Short Film Debuts
Here is a compilation of some of the short films Nate has written, shot, produced, and edited.
DING!
"DING!". Nathaniel Johnson. Film. Four minutes & forty-nine seconds. 2022. Suspense Project. Video 1.
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DING! is a story about a young unnamed man working at at a presumed minimum wage job. After being confronted by a pompous customer who abuses his establishment's bell system, the young man begins to psychologically deteriorate from the bell's noise, leading to his descent into madness.
The idea for the short film came to me quite quickly. I work in retail, so I get tons of annoying customers that make me question my humanity. Anyone who has worked in these kinds of environments can relate to the main character's frustrations with customer policy, and the unfair treatment workers receive from unwanted patrons. This work pushes those frustrations to the extreme, and (hopefully) you haven't crossed the line like the character in the video did, but in a way, it's like a daydream one would have about these situations, to relieve one's anger towards an unruly customer.
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Bubblegum Dreams
Bubblegum Dreams. Nathaniel Johnson. Film. Two minutes & forty-nine seconds. 2022. Dream Project, Video 1
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Bubblegum Dreams is about a young couple in love. They know they can't be together, because they hail from two different worlds; the real world and the dream world. As the dream partner tries his best to convince his real life partner to stay with him in the dream state, the real world girl has to decide if she wants to give up her real life for true love.
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For Bubblegum Dreams, I was given another person's script to make the short film about. I really enjoyed the script, and was able to spin my interpretation into it. Writing a dream film about love is a wonderful approach, since that is one of the things most people dream of. My main expertise is in comedy, which I was sure to include into this project. Overall, I am really happy with the final video, with it being my first project ever in this "romantic-esque" genre.
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Inside the Mind
Inside the Mind. Nathaniel Johnson. Three Minutes and Fourteen seconds. 2022. Documentary Project. Video I.
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Inside the Mind follows Nate in a mockumentary exhibition of discovering his limits. Meant to be a parody of the thousands of "self-help" and "confidence" videos parading the internet, Nate goes on to speak for over two minutes about doing everything for oneself and not caring about what other people think, just to turn around and be a hypocrite and be indecisive about posting the video in fear what others would think. Inside the mind is meant to be a satirical approach to a documentary, a mockumentary if you will. From the cheesy text, to the repetitive slogan-based quotes spewed out the interviewees mouth every two seconds, everything is meant to mock some form of "Get Better, Do Better" video that is seen on the page of someone who thinks they are better than everyone else. Everything to the conclusion of this video is meant to replicate the feeling these creators probably feel, who boast about self-confidence, only to be indecisive about posting their video on confidence. Overall, this video is a perfect mockery of these façade of videos.
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The Last Day
The Last Day. Nathaniel Johnson. Eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds. 2023. Project 1. Video 2.
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What would you do if it was your last day on Earth? Or so you thought? The Last Day follows Nate as he repeatedly gets a nightmare, foreseeing a future where the world is ending. There is a super-drug to be released to the public, which will end in catastrophe and the overall collapse of society. On his last day, he is woken up to believe it is a nightmare, but his fears have come true, as the nightmare he has been having is now a reality. In a last attempt, Nate tries to stop the release, but his fate is inevitable. After doomsday is done, Nate is woken up by a higher power to tell him that he has already been stuck in his final moments, in a groundhog-day state. Nate is confused but is given the choice to return to this never ending paradox, or to join the remaining inhabitants of the desecrated Earth. We are unaware of what choice he makes. This video is a statement on the human mind and what we try to block out. In cases of PTSD, people tend to only remember the moments before the traumatic incident, and the incident itself is typically a blur. This video is meant to be a fictitious representation of this trauma memory loss.
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Double
Double. Nathaniel Johnson. Six minutes and twenty-five seconds. 2023. Project 2. Video 2.
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Inspired by the Metal Gear Solid V games, Double shows the story of a stunt double. Always in the shadow of his famous counterpart, the legendary Jones. the stunt double wishes to live the life of fame and fortune. After a workplace accident involving Jones and the stunt double, Jones wakes up after a short coma. A mysterious bandaged man appears in his room and guides Jones back to the movie studio, avoiding paparazzi and other hazards along the way. When Jones performs for the director, he is shunned and berated for his subpar acting after the crash. Ultimately, it is revealed that the bandaged man is actually the real Jones, and the fake "Jones" is the stunt double. Jones was tired of the fame and fortunes, and dreamed of a life of humility, so he brainwashed the stunt double to take his place in society. The stunt double got what he asked for, but dreaded this unknown change.
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