that many major and minor stores and restaurants alike had closed down or dramatically reduced their hours due to the coronavirus, which was certainly interesting to witness. This, however, did not stop us from having our fun, as is between best friends.
Part of that fun involves us creating a short film each time we see each other; a tradition we've held since 2018 that spawned with the creation of a rather raunchy, flimsy and pointless five minute video. The cinematography and overall quality of the video was amateur. Abysmal, even. I combined my love for filmmaking and storytelling with his willingness and ability to act. This year, the short we created saw drastic improvement thanks to our independent sources of income and increased maturity.
An unusual characteristic of ours involves the lack of proper planning, such as the lack of a screenplay or set. We hurled ideas at each other before deciding for a plot on a whim: a medieval knight who wakes up in the 21st century. With our small funds and a story in mind, we set out for Party City just before it closed down and we purchased a chainmail armor costume along with a plastic sword. The next step was to drive to a remote park by the riverside, accompanied by tall hills and green scenery with nothing but my iPhone as our only piece of equipment. This is where we filmed the first half of our video. The rest took place in the car.
Part of our gimmick is to allow him to improvise. For example, I give him the basic explanation of any scene we film, and after that, he assumes the role of the character and brings it to life. The result is a hilarious (to us, at least), raw and unscripted portrayal. This always works best for us, as we always seem to laugh uncontrollably each time we review the footage.
When I came back home, I immediately searched for an editing application on my phone and chose Filmmaker Pro. Naturally, I would edit on my computer, but, unfortunately, I don't have an editing software as those can be expensive, and my computer could never handle the workload.
After a few days of editing, creating different versions of the story and seeking opinions from my classmates in film, the skit was finished. It's no Hollywood blockbuster, but me and Dylan are proud of it regardless. Here is the result:
I absolutely plan on creating a screenplay for the next time we work together.
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