This was completely created, from concept to final edit, in 48 hours for the Almost Famous Film Festival 48 Hour Challenge in Phoenix Feb 2010. Out of 76 entries, "Dark Truth, White Lies" made it into the top twenty, and was shown in the festival on "the big screen."
We were given the following that had to be used in the piece:
- the concept: "white lie"
- the prop: a mirror or reflection
- the line: "what just happened?"
We all liked the idea of using an artist as one of the main characters. Then came the idea to apply the concept of the grey scale (commonly used by artists) to the act of telling a white lie. This created a structure as the artist "rehearses" telling his partner bad news in various shades of grey, starting with the harshest dark truth, and lightening it with each rehearsal, until it is eventually a complete lie.
I co-wrote, edited, and directed this short, and was fortunate enough to be surrounded by a great group of multi-talented creative people. Check out the credits:
Orchid Tao : Actor ("Ann") / Executive Producer / Writer
Seth Gandrud: Actor ("Sean") / Writer
Jen D'Amore: Writer / Director / Editor / Artist
Matt De Jesus: Post Production Supervisor / Editor
Jeanette Rocha: Director of Photography
Dave Galowitch: AP / AD / Writer / 2nd Camera / Set
Leland Chapin: AD / Writer / Sound Operator / Set /Artist
Kim Hagey: Composer / Sound Operator / Set
Lauri Hammond: Production Assistant