AUTO. Creator Steven Schardt. press notes. synopsis

Transcription

1 AUTO Creator Steven Schardt press notes synopsis In the very near future, as taxis become autonomous, safety drivers are employed to simply sit in the front seat, as a measure of comfort. But Musay, an Ethiopian immigrant driver with 40 years experience, is not content (or comfortable) to merely sit, and insists on driving himself. On his first night out, he picks up a couple very accustomed to the service. From there, we see that the couple s seemingly defensive and harmless decisions can have significant consequences. auto vr@vrorg.org 1

2 director s statement I refer often to a period in early film called The Cinema of Attractions (~ ), so-called by film scholar Tom Gunning. Imagine the intrepid cameraman at the turn of the last century, setting up his rickety contraption, crossing his fingers, hoping that the dancing elephant or oncoming train would miraculously (or, rather, merely) register on film. We re in very familiar territory with our 2 or 3 or 7 or 10 aggregate cameras, stitching software, crew scattered behind bushes, half-blind as we edit. And like early film exhibition, as spectators, we re awed by the medium, or wary of it, and very aware that we re watching something new and, yes, full of possibilities. The medium is the message, but it s presently talking a lot about itself. McLuhan had a notion that every new medium subsumes prior forms: writing absorbs speech, cinema inherits theater, music, painting, writing, in its methods. VR is poised to add, at the very least, games and interactive art to that long and incomplete list. Auto honors something traditional in both story and cinematic form, and holds the VR camera up to film to allow that medium to beget its conventions in this new one. Auto is a small, intimate story about a transaction between a safety driver -- a driver hired to serve as an assuring presence in the transition to autonomous vehicles -- and his passengers. At the time I wrote the script, this seemed a bit theoretical, but this is actually happening now. There s a recognizable layer of technology between the driver and passenger, much like the layer we have in an Uber ride or a tweet, or even a phone on a customer service call. The story seeks to bring an awareness of that layer as an intervening, subtle and powerful force. auto vr@vrorg.org 2

3 key bios STEVEN SCHARDT (WRITER/DIRECTOR) is an independent film director and producer. His producing credits include Humpday (Sundance 2009, Cannes Directors Fortnight 2009), The Oregonian (Sundance 2011), Your Sister s Sister (Toronto 2011, Sundance 2012), and Touchy Feely (Sundance 2013), and Men Go to Battle (Tribeca 2015). He wrote and directed the short Cavalier (SXSW 2013), and co-directed the film Treatment (Tribeca 2012) with Sean Nelson. He is a graduate of Harvard College. His next project is a speculative fiction series in VR. MEGAN GRIFFITHS (PRODUCER) is a writer/director working in film and television. She recently directed two episodes of the Duplass Brothers' HBO anthology series ROOM 104. Prior to this, she completed the thriller THE NIGHT STALKER that she wrote and directed starring Lou Diamond Phillips as serial killer Richard Ramirez. Her film LUCKY THEM starring Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church and Johnny Depp premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed by IFC Films. Megan s film EDEN, based on the true story of a young woman captured into the world of human trafficking, was a breakout at SXSW 2012, winning the Emergent Narrative Director Award, the Audience Award for Narrative Feature as well as a Special Jury Prize for lead actress Jamie Chung. Megan's feature THE OFF HOURS, distributed by Film Movement, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, she has produced several other projects including Lynn Shelton s YOUR SISTER S SISTER and the Sundance absurdist buddy comedy THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM. Megan and Lynn Shelton also co-wrote a feature for This American Life, and together with producer Gregg Fienberg sold an original pitch to HBO. In her adopted hometown of Seattle, Megan was the recipient of the 2012 Stranger Genius Award for Film, was named the 2013 City Arts Film Artist of the Year, and received the 2015 Seattle Mayor s Award for Film. She serves on the board of the Northwest Film Forum and is an advocate for sustainable production. Megan is currently in the process of completing her sixth feature film, entitled SADIE, due for release in FRED BEAHM (CO-PRODUCER, EDITOR) Fred Beahm is an award winning Editor and Director based in Los Angeles, California. With over fourteen years of industry experience, Fred has worked on a wide range of projects spanning from feature films to television series, commercials, music videos, documentaries, and virtual reality experiences. Diving headfirst into 360VR, Fred edited and stitched 'En Pointe', one of the winners of Samsung's 'There in 60 Seconds' challenge in He received recognition for his work on 'Real' and 'Traces' - auto vr@vrorg.org 3

4 both of which were accepted into the 2015 and 2017 Kaleidoscope VR Festivals. He also edited the one of the first 360 narrative series, 'Invisible', which won the 2017 Lumiere Award for Best 360 Series. Other acclaimed projects include working with Supersphere VR for clients such as the New York Liberty and Funny or Die. Recently, Fred finished post-production on 'Auto,' which debuts in the Virtual Arcade at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. C. ANDREW ROHRMANN (AUDIO DIRECTOR) C Andrew Rohrmann, aka scntfc, used to make music just for fun. Then at some point in time someone was crazy enough to ask him to make music for a Volkswagen ad. It showed all over the world and people liked it. It sold lots of cars, so more people who sell stuff asked Andy to help them sell more stuff. There were a few years of exclusively making noise for ads before Andy felt the need to move into more challenging aspects of composition. So he scored a zombie flick. And then got asked to remix Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash for a video game. (Apparently Bob enjoyed the remix). Now it s another few years later and he s added video games to the mix. A few notable projects include: Oxenfree for Night School Studios (multiple award winner including Excellence in Visual Art and Honorable Mention for Excellence in Audio at the Independent Games Festival), ZMD for Lionsgate Films, and Wildlife Detectives for PBS/KCTS (regional Emmy winner for Best Topical Documentary). auto vr@vrorg.org 4

5 credits Musay Tsehayi Andargey Bibi Mechanic Linda Greg Writer & Director Producer Co-Producers Line Producer Cinematographer Gaffer & Grip Grip Art Director Costume Consultant Casting Casting Assistant UPM / AD 2nd AD/ Key PA Sound Recordist Audio Director Associate Producers Desalegn Kassa Zemenay Kassa Jonathan Kassa Dessie Zewdu Yonnas Getahun Emily Chisholm Eric Riedmann Steven Schardt Megan Griffiths Jennessa West Fred Beahm Elizabeth Heile Nathan M. Miller Mike Astle Travis Becker Gevin Booth Tora Eff Nike Imoru Monika Holm Jennessa West Sudeshna Sen Dave Richards Andrew C. Rohrmann Tizita Assefa Fred Beahm Tora Eff Yonnas Getahun auto vr@vrorg.org 5

6 Caterer Translators Editor Amy Goetz Jonathan Kassa Tizita Assefa Fred Beahm DIT Alex Betty Rough Stitching Alex Betty Stitchers Additional Stitching Accountant Legal Counsel Stephen Les Caterina Franco Luis Artigas Kristen Parsons Lance Rosen Production Assistants Gobe Hirata Kelly Campelia Benjamin Nason Todd Gardiner Hope Rubinkowski Filmed in Washington State with assistance from the Filmworks Innovation Lab auto 6

7 technical notes Runtime: 11 minutes Picture format: monospherical video Resolution: 4096 x 2048, equirectangular Sound Mix: Facebook360 Spatialization Workstation, (8+2) Exhibition Platform: Oculus Video on Gear VR Camera: Backbone 3x Mount, with Entaniya 220 Super Fisheye Lenses Sound Recording: Soundfield SPS 200 Stitching: AutoPano Video AutoPano Giga Nuke Cara VR (shots 1 & 2 only) Editing: Adobe Premiere CC 2017 Mettle s Skybox 360 Comping / Derigging: Adobe After Effects CC 2017 Mettle Skybox Studio V2 Mocha VR (shot 6) Audio: Titles: Reaper Facebook 360 Spatialization Workstation Cinema 4D Octane Render auto vr@vrorg.org 7

8 contact www: vrorg.org facebook: mail: auto 8