An Unnerving Realisation

Runtime: 05:44

For the Burke family everything was normal besides the one secret which they kept from their son, Nicholas. Now their past is catching up with them, and Nicholas’s suspicion of something malicious is growing greater by the day.

During my first year of studying Film and Screen Media at University College Cork, I was successful in my bid to be the director for Jack Holman’s short film script entitled, An Unnerving Realisation.

After being ratified as the film’s director, I then went on to meticulously storyboard the entire project, with myself having ultimately stayed true to my initial vision throughout production.

Whilst storyboarding the film I took inspiration from a plethora of television series and films, particularly that of Vince Gilligan’s El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. A clear example of this influence can be seen below, where I mirrored the cameras ninety degree tilt around Jessie.

An Unnerving Realisation (Left), El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Right)

In addition to this, throughout production I was heavily involved in multiple departments, particularly those of; cinematography, colour grading and production design

A few examples of the characters’ clothing that I helped with the creation of.

An example of the many shots that I personally captured during filming.

A still from the film showcasing the colour-grading that I did;
left is raw, right is graded.

Copies of the fake newspapers that I created for the film based on Jack’s script.

Therefore, directing An Unnerving Realisation was a significant milestone in my journey to becoming a filmmaker, as it was my first substantial narrative-driven film that I directed. Despite facing numerous challenges, I am proud of the final outcome, with the project having tested my creativity, resilience and problem-solving skills.

Overall, this project highlighted to me the importance of effective communication, with it having demonstrated my ability to work successfully under pressure, as exemplified by the films success in being screened to public as outlined below.