The Sprinter - A Short Film

••• The Sprinter is a short film about, among other things, freedom. It is the story of all of us living in an age of data smog, mass media and an oversupply of information. It is sanctuary from 1000 channels of shadow puppet mock corporeality. It is also a story about rituals lost in the shuffle but reclaimed for an instance. It is tipping the scales our way. It is the half alives and the have nots remembering their grandparents.

It is a man, moved by impulse, to fight the good fight despite a daily loss of ground. This is his place among us all. This is his willpower to survive. This is the annexation of his title by the movement of his identity.

This is who he is. The Sprinter.

The Sprinter - Process Notes

••• The Sprinter was shot entirely on Super 8mm film and edited using Apple's Final Cut Pro software. The footage of Ringo (the film's only actor) was all shot in one day at a variety of loosely predetermined locations. The car we used was loaned to us from Dan Henderson, a guy we worked with who later offered to sell it to us for $600. The other footage used in the film was shot over the course of 2 years at a variety of random locations. Some in Chicago, some in San Diego, some in Lincoln, some in Wahoo, some at work, some at home, some in the winter at 19th and C streets, some downtown in the summer.

The majority of the music was unrehearsed and recorded in a two hour session at a downtown Lincoln practice space. THere were three players, Jason Hardy - guitar, Justin Kemerling - bass, and Joe Heider - drums. Everything was recorded live to 2 tracks using Pro Tools and was mastered by Brendan McGinn. The rest of the audio was made with dictation recorders and Reason software.

The Sprinter - Who is Who and Why are They

••• There are a number of people who helped make The Sprinter possible and have no idea who we are or even that The Sprinter exists. They are our families, friends and the artists and visionaries that we look up to every day. They are the people all around us who inspired this short film, many of whom actually ended up in various scenes but still have no idea what this is, and they probably never will. Still, other people totally screwed us. They get no love.

The Sprinter's only character was played by Ringo
Written, shot, directed and edited by Justin Kemerling and Jason Hardy
Cameras were loaned to The Match Factory by Mike Semrad and Jennifer Lukas
Drums were played by Joe Heider
Audio was mastered by Brendan McGinn
Yelling and Photos were done by Ian Whitmore
Car was provided by Dan Henderson