No More Monkeys
The first Short Film I directed
- Project Goal: Have fun making a short film with my family
- Role(s): Director, Editor, Motion Graphics Designer
- Production Budget: $60
- Date Released: April 1st 2020
Project Breakdown
I’d been making videos professionally going on 5 years now –and before that I made weekly videos for a YouTube channel with my sister– but one thing I hadn’t been able to check off my list was directing a full-fledged short film production. The closest I’d come to that was couple comedy sketches.
But on April 1st, 2020, my first narrative film, a short comedy called No More Monkeys, was released on YouTube under Cacophony Studios. The hilarious script was penned by my brother, Peter, who also served as Director of Photography for the production.
No More Monkeys is definitely what you’d call a “low budget” film – just family and friends volunteering on set, shot in my dining room over the course of a Saturday -we spent about $40 on set dressing and props. $60 if you include everyone chipping in for Pizza at lunch. But even with this small production, I learned a lot about filmmaking and ultimately, myself and who I want to be as a filmmaker.
First thing I learned: Preproduction is key – Editing and postproduction are my favorite parts of the filmmaking process. Seeing everything come together into a final piece is just so satisfying to me. But as I was editing the first cut of No More Monkeys, one thing was incredibly clear to me: The parts that turned out the best, were, without fail, the parts we spent more time on in preproduction.
I had a brief meeting with the cinematographer a week before the shoot day talking about the shot list and angles I’d like to get as well as the overall visual style I wanted. I wish we had met for longer. I wish we had talked about compositions, maybe tried some different things on the camera. I wish we had talked more about lighting and what our plans were with that.
I went over blocking and lines with the actors while we were setting up for the first wide shot. I wish we had done a rehearsal a few days before- even just an evening to go over lines and nip a couple things in the bud- make sure we got the pacing and overall delivery down so that we could really play with it a lot more on set.
I spent a pretty good amount of time on preproduction and planning of the shoot day- but I wish I had spent more of that time directly collaborating with people instead of making lists and notes to send out to people. That would have made communication a lot easier come shoot day.
Second thing I learned: Have a Deadline – You know that old line, “a film is never finished, it’s just released”? That is so true. We had a pretty solid release date right out of the gate: April 1st. If we didn’t have that I could have worked on that film forever. There is so much I wish I could do to it. Every time I watch it, I catch something else that could have been fixed.
But in the end, it’s better to be done with it and move on. I’ll learn a lot more moving onto the next project than I ever could polishing this one until the end of time. Artists in particular tend to brand themselves as “perfectionists”, and I used to do that too. Until I heard the most killer response to perfectionism that stopped me dead in my tracks:
“If you’re a perfectionist, when was the last time you made something that was perfect?”
Most of us who have proudly labeled ourselves as perfectionists in our work with impeccably high standards aren’t perfectionists at all. We’re just afraid of being judged. So we work and work and work on our pieces of art trying to scrub out any bit of imperfection in our handiwork that might theoretically be pounced upon by trolls, critics, or friends and family, many times secretly never intending to release our finished creations into the world at all; because then the perception of our art forced outside of heads and taken out of our hands, we can no longer live in the delusion that maybe our work could be perfect.
Having a hard deadline is a great way to fight this destructive mindset. Decide when you’re going to release your film, and when that day rolls around- release it.
The third thing I learned was probably the most surprising to me: The Director role is not my ultimate calling when it comes to narrative film – After the dust settled, the adrenaline worked through my system, and all that was left to do was slog through the editing process, I made a realization – I didn’t enjoy directing near as much as I have some other roles on and off set. I am not a natural born multitasker, and the director has to juggle a lot of things in their head all at once all while making sure to maintain the consistent creative vision that they have for the end product.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved directing, and definitely want to do it again in the future. But it’s not like some of the other titles I’ve held in a video or short film production.
I don’t just love writing- I have to write. There are thoughts and stories in my head that I have to breath onto a page in order to function. It relieves stress and it helps me work through problems. The page is a linguistic playground for my mind exercise and stay fit.
I don’t just love cinematography – I have to shoot video, I can’t stop. I took two weeks off work when my daughter was born, which I don’t regret at all, but by the end of the first week being away from the studio and being paid 40 hours a week to make videos in some capacity, I had my camera out and was shooting all sorts of things, trying to create interesting images with anything I could find around the house.
I don’t just love editing – I have to edit. I do it all the time in my head, thinking about the human perceptive functions, keeping track of my days as if they’re scenes and not as linear passages of time. Just as much as my life impacts my video editing, video editing has changed the way I think about life.
I loved directing – but it’s not something I have to do. It was fun, and I’d definitely like to do it again; but it’s definitely not my calling in life. I spent more time on set trying not to micromanage the cinematographer than working out blocking with the actors. I spent more time thinking about how things would fit together in the edit than being in the moment with the actors.
It’s likely one of these I’ll write or be given a script that will speak to me on a level where I’ll know: I have to direct this film. But for now, I am content honing my craft as a writer, cinematographer, and editor, and turning over my reigns to those truly inspired people to use me as their tool to paint their next masterpiece. I don’t mind if I’m meant to be a brush and not the painter in the grand design of a film. I’m going to be the best possible brush I can be, and I’m going to love every minute of it.
Tobias Lansberry 