Gill - Making a Short Film - pt. IV
Film festivals—the glamorous dream of submitting your work and watching the world embrace it with open arms. Or, in my case, submitting to 17 festivals and getting accepted into exactly one. That’s a pretty humbling ratio. At first, it stung. And honestly? Some days it still does. But the truth is, enough people saw it and connected with it to make it all worth it and I grew a lot as a person and creative because of it. And now, I’m in the process of getting it in front of even more eyes, so stay tuned.
What’s next? Well, making this film lit a fire in me. I want to direct more commercial work and keep telling stories with heart through narrative film. There’s one in particular I’ve been bouncing around in my head, and it’s starting to take shape. On top of that, I’m in early talks with an executive producer about a feature-length documentary—one that’s deeply personal and tied to my community in Orlando. It’s still in the early stages, but if it happens, it’ll be the kind of project that makes all the festival rejections worth it.
Beyond the work itself, one of the best things about making this film was the friendships and connections I built along the way. I love the collaborative process, the problem-solving, the “oh crap, how do we fix this?” moments that turn into creative breakthroughs. I love breaking down scripts, digging into characters, and figuring out the why behind every little moment. And moving forward, I want to push myself even more. I’d love to take improv and acting classes to get a deeper understanding of performance. And if I could be mentored by an excellent director? Even better.
So, while this chapter is closing, the next one is already unfolding. And, just like in editing, the best moments often come when you least expect them.
Big ol’ thanks to this ridiculously talented crew who made the film what it is. They brought the vision to life, made Gill look chunky, kept the lights on (literally), and added all the little details that made this thing sing. Couldn’t have done it without them—seriously, I would’ve just been a guy talking to a fish.
1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Kenny Beaumont
WRITTEN BY: Alexandra Keister
PRODUCED BY: James Rayner
A NONA MEDIA PRODUCTION
JENNIFER FAITH WARD as Sally
NEWTON LAWLOR as Margarette
GILL as Himself
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Thomas Hayek & Olivia Wukash
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Erik Van Lenten
GAFFER: Bryan A. Pederson
KEY GRIP: Danny Nilsson
GRIP: Cristian Rhea
FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA: Rhys Lynn
SCRIPT CONSULTANT: Richard Gretsky
VFX SUPERVISOR: Dustin Seltzer
KEY MAKE-UP ARTIST: Amanda Ameruoso
SOUND MIXER: Caleb Carlon
KEY PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Heber Michel
BTS PHOTOGRAPHER: Olivia Wukash
POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: James Rayner
EDITOR: John VonMutius
VFX ARTIST: Dustin Seltzer
COLOURIST: Derek Hansen
ORIGINAL SONGS & SCORE BY: Charles Brewer & Elliot James
MUSIC SUPERVISOR: Charles Brewer
Special thanks to Full Sail University for Post Production Sound Services.
SOUND TEAM: Jason Strawley, Ding Wen Goh, Jannick Emile-Smith, Lia Kreynin, Guillermo Moya, Ian Thunder