Benji

Runtime: 07:46

Benji is a horror short film that was created as part of The People’s Picturehouse Cork 48 hour filmmaking challenge, with myself having served as the film’s d.o.p and screenwriter.

As part of The People’s Picturehouse Cork 48-hour filmmaking challenge, my team (Speed Rebel’s) was tasked with writing, shooting and editing a short film in just two days.

Having been given the title ‘Benji’ and the choice between the ‘horror’ and ‘fantasy’ genre at 08:40 on a Friday morning, my teammates and I hastily brainstormed a horror short story together, with myself having subsequently written the script in just a few short hours.

Working under this immense pressure was a gruelling, but rewarding experience, with it demonstrating my ability to excel in times of crisis.

In addition to writing the film, I also took on the role and the responsibility of being it’s director of photography, with myself having resorted to shooting the film in an efficient and timely manner.

Still’s from Benji

In order to create the visual style and tone for Benji, as seen in the above and below stills, I chose a dark colour palette to complement the film’s narrative and its horror infused genre.

Subsequently, for the shoot, I utilised a Canon EOS R10 (which has an APS-C sensor) in conjunction with three lenses: a 7Artisans 12mm T2.9, a 7Artisans 25mm T1.05 and a Canon 18–150mm F3.5-6.3.

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The 12mm T2.9 lens was employed for wide shots, such as the shot with Ciarán, Áine and Tara sitting at the dining room table, as seen in the initial still above.

The 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 lens was used for only two shots due to its high F-stop, which were of Ciarán and Áine walking through the cornfield.

The 25mm T1.05 lens, however, was crucial for the forest sequences, as we were losing a considerable amount of natural light later on during the evening’s shoot. However, whilst the low T stop was great for low light conditions, it also meant that it was incredible hard to pull and or rack focus on moving subjects whilst filming, due to its wide aperture.

Nevertheless, I’m still confident that I was able to pull off my job as being Benji’s d.o.p in a satisfactory manner, especially given the rigid time constraints that I had to shoot the film.

Benji’s script

Click here, to read the script…

To note, the following script is not reflective of the final version of the film, due to various factors changing throughout production such as the brother and sister dynamic being changed to that of a couple.